Marcos 4

A supernatural tempest

35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." 36 Since He was already in the boat,*Going back to 4:1, He was already in the boat. I would say that the explanations recorded in 4:10-20 actually happened later. they took off with Him, leaving the crowd behind (other little boats were also with Him).*I do not know why Mark mentions the other boats—maybe some of the crowd had come in them. In any case, they evidently did not follow Him across the lake (they may have been dangerously small to attempt it). 37 Well a strong cyclonic wind came up, such that the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling up. 38 But He was on the poop deck, sleeping on the cushion;*In keeping with the size of the boat, the poop deck was probably just big enough for someone to lie down on it. Jesus was not down in the boat or He would already be covered with water. He was so worn out that not even the storm aroused Him—they probably had to shake Him. so they awakened Him and said to Him, "Teacher, don’t you care that we are perishing?"*There were professional fishermen in that boat, who had seen no end of storms on that lake, but this one was unusual. Satan saw where Jesus was heading and did not want to lose his prize victim, so he made a valiant effort to stop Him. 39 Then, having been awakened, He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Shut up; be muzzled!" So the wind stopped and there was a complete calm.*Jesus performed a double miracle here. First, He made the wind stop short. But once water is agitated, it takes a while to calm down, even if the cause is gone, so second, He smoothed out the water immediately. 40 And He said to them: "Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?"*Jesus is evidently saying that they should not have been afraid, and that they themselves could have solved the problem—if they had the faith. I imagine that the Lord would say something similar to us, when we fail to respond appropriately to difficult circumstances that take us by surprise. 41 They were terrified and started saying to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!?"*Well really, what were the options?—human being, angelic being (good or bad), God. Who can turn water into wine, cleanse lepers, raise dead, feed 5,000 with five loaves, etc.?