8- A Night Excursion: Mark 4:35+ - Mike Olynyk, Meadows Church

You're invited!  Come on a journey as we see the sights, smell the smells & experience Jesus' story told by Mark in an immersive way.  Engage in the story as one of the crowd, the disciples or even as a religious leader.  For an even more immersive experience, click the link below to follow along with the PDF media with maps, pictures of historical sites and more.

A NIGHT EXCURSION PDF - CLICK HERE

Meadows Church is a church in the community, for the community, located in Langley, BC.  We want you to know that you're welcome here!

Transcript

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You're listening to audio from Meadows Church in Langley, BC. For more information about Meadows Church, go to Meadowschurch.ca. Well, friends, we are at it again as we continue our series, Encountering Jesus. And if you missed a discussion from our series, you can just go to Meadowschurch.ca slash messages. There you'll not only find the messages, the audio, but you'll actually find the resource packs with pictures and videos that help us really experience and dive into the story. Well, when we last left our fearless hero, he was giving another amazing message about seeds and lamps and mustard seeds, which brought a very tangible challenge to our lives. To not only embrace this amazing life Jesus has for us with love and joy and peace and freedom, but that it's also our responsibility to share Him with others. And so let's dive into the story today. And now, in the story, it's almost dark, and there is a huge crowd on the shoreline listening to Jesus speak. The disciples are in the boat with him, and as he speaks, there's this gentle lapping of water against the boat. And now we're we're getting into the story by being one of the disciples here. The disciples are gonna be with him throughout this whole story, and so so sit with him. You're sitting there, and you're experiencing Jesus share this message from behind him as he stands at the front of the boat, but you can still hear everything, and you are captivated by the crowds. It's their attentiveness and stillness. They are hanging on every one of Jesus' words. And as Jesus gestures this way and that, you can feel the boat tip and sway tight uh slightly in the water. Well, the boat itself, we should know what it is. It's a typical first century fishing boat. It was 26 feet long, about seven and a half feet wide, and about four feet high. And it's important to note this because our entire passage today happens in this boat. To give you an idea of how big this boat is, how many of you guys have ever canoed in a full-size canoe? Yeah? Well, a full-size canoe is 17 feet by three feet and about 16 inches in height. And so the extra width and height would provide better stability than a canoe. But to sail it and to bring heavy fish catch on board, there was a knowledge that was needed to operate a fishing boat in the Sea of Galilee. Well, as evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, Let's cross to the other side of the lake. So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind, although other boats followed. So there must have been boats listening to Jesus in the water as he was speaking to the crowd on the shore. Now I don't know about you, but but this seems like uh bad boat safety, doesn't it? I mean, you got a bunch of dudes in a boat in the middle of the lake. That is a recipe for disaster. This is at night, right? So so BC boating rules recommend not to operate human-powered boats at night. If so, uh they need a bunch of special red and green lights and and white lights, uh, but it's not recommended. And so why did Jesus suggest this? Well, if you were here on week two of this series this past fall, we learn that because fishermen's nets were made of linen or flax and not modern see-through nylon fishing line, it was a practice to fish at night. That way the the fish wouldn't be able to see the nets and they couldn't avoid the nets. So, although you and I would have questioned night boating, no one would have even batted an eye when Jesus said, Let's go to the other side of the lake. This was common practice. And so, verse 36, as we look at this, it's actually better translated from the Greek as they took Jesus as he was. He didn't go to the shore, he didn't give hugs to the crowd and heal a couple people and grab his favorite captain's hat from the closet. No, Jesus went from peaching in the boat to heading out across the lake in that same boat. They left the area around Capernaum, and we know from the next chapter that they landed in the Garrisons, which is now Kercy National Park, about 10 kilometers, 10 to 15 kilometers sail from Capernaum. So on a good night, with light winds in the right direction, yeah it would have taken them about two hours. And this was the wrong night for boats to be on the water on the Sea of Galilee. Listen to this. But soon a fierce storm came up, high winds were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up shouting, Teacher, don't you care that we're going to drown? What a scene. But I I got some questions about this. I don't know if you do. Is anyone curious about this scene? Well, I wasn't, and I believe we need to ask good questions as we're looking at the text. If if something doesn't make sense or it doesn't science right, provided it's not a miracle, then my faith demands that I ask questions. Because I believe the Bible is true. So geography and science, it all has to add up except for miracles. So my little Langley living mind went to Cultus Lake as a picture of this, where the biggest storm would make a canoe kind of tippy. And it would be hard to paddle if you've you've been paddling up against the wind. But I so I believe the Bible is real, that Jesus was real, and so I have to ask a hard question. How in the world does a lake create a storm like that in the Remrat painting? Where seasoned fishermen are fearing for their lives. Anyone else have that question? Is the Bible actually prone to exaggeration or maybe literary embellishment? Is that what's happening? I don't think so. So I had to geek out a bit. And so first, let's let's con this myth, if you're a Langley goer, that Cultist Lake is 6.23 kilometers squared, and the Sea of Galilee is a hundred and sixty-six kilometers squared. You know, a mere 26 times the size. The second thing that I found is that uh the Sea of Galilee is known for storms, actually, and particularly bad ones that come from the eastern winds, and that is because of the typography of the land. The sea is far below sea level, and there are steep cliffs that the storm would come down and into that would create an atmospheric change that would create sudden storms. Let's look at this video of a storm caught on video. The waves are high crashing against the boardwalk. Uh, we're gonna move on to another video. This was a storm from 1992, uh caught on camera. It was a devastating storm, and in this picture, in this video, you're you're looking at the waves were up to 10 feet tall, as you can see them there. It is incredible to think about. And so there is that picture, and then just in in 2002, there was a massive storm in the Sea of Galilee that did this damage to the boardwalk uh on the Tiberias boardwalk. When we are talking about a sea where seasoned fishermen are are fearing for their lives, this is not embellishment. The Bible is true. One thing I learned about this story, besides what I just researched, is that Jesus is a champion sleeper, hey? And I think I think we picture Jesus in like a picture here in some sort of yacht cabin sleeping, as one artist depicted. But this is a first-century fishing boat. The one on the left is in a museum and it was preserved in mud, and it's on display as the Jesus boat, not because Jesus was in this boat, though he might have been, but it was a boat just like that that were common, of the same size. There was no below deck. The cushion that Jesus used for his head was put in the rear of the boat for somebody of high status. And so here is the boat, and there are waves four, six, eight feet splashing into the boat. Regardless of how high the waves are, that is a heavenly sleep from Jesus. He was tired after all he was doing. And the disciples are shaking him awake. They are somewhere in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, and they are terrified season boaters. Teacher, don't you care that we are about to drown? When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, silence, be still. And suddenly the winds stopped, and there was great calm. You know, there's a lot of stories that depict Jesus shouting at the waves and command in a commanding, booming voice. And I just, I don't think Jesus needed to shout. He is the creator of all. Listen to what Colossians 1, verse 15 and 16 says. For by him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. I just think maybe it was just shh, be still. But regardless of that, you can have your opinion, I can have mine, that that is subjective. It's not the truth that's in the word of God. But regardless of that, one thing is clear that the disciples are dumbfounded and they are exhausted. I picture them peering over the boat edge in the middle of the sea, and they are soaked to the bone. And they are astonished. And they are looking at a lake of glass. Just calm. Verse 40, then he asked them, Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith? The disciples were absolutely terrified. Who is this man? They asked each other. Even the wind and the waves obey him. What an amazing section of scripture, hey. And I feel like we need to take a moment here just to catch our breath and to towel off from this experience. The disciples in this passage were more direct than the NLT says. They say, you know, are you gonna let us drown? But it it says the Greek literally is translated, are we to drown for all you care? They are sopping wet and they are terrified and they are fearing for their lives and they are thinking this is the end. And the disciples lacked the faith that Jesus was truly in control. And so they actually lashed out at Jesus in that moment. Don't you even care? Have you ever been there? I'm not talking about a boat. But man, the world is messy at times. And sometimes life is so difficult. And in the midst of the storms you faced, have you ever found yourself shouting that? Maybe you're in that season right now. Don't you even care because I feel like I'm drowning, and where are you, God? And we see from this story that it's okay. That God has thick skin. And he can handle our shout-outs, he can handle our lack of faith. And he is there. Right there nonetheless. Do you notice that about Mark IV? That Jesus didn't get offended and bounce on them. He didn't jump out of the boat with his back to them and walk on water out of there. Find a new crew that would respect him as the Messiah, the Son of God. Now, you read Jesus' light, he is so forgiving. And he is patient and a loving savior to his friends. And I love it. He has so much patience for me when I make a mess of things and when I don't get it, and or when I miss an opportunity to love someone well because I'm acting selfishly. And get this, he still uses me in incredible ways for the kingdom. He is such an amazing God. Thank you, Jesus. What I love about God, and I say it often, is that we do not worship a distant God. He is in the boat with you, friends. In the middle of what we are facing, whether it is sea of glass, sun shining like it was today, or whether it's a fierce storm, he is there. And you know what? He wants us to come to him and to live life with him and with others who love him too. That's what church is. That's what connection is, that's what life groups are, right? As I look at the story, the disciples would have saved a bunch of heartache, a bunch of energy, and maybe wet clothes if they had just gone to Jesus first. Friends, the Bible tells us, and I believe through faith and by experience, that we have a God who walks alongside us through every crazy thing we experience in this life. What this is not saying is that when you make a mess of things, because we sin, because we act selfishly, because we're we're horrible to certain people and we mess up, that when we do that, that Jesus will just somehow bring a calm and wipe out that and restore everything and just say, shh, the storm of life will be calm. No, no, no, no, no. That's not my experience. There's consequences for actions both from people who do stuff to us and vice versa. But Jesus is in the middle with us, and he has patience and forgiveness. So, Jesus, more and more would you teach us to go to you first, to stay with you, to live life blended with your presence. Forgive us for those times where we act selfishly. Where we walk not with the purpose you gave us, but we try to do it on our own, Jesus. Help us. Well, we're gonna go into a time of response. I'm about to worship team up. Maybe you're at a place where you need to just give your life back to God and to ask for forgiveness for trying to steer the boat in the storm by yourself when the creator of the universe is right there with you. Ready to be with you. Maybe that's you. Or maybe today is the day that you make the best decision of your life. Maybe you have come to the realization that Jesus is actually in the boat with you, and you are ready to pass him the steering wheel, the sail, the reins. Give him control and give him your burdens and receive joy and peace and freedom. If that's you, friend, I want to pray with you. Take this time. God, you're so good. And praise you that you are the king of the universe. You are the creator, you control the wind and the waves. You heal. You even raise from the dead, you bring joy, all of that. God help us to embrace you. We're so glad you chose to join us today. To find out more about Meadows Church and how you can get involved, connect with a pastor or how you can partner with us in ministry. Go to Meadowschurch.ca.