Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude,--

Telling them that Christ would give them no more instruction that day, and that they had better go back to their homes. There are some preachers who have great gifts of dispersion, it does not take them long to scatter a congregation; but I expect that Christ's disciples found it to be no easy task to send away the crowds that had been listening to their Master's wondrous words. But, « when they had sent away the multitude,»-

Mark 4:36. They took him even a he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

Christ was Lord High Admiral of the Galilean lake that night, and he had quite a little fleet of vessels around his flagship.

Mark 4:37. And there arose a great storm of wind,--

Our friend, John Macgregor, «Rob Roy,» tells us that the lake is subject to very sudden and severe storms; it lies in a deep hollow, and down from the surrounding ravines and valleys the air comes with a tremendous rush seldom experienced even upon a real sea; for this was, of course, only a lake though sometimes called a sea. I have been told that, on some Scotch lochs, the wind will occasionally come from three or four quarters at once, lifting the boat bodily out of the water, and sometimes seeming to lift the water up towards heaven, with the boat and all in it; so was it, that night, when «there arose a great storm of wind,»-

Mark 4:37. And the wave beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

No doubt they baled out the boat with all their might, and did their best to prevent it from sinking, yet « it was now full of water.» But where was their Lord and Master, and what was he doing while the storm was raging?

Mark 4:38. And he waves in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow:

He was quite at home upon the wild waves,-«Rocked in the cradle of the deep,»-for winds and waves were but his Father's servants, obeying his commands. «He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow;» doubtless weary and worn with the labours of the day. We do not always think enough of the weariness of Christ's human body. There was not only the effort of preaching, but his preaching was so full of high thought, and the expressions he used were so pregnant with meaning, that it must have taken much out of him to preach thus from the heart, with intense agony of spirit, and with his brain actively at work all the while. Remember that he was truly man as well as the Son of God, and that what he did was of so high an order, not to be reached by any of us, that it must have exhausted him and therefore he needed sleep to refresh him; and there he was wisely taking it, and serving God by sleeping soundly, and thus preparing himself for the toil of the following day.

Mark 4:38. And they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind,--

It was boisterous and noisy, and he bade it obey its Master's will;

Mark 4:39. And said unto the sea, Peace, be still.

Can you not almost fancy that you can hear that commanding voice addressing the raging, roaring, tumultuous winds and waves?

Mark 4:39. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Not only was the wind quieted, and the sea hushed to slumber, but a deep, dead, mysterious calm transformed the lake into a molten looking glass. When Christ stills winds and waves, it is «a great calm.» Did you ever feel «a great calm»? It is much more than ordinary peace of mind; it is to your heart as if there were no further possibilities of fear. Your troubles have so completely gone that you can scarcely recollect them. There is no one but the Lord himself who can speak so to produce «a great calm.» Master, we entreat thee to speak such a calm so that for those of us who need it.

Mark 4:40. And he said unto them,-

When he had calmed the winds and the waves, he had to speak to another fickle set, more fickle than either winds or waves: «and he said unto them,»-

Mark 4:40. Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly,--

They went from one fear to another, but this time it was the fear of awe-a hallowed dread of what might happen to a ship which had «oh a mysterious Person on board. Though there was probably in their minds no fear of death, it seemed to them a fearsome thing to live in the presence of One who had such power over the raging elements.» They feared exceedingly,-

Mark 4:41. And said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Blessed God-man, we worship and adore thee!