“And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”” 

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭39‬-‭41‬ ‭ESV‬‬ 

Who or what do you fear? 

For the disciples, they were moments ago fearing for their lives in the midst or a torrential storm. Now, Jesus has calmed the storm by speaking to it, He literally just told it to stop, and it did! Now, the disciples are experiencing a very different kind of fear. I did a quick survey of a few different translations just to see how they all phrased this moment and they all said something to the effect of “they peed their pants!” Exceeding fear, great fear, terrified! 

Imagine a time when you were a kid that you talked back to your mom, not knowing that your dad had just walked in the front door and heard the whole thing? This is that kind of terror; you’re caught dead to rights and you and everyone knows it. Remember what the disciples had just done? They were almost scolding Jesus for sleeping and asked if He even cared that they were about to perish. It’s interesting that they knew who to turn to in their time of need, but they were coming at Him in the completely wrong way. They were casting their burdens onto Jesus alright, but in a questioning, condescending, self-important way that revealed they really had no idea who it was that they were talking to. 

What do you think the disciples expected? Obviously, they sought Him as an answer to their problems. Did they expect that He would jump up from His sleep, grab an oar and start paddling alongside them? Did they think He would utilize His expertise in carpentry to quickly mend the ship so that they could make it to shore? Whatever they expected, it was not that He would stand up and speak to the wind and the waves and command them to be still. Remember, these were first century Jews. They were surrounded and even occupied by pagan worshippers with countless gods that they worshipped. There were gods of war, gods of wisdom, gods of prosperity, gods of love. Even the Greek god Zeus, king of the gods, was not all powerful, though. Now, these young Jewish men didn’t believe in the pagan gods of the people around them but that doesn’t mean that their cultural context hadn’t subtly changed their expectations of God, either. Also, being true Jews, seeing Jesus speak to nature and have it obey Him had to have reminded them of creation itself, when God spoke and all of creation came into existence ex nihilo, out of nothing. That realization will put you in your place real quick. 

“I was just yelling at God.” 

They also had the Jewish understanding of God’s presence, the Holy of Holies. Priests died during the performance of their duties for entering that place in an impure way. 

Notice, also, Jesus’ response. “Why were you afraid? Where is your faith?” They had seen miracles at this point but, until that moment, they still weren’t getting it. Even then, they weren’t even sure how to process what they had witnessed. They were terrified, but at least now their fear was properly placed. 

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭28‬ ‭ESV‬‬ 

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭9‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬ 

Who is this that even the winds and the waves obey Him? He is God. Fear Him.