Mark 4:35-41

“On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. ³⁸ But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ 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. ⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” ⁴¹ 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?”

Consider …

1. How might this passage speak to our current situation in the midst of a global pandemic? What is Jesus saying to us through story?
2. What has the pandemic shown us about ourselves, including many believers? Contemplate Leviticus 26:15-16, Psalm 53:5, Proverbs 28:1, Joshua 1:9, Hebrews 13:5-6, Luke 17:33 and Matthew 6:27.
3. Think especially about Joshua 1:9. Why do we fail to “be strong and courageous” and become “frightened” and “dismayed”?
4. Pastor Gene thinks of Mark 4:35-41 and John 6:16-21 as a “sea-disaster sandwich with the Feeding of the 5000 men as the meat in the middle. Do you see anything in the text that would warrant such a connection? Be sure to look at all of the Gospel accounts of these same events. The first ‘near-disaster-at-sea’ is recorded in Mark 4:35-41, Matthew 8:23-27 and Luke 8:22-25; the second is recorded in Mark 6:45-52, Matthew 14:22-33 and John 6:16-21.
5. With respect to the second ‘near-disaster-at-sea,’ what striking detail does Matthew include that Mark and Luke omit?
6. Why does Pastor Gene always try to sit on a cushion (compare Mark 4:38a with Luke 10:37b).
7. What are two things that actually astonished Jesus? See Matthew 8:5-13 and Mark 6:1-6. What should we learn from this as followers of Jesus in 2022?