Who Is This?
By Peggy Kleckner
“Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion.
The disciples woke him up, shouting, ‘Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going
to drown?’ ”
Mark 4:38
(NLT)
Perhaps you are unfamiliar with this
story. Jesus told His disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” Plainly,
the trip in the boat was His idea. The Scriptures note this, “But soon a fierce
storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill
with water.” Yet the disciples had to wake Jesus who was at the back of the
boat with His head on a cushion asleep!
Jesus was not panic-stricken; in
fact, He seemed to them unaware of their peril. They don’t call Him by name,
they call Him “Teacher.” Clearly this is a name of respect, not familiarity.
They have already been fighting the storm on their own, so much so that the
boat has begun to take on water.
Students don’t always like to ask
questions. I wonder if these students had all been looking at Jesus waiting for
Him to get up and do something. Was it perhaps that they felt confident in
boat-handling and thought He only knew how to preach? They didn’t ask Him to do
anything, they asked Him what each of us seems to wonder at times…doesn’t He
care that we are in a difficult situation that certainly looks like it will
overcome us?
Have you been there? Are you there
now? Are you too wondering if Jesus really cares at all?
These disciples are no different
than we are. In the middle of a storm, in a boat, taking on water they are
demanding an answer to their heart’s question: Does Jesus care?
What was Jesus’ reply? “He got up,
rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died
down and it was completely calm.” His response was action and then these words,
“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They knew Him as “Teacher.” This
displayed Jesus as much more, and they were left to ask, “Who is this?” They
thought they knew Him, but this didn’t fit their picture and they didn’t know
what to do with this revelation. Jesus is much more than a man. He had not
called out to God. He had commanded the wind and the waves and they had obeyed.
In our own faith walk we will also
come into situations that push us to broaden our view of Jesus. He is always so
much more.
GOING
DEEPER:
1.
Who is this Jesus to you?
2. Are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?
FURTHER
READING:
