Mark 4:38, commentary and pictures

After a day of unceasing teaching and healing with little food or rest, Jesus lay down exhausted in the stern of the boat on the night crossing of Galilee and fell asleep while a sudden fierce storm filled the vessel and baffled all the skill of the fishermen. In terror of perishing they awoke Him with the desperate reproach that He did not care, and though the roar of wind and wave had not roused Him, their cry brought Him instantly to His feet to still the sea and rebuke their fear and lack of faith. His peaceful sleep amid danger shows His true sharing of human weariness and infirmity, not indifference or abandonment, for His very presence aboard was their only hope. His word of command quieting the raging elements evidenced His power as the Son of God in human flesh. The disciples erred in battling alone in self-confidence and turning to Him only when hope was lost, and the lesson remains that faith should call on Him at the very beginning of trial, resting assured that His compassionate ear never fails to hear and answer the cry of the imperiled.

Storm Setting and Details

It was night on the Sea of Galilee, after a day spent in teaching and healing with little food or rest, and Jesus, worn out by continuous ministry and long, demanding labor, entered the boat, lay down in the stern, and fell asleep. Exhausted and hungry from ceaseless work, briefly relieved from the press of the crowd, His weary human frame sought rest in sleep while the boat was underway. He slept in a fisherman's boat on a hard plank, with a coil of rope for a pillow.

A sudden, fierce and violent storm arose on the night sea and tossed the boat until it sprang a leak and began filling with water. Wave after wave was hurled over the ship until it was full, the deck was flooded, spray dashed over those aboard, and the little craft, buffeted up and down on high running waves, became unmanageable. Though the disciples had guided their craft safely through many storms and were experienced fishermen, their strength and skill now availed nothing. They labored long with terror-stricken hearts, then held the helm and let it drive straight before the wind and sea, despairing of saving themselves as the fury of the tempest increased and hope was leaving them.

In terror that they were perishing and the boat would sink, they woke Him with a desperate, reproachful appeal, Master, carest thou not that we perish. They turned to Him in despair only when their own efforts failed, grieved by His peaceful, undisturbed sleep while they struggled against the waves and thinking He did not care whether they died. The thunder of the elements could not wake Him, but the alarmed touch of one of them and their agonized cry reached His heart and brought Him instantly to His feet. He rose, stilled the storm with His word of power, and rebuked them for fear and lack of faith.

The night of peril belonged to the tempestuous crossing with His disciples, with others following, that ended with landing on the beach in the early morning in the country of the Gadarenes. During that voyage He stilled the tempest by His voice, beckoning the waves to rest, and the same authority that calmed the sea continued on shore. Eyewitnesses who had crossed the lake with Him afterward told the Gadarenes about that peril and miracle.

Meaning of His Sleep

His sleep shows how physically weary His exhausted human nature was after long, hard labor and a day of ceaseless toil that left Him crying for rest and sleep. He lay in a fisherman's boat with a coil of rope for a pillow, having had no time for repose because pressing necessities continually sought Him for relief. In that weariness He shared human weariness and weakness, and His experience of human infirmities, sorrows, and temptations fits Him to represent people and plead for them. His constant working to bless others — teaching in the Temple, healing in the Temple, explaining the Scriptures in the streets, by the wayside and in retired walks, with sympathies drawn out for the oppressed, comforting the mourner, bringing hope to the hopeless, and healing the scars and bruises that sin had made as He went about doing good — proves how constantly He labored and rebukes a life of idleness and self-pleasing by holding up His labor as the example of true service, while teaching that workers whose energies have been overtaxed need to rest a while.

He slept peacefully and undisturbed amid noise and danger while a violent storm threatened to sink the boat, with no fear for Himself. The disciples, overwhelmed by danger and struggling against the waves, turned to Him in despair and grief, fearing they would perish. His peaceful rest grieved them and drew their desperate, reproachful cry, which roused Him to rise, still the storm, and rebuke them for fear and lack of faith.

His peaceful rest does not mean indifference, abandonment, or that He had ceased to care for them, though overcome by fear they woke Him with a desperate, reproachful appeal because they thought they were perishing. Their fear and grief reflected their mistaken sense that He had left them to face the storm alone, when His presence aboard the ship was their only hope. When their cry awakened Him they saw tender, self-forgetful love in His face, and their appeal to save them was not left unanswered, for He heard their cry, commanded the storm to cease, and saved His followers. The tossing of the boat amid waves of circumstance illustrates that hardship does not mean the Master has left His people, who should look to Him, tell Him their difficulties, and strengthen their faith with hope and courage.

He had no fear for Himself; His concern was for the disciples, whose fear showed they did not trust Him but revealed unbelief and distrust. They should have called on Him as soon as danger appeared and at the very beginning of trial, instead of trying to save themselves, battling alone with terror-stricken hearts, trusting their own strength and skill, and forgetting He was with them until their own efforts failed and they were wearied and discouraged. The lesson is that people facing trouble often rely on their own strength until discouraged and then call on Jesus, and though He may sorrowfully reprove their unbelief and self-confidence, He hears their earnest cry and humble petition and never fails to give the help needed.

Christ's Power and Identity

When cried to for help in the night storm on the Sea of Galilee, His word of power, Peace, be still, quickly quieted the raging sea. He can command the storm to cease and save His faithful followers in peril, controlling the very elements by the lifting of His finger. His presence in their peril did not mean He had forsaken them, for He heard their desperate cry that they were perishing.

The disciples' peril and His calming of the tempest evidenced His power as the Son of God, showing He could control the elements. With His other works of God from the manger to the cross it fulfills prophecy and forces conviction that Jesus in human flesh is the only-begotten Son of the Father. That stilling of wind and sea was a miracle they later remembered as strengthening faith that He was the Son of God, though they still could not believe He would die and hoped He would use His power to deliver Himself.

The same authority that calmed the sea continued on land after the night crossing that ended with landing on shore. The same Jesus who stilled the waves by beckoning them to rest did not flee when demons confronted Him. He stood calm before the demon-possessed men rushing at Him and stopped them with the hand that had calmed the waves, undaunted by the authority that had met and conquered Satan before.

His sharing of human weariness and weakness in sleeping in the fishing boat during the storm belongs to His experience of human infirmities, sorrows, and temptations, which fits Him to represent people and plead for them as Advocate and Intercessor with the Father. His treading the foaming, white-capped billows as the Pattern Man fulfilled His mission just as certainly as toiling as a carpenter while hiding His divine mission, raising the dead to life, and dying as man's sacrifice on the cross to lift the whole race to a new and perfect life.

The calming of the troubled sea shows He was present with His disciples during the storm and had power to bring peace to it. That presence underlies that rest begins through Jesus.

Unbelief Rebuked and Faith

The disciples forgot that Jesus was on board and battled the storm alone, laboring long with terror-stricken hearts and trusting their own strength and skill until hope was lost and they were ready to perish. In the tempests of temptation believers do the same, fighting alone because they forget Jesus and relying on themselves until they despair of saving themselves. Their fear showed they did not trust Him, for His concern was for them while He Himself had no fear.

They should have called on Him as soon as danger appeared and at the very beginning of trial, rather than trying to save themselves and turning to Him only when their own efforts failed. Waiting until they were wearied and discouraged in their own efforts to save themselves brings rebuke for not seeking Him at the first sign of trouble, yet He still accepts humble petitions made in weariness. The lesson is that people facing trouble often rely on their own strength until discouraged and then call on Jesus.

Their fear and grief in danger revealed unbelief, distrust, and self-confidence, leading them to doubt His care even while He was with them in the boat. Waking Him with the reproachful question whether He cared that they were perishing reflected their mistaken sense that He had left them to face the storm alone, though His presence aboard the ship was their only hope. Their experience teaches that faith rests in the Saviour's care and calls on Him for help.

He sorrowfully reproves unbelief and self-confidence, yet He hears the earnest cry and humble petition and never fails to give the help needed. When they cried to Him for help His word of power quickly quieted the storm, for the call of faith always meets with a response and calling on Him to save is never in vain. Living faith brings peace through temptation and danger and delivers from danger in the way He knows to be best.

Assurance and Present Application

The cry of the perishing on that boat was heard, and the sleeper rose to command the storm to cease and to save His faithful followers, for those who trust in Him need not fear that He will forsake them. When danger appears the lesson is to call on Him at once rather than labor long with terror-stricken hearts in one's own strength until discouraged, for He hears earnest prayer and gives the help needed even while He reproves unbelief and self-confidence. Calling on Jesus to save is never in vain, and the call of faith always meets with a response, for He is infinite in compassion to save to the uttermost the poor, trembling, imperiled soul whose imploring cry reaches His ears.

Whether He is sleeping or waking there is no need of fear if the Saviour is in the heart, for having Him removes fear on land or on sea. A boat tossing amid the waves of circumstance does not mean the Master has left His people, and in hardship they are to look to Him, tell Him their difficulties, and strengthen their faith with hope and courage. Faith rests in the Saviour's care and calls on Him for help, and living faith brings peace through temptation and danger. That living faith smooths the sea of life and delivers from danger in the way He knows to be best, even when humble petitions are made only after weariness in one's own efforts to be saved.

His exhausted sleep with a coil of rope for a pillow in a fisherman's boat proves how constantly He worked to bless others until His human nature cried for rest and sleep with no time left for repose. That ceaseless toil was teaching in the Temple, healing in the Temple, explaining the Scriptures in the streets, by the wayside and in retired walks, with sympathies drawn out for the oppressed, comforting the mourner, bringing hope to the hopeless, and healing the scars and bruises that sin had made as He went about doing good. Such labor rebukes a life of idleness and self-pleasing by holding up His life as the example of true service in living to bless others. His example also teaches that workers whose energies have been overtaxed need to rest a while, even while urgent needs still press upon them.

Those who crossed with Him told the Gadarenes about the peril on the lake the night before He reached their country and about the miracle by which He controlled the very elements by the lifting of His finger. Blinded by worldliness and fear of further loss of property, they saw only the magnitude of their loss and refused to consider the greater advantage of having Him among them. The disciples later remembered this calming of wind and sea along with His other works at His betrayal as strengthening faith that He was the Son of God, though they still could not believe He would die and hoped He would use His power to deliver Himself. The scene on the water, with the little boat buffeting high, running waves and spray dashing over it, reveals the majesty of God and His works on the ocean, for He holds the winds in His hand and controls the waters and at one glance beholds the highest heavens and the midst of the sea. Finite beings on the broad deep waters are mere specks in His sight, yet angels are sent from His excellent glory to guard the little boat careening over the waves.