February 15th 2026
Tossed About
Mark 4 v 35 - 41
We have Jesus, the pilot of this boat, so to speak, asleep in the boat.
And I am sure that didn’t give the disciples a very comfortable feeling.
Today’s story is about faith and where we place our faith. It’s a wonderful story that I am sure each of us can relate to and learn from. Our story for today is the first of a series of four miracles recorded in this section of Mark. This is also the first of four boat crossings recorded in Mark.
We are told that Jesus and his disciples had spent a very long day teaching by the lakeside.
Mark tells us in the opening of this chapter that Jesus had been using parables to teach many things about the Kingdom of God. There were so many people who crowded around Jesus on the shore of Lake Galilee that He had to get into a boat and go out a little distance from the shore to continue His teaching. We can just imagine Jesus sitting in this boat with the crowd all sitting on the beach listening intently as He spoke. Perhaps a few of the people even waded out to get a closer look at this wonderful teacher who had come to visit their village that day.Now when the day was over, and the sun was beginning to set, Jesus said to the disciples, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." Perhaps Jesus needed to escape the crowds for the evening so He and his disciples could get some rest. Or maybe He was finished teaching on this side of the lake and decided to begin fresh in the morning on the other side. As they began to leave the crowds on the shore, other boats on the lake began to follow Jesus and his disciples.
As they got part way across the lake, Mark tells us that suddenly, "A furious squall came up and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped." The Sea of Galilee is notorious for its storms. The Sea of Galilee, (which is really a large lake) is below sea level, with mountains rising to the east.
On the west, the Judean hills bend and twist, so that there are narrow corridors, which the wind can roar down. Violent storms come up very quickly in this area known as the Golan Heights.
It had been a tough day, and Jesus was exhausted from the crowds. He had fallen asleep in the stern of the boat, despite the storm. The disciples were panicked, since the waves were threatening to swamp the boat.
The fact that the disciples were frightened tells us something about the nature of this storm. It must have been very bad. Remember that at least four of the disciples were experienced fishermen. They had seen storms before. They had survived storms before. They knew what to do in a storm.
But this one sent them into panic. So, in desperation, they woke up Jesus. "Master," they said, "were about to go under here. Don’t you even care? Don’t just lay there ! Wake up! Take charge! Do something to SAVE US !"
Jesus didn’t answer the disciples directly.
Instead, He got up, looked around and spoke but three words: "Peace, be still." The wind immediately died down, and things became completely calm. The sea became as smooth as glass. There were no wind or waves, just a calm sea. This was not just a gradual dying out of the storm, but a sudden and miraculous total ending of the storm and all its effects. The storm ceased as quickly as it came up. Jesus now addresses the disciples. He turned to them, and asked, "Why are you so afraid ?"
The disciples must have been thinking, "Listen, were in the midst of this horrible storm, were all about to drown here and there you are sleeping in the bow of the boat.
Don’t you think we had the right to be just a little bit frightened and nervous ?"
Jesus puts another question to them. "Do you still have no faith?"Remember that the disciples had been with Jesus listening to him teach and preach.
They had heard Him give testimony to the crowds that He was the Son of God. They had even been witnesses to His power to heal and cast out demons. They had seen and heard all of these wondrous things and they still didn’t get it. They still didn’t have the faith needed to weather out the storm.
We see that the disciples are still afraid in spite of the storm ending.
But now they have a different kind of fear. They ask each other, "Who is this that even the wind obeys him ?"
They are frightened because they realize just who it is that they have sitting there in the boat with them, the Son of God who possesses the power from God that, "Even the wind and the waves obey him."
This story of Jesus calming the storm on the Lake of Galilee is a wonderful teaching about life in the hands of God. The story reminds us that God is in control.
God, who created the land and the sea has the power to calm the very sea He created. But as the storm got worse, and they bounced around more and more, they became less and less confident. Isn’t that the way most of us get when the storms of life continue to rock our boat ?
We begin thinking, "Where are you God ? Don’t you care that we are perishing ?" When our world seems to be coming unglued, our ears are not attuned to hear the words, "Peace ! Be still, I am in control." And perhaps that is where the problem lies for most of us.
We become fearful when the storms of life howl and the waves threaten us because we think WE are in control. We think WE can save ourselves. We think WE can fix the problem on our own. We think WE have all the answers. We think it all hangs on US. We keep one hand on the rudder, just in case God doesn’t know where he is going.
The good news is that we are NOT in control, God is.
We must remember in the storms of life, amid the chaos of suffering, through all the temptations that we face, in the unexpected hurricanes and tornados that blow against us,
God IS present and God IS in control.
We must remember that we need to be faith-filled and not fear-filled.
News from the Church New dates
18th February…. Knit and natter is a time to finish old projects or learn new skills
if you just want to talk well that’s OK too
4th March..…..Friendship Group, (this covers all ages and the lonely people)
ANSWERS TO 8th February QUESTIONS
1) Mary 2) Joseph 3) Emmanuel 4) Ceaser Augustus 5) Bethlehem 6)Fear not 7) In a manger
8) Egypt 9) Gold, frankincense myrrh 10) Nazareth 11) Jerusalem 12) Feast of Passover
13) 12 14) One days journey 15) 3 16) Sitting amongst the doctors
Bible Quiz this week’s Quiz is parables of Jesus
1 What kind of foundation did the wiseman use to build his house on?
2 What kind of foundation did the foolish man use to build his house on?
3 In the parable of the Sower what happened to the seed that fell by the wayside?
4 What did the seed stand for in the parable of the Sower?
5 The good ground refers to which kind of people.?
6 In the parable of the rich man, what did he want to do?
7 In the lost sheep where were the 99 left?
8 What are the 2 things the woman did before she found her lost coin?
9 What work did the prodigal son do after he had spent all he had?
10 In the parable of the Pharisee and the publican who was the proud one?
11 The parable of the 2 sons, one said he would not go, but did, what did the 2nd son do?
12 We should not hide our light under a bushel, but placed on a candlestick, what does this mean?
13 In the marriage of the king’s son did all attend it.?
14 A guest at the wedding feast did not have something, what was it?
15 in the Sower, what happened to the seed on stoney ground?
16 What happened when the prodigal son returned home?
God Bless