Mark: The Voice of Jesus Calms the Storm
And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it
was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto
him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea,
Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them,
Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What
manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Mark 4:37ff (Spoke 19, Cycle 2)
The Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ is one of the most important doctrines of the Christian Faith.
It is taught with great clarity in this story of Jesus calming the sea. There are many passages, most notably
in the Psalms, that praise the Lord God Almighty for His power over the forces of nature, particularly the wind
and sea. Here are two prime examples:
- Psalm 89:7ff God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
- Psalm 107:27ff They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the LORD in
their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works ... !
These Psalms sound a lot like the passage from Mark. They show that Jesus has the same powers of God revealed
in the Old Testament. But there is much more going on here. A comparison of the three Synoptic Gospels
reveals that only Mark's Gospel records the actual words spoken by the Lord when He rebuked the sea:
Synoptic Parallels in which the Voice of Jesus Calming the Sea is heard only in Mark |
MATTHEW 8:26 | MARK 4:39 | LUKE 8:24 |
Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea;
...
and there was a great calm.
|
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea,
Peace, be still.
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. |
Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water:
...
and they ceased, and there was a calm.
|
This
comparison is striking. The three Gospels use almost exactly the same words
except for Mark which "just happens" to record the actual voice of Jesus
(Quph KeyWord qol, see The Cry of My Voice) that stilled the storm,
and this, in turn, "just happens" to form a KeyLink to the Psalm quoted above.
Searching the entire KJV for all verses containing the set (calm, still) [Verify] selects only the two
verses (Psalm 107:29, Mark 4:39) shown in the KeyLink table. Such is the work of the God who calms the sea. This is a
very rich vein of pure gold that will amply reward further research.
|