Deo Gloria
Sermon for June 27, 2021
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Mark 4:35-41
Theme: Followers of Jesus Look to Jesus in the Storms!
- Because he does indeed care.
- And he is more than able to help.
They can come up so suddenly, can’t they? They can strike so fast, so quickly, so unexpectedly. A phone call from the doctor’s office, a call from your son or daughter in the middle of the night, a message from the boss that he wants to meet with you first thing in the morning, and all at once a storm comes roaring into your home, into your family, into your life. The news sends your heart racing, your mind spinning, your palms sweating, and turns your world upside down. Where do you go? Where do you turn? How do you deal with this sudden and unexpected crisis? Do you reach for a bottle of Jack Daniels? Do you pop open a bottle of pills? Do you pull the shades in your bedroom, curl up on your bed, and hope it all goes away?
This morning in these verses from Mark ch. 4 we are reminded that we have someone we can turn to when storms come roaring into our lives, someone who truly cares about us and who is always able to help. His name is Jesus. Look to Jesus to calm the storms of life!
Jesus had spent the day teaching, teaching people the truths about the kingdom of heaven. A large crowd had gathered that day, so he sat in a boat while they sat along the shore. As he often did, he taught them using parables, parables like the Parable of the Sower or the Parable of the Mustard Seed. As Mark tells us, evening was now approaching and Jesus suggested to his disciples that they go over to the other side of the lake. Why Jesus made this suggestion we don’t know. Did he want to get away from the crowds for a while? Was he tired, ready for a break, looking for a little rest? Perhaps. We just don’t know. All we know is that Jesus suggested that they go over to the other side of the lake. And the disciples obliged. They pulled up anchor, hoisted the sail, and started out across the lake. And somewhere out there in the middle of the lake is where it happened.
A furious squall came up. The wind started howling. The sea started churning. The waves became larger and larger and began crashing into the side of the boat. In a matter of minutes their trip across the lake had gone from a pleasant cruise to a dangerous voyage. The Sea of Galilee was known for that. Winds from the slopes of Mt. Hermon to the north or the desert to the east would come crashing down on the lake at times, resulting in very sudden and violent storms. The disciples, of course, were familiar with that. Some of them were fishermen. They had grown up on the shores of this lake. They were familiar with its waters, familiar with it unpredictable and stormy nature. But even they were no match for this storm. The waves kept slamming into the boat and at times breaking right into the boat; and the boat was filling with water—fast. They were afraid they were going to drown.
I’ve never fished on Lake Mille Lacs, but they say it’s somewhat similar to the Sea of Galilee—rather large and shallow and storms can come up rather quickly. This past week I was reading a story about some fishermen who got caught in a nasty storm a number of years ago. It seems they were participating in a fishing tournament. They were fishing near a place called “5 Mile Reef” when they noticed a storm on the south shore of the lake. The storm was heading east and the tournament rules stated that there was no leaving the lake except for dangerous weather. So they decided to stay and keep on fishing and just keep an eye on the storm. It wasn’t more than 5 minutes later that it happened. All at once their lines began to lift up out of the water, arcing high in the sky and bam! A lightning bolt struck right between their boats. The storm had taken a 90 degree turn and now was bearing down on them. The wind picked up. The waves started churning. The rain started pouring. Before long it was raining so hard you could only see like 50 feet in front of you. They tried to stick together and make a dash for a nearby lodge. Lighting continued to crash all around them and the waves continued to grow higher and higher. Thankfully they all made it safely to the lodge, but it was a pretty scary experience, one they didn’t want to repeat anytime soon. That’s the kind of situation the disciples were in, a scary situation, a dangerous situation. Their little boat was filling up fast with water and they were afraid that they were going to drown.
So where was Jesus during all of this? Mark tells us he was sleeping, sleeping on a cushion in the stern of the boat. What a striking contrast! Here the disciples are scrambling to stay afloat, bailing water as fast as they can, hanging on for dear life so they don’t fall overboard or get washed overboard, and Jesus is sleeping, sleeping like a baby. He isn’t worried. He isn’t afraid. Why should he be? He’s the almighty Son of God, Ruler of heaven and earth. Storm, shmorm—he can take care of a storm just like that, something the disciples would soon find out, but now I’m getting ahead of myself.
So Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat. And the disciples woke him up. “Teacher,” they said with panic and urgency in their voices—“Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”(v. 38)
“Don’t you care if we drown?” It’s so typical, isn’t it? Whenever bad things happen in our lives, when we are diagnosed with a serious illness, when we get laid off and lose our job, when a friend is involved in a serious car accident, when a friend or a loved one is taken away in death and we find ourselves sitting in a funeral home and standing beside their grave in the cemetery, how do we respond? What are often the first words out of mouths? God doesn’t care. If he did, he wouldn’t have let something like this happen. “If God cared, he wouldn’t have let me come down with cancer. If God cared, he wouldn’t have let me lose my job. If God cared, he wouldn’t have let my friend get hit by that drunk driver. If God cared, he wouldn’t have taken my grandma away, or my father away, or my daughter, or my friend. This is all your fault, God, because you don’t care.” How often haven’t we said that? When a storm came rolling into our lives and turned things upside down, how often haven’t we accused God of not caring? I’m ashamed to admit it, but I know I have said it.
So let’s get something straight and understand exactly what that is: It’s a lie from the devil and a rather cruel accusation from our sinful nature, a nature that resents the fact that we have to experience pain or suffering or hardship or grief. God doesn’t care? The one who made us, the one who gave us life and breath, who knit us together in our mother’s womb–he doesn’t care? The one who adopted us into his family in the waters of Holy Baptism and made us his dearly loved son or daughter–he doesn’t care? The one who set aside his glory and honor and came into this world to be our Savior–he doesn’t care? Lord, forgive us. Forgive us for our sinfulness. Forgive us for leveling such a cruel and unfair accusation against you. In your mercy wash our sins away in your holy precious blood.
If you’re still looking for proof that God actually does care, then look to the cross. There he demonstrated just how much he cares. There the God of heaven gave his life for you. There the Son of God took our sins upon himself, including our sins of accusing him of not caring—and paid the penalty for them all so that we might be saved, so that we might not flounder in the sea of our sins and drown in the depths of hell, but might live forever with him in heaven. Yes, God does care. He cares deeply and personally about each and every one of us.
That’s why he even invites you to come to him in your time of need, in your time of grief or sadness or loss. Remember what he said in Psalm 50? “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me”(v. 15). What a gracious and caring God we have! Do you have such a standing invitation from your boss, that you can call him for help anytime, day of night? How about the governor of our state or the president of the United States—do you have an invitation like that from him, that you can call him at any time, day or night, in any kind of trouble, and ask for his help? And yet, you have such an invitation from God, the Lord of heaven and earth. He invites you to come to him at any time, in any time of trouble, in any time of loss, in any time of heartache or sadness, in any stormy sea. As Peter says, we can cast all our cares on him because he cares for us.(1 Peter 5:7) Yes, Jesus really does care.
But is he able to help? That’s another question, isn’t it? I mean I might care about you and the fact that you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, but I’m not a doctor and I probably can’t do a whole lot to help you. Likewise I might be concerned about you and the fact that you lost your job, but I’m not an employer or a head hunter and I don’t work in HR, so again I probably can’t do much to help you. So what about Jesus? Can he actually help me when some storm comes roaring into my life? Is he able to help me? Let’s take a look at the rest of the story.
[Jesus] got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”(vv. 39-41)
Jesus is able to help, more than able. But if you still have any doubt about that, next time it’s storming outside and the wind is howling and the rain is going sideways—next time it’s storming outside I’d like you to try something. I’d like you to go outside and say to the wind and the rain, “Shhh! Quiet! Be still!” I think I know what will happen and you can come over and dry off at the parsonage if you want.
Jesus could calm this furious storm with just a word because he is God. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He is the one who made the wind and the rain and the sea. They have to obey his will because he is God, the Lord of all.
And if he is God, then he is more than able to help you with whatever storm has darkened your life. If it’s a storm of illness, he can help. He can bring healing. If it’s a family crisis, he can help. He can bring forgiveness and peace and restoration. If it’s the loss of your job, he can help. He can help you in your search for a new job and help provide for you and your family. If it’s the loss of a loved one, he can help. He can bring comfort and peace and hope that no one else can give. No matter what the storm is Jesus can help. He can calm that storm.
Of course, he may choose not to for a while, and you and I have to recognize that. In his wisdom he may allow the storm to rage on for a while to lead you to trust in him more, to lead you to rely on him day by day like never before, to discipline you or do some pruning in your life, perhaps to remind you in a very vivid way that this is not your real home and to lead you to long for that eternal home with him where there are no more storms, no more trials, no more heartaches, no more pain. We may not know what his purpose is and we’ll simply have to trust that he knows best. But even if he does allow the storm to rage for a while, he promises to be with us and give us the strength and peace and comfort we need to weather that storm. One of my favorite passages is found in the book of Isaiah—Isaiah ch. 41, verse 10. God is speaking to his people and this is what he says: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
So next time the sky turns black and the wind starts howling or the waves start roaring in your life—or maybe it’s a storm that’s raging right now–don’t throw up your hands in fear and despair. Don’t shake your fist at God and accuse him of not caring because nothing could be farther from the truth. Look to Jesus. Remember how much he truly does care for you. And remember that he is more than able to help. Look to Jesus to calm the storm! Amen.