Mark 4:39-41 - Who is this?

4:39,40

Jesus got up and rebuked the waves. The wind died down and everything was calm again. Jesus then rebuked His disciples “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” We may encounter very serious occasions, but God will not let us die before the appointed time. Now, is Jesus saying that the storm would not actually have caused them all to drown? I.e. Did Jesus actually need to calm the storm? Or would He have woken up at the right time and rebuked it? If we take the former scenario, then Jesus’ calming of the storm demonstrates that God was in total control. We can often be afraid of events happening in our lives, we can be confident that God will not allow events to run out of control.

3:41

The demonstration of authority by Jesus terrifies the disciples. This was something completely outwith their experience. The power of God is something infinitely greater than anything human, or even in nature. They now saw that Jesus was completely out of the ordinary.

2 Samuel 15:19-26 - Go ahead, march on

15:19-22

David was concerned for the well being of Ittai the Gittite and urged him to go back to Jerusalem and to stay with Absalom (David even referred to him as king Absalom). David considered that Ittai owed no debt to David. However, Ittai insisted on continuing to follow David, and so it was.

15:23

“The whole countryside wept aloud ...” Although Absalom had gathered a large number of people, it seems that the whole country had not been won over. A group of people who are utterly determined, even though they are a minority, can have an enormous influence.

15:24-26

The ark of the covenant was with them, along with Zadok the priest and the Levites. Sacrifices were offered. Having the ark was a sign that David was trusting in the Lord. However, David did not treat the ark as a “good luck” symbol. So he ordered Zadok to take the ark back to Jerusalem, that was where it belonged. He also thought there was a possibility that God would allow David to return to Jerusalem. Whether or not God allowed David to return, David was content to accept God’s judgement on the matter. David had put himself in God’s hands. When someone has sinned there are two basic reactions. One is to protest our innocence, or to become belligerent, exalting ourself. The other is to accept that we have sinned and to entrust ourselves to the Lord. David had chosen the latter course.

Mark 4:35-38 - Don't you care if we die?

4:35,36

We now come to the well known incident of Jesus calming the storm. This is followed in the subsequent chapter by a number of incidents that demonstrate the authority of Jesus. “That day when evening came ...” implies that they went over to the other side after a day’s teaching. “They took Him along, just as He was” seems a rather odd way of saying it, as though they are in charge of ferrying Jesus about. 

4:37

“A furious squall came up”. The Sea of Galilee was known for such squalls. With a number of the disciples being fishermen, they would not easily be scared, being familiar with the conditions one might encounter.  This was a serious storm, threatening to swamp the boat and lead to drowning.

4:38

Meanwhile Jesus was sleeping. This could be due to tiredness after a day’s teaching, or could be because He was perfectly at peace. The disciples are surprised and shocked at Jesus’ seeming unawareness of the danger they were in. In Matthews’s account (Matt 8:25) they say to Him “Lord save us! We’re going to drown!”.  Taking Mark (or Luke) alone it could be that they are just shocked that Jesus seems to be totally unaware of the danger, but Matthew says they did call on Jesus to save them. However, 4:41 indicates that they did not expect Him to calm the storm.

2 Samuel 15:15-18 - Your servants are ready to go

15:15

The king’s officials are still loyal to David and willing to follow him. David barely deserved this loyalty, for when we act immorally our actions hurt others. The world’s mantra of “as long as it doesn’t hurt others” is useless, for all that we do has an effect on others.

15:16-18

So David sets out with his entire household, except for ten concubines. One might ask what was David doing with ten concubines, and he also had multiple wives? He left them to care for the palace.This was to prove to be a very bad move for the concubines (2 Sam 16:21,22). David and his people set out. They halted at the edge of the city, and all David’s men marched past him. This included six hundred Gittites who had accompanied David from Gath. Perhaps it is significant that Gath is where Goliath came from. David had defeated the strong man and ransacked his goods (Matt 12:29).

Mark 4:30-34 - It is like a mustard seed

4:30-32

We have just been told that we are not solely involved in the process, there are things happening beyond what we are responsible for. The real Gardener is God Himself (John 15:1). Now we are warned not to assume that the early stages are indicative of the final outcome. The parable is introduced by Jesus saying “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?” Jesus says the kingdom is like a mustard seed, it may start off seemingly small and insignificant, but like a mustard seed it grows into the “largest of all garden plants”. As it says in Zech 4:10, we should not despise the day of small things. Again the key thing is that we need to recognise our proper place. God involves us in all that He does, there are things that He commands us to do, and we should do them. But we need to look at things as God involving us in what He is doing, rather than getting God involved in what we are doing. Then we are more likely to have the right perspective and to have faith.

4:33,34

Mark records only a small sample of Jesus’ parables, more are found in Matthew and Luke. Jesus used many other parables in speaking to the people. He only gave them “as much as they could understand”. So if people object that they could not understand they are actually without excuse. Jesus spoke only in parables for the most part. However, when “he was alone with His own disciples, He explained everything”. So what was the difference between the disciples and “the rest”? Maybe it was that the disciples were committed to Him and were following Him.

2 Samuel 15:13,14 - The hearts of the people are with Absalom

15:13

News of Absalom’s conspiracy reaches David, and he is told that “the hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom”. From the man of action that we have encountered in 1 Samuel, David is a much weakened character, largely as a result of his own sin and the subsequent judgement of God upon that sin. 

15:14

In response to the news David decides to abandon the city, reckoning that there is currently no way of opposing Absalom. He does this both for his own preservation and that of the people of Jerusalem. David had once been a fugitive on the run from Saul, now he is a fugitive on the run from his own son. However, despite his weakened state, we will still see David making some good choices, and treating others well. For all of us there are times when we seem to be on top of things, flowing in the Spirit. Then there are other times when we feel as though we are barely living. Even in those latter times we should still strive to make good decisions, morally right ones.

Mark 4:27-29 - All by itself the soil produces corn

4:27,28

Preaching is necessary, but we should also recognise the limit of our part. Once the seed is sown, the farmer does not know how the seed grows, in fact there is no need for him to know how it grows. Moreover, the seed germinates and grows all by itself. Now again, we must not take things too far, 1 Cor 3:7,8 talks about the one who waters. But the point here is that when we sow the word there are things that happen that we are unaware of. We do not fully understand everything and do not need to. If we think everything is up to us then this will lead us into error. A preacher or evangelist may try to use emotion or clever tricks to seek to manipulate the hearers.  If a church starts to be very “successful”, then others may start thinking that the method or organisational structure is the reason for the success, and think that if they follow the same method they too will be successful. It is the word of God and the Holy Spirit that bring success. Thinking a method or structure will bring success is a form of idolatry.

4:29

There is a point where the farmer comes actively back into the frame. When the corn is ripe the farmer “puts the sickle to it”. So we are involved in God’s work, He wants us to bear witness to Christ and to preach and live the gospel, and He wants us to reap the harvest at the right time. But there are things that God does without us being fully aware of it.