Mark 4:35-41.                    Who is this, Jesus?                                          21/6/15

(35)  That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." {36} Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. {37} A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. {38} Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" {39} He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. {40} He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" {41} They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Yes, that is the question, isn’t it? Who is this Jesus? How significant is he really for our lives? What power does he really have? Now to answer these questions we have two options: we either look to God and his Word, or we look to what we and the world around us thinks.

All too often in regard to our thinking, we and the world around us operate like the disciples in our reading. They were fishermen and so they knew how to handle a boat in all conditions – this was their lake: they trusted in their abilities and so do we. We too sail through life with the idea that everything will or should basically go well for us. She’ll be right, the world is a relatively good place, and we’ll get by. Where it is not we just need to work harder to overcome the problems that arise. We can handle most things and when we can’t then the government had better step in and fix it.

But today it is even worse, because we are so much smarter than people of years gone by. We have a much better education system, and most of us have had the opportunity to be involved in higher studies; so we know how things should work. On top of that we have the technology and the money to get us through life with ease and comfort. So by and large we are quite confident that we can handle most things, or given time, money, and knowledge will overcome them. We’ll be right mate. We’ve got it all under control. God you just stay out on the fringes of our lives.

The trouble is, that the winds and waves of life sometimes dishes out the unexpected, and then we are left floundering. All our experience and knowledge counts for nothing as the troubles, sickness, old age or death threaten to drown us. Even our technology and money can not get us through those situations and we are left helpless and hopeless. Because we have put all of our confidence in ourselves and the things of this world, we are left stranded. The depression, drug abuse and addiction are symptoms of this reality.

What happens when our world comes crashing down around us? We like the disciples then scream out to whoever is within ear-shot; ‘Don’t you care, that we are in trouble?’ We wallow in our situation, and hope that somebody else may then be able to get us out of our mess, and put us back on track. Or at least they can feel helpless along with us. Our world has fallen apart because the things we have trusted in have let us down, and we have got nowhere else to go.

But of course that is not us; is it? Because we have got it all together: We know what we are on about: and so we’ll be right. We are good people; the government continues to give us our handouts; we go to church; and we even believe in Jesus, so we’ll be right.

Well let me assure you, that all of us at some time or other will get to that point where if we look merely to ourselves and the things of this world the troubles of life will hit us hard. Even when we put our trust in our own faith in Jesus, the winds and waves of life will overwhelm us. We too, will only be able to say, along with the rest of the world, ‘Lord don’t you care if we drown?’ ‘God, why have you done this? Why have you …..?’ ‘It is all your fault!’

Here today then we need to hear, what this Jesus did, at that point, and at another telling point in history, so that we can have confidence in the very worst of situations. Here on that lake Jesus simply stood up and rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. With a simple word, Jesus here did, what we with all our knowledge, strength, technology and money cannot do. His simple words controlled the very worst that nature or anything else can throw at us. Yes even the wind and the waves obey him!

 Perhaps this has got something to say to our whole climate change debate as well. But we won’t go in to that here, now, except to say that this is just another symptom of sinful selfish humanity ignoring God and his Word, and that if we turned back to God he has to the power to fix things for us.

But back to the lake, we too, along with the disciples, can only be terrified: ‘Who is this Jesus?’ ‘Who is this one who can even make the wind and the waves obey him?’ Is he just the figment of someone’s imagination; a fairy tale in and old dust-covered book, or is he who he really says he is, and who does have power to even control the wind and the waves? Is he God’s very own Son come into our world to help us out or not?

Here let us also remember that at another point in history this very same Jesus, who did miracle after miracle and yes, even told the wind and waves what to do; he allowed himself to be strung up on the cross, and to die. His power and his love meant that he willingly took on himself all of our sins; all of our failures; all of our being less than perfect: our very rebellion against God himself. He took it all on himself, and there on the cross allowed his Father to punish him for all of our sin, so that we might be forgiven and accepted once again into God’s family. Then he rose again from the dead three days later to be Lord of life and death: and so that we can be sure that we have life and salvation.

“Who is this Jesus?’ Here we have a most staggering thing of all to happen. Here we have God himself allowing himself to be killed so that we might be saved. This truly is a most amazing God of all. He even loved us that much, that he was prepared to take the full brunt of God’s anger against our sin, onto himself, so that we might have forgiveness of sins and the absolute certainty of life and salvation. Here is our saviour who loved us so much that he made sure that nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from his love in Christ Jesus.

To top it all off, he gave us baptism, so that each one of us personally can be incorporated into this love that he has for us: his death and resurrection. So that we can know that he has forgiven us and accepted us into his family. Then he also gave us Holy Communion so that week after week we might receive his very body and blood which he shed on the cross for us, so that we can be sure that we do have forgiveness of sins, life and salvation, and that our Lord himself goes with us throughout our lives.

“Who is this Jesus, who has done all of this for us? Surely this is a holy and awesome God, who can do all of this? He has immense power. He has absolute control over all things, so that even the winds and the waves obey him. He created all things and he keeps it all going. He has such love that he allows himself to die in our place so that we can have life.  Here surely is one then that we will look up to, worship and follow as that which is all important in life.

However because we have chosen not to obey him and live in that close loving relationship with him, we have brought all kinds of difficulties and evil into our lives. We now have to suffer many and varied hardships, and we cannot blame them onto God. It is because of our sin that these are part of life for all of us. But they continually remind us of the consequences of our turning our backs on God.

But now we have God’s assurance that he will not let them harm us. He will watch over us, and see to it the nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Yes, he will allow difficulties and even disasters to come our way, but he assures us that he is now using them for our good or for the good of others. Even if we should lose everything in earthly terms; even our life; we know that nothing can take away the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation that the Lord Jesus has won for us.

So now there is no need for us to be afraid, when even the most difficult of circumstances comes our way. We know that they cannot destroy us. We now can have faith that God will see us through to being with himself in heaven for all eternity. So we can go forward with a confident and sure hope.

But now, not in ourselves and the things of this world, but in the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done for us and continues to do for us. We can trust him in every situation, for we not only know that the wind and the waves obey him, but that he loves us so much that he came into our world to die on the cross for us, so that we may have forgiveness of sins, life and salvation as a guarantee.

So ‘Who is this Jesus? He is God almighty himself: the second person of the Trinity. He is Lord and Saviour! He is our all important one who we can look up to and trust. He is THE One that we truly can rely on in life, and especially when the going gets tough. So let us put our faith in him alone, and then go forward confidently to live and be the people he wants us to be in the midst of this life and all that it throws at us.

To God alone be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish