Mark 4
After the church service a little boy walked up to the minister and said, “When I grow up, I’m going to give you some money.”
“Well, thank you,” the minister replied, “but why do you want to do that?”
“Because” said the little boy, “my dad says you’re one of the poorest preachers this church has ever had.”
This morning I would like to focus on a question Jesus asked His disciples as recorded in Mark 4:40, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?"”
Let us look at the background to this verse. We read in Mark 4:1, “Again Jesus began to teach beside Lake Galilee. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd stood on the shore at the water's edge.”
When Jesus lived on the earth, He spent much of His time teaching, and preaching to the people. Jesus was an excellent teacher. There were many who preceded Jesus, who also taught many things, but the people were not able to understand their teachings. When Jesus taught, the people could comprehend His teachings with ease, and therefore great crowds followed after Him wherever He went.
Jesus taught through parables
We read in Mark 4:34, “He would not speak to them without using parables, but when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain everything to them.”
Jesus used stories or illustrations from day-to-day life, which were called parables, to help teach the people the deeper spiritual truths, and secrets of the Kingdom of God. The crowds that gathered hears all these parables, but it was only when He was alone with His disciples, did Jesus explain the hidden meanings of these parables to them in great detail.
Let us look at four parables of Jesus as recorded in Mark 4
1. Parable of the sower verses 3–9
In this parable Jesus talks about a man who went out to sow seeds. Being in a culture where agriculture was their major occupation, the crowds could easily understand the parable. Jesus explained how when the farmer sowed seeds, some seeds fell on the wayside, which was basically hard from people constantly walking on it, and these were picked up by the birds as soon as they fell there. There are many whose hearts are hardened because of hardships, grudges, hurts and when the seed which is the word of God falls on it; it does not even stay because the evil one just doesn’t allow it to penetrate inside. Just as a farmer prepares the soil before sowing the seeds, we too must ask the Lord to prepare our hearts to receive His word, and bring transformation in our lives.
Some seeds fell on rocky places, which grew immediately but had no root to sustain the plant. There are those who come to God with zeal, but are not rooted in Him and so fall away quickly. The third set of seeds fell among thorns, which grew but got choked by the thorns. These are those who also receive the word with joy, but get overwhelmed with worries, cares and riches of this world, and so become useless. The fourth set of seeds fell on good soil, which produced bountiful fruit. The seeds which fell on good soil, died initially, but brought forth abundant fruit to bless many.
We too are called to be those who will let our egos die, so that the Lord can take us and use us to be a blessing to many. The Kingdom of God is a fruit bearing Kingdom, which satisfies the hunger of many.
2. Parable of a lamp on a lampstand verses 21–25
Here Jesus talks about a lamp that is lit, and placed on a lampstand. The lamp when lit dispels darkness in a room. We too are called to be those lights that will shine bright for the Lord, and dispel the darkness of sin from this world.
Many people lived in darkness until Jesus came to the earth, and when Jesus the true light shone on them they realized that there were so many areas of darkness that needed to be changed. The Kingdom of God is one that sheds light, and eradicates darkness.
3. Parable of the growing seed 26–29
A man sows the seeds and he just goes about his usual work. The seeds unnoticed to anyone grow and become full grown plants ready for harvest. So also, the Kingdom of God is growing unobtrusively or quietly.
4. Parable of the mustard seed verses 30–32
Though the mustard seed is the tiniest of seeds when sown in the soil, it has the capacity to become a huge plant that can provide shade for the birds of the air. The Kingdom of God is a mighty, powerful and great kingdom.
The disciples encounter a stormy sea verses 35–37
On the evening of that same day Jesus said to His disciples, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they left the crowd; the disciples got into the boat in which Jesus was already sitting, and they took him with them. Other boats were there too. Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves began to spill over into the boat, so that it was about to fill with water.
Now that Jesus had taught all these things to the crowds and His disciples, that very same evening He beckoned His disciples that they go over to the other side of the lake. Jesus and His disciples got into the boat to travel to the other side of the lake. As they travelled on, they were abruptly challenged with a fierce and stormy sea.
We can recall a similar situation that the prophet Jonah encountered when he disobeyed God’s call to go to Nineveh and instead headed to Tarshish. Here the storm in the sea was a consequence of his disobedience.
Contrarily, the disciples of Jesus were going out with Jesus in obedience to His word, but they too were now strangely confronted with a fierce storm.
It is therefore a reminder to us that every storm that we encounter in our life is not a result of our sin or disobedience, but God allows certain difficulties so that we can have a deeper understanding of who God is. If we are walking in obedience to God and His word, the storms we face are not to drown us, but to take us to a higher level in our relationship with God.
Some of the disciples of Jesus were seasoned fishermen and were well versed to decipher when a storm was at hand. But this storm they encountered was so sudden that they were taken off guard. The storm was so fierce that it even alarmed the men who were professional fishermen, who feared for their very lives.
There are times when we too are challenged with the most unexpected kinds of stormy trials in our lives. Heedless of how intense the storms are, we have the assurance that the Lord who is with us is able to deliver us from all of it, and there is no need for fear. Many people when faced with hardships question the very existence of God. At those times of severe testing, often our emotions take control of us, and we must be cautious for our emotions are constantly changing.
In those hard moments instead of depending on our emotions, we must learn to trust in the word of God, which is consistent and unchanging. It is not enough for us to hear the word of God, but must be ready to confront the tests that God sends our way, for only then we can be certain that we are growing in our faith and trust in the Lord.
Jesus slept through the storm verse 38
Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with His head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up and said, "Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?"
After all that Jesus had taught His disciples, when challenged with a crisis, the only thought that they had was that Jesus did not care, and they were about to die. Jesus was fast asleep with His head on the pillow, while the disciples allowed the storm that was outside to cause tumult in their hearts.
As believers in the Lord Jesus we must remember that when we are His children, as long as the Lord is with us we will never be abandoned, no matter what happens. Like Jesus, we too can sleep through the fiercest of storms; for we are assured that no storm will affect us as long as He is with us. Our house must be built on the solid rock of Christ, and the word of God so strongly embedded in our hearts, that no storm, no matter how fierce can disturb or destroy our faith in the Lord. In spite of the fact that Jesus was there with the disciples on the boat, the storm still came, only so that they could comprehend in a much bigger way as to who Jesus really was.
Biblical examples of those who encountered hardships
• When Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace, the ones who threw them in desired to see them being burnt to ashes. Wistfully, the ones who threw them in were burnt with the intensity of the flames, but to the astonishment of the king the three young men were walking unaffected, unhurt, having along with them the Son of God right beside them.
Only then the king realized that the God whom Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego worshipped was the true and living God.
When we are troubled by people, who desire to seek our hurt and downfall, we must ignore their taunts, not react to them, but rather trust in the Lord to deliver us from their evil plots. The Lord will not put us to shame, and when we overcome every trial that we encounter, it testifies to the world that we are indeed the children of the Most High God.
• Daniel was a man of integrity who led a blameless life. As he rose in his position in the kingdom, there were those who out of envy plotted against him. They even came up with a subtle law to trap Daniel, knowing that he was firm in his faith in God. They threw Daniel into the lion’s den, but Daniel was safe, for the Lord shut the mouth of those hungry lions, that they could not harm him in any way. The king then ordered that the ones who falsely accused Daniel be thrown into the same den, and this time God opened the mouth of the lions so that they devoured all of Daniel’s accusers.
When people are jealous of us, they will do everything possible to get us into trouble. Like in the days of Daniel, people think that the implementation of some laws will destroy our faith in God, which is an erroneous thought. The Lord is able to tie the mouth of the lions, and He’s the one who can open their mouths as well.
• When Paul was travelling as a prisoner, the ship they were in got shipwrecked. As they were stranded in an island where the weather was really cold, they made a bonfire to keep themselves warm. As everyone stood around the fire, a viper driven by the heat came out, and fastened itself to Paul’s hand. As all the people watched in shock, expecting Paul to fall dead, Paul just shook off the Viper into the fire, and sat there composed and unharmed. Initially they thought that Paul was being punished for his wickedness, but later when nothing happened to Paul, the same people changed their minds, and decided that he was god. This situation gave Paul an opportunity to preach the message of the gospel to those who were there.
We must not get carried away by the opinions of people, for the ones who praise us today, can be the ones who will tarnish our name later. Like Paul let us know that the Lord will use all our trials to become testimonies to magnify His name, and never send our way anything that will cause us to be disgraced.
Jesus calmed the storm
We read in Mark 4:39, Jesus stood up and commanded the wind, "Be quiet!" and he said to the waves, "Be still!" The wind died down, and there was a great calm.
As the disciples were terrified and screamed in fear, Jesus stood up and commanded the wind to be quiet, the winds died down and there was a great calm. It was not an ordinary calm, but a great calm that was totally adverse to what they faced.
When the storms are raging in our lives, we too have the certainty that the Lord can bring in an unexplainable calm, and that there will not even be a murmur of the problem that confronted us. The Lord alone can bring perfect calm to our lives’ tempestuous situations.
This is when Jesus asked them this question, which we read in verse 40 of our text: ‘Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?’
After the long discourse on faith, and after all the parables that Jesus taught, the disciples were still fearful, only because they were lacking in their faith. It was only after this incident that the disciples understood that Jesus was God, who had authority over nature, and that everything was under His mighty control.
When faith is less fear will overcome us, but when faith increases fears will cease. The storms of life are those little tests that help us realize how weak or strong our faith in God is. After every storm we are assured of total, and complete calm, as long as the Lord is with us.
Paul writing in Romans 8:28 says, “we know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.”
In the midst of life’s storms may our faith in the Lord be firm, may we not let our emotions take control but let us face every storm standing firm on the word of God. Every storm we encounter is not to destroy us but to let us know that we have an Almighty God on our side. As believers in the Lord Jesus, let us be prepared to face every storm like situation, knowing that even when it appears that the Lord is sleeping, He is still God, and in perfect control. In His time He will most certainly bring a complete calm to all of our raging storms.
