Mark: Faith Replaces Fear When We Rest in the Care and Control of Christ

Mark 4:35 - 5:43

Pastor Micah Colbert 

Transcript

 Mark 4, 35. The scripture reads, On that day, when evening had come, he said to
them, Let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took him
with them in the boat just as he was, and other boats were with him. And a great
windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was
already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke
him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he
awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind
ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, Why are you so afraid? Have
you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear, and said to one
another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? They came to
the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had
stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man with
an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him any more,
not even with a chain. For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but
he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles and pieces. No one had
the strength to subdue him. Night and day, among the tombs and on the mountains,
he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus
from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he
said, What have you to do with me? Jesus, Son of the Most High God, I adjure you
by God, do not torment me. For he was saying to him, Come out of the man, you
unclean spirit. And Jesus asked him, What is your name? He replied, My name is
Legion, for we are many. And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the
country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they
begged him, saying, Send us to the pigs, let us enter them. So he gave them
permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. And the herd,
numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and
drowned in the sea. The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the
country. And the people came to see what it was that had been happened. And when
they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had the legion,
sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, they were afraid. And those who
had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and
to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from the region. As he was
getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with the demons, begged
him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him, but said to him, Go
home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how
he has had mercy on you. And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis
how much Jesus had done for him. And everyone marveled. And when Jesus had
crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him,
and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jarius
by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying,
My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so
that she may be made well and live. And he went with him. And a great crowd
followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a
discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many
physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better, but rather grew
worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus, and came up behind him in the
crowd, and touched his garments. For she said, If I touch even his garments, I
will be made well. And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in
her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself
that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and
said, Who touched my garments? And his disciples said to him, You see the crowd
pressing around you, and yet you say, Who touched me? And he looked around to
see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in
fear and trembling, and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And
he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be
healed of your disease. While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's
house someone, and said, Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any
further? But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the
synagogue, Do not fear, only believe. And he allowed no one to follow him except
Peter and James and John, the brother of James. They came to the house of the
ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing
loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, Why are you making a commotion
and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping. And they laughed at him. But he
put them all outside and took the child's father and mother, and those who were
with him, and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand, he said to
her, Talathakumi, which means little girl, I say to you, arise. And immediately
the girl got up and began walking, for she was twelve years of age. And they
were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no
one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat. Father, as we
look into your word this morning, we praise you and thank you that our great
Savior cares and is in control of all things. And I pray, Lord, that we would
find great hope and rest and comfort in the reality of who you are and all that
you are doing for us in Christ. I pray that you would bless the word as we
listen and as we seek to obey you. In Jesus' name, Amen. Fear not. It's one of
the most frequent commands in all of the Bible and for good reason. Every one of
us here, to varying degrees, struggles with fear. We struggle with worry and
anxiety as we navigate the uncertainties and challenges of life in a sin-cursed
world. We fear what is. We worry about the what-ifs of life. We get anxious
thinking about the future. And when we dwell on our fears, we gradually become
blinded to the reality of God's goodness and glory. In many ways, fear is like a
thick morning fog that keeps us from seeing clearly the care and control of
Christ over our lives. But the good news is, as we'll see from this text, we
don't have to be defined by fear or gripped by anxiety. As we look specifically
at Mark 4, commenting also on the events of Mark 5, we will see that faith
replaces fear when we rest in the care and control of Christ. Faith replaces
fear when we rest in the care and control of Christ. Mark 4, 35-36. The
scripture reads, On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, Let us go
across to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the
boat, just as he was, and other boats were with him. The text begins with this
phrase, On that day. Well, what day is Jesus referring to? If we go back in this
Gospel account, we begin in Mark 4, 1, that's when the day begins. And so
picture with me the scene. You've got this massive group of people just lined up
on the seashore wanting to see Jesus. Some were eagerly waiting for a miracle,
others perhaps curious about the rumors of Christ, whether they were true or
not. But the crowds had become so large, so demanding, so persistent, that Jesus
could not freely walk among them anymore. As in chapter 3, we note that there
was a fear that he might be crushed by the crowds if they had free access to
him. And so we see Jesus teaching the multitudes from a boat. Now think about
how hard that must have been. I mean, there's no microphone. There's no raised
platform. He's teaching all day. The acoustics in the room would have been
terrible. There was no room. The sea is a noisy place. He's basically having to
shout in order to project his voice so that he could be heard. Teaching the
multitudes all day long. And so by the time the evening had come, Jesus probably
hasn't had the opportunity to eat. And for sure he hasn't had any time to really
relax or recover. He's exhausted. And so Jesus tells his disciples, let's go to
the other side. Let's go to the other side. Now, when I first read that passage,
like many of us, I simply glossed right over it. Well, he wants to go to the
other side because he's probably just tired and needing to get away from the
crowd. But there's a little more to it than that. Because the other side of the
Sea of Galilee, where Christ was saying they should go, was not exactly a place
where Jews would want to visit. Because the other side was a Gentile area. And
for many, they considered the other side an unclean place. So you can imagine
the disciples. They've been trying to do crowd control this whole time. And
Jesus says, let's go to that place. And no doubt they had questions. No doubt
there were probably some reservations. And it seemed probably like a bad idea.
And humanly speaking, it kind of was. Because as the story goes on, we find they
almost drowned. And once he arrives, he's greeted by a demon possessed guy. I
mean, not exactly the kind of greeting that you would want when you go to visit
a new area. The men of the city treat him rudely. They beg him to leave. He
wasn't going to be on the other side for very long. He actually went back to
Capernaum where he was. So think about the hassle here. Think about what we
would deem maybe a waste of time. And yet, Jesus going to the other side was all
part of his mission. Because on the other side, there were two men. Mark focuses
specifically on the one who needed his healing touch. They needed his redeeming,
transforming power. And so Jesus, driven by his mission, leaves the crowds to
care for souls. Tormented, lonely souls that others had given up on. Now of
course, the disciples didn't understand that. Really, at this point in Mark's
account, they really don't understand who Jesus really is. They know that God is
working through Jesus. That was clear. No one could do the miracles that Christ
was doing unless God was working through him. But they did not fully grasp that
Jesus is God. And they didn't really understand what his kingdom and mission was
all about. But nevertheless, despite this lack of understanding, they do obey
Christ. So they leave the crowds, they go into the boat with Jesus, and they set
out for what should have been about a two to three hour trip across the sea to
the country of the Gerasenes. But then, in verse 37, things start to take a
downward turn. And a great windstorm arose. And the waves were breaking into the
boat so that the boat was already filling. Paul, if you can bring up the picture
of the boat. This was not a big boat by any means. Give or less, fifteen or so
people could fit into one of these boats. And so Jesus, with his disciples, gets
on the boat, they're heading across the sea, and a great windstorm, literally a
squall, arises. Now the Sea of Galilee is about 700 feet below sea level. And
it's basically surrounded by hills and mountains. And so sometimes the cold air
from the mountains and the hills would come down, the warm air rising from the
sea would come up, and this would produce fierce, I mean fierce storms.
Sometimes waves would reach up to ten feet high. So you can imagine being in
that little boat in the midst of a great, massive storm. Now, these disciples
were experienced fishermen, many of them were. So they had seen a thing or two
in their day, but clearly this was different. We get a sense of just the
continual, just awfulness of this storm in the way Mark words this. He says the
great windstorm arose, the waves were breaking in the boat, so that the boat was
already filling. Fear, panic, setting in as we read the text. I mean this is the
kind of storm that is the stuff of nightmares. And the disciples are
overwhelmed, they're terrified. This is way beyond their control. No doubt, one
or two or more of the disciples began to maybe say, or at least think, why are
we doing this? I knew this was a bad idea. Now, in contrast to the panic of the
disciples, notice Jesus responds to the storm in verse 38. But he was in the
stern, that's the back of the ship, asleep on the cushion. Here we see the full
humanity of Christ on display. He is so exhausted that in the midst of this
storm where the boat is bobbing up and down, he's fast asleep. Jesus exerting
himself to the point of true and genuine exhaustion. He's exhausted.
Interestingly enough, this is the only place in the Gospels that we read of
Jesus sleeping. He's not only exhausted, hence the sleep, but also confident, at
rest, at peace, because he knows the sovereign care and control of God over his
life, over his mission. And so in the midst of the storm, Jesus is fast asleep.
Well, the disciples see Jesus, and how do they interpret his sleep? Well, not so
graciously. In verse 38 it says, And they awoke him. I can't help but think,
what did they do to wake him up? If you're sleeping in a storm like that, that
must have been like a jolting, waking up Jesus and saying, Master, teacher,
don't you care that we're perishing? You can just see the anger. You can see the
frustration. I mean, they're lashing out at Jesus. Don't you care? Hey, we're
doing what you told us to do, and now look at what's going on. Why aren't you
doing anything about this? Now, you might be thinking, just how could the
disciples do something like that? I mean, that's beyond just rude. Like, what
kind of hard-hearted person would rebuke the Son of God? But are we any
different than they? Aren't there moments in your life and in my life when the
waves of fear and worry come crashing in, when we feel like our obedience has
made our life a lot harder, not better, and we're tempted to kind of respond the
same way? We may not verbalize it like the disciples, but we begin to think in
our hearts, Lord, why are you allowing this situation to happen? I followed you,
and this is what I get. Lord, life's so easy for those people, and it's just so
hard for me. Why? Jesus, why aren't you blessing me? Why aren't you answering my
prayers? Why aren't you doing anything about the situations that are going on in
my life? Again, we may not verbalize it, but the reality is we've all been
there. Things aren't going the way we had hoped. We find ourselves in situations
that are way beyond our control. And what happens? We become bitter. We become
angry. We become so self-centered and consumed by our fears that we lose sight
of the truth that we live in the presence of Christ. We forget in those moments
His promises, His provision, His power. And so like the disciples, we lash out,
questioning His loving care and His sovereign control. Teacher, don't you care
that we're perishing? But notice how Jesus responds in verse 39. And He awoke
and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased,
and there was a great calm. Jesus is not surprised. Jesus does not defend
Himself. He's not panicked. He's not flustered. He's not angry. He's the Son of
God who cares and is in full control. And so even though He was sinfully
rebuked, He stands up. And with the power of three simple words, He rebukes the
winds and the waves. Peace, be still. To the power of His word, Jesus does what
only God can do. He turned the great windstorm into a great calm. And again,
imagine watching all of this unfold being one of Jesus' disciples. You can just
see the shock in their faces as immediately, supernaturally, miraculously, the
great storm becomes a great calm. Jesus then turns to His disciples and He says,
Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? Despite the miracles, despite His
teachings, the disciples still did not understand or believe who Jesus was. So
Jesus intervenes in the midst of this storm to make sure that His disciples
understand exactly who He is and why they must trust Him. The great windstorm
becomes a great calm. And the disciples' response in verse 41 is a great fear.
And they were filled with great fear and said one to another, Who then is this,
that even the wind and the sea obey Him? When it says here they were filled with
a great fear, the idea here is they feared a great fear. It describes the
feeling of awe that came over them as a result of Christ's mighty act. This is
not the kind of sinful fear that we read earlier of that caused them to question
the goodness and control of God, but rather a healthy kind of fear, a healthy
sense of awe that leads to humble submission and wholehearted faith. The
disciples at this point had known some things about Jesus, but then they had
never experienced such power before. And so they asked the question, Who is
this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him. And the answer, of course, is that
this is Jesus, the Son of God, the one who cares for His people, the one who is
in sovereign control, and who in His presence, healthy fear is an appropriate
response. In order to drive home His point, though, Mark gives us three more
stories in chapter 5 that follow a very similar pattern to what we read in
chapter 4. We see people who are overwhelmed by fear because of their
circumstances. Think of the demon possessed man living among the tombs. The
people fear him and he is living in fear. People try to shackle him, people try
to control him, and nothing seems to be working. We think about this woman who
for 12 years is battling health issues. She goes to physician after physician
after physician trying different types of medications. And it says that she
suffered under their hands. Things aren't getting better, things are getting
worse. And she knows unless God intervenes, her situation is at best bleak. We
think of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, what would be what most would
consider to be a righteous man who watches as his daughter is at the point of
death and there's nothing he can do. And we read that he fears what will happen.
And so each one of these stories we see people overwhelmed by fear because of
their circumstances. We see sinners treating Christ with rudeness because of
their own unbelief. The men of the city when the demon possessed man is healed,
they want Jesus out. They want nothing to do with him or with his power. We
think of the disciples who when Jesus says, who touched me, turn around and
rebuke him saying well you're crowded with people. How could you say who touched
me? We think of the mourners who laugh when Jesus enters into the room and says,
do not fear. Christ in his full humanity treated with rudeness, treated with
unbelief. And yet, despite the unbelief and the rudeness and the sinfulness of
man, we see Christ in each one of these stories, full of pity, full of power,
moving toward sinners, individual sinners, sinners that everybody had given up
on. He heals, he renews, he restores. And in the end we see people amazed,
overwhelmed by the care and control of Christ. So we read these stories, we can
admire these events, but what does all of this have to do with you? What does
this have to do with me? Oftentimes we're tempted, just like these people, to
look at our situations and question the care and control of Christ in our lives.
Like the characters in the story, we try everything that we can to fix the
problems that we face, but nothing seems to work. And so what happens? We worry,
we become fearful, and we lash out in bitterness and unbelief. But as we read
these stories, here's the good news. We can come to Christ in our brokenness. We
can come to Christ in our sinfulness because we can have confidence that he
knows, that he cares, and that he's in absolute control. The Scripture says,
casting all your cares upon him because he cares for you. Philippians says, do
not be anxious, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Now you might
hear those promises and you think, well Micah, I hear you. I'm understanding
what you're saying. And I've tried that, but it doesn't seem like Christ is
doing anything in my life. He's not intervening like he did in these stories.
But friend, when we read these accounts, don't miss what's really going on here.
Because these passages aren't about Jesus simply fixing problems. This is about
Jesus changing people because that's his mission. He's taking these unbelieving
disciples and he's making them men who become full of faith. He takes the demon
possessed man, this maniac, and what does he do? He turns him into a missionary.
He takes this woman who's on the fringes of the crowd and he brings her under
the family of God. He takes this good but broken man and he gives him cause to
rejoice. The truth is Jesus may not change your circumstances, but our great
savior promises to give grace and help in our time of need. And the scripture
says that his grace will be sufficient even in your weakness because that's
where his power is put on display. And so friend, remember that what Jesus is
doing in you, making you more like himself, is so much bigger and so much more
significant than any situation that you might be facing right now. And so here's
the good news of this passage. Faith replaces fear when we rest in the care and
the control of Christ. In your brokenness, in your sinfulness, in your unbelief,
won't you come to Jesus for his grace, for his strength, casting your cares upon
him, knowing that he cares and that he's in control. Father, we thank you for
our great savior. We thank you that we do not need to navigate the challenges of
life apart from your grace, but in our weakness, in our desperation, we have a
savior. A savior who does indeed care and who reveals his care in profound and
intimate ways. We thank you that our savior is in absolute sovereign control,
that nothing is outside of his care and control. And Lord, I thank you that our
savior is working in our lives right now to change us, renew us and make us more
like Christ. Give us grace to submit to your wisdom, to trust in your goodness,
to cast our cares upon you, to let faith replace fear as we learn to rest in
your care and control. We pray this that Jesus may be exalted in our lives.
Amen. Pray, and would you stand with me as we respond to God's glory and song.