THE GOSPEL OF MARK "Behold my Servant!"

                           Jesus displays His mighty power

                        Jesus authenticates His words(4vv1-34) by His works(4v35-5v43)

There are many talkers, who are not walkers; many good with words, not backed up with works, like politicians, or economists, or religious leaders.   Jesus said of the Pharisees "they say and do not";   the Holy Spirit speaks of apostates as "clouds without water", "trees without fruit", "wells without water";   people who promise a lot but never deliver. people who cannot be trusted.   Not so the Son of God, the perfect servant of God, who is the subject of this Gospel.   He is utterly trustworthy and in this section Mark draws attention to four mighty miracles;   the rebuke of the storm, the returning to sanity a man infested with demons, the healing of a woman's body, and the resurrection of a dead 12 year old girl.   Each event has it's own lesson for us and we are given further insight into the life and service of Jesus Christ.   There is one factor which binds all these stories together as one...and that is they deal with issues which are beyond any human help.   We are watching here the God of the impossible at work, whose words and deeds are the same and who can do anything.

• The ship was full of water in the midst of a storm               4vv35-41
• The man was such that no man could tame him                 5vv1-20
• The woman had spent all that she had                                 5vv25-34
• Jairus' daughter was dead                                                    5vv21-24; 35-43

The clear message of this portion of Mark's gospel is that Jesus controls NATURE, He controls DEMON SPIRITS, He controls DISEASE, He controls DEATH.   There is nothing He cannot do, as He brings all situations in subjection to the will of God.  We begin with the wonderful story of the storm on the sea of Galilee known worldwide by the words of the hymn commencing "Master the tempest is raging".........and climaxing "No water can swallow the ship where lies the master of oceans and earth and skies."

1.  Jesus calms the storm              Mark chapter4vv35-41                                                               We keep in mind that Jesus is revealing God to His disciples, and to all who follow them, and sometimes the learning comes best through experience, so what do we learn from this?   The occasion was the need of the party to escape the thronging crowds, and the mission of Jesus to visit all areas of the nation.  Consider first the suddenness of the storm, "there arose a great storm of wind...".   The sea of Galilee, or the sea of Tiberius, as the Romans called it, was a unique stretch of water.   It measured approx. 13 miles long by 7 miles wide, straddled north and south by the Jordan river, and lay almost 700 feet below sea level.   Surrounded on all sides by mountainous countryside, it was susceptible to sudden squalls of wind.   The picture here is of a sudden storm which brought fear into the hearts of the travellers.   How just like life that is!   Unexpected, and unwanted sudden changes are all part of everyday life.   Whether we think of the onset of sudden illness, or loss of business, or weather changes, or broken relationships, this is the reality of human life.   The former prime minister John Major, when asked how he coped in government, said "We coped with everything except unforeseen events."    Jesus is in control of even the unexpected.   Then we must think of the severity of the storm.   The men in the boat were seasoned fishermen, well used to the wild tempests of the sea, but it seems they had never experienced anything like this.   Matthew records in chapter 8v24  "there arose a great tempest in the sea, in so much that the ship was covered with the waves."   Luke says in chapter v23-24  "there came a down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water and were in jeopardy."   Mark says here  "there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full."   Such was the severity of the storm that the men feared.   The lesson to all of us is that we must prove God in the extremities as well as in the ordinary things of life.   It is in these experiences we learn to trust the Lord.   We can think too of the source of the storm.   The use of the word  "rebuked" in verse 39 suggests there was something supernatural about this particular storm.   When the Creator of all the earth and the controller of all its events has to rebuke the storm, it suggests supernatural satanic involvement.   In Psalm 104v6&7 referring to the global flood it is recorded  "the waters stood above the mountains.   At Thy rebuke they fled, at the voice of Thy thunder they hasted away."   In this boat on the sea was the Saviour of the world and the men whom He had just chosen to spoil the kingdom of Satan (chapter 4v13) and it is possible that a satanic attack such as is recorded in Job chapter 1v19, and Revelation chapter 12v15 is here.  Finally, we come to the subjugation of the storm.    This amazing fact is recorded in verse 29   "He arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea peace be still (the word "peace" could be used as a mother saying "hush" to her crying baby).   The result was "the wind ceased and there was a great calm.;"one minute life threatening convulsions. the next a great calm.    How we see in all of this story the wonder of the person of Jesus Christ.   We see His humanity, He was asleep on the boat.   He was asleep, not because He didn't care as the disciples suggested; He was asleep because He was tired from the rigours of the day, so tired He slept in a storm.   Then to see this same One rise and control the elements of nature which had threatened to engulf them is surely a display of His Deity.   He subdued the wind, He calmed the sea simply by His word.   When the disciples described this astonishing scene, they said "even the wind and the sea obey Him." The word "obey" is to subordinate, or come under authority.   This is but a preview of a day to come when the entire universe will come under His authority.   In Philippians chapter 3v21 Paul speaks of  "the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself."   The same writer in 1st Corinthians chapter 15v27 said "but when He saith all things are under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted which did put all things under Him; and when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him that God may be all in all."

The section ends with the disciples more afraid of the Lord than they were of the storm!   "They feared exceedingly and said one to another, what manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him."   The expression "feared exceedingly" is very strong.   They feared with great fear, they were terrified, they were startled, they were awe struck in the presence of such majesty.   That night, a night they would never forget, impressed upon them just who He was.   Do we know who He is?   and can we trust the One who holds the power of the universe, to lead and guide our little lives.   Like them we will when we realise just who He is.