Early in human history, people learned that sailing the oceans and seas of planet Earth was costly and dangerous. Countless lives were lost as storms, hidden shoals, and other catastrophes awaited the unsuspecting sailors. Yet despite the risks, many persisted because of the advantages of travel and the movement of goods from one place to another.
In the United States, in the early 1800s, along the coast of Cape Cod in the state of Massachusetts, men were appointed as “surfmen.” When a storm approached, these volunteer lifesavers patrolled the beaches of Cape Cod.
In 1806 the Massachusetts Humane Society paid a Nantucket shipwright to design and build a small lifesaving boat, 30 feet long and lined with cork. Volunteer lifesaving crews launched the surfboats into the turbulent waters and rowed to grounded vessels to rescue the survivors. These brave men were sent into the teeth of furious storms because they valued human life.
These “surfmen” eventually adopted the motto, “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.” Or as one of them said, “When I see a man clinging to a wreck, I see nothing else in the world, and I never think of family and friends until I have saved him.”
All of us face storms in life. They come in the form of illness or disease, broken relationships, crises of faith, the death of a loved one, and so on. These storms can destroy our faith or make it stronger. Much depends on our response.
As we continue our journey through Mark’s Gospel, we’ve come to the end of chapter six. At first glance, the most memorable part of this section is Jesus’ walking on the water. Isn’t that amazing? However, when you put this event in its larger context, this scene takes on a greater significance in how we understand the life and ministry of Jesus. It also speaks to our lack of spiritual understanding and how slow we are to recognize Jesus for who He truly is.
I’ve titled today’s teaching, “Sent Into the Storm.” Our text is Mark 6:45-56.
This text shows us how God sends storms into our lives to reveal His person and power. There are three examples of being alone in this narrative; let’s examine each of them.
The First Example is,
Jesus Alone
You may wonder where I came up with this idea about Jesus being in a storm. Here is where the context sets the stage for this example.
When I think of a storm, especially a storm at sea, I picture turbulence and chaos, things are out of control! We have the biblical storms experienced by the prophet, Jonah, or the apostle Paul. In both cases, the sailors called upon their gods for deliverance. Sailors of those days were very superstitious. They believed that the spirits of the underworld troubled the waters and were responsible for the violent thrashing of the waves.
The Bible uses the troubled sea as an analogy for the evil that exists in our world (Isaiah 57:20). It was in this storm of violence and evil that Jesus was sent to rescue us sinners. In the previous section of verses Jesus viewed the masses of people as “sheep without a shepherd.” They were fainting and didn’t know where to find help and hope.
So, Jesus cared for them. He taught them the principles of His kingdom and invited them...
