Mark 4:35-41

[snapstur]

@Shield> now then, let's get our Bibles and get to work

@Shield> Mark chapter four

@Shield> verse 33 and following

@Shield> Mark 4:33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it;

@Shield> Mark 4:34 he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

@Shield> And we have been tracking with these parables throughout Mark's gospel.

@Shield> We have seen the frustration of the Pharisees and religious leaders.

@Shield> we have seen the confusion

@Shield> and their conspiring

@Shield> we have seen the struggle of the disciples to understand, even when Jesus clearly explained to them the parables

@Shield> we have witnessed the inter-relatedness of each of the parables and the narrative in which they are revealed.

@Shield> We have seen the progression of Jesus revealing his character and nature.

@Shield> And the progression of those plotting against his life.

@Shield> and now, suddenly, the parables stop for the moment.

@Shield> Let's step into the boat figuratively with Jesus and disciples and watch the events unfold.

@Shield> Mark 4:35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side."

@Shield> the other side of what?

@Shield> anyone know?

Tigeress-Away> o/

@Shield> yes Tigeress-Away?

Tigeress-Away> lake

@Shield> exactly

@Shield> seems like a harmless thing, right?

@Shield> nice placid scene right out of a Hallmark movie.

@Shield> So let's hope in the boat with them, fishing rods in hand....

@Shield> no, they didn’t have fishing rods. I was trying to be funny:)

@Shield> But there they were, all in the boat, and ready to cast off.

@Shield> Mark 4:36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.

@Shield> nice peaceful scene, yes?

@Shield> waving to the crowd as they shrank in the distance....

@Shield> ah, just the type of thing to bring on a bout of sleepiness....

@Shield> and that is exactly what Jesus did, as we shall soon discover.

@Shield> The lake to which Tigeress-Away refers is not just any lake.

@Shield> which lake is it, anyone know?

Tigre_blanc> o/

@Shield> yes Tigre_blanc?

Tigre_blanc> The Sea of Galilee

@Shield> exactly, thank you

@Shield> The Sea of Galilee, notorious for its swift changes in conditions.

@Shield> It could be more aptly compared to one of the Great Lakes of North America

@Shield> You cannot see from one s**** to the other.

@Shield> but that wasn't a problem

@Shield> after all...

@Shield> Jesus was with a group of experienced fishermen.

@Shield> These men knew the lake.

@Shield> they were seasoned and understood the ways of the sea.

@Shield> Naw, not a problem at all.

@Shield> Mark 4:37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.

@Shield> let's p**** this passage a bit.

@Shield> what is happening in this verse?

@Shield> anyone?

Tigeress-Away> o/

@Shield> yes Tigeress-Away?

Tigeress-Away> a storm ?

@Shield> yes...go on

Tigre_blanc> o/

@Shield> yes Tigre_blanc?

GentleDove> o/

Tigre_blanc> the boat was taking on water and starting to sink

@Shield> good...

@Shield> yes GentleDove?

Deacon> o/

GentleDove> I was just going to say the boat was sinking

@Shield> ok, good observations, don’t be afraid to say the obvious...

@Shield> yes Deacon?

Deacon> panic

@Shield> well remember, we are just observing this specific verse...

@Shield> we will get to the panic bit in a moment...but good anti****tion:)

@Shield> let me ask this...

@Shield> why was the boat being swamped?

Tigeress-Away> o/

@Shield> yes Tigeress-Away?

Tigeress-Away> the wind and waves beating it

@Shield> correct...

@Shield> so let's review the scene and I will add my observations to prompt you...

@Shield> We know that a windstorm arose.

@Shield> but actually...

@Shield> It wasn't just a windstorm.

@Shield> It was a great windstorm

@Shield> It was a spectacular windstorm, if you consider the author's original language.

@Shield> It was a surprising windstorm, so surprising that it even caught the author and the disciples off guard, some of whom were seasoned fishermen and sea men.

@Shield> this foreshadows the panic to which Deacon so perceptively referred.

@Shield> we can be reasonable sure that these seasoned fishermen had seen wind and waves before.

@Shield> We can also be reasonably sure that they had enough sense to use a boat that was seaworthy.

@Shield> Would you agree?

@Shield> So here we are...

Jim> I would agree

@Shield> in the boat which is experiencing horrific winds, terrible, even monstrous waves and it is being swamped.

@Shield> All of a sudden, this is no longer a Hallmark movie.

@Shield> It is more of a summer blockbuster, or at least a movie of the week:)

Tigeress-Away> :-)

@Shield> watch what happens...

@Shield> and be ready again to observe...

@Shield> Deacon, you have first dibs in a second...

@Shield> Mark 4:38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"

@Shield> what is happening now?

Deacon> o/panic now

Deacon> Hehe

@Shield> Hehe

@Shield> bingo

Tigeress-Away> o/

@Shield gives Deacon the prize, a two way ticket to CCNet World, wherever that may be:)

@Shield> yes Tigeress-Away?

Tigeress-Away> and Jesus was sleeping and they had 2 wake him

@Shield> yes!

@Shield> remember

@Shield> this was a horrific storm which had thrown seasoned fishermen into a panic

@Shield> and Jesus was....

@Shield> sleeping.

@Shield> any other observations?

Bethel> o/

@Shield> yes Bethel?

Bethel> They asked Jesus if he even care if they drowned

@Shield> good observation, yes

GentleDove> o/

@Shield> they had panicked to such a degree that they questioned whether he cared, and they realized that all of their expertise was to no avail in helping them out of this situation

@Shield> yes GentleDove?

@Shield> panicked btw:)

GentleDove> May I back track a little? It said there were other little ships with him

@Shield> ah ha!

GentleDove> Who were they and did they drown?

@Shield> Someone is paying attention to the details!

@Shield> We have no way of knowing:)

@Shield> but very good observation

GentleDove> Or were they other witnesses to what Jesus did?

@Shield> the text simply doesn't say what became of them and whether they were involved in the storm when it transpired

@Shield> but that is an excellent question

@Shield> that is what it means to do an inductive study and ask the questions of the text

@Shield> sadly, I do not know the answer:)

@Shield> thank you though, for asking

@Shield> so let's press on

GentleDove> yw

@Shield> Mark 4:39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

@Shield> observations?

Tigeress-Away> o/

@Shield> yes Tigeress-Away?

Tigeress-Away> he got up and spoke to the wind and told it to stop ... or be still give them peace

@Shield> ok thank you

@Shield> let me ask this question

Deacon> o/

@Shield> go ahead Deacon

Deacon> He had power over the wind

@Shield> again you anti****te me!

@Shield> :D

Deacon> sorry

@Shield gives Deacon a noogie

@Shield> just kidding:)

Deacon> :)

@Shield> How many here have power over the wind?

@Shield> anyone?

@Shield doesn’t

@Shield> of course we don’t.

@Shield> that is a silly notion, obviously

@Shield> But here we see Jesus doing that very thing, rebuking the wind, telling it, "Peace, be still!"

@Shield> and the wind ceased and there was "great" calm

@Shield> the same word for great here, was used when the wind was great

@Shield> it was a surprising calm

@Shield> a stunning calm

@Shield> NRSV says, a dead calm

@Shield> I am following a blog by a couple who is sailing for 1000 days in the oceans of the world.

@Shield> they are on day 168, I believe.

@Shield> they transmit their thoughts via satellite uplink

@Shield> and someone posts it to their blog

@Shield> they speak of the calmness of certain parts of the ocean

@Shield> but it is reasonably certain, that any squalls they have faced have not been met with "dead calm" at the command of either of them

@Shield> Only Jesus can do that.

@Shield> now watch what happens next....

@Shield> Mark 4:40 He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"

@Shield> Mark 4:41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

@Shield> other translations use the word terrified in place of awed

@Shield> and I think in this case they are correct.

@Shield> They certainly were awed, but also fearful, even terrified.

@Shield> not simply because of the affects of the storm, which had caused them to panic

@Shield> but because they wondered at who this is, this Jesus, whom they had gotten to know and whom they had walked with and witnessed his teachings and miracles.

@Shield> They wondered who this is, that even the wind and the sea obey him.

@Shield> The narrative continues in the next chapters, but we will draw to a close for the evening here....

@Shield> keeping in mind that when Jesus asked them have you still no faith....

@Shield> he was doing so in light of all the parables he had explained to them, and all the miracles they had witnessed up to this point.

@Shield> Beginning next week we will see great faith in action among those Jesus influences in chapter five and following.

@Shield> Ask yourself,

@Shield> Do I really trust Jesus?

@Shield> Is he my Lord and Savior?

@Shield> Do I believe what he says?

@Shield> Do I act on what he requires of me?

@Shield> to love the Lord God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength

@Shield> and to love my neighbor as myself?

@Shield> Do I trust him enough to do that with all my heart, regardless of the consequences in the natural?

@Shield> let's pray

Snapstur> Dear Heavenly Father we thank You for this Bible Study that has cause to learn more of You.

Tigeress-Away> yes Lord

Snapstur> Lord, We praise Your Name for You are the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth

GentleDove> yes Lord

Snapstur> Lord, bless Shield and those that are working hard to make this server run smoothly as possible

Snapstur> to make this ministry a place for those who are seeking answers and help.

Snapstur> Lord, we thank You for all that You have done and for WHO You are

Tigeress-Away> thank you Jesus for all you do lead and guide us daily

Snapstur> Thank You for Your Sacrifice and that Your took away our sins

Snapstur> Lord, bless us as we go about our daily tasks and protects us.

Snapstur> In Jesus' Name we pray Amen

Tigeress-Away> yes Lord

Tigeress-Away> amen

GentleDove> amen

Tigre_blanc> Amen

Deacon> Amen

Carol> amen