The fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark opens with Jesus once more teaching next to the lake (presumably Lake Tiberias, also known as the Sea of Galilee). Because of the size of the crowds, Christ gets into a boat, pushes off from shore, and sits in the vessel while he speaks to those who are present.
There's a long tradition of the spiritual and physical mirroring each other. Jesus states in Matthew 16:19, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." This is a reflection of an existing parallel between one level or reality (physical or spiritual) and the other. Genesis 1:27 reads, "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them," illustrating that physical creation was established, not as a separate entity, but as a mirror of the spirit world. Jesus compares the spiritual to the physical ten times in the book of Matthew alone by using the phrase, "The kingdom of heaven is like..." (Matthew 13:24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47, 52, 18:23, 20:1 and 22:2)
When Jesus pushed out in the boat, an approach to teaching that He specifically chose (Mark 3:9), He was doing more than simply getting distance from the rapidly growing crowd. Christ was using His very method of teaching as an illustration of a spiritual concept. There are parallels around the world of using the structure of physical communication as a mirror for a spiritual principle. For example, during my time studying with Native Americans, group discussion was always held in a circle. A circle has no beginning and no end. There is no focal point, no one person who is considered the head of the circle. By it's very structure, a circle says, "All who gather here are considered equal and their voice and perspective carries equal weight, regardless of their position outside of the circle." In this way, each perspective was equally and openly shared, heard and respected. The physical structure of the discussion carried this message to all who understood the perspective of the culture.
In the same way, by choosing to teach from the boat, Jesus immediately and subtly conveyed two messages to the gathered people.
First, that His teaching, was not open for debate but was truth that was to be imparted and received. Christ illustrated this by pushing off from the shore, distancing Himself from the crowds, and teaching from the boat, the action symbolizing the statement, "My teaching does not come from men, but from another place." Jesus continues to present this perspective by opening the parable of the sower with the word "Listen!" (Mark 4:3) and following it up in verse 9 with, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." His teaching was not presented from within the multitude, but separate from them. Christ was not offering worldly wisdom, but instruction that was more than simple philosophy. He makes this abundantly clear when, once Jesus was alone with this disciples, "He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you.'" (Mark 4:11)
Second, Christ was illustrating that even when He is separated from us, He still speaks to us. What we often discount in our modern culture is the multi-layered approach to reality that early cultures (and current indigenous cultures and societies) adopted. Here in our modern world, logic is king, life is well-structured, and many Christians are guilty of discounting the power of God to work miracles and to instill people with prophetic gifts. This was not the case two thousand years ago. People instinctively saw parallels between physical reality and the spiritual realm. Many would have understood that Christ's conscious choice to speak from the boat served more than a practical purpose. The separation of water and land would have symbolized for many the relationship between the kingdom of heaven and our mortal world. It would have allowed Jesus to clearly state by His choice of teaching from the water, "Even when I am physically separate from you, I am still with you and still speak to you."
If only the people would have been able to understand. Christ makes it clear that not only was the physical symbolism of His method of teaching lost to the masses, but that even His words fell on deaf ears. "Then Jesus said to them, 'Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?'" (Mark 4:13) Jesus then quotes portions of Isaiah 6:9,10 when He says, "They may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!"
Jesus taught the people until evening, when he retreated by boat across the lake. It's obvious at this point Christ was exhausted. Jesus had apparently taught all day without break, not only to crowds but to "other boats" that had gathered near. (Mark 4:36) He didn't retreat via the land, but instead, "Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as He was, in the boat." Christ immediately fell asleep in the stern of the boat, sleeping so soundly that he slept through "a furious squall" where "waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped." (Mark 4:37) Even with the violent storm, it took His disciples to wake Him, and they exclaimed, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" (Mark 4:38)
Wikipedia.org writes, "Due to its low-lying position in the rift valley, surrounded by hills, [the Sea of Galilee] is prone to sudden violent storms." The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary writes, "Though at night and in the early morning the sea is usually calm, when storms come at those times, they are all the more treacherous." This is apparently a very serious storm that unexpectedly sweeps down upon Christ's boat. The NIV calls it "a furious squall" and the KJV refers to it as "a great storm of wind." While the NIV shares, "the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped," I prefer the simple way the KJV states, "and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full." (Mark 4:37)
In other words, the boat was about to sink.
At this point, we see an interesting juxtaposition in Christ's disciples. They immediately rush to Christ, not to wake Him and abandon ship, but essentially shout, "Why don't you do something? We're going to drown!" And yet, when, "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm," (Mark 4:39) the disciples were completely terrified.
Jesus asked them, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" (Mark 4:40) But the disciples were scared of what they witnessed. "They were terrified and asked each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!'" (Mark 4:41)
It's easy for us to think that we would have handled things differently than the disciples did when they witnessed Christ calming the storm. After all, they had seen massive crowds drawn to Jesus from throughout the entire region of Israel. (Mark 3:8) They had witnessed Jesus healing "many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons," (Mark 1:34) and had seen Him heal a paralyzed man, a miracle so astounding that, "This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'" (Mark 2:12)
And yet, when Jesus calmed the storm and saved their lives, the disciples weren't relieved, they were terrified.
What we have to understand is that we would have done the same. Imagine that you've been attending a Christian conference where your pastor is the guest speaker. It's obvious that he is filled with the Holy Spirit and you've witnessed him healing the sick in the name of God. He might even be a prophet, chosen by God to share His message. You're probably feeling a little cocky; after all, as your pastor prepares to leave he calls to you and you climb in the boat with him, his preferential treatment displayed in front of a massive crowd that has come from all over the country to hear your pastor speak.
He's exhausted, grabs an extra life jacket to use as a pillow and lays down for a moment on a seat in the back of the boat, just intending to close his eyes and quickly falls asleep. You're probably talking with the other eleven members from your congregation, making plans for dinner, reflecting on the day, perhaps even poking a little good natured fun at your pastor who is snoozing in the stern of the boat.
All of a sudden, it starts getting windy and you think, "Brrrrrr! Where did I put my jacket?" Without warning, the wind picks up even more, a storm rushing down out of the surrounding hills and roaring through the valley. Suddenly the calm waters of the lake are massive waves that are crashing over the side of the boat. You're holding on with one hand, drenched to the bone, trying to maintain your balance as the boat is tossed by the waves, frightened of the storm, stunned by its sudden ferocity. Looking into the distance, you see the boats that had followed you, condemned to share your fate. It's only a matter of time before your boat goes down and you'll be trying to survive in the midst of a stormy sea. You're standing knee-deep in the water that is rapidly filling your boat, yelling to your companions who stare at you with eyes wide with fear, trying to hear you over the roar of the storm. Forcing yourself through the rapidly rising water, you reach make your way to your pastor, shouting, "Wake up! We're going to drown!"
And your pastor calmly stands up, and yells to the wind, "Quiet! Be still!"
The wind instantly stops blowing and the waves disappear, leaving you floating on a sea of glass.
At this point in His ministry, Jesus hadn't revealed His divine nature to the disciples. According to Mark 8:28, when Christ asked the disciples who people thought He was, "They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.'" Because Christ to care to keep his divinity hidden and even specifically told demons not to reveal who He was, we can assume that the disciples were unaware that Jesus was the Son of God.
The key here isn't that they didn't know that Jesus was the Christ. It's that they didn't have faith. "He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'" (Mark 4:40) The issue wasn't that they didn't have any faith, it's that, even with the weight of evidence of everything that they had witnessed, the disciples still had no faith.
What we, as Christians need to realize, is that the disciples only witnessed God's plan for their lives. We can say, "Well, we would have more faith if we saw Jesus work miracles," but that's not the point at all. The disciples had purposely been called to do a very specific work. They would be called upon to spread the message that Jesus had brought long after He had ascended. Each of the disciples was given exactly what they needed to grow and fulfill God's plan for their lives. For instance, Peter (on whose teaching's the Gospel of Mark is believed to be based upon) was a simple fisherman before he was called to follow Christ. God would take this layperson and build His church upon him, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (Matthew 16:18) Peter would go from denying Christ three times (Mark 14:66-72) to being martyred and crucified for Christ.
We need to look at our own lives and what God has given us to work with. Before Christ called him, Peter didn't sit around thinking, "You know, I really should devote my life to God more than I'm doing now. Maybe I'll go follow Jesus." He was a fisherman and devoted himself to that path until the moment that Jesus called Peter to follow Him. What have we been given in our lives to be faithful with? Are we parents? Friends? Children? Are we students? Teachers? Employees? Supervisors? If we will simply have faith and work where we are now with what God has given to us to be faithful with, not only will we be following God's plan for our lives, but He will open the proper doors for us and call us to follow Him into new work if and when that is in His plan. If we're faithful with the little we are given, then we will be given more. Jesus Himself said, "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you - and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." (Mark 4:24-25) The only way for us to deepen our ministry and to more fully serve God is to be faithful with what we are given now. If we are a parent, then our first calling is to be the best parent we can to our children. If we are a child, then our first calling is to respect our parents and to grow with their love and guidance. If we are a spouse, our first calling is to learn to fully love our husband or our wife. Peter was a fisherman first, before Christ called and said, "Come with me... and I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:12) How will God utilize us if we are first faithful with what He has already given us in our lives?