Who is in the Boat

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell the story of “Jesus Calming the Sea”. This was early in Jesus’ ministry years. In John 1, the first disciples met Jesus. John the Baptist pointed Jesus out to John and Andrew and then Andrew introduced Peter to Jesus.

After that in John 2 we are told that Jesus and some of His disciples went to a wedding in Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle. This was the first time His disciples knew He had powers to do miracles. After the wedding Jesus went to Peter’s house in Capernaum and healed Peter’s sick mother-in-law. Then scripture says many people came to Him to be healed.

Prior to calming the storm, Jesus healed many people and His teaching drew great crowds. In Mark 3 we are told Jesus selected some out of the crowd to be His disciples. At this early the point in His ministry we are coming to the story of calming the storm.

Mark 4:1-2

¹ Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around Him was so large that He got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. ² He taught them many things by parables.

In Mark 4, Mark records some of those parables; The Parable of the Sower, A Lamp on a Stand, Parable of the Growing Seed, and The Parable of the Mustard Seed. This is where we pick up the story of calming the sea.

Then Mark tells us the story of the calming of the sea in Mark 4:35-41

³⁵ That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with Him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!”

Who was in the boat? Jesus and His disciples. Out of the disciples, we know at least 4 were seasoned fishermen that had spent their life on this sea. Over time they certainly had seen many storms. The Sea of Galilee was known for storms that happen suddenly. All the disciples had recently witnessed Jesus’ healing power. A few of them were at the wedding in Cana and witnessed Jesus change water into wine, but the calming of the sea was power over nature that was overwhelming.

After He calmed the raging sea, Jesus asked an interesting question, “Do you still have no faith?” If you think about the unfolding of the story, they seemed to have faith Jesus could do something. They woke Him in their panic as their only hope. I have mentioned before the book The Scandal of The Kingdom by Dallas Willard where he makes this statement. “When we teach about saving faith, we replace the faith of Christ with a faith in Christ.” This story is the perfect example of that thought. They had faith “in” Jesus, not the faith “of” Jesus.

Who was in the boat? Jesus the Son of God with power to control creation and His disciples. Turning water into wine was their first chance to see His power. However, the magnitude of this miracle was undeniable. “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!” was eye-opening to these newly recruited disciples. The question is one for all people of all times. As their three-year journey went on, they were witnesses to many other miracles, even raising of the dead. Yet from time to time the disciples still struggled to understand what was happening, just as we do.

That leads me to the question “who is in my boat”? Am I so experienced on the “waters of life” that I believe I can handle the storms when they come? Or am I aware of Jesus power over His creation and when a “storm” in my life gets out of my control do I call out to Jesus, “Teacher, don’t you care if we (I) drown?” Or do I believe He will either calm the storm or see me through it and leave it in His hands?

To me it boils down to having the faith to give up control. Another word picture I really like is imagining your life as a road trip. You are a committed follower of Jesus and so He has sent the Holy Spirit to be with you on this road trip of life. Here is the question that comes to me. Is the Holy Spirit riding in the back seat and offering guidance when I ask, or is He in the passenger seat where He has a better view to offer me guidance, or is He driving and my journey takes me where He wants me to go? Life is not only “who is in the boat”, but also who is in control of the journey.