Follow that Boat
Such
exciting readings; close your eyes you can see the storms and waves. God tells
Job that it is He who controls the sea and waves. In the Psalm, sailors call on
God to quiet the storm. And in Mark, the words of Jesus “Quiet, be still!” Close
your eyes and see that God is in control.
But
in the Gospel of Mark we hear, “Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in
the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him.”
In
the storm, wind, and waves, people may forget this verse. It is not in any of
the other Gospels, only in Mark. The Gospel that begins with Jesus’ baptism and
immediately put Him in a storm; tempted by Satan.
In
Jesus’ ministry, He was constantly under pressure. He was always surrounded by
crowds; pressed by a mass of humanity seeking healing and threatened by mobs of
those who feared him. He healed the sick, cast out demons, and defended himself
to the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and even his own disciples.
At
this point in the Gospel, the crowd was so thick; the only avenue to escape was
a boat. He gets in the boat, just as he was, exhausted. So exhausted, he falls
asleep on the floor of a fishing boat. Maybe, if he was lucky, he had a smelly
fishing net for a pillow. He was so exhausted he was sleeping through the
storm.
And
other boats were with him. Jesus didn’t dismiss the crowds; he just left and
the crowds followed him; trying to be near to him even in the boats that
followed him.
Jesus
knew the storm with its winds and waves would not harm him, so he slept. The
storm was a place of refuge. This storm was an escape from the crowded closeness
of the ever-present multitude. The storm was a time of quiet away from the excitement
that followed the calm that was Jesus.
We
forget this verse, but it is an important part. It’s about the humanity of
Jesus. A weary Jesus is proof of his
humanity. We can know he was truly human, because he grew tired and exhausted
just like us. Jesus was a man who wept and rejoiced. He felt compassion and
even outrage. He did all this because of his human body. It grew tired.
It
is a verse that leads us to discover His divinity. God is in control. Only God
could quiet the sea with a word. Only, God brings order out of chaos. Creation obeys
the creator. From Genesis, the wind of God swept over the face of the waters
and then came the Word.
Just
like those in that boat, we face troubling storms. So, we pressed ourselves to
Christ, crying out for His protection; expecting an immediate end to our
troubles. Yet at the same time, we often don’t understand or threaten disbelief
like the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and even his own disciples.
Jesus
said, “Why are you terrified? Do you not
yet have faith?” Jesus did not see chaos in the storm. God doesn’t see chaos,
because God is with us.
Have
faith. Follow that boat. “Whoever is in
Christ is a new creation.”
His
Word to the storms and chaos in our lives, “Quiet, be still.”
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