Year 2 Day 107

Year 2 Day 107

Pray (AC-ts)

Read Mark 4:35-39

Message Alan Burke

You gotta love our Norn Iron summers, in effect we can have all four season in the one day no matter what time of year it is, we have a multitude of different saying and words for the rain; ‘spitting’, ‘wetting rain’, ‘rotten’, ‘pissing’, ‘bucketing’, ‘drizzling’ ‘lashing’, ‘pelting’, and ‘hammering’. Now this list isn’t exhaustive but it’s some of the words that I grew up with. I heard a new one a few weeks ago when calling with someone, ‘sure what did you expect, we have ten months of bad weather and two months of wet weather’. Fair enough, for our summers are, well you know! Here’s the thing, we all talk lots about the weather, complain, gurn, blether about it but there ain’t much we can do expect be prepared for it. That means out for a walk the sun is shining, take and umbrella but also a full set of waterproofs. 

For all the talking we do about it we can’t change it. The disciples in their doubt had woken Jesus, we thought about that on Monday and here we’re told Jesus gets up, rebukes the wind, says to the waves “Quite!, Be Still!” Then it dies down and it was completely calm. Here the power of the word was demonstrated over creation itself, a complete authority. And it’s shocking when you think of it, its mind blowing, who can do this, I certainly can’t go out and fix the weather, no matter how much we complain about it, there is nothing that we can do. Yet here Jesus by his rebuke “Quiet! Be Still”, showed his authority over all of creation. 

Look at what we’re told, how it was completely calm. If any of you have ever been out on a boat on the water on a stormy day, or even when it’s a bit choppy you know it doesn’t just calm down, it takes time, the waves take some time before they settle even when the wind stops, but here were told that it was completely calm. From the Whitehorse’s to a millpond, from a furious squall to completely calm. As soon as he uttered this command its calm. The suddenness of what happened likely left the disciples in silence and awe, trying to take in what had happened. Yeah they had seen the power of Jesus displayed in the miracles and as he drove out demons but this was completely different, this was showing he had power over nature itself. 

Scripture speaks of how the waters of the sea were to be feared, it was threatening and something that needed to be brought under divine control, it was God who alone possessed the power to quell the chaos of the sea, the Lord himself is the one who has the power to quell the chaos of the sea, to bring the natural world under his control, could tame the sea, could bring the natural world and its chaotic storms under control (Ps 69:1; 77:16; Isa. 43:2, Ps 65:7; 89:9; 104:7).

Here as the power of the word is demonstrated, the language that is used here is also used as Jesus casts out demons, rebuking them (1:25, 3:12). To the wind and the waves Jesus rebukes them, “‘Quiet! Be still!’” and they “obey him” (v. 41). In all that took place, the stilling of the storm, the casting out of the demons, in his power over illness, Jesus was revealing himself as the Lord God for he could only do what God could do, for he is fully God and fully man. His human nature meant that he was exhausted, sleeping on the boat in the midst of the storm but his Divine nature meant that the had the power over all of creation. This is our Saviour who has power over all, “for all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens” (Ps 96:5).

Pray (ac-TS)

Sing

WSC 
Q1 What is the chief end of man?
Man’ s chief end is to glorify God, (1 Cor. 10:31, Rom. 11:36) and to enjoy him for ever. (Ps. 73:25–28)