Jesus Calming the Storm – Bible Study Lesson

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Mark 4: 35-41
Matthew 8:23-27
Luke 8:22-25

How do you feel if you are in the middle of life threatening storm ? How will you react to the situation? Where would you go for help? Let us look at how the disciples of Jesus reacted when they were faced with such storm. Jesus calming the storm is one of the most dramatic miracles of Jesus Christ. This incident is mentioned in Mark, Matthew and Luke. But we will be mostly focusing on gospel of Mark.

Q. Mark 4:35 starts with ‘that’ day. Which day is he talking about?

• The day started with chapter 4, when Jesus started teaching the crowd. He taught them lots of stories and parables and performed many miracles.
• At the end of the day, Jesus and his disciples would be tired, needed rest. They went into boats for rest. This was often the case to find rest, so that crowd would not follow Jesus. (Mat 14:13)

Sea of Galilee: is 680 feet below sea level and surrounded by hills.

Q. What did Jesus tell his disciples in Mark 4:35?

• “Let us go over the other side.”

Q. What was the major occupation of many of Jesus’ disciples? (Check out, 12 disciples of Jesus – name, meaning and occupations)

• Mark 1: 16-19: Peter, Andrew, James and John were (experienced) fishermen. There were not new to sudden storm in the sea of Galilee!

Q. What was the storm like?

• Squall – sudden, violent wind with rain.
• There were no storm Warning! Otherwise, disciples would have warned him.
• The disciples must have tried to control the boat by themselves, as they were experienced fishermen.
• But the Storm must be beyond their power or control.
• They started panicking – Fear of drowning and death.

Q. What was Jesus doing?

• Sleeping!
• He must be at sound sleep, that he did not wake up in such a stormy condition.
• He was sleeping in Stern.
• Stern : is a rear or aft part of ship or boat. Stern area has always been the location near steering apparatus and by extension became ‘domain of the ship’s Captain’. (Wikipedia)

Q. Why did the disciples go to Jesus?

• Surely, they did not expect the miracle, by their reactions after Jesus calming the storm. (Mark 4:41)
• They assumed that they are all going to die.
• They were angry and frustrated to see Jesus sleeping – “Don’t you care, if we die?” – They told him! (Questioning God – Psalms 13)
• There seems to me, two storms raging – one in the sea of Galilee and the other in the hearts of disciples!

Q. What did Jesus do? What were disciples’ reactions?

  

• Jesus calms the Storm and the sea.
• He got up, rebuked the wind and the sea!
• “Quiet, be still.”
• Jesus demonstrated his power over the wind and the waves – over the Nature. (also check, Jesus feeds five thousand)
• I suppose, it was wind and wave’s time to be terrified!
• At once, there was a complete calm.
• Disciples might be wondering, was that a dream? What has just happened?
• They were shocked and terrified, even more than before!

Q. What can you learn about the nature of Jesus here?

• Mark 4:38 – He was tired – Man.
• Mark 4:39 – His power over nature – God
• He was God and Man both. (This is the greatest mystery of all!)

Q. Why did Jesus ask, “Where is your faith”?

• Because he told them, “Let us go to the other side.”!
• Fear is the absence of faith and trust.
• It was a powerful discipleship lesson. (7 conditions of Christian discipleship)

Q. What was disciples’ response?

• “Who is this”? – Not mere teacher for sure. (Mark 4:38)
• “Who can command the wind and the wave?”
• “Who can calm the storm and the sea?”

Bible Study Lessons:

• We may not go through the physical storm as the disciples did. But we all have been through many other storms in our own lives like sickness, loosing job, failures, personal weakness, death of loved one, accident, depression, hopelessness…, where we feel helpless.
• We may think or feel like God does not care. He is sleeping. He is not answering our prayers.
• But thanks be to God that Jesus is in our boats! He is in control. (Captain of our boat)
• We need to completely trust him. (This is a lot harder to do that to say.) (Trust in the Lord – bible devotional)
• I have been through many storms in my personal walk (sailing) with Jesus, and I have seen his faithfulness and power at work in due time. I have learnt not to doubt, but to completely trust him. I have learnt not to be afraid but totally rely on his power and promise in the storms of my life. (I have not completely succeeded yet, I must say!)
• We may think that Jesus is a teacher, leader, speaker or great man… But it is only when we realize his true identity, we can entrust him our whole life.
• You may have heard the famous Story of Tight rope Walker:A tightrope walker amazed a crowd of onlookers by successfully walking across a rope which stretches across the mighty Niagara Falls.After his performance, the performer asked the crowd, “How many of you believe that I can carry a man on my back while walking the tightrope across the falls?”Many of the people in the crowd enthusiastically raised their hands. Then the performer asked another question:“Which of you is willing to actually let me carry you across the falls?”Of course, not a single person volunteered!

Are you willing to entrust your whole life to Jesus?

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