Jesus was at it again. This time, it was the disciples who provoked Him. In the relatively short time they had been together, they saw Him perform several miracles while confounding the religious leaders with His understanding of the Scriptures and His teachings. According to Mark’s narrative, Jesus not only ordained twelve disciples, He also gave them the power to preach and work miracles (Mark 3:14–15).
After an exhausting day of teaching, Jesus took a nap while traveling across the Sea of Galilee. Mark tells us that a storm arose, causing high waves to break into the boat, nearly causing it to sink (Mark 4:37, TLB). The disciples awoke Jesus and asked him, “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are all about to drown?” (v. 38), at which point Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet down!’ And the wind fell, and there was a great calm!” (v. 39) Jesus then asked the disciples, ‘Why were you so fearful? Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?’ And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, “Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?’” (vv. 40-41). Who is this man? After everything they had seen up to that time, they still had no idea who Jesus was or what He could do.
Before we judge them too harshly, are you and I any different? We spend time with Jesus, talk about Jesus, and have the benefit of reading all about His ministry and the miracles He performed. Nevertheless, how do we react when faced with life’s storms and our boats are filled with water? The disciples had the power to heal sicknesses and to cast out devils, but to them, calming a storm was something different! Yet in His rebuke, Jesus revealed something quite profound. He said unto them, “Why were you so fearful? Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?” Their problem was that they had no faith. It never occurred to them that this same Jesus, who had performed miracles, had power over the wind and the waves as well.
“Who is this man?” Jesus did not have to be divine to know His disciples had no faith. He knew that anyone with faith as small as a mustard seed could speak to mountains, and not only would the mountains obey, but “nothing shall be impossible” unto those who exercised that faith in God (see Matthew 17:20). That includes you and me. Jesus’ lesson to the disciples is still relevant to us today. Life’s storms—those circumstances that threaten to overwhelm us—do not have to intimidate us as long as we have mustard-seed faith. We do not have to be anxious, nervous, or afraid. There are no situations you and I can face that cannot be silenced in the presence of active faith in God. Instead of “waking” Jesus to tell Him about your storm, how about using your faith, no matter how small, and speak to the storm yourself? Remember, nothing is impossible to those who believe.
