"Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven." (Psalm 107:28)
Written hundreds of years before Christ came, Psalm 107 describes the handiwork of God. "He made the storm be still," the psalmist cried, "And the waves of the sea were hushed. He brought them to their desired haven." These lyrics, and the entire psalm, detail the power of God.
One day, Jesus came along, and with him the kingdom of God. He cast out demons. He healed everything from fevers to paralysis. He cleansed leprosy. But, one day, on the Sea of Galilee, he calmed the wind and the wave (Mark 4:35-41).
The disciples had wondered if he cared. He was asleep, after all, and they felt certain death was imminent. So they awoke him. But when he arose and rebuked the wind, and when the chaos of the storm gave way to calm waters, "they were filled with great fear and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'" (Mark 4:41).
At this point, they were well accustomed to the miraculous power of Christ. We should not imagine they'd forgotten all these previous supernatural events. They had no amnesia regarding Jesus' power.
But this miracle did shock them. Why?
In their view, this miracle was in an altogether different category than anything else he'd done. They were Jewish men, steeped in Old Testament traditions and scriptures. When they scanned the Old Testament, it was God himself who split the Red Sea, held back the waters of the Jordan River, and calmed the Mediterranean once Jonah was cast overboard. This was God stuff. In Genesis 1, on the six days of creation, God took chaos and made order, and Jesus did the same on the lake that night.
It shocked them. So they said, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" His miracle was a revelation. They were starting to see the divinity of Christ.
They didn't say to themselves, Wow, he calmed those storms. He can calm my personal storms of life. Instead, they thought something akin to, Who is this rabbi of ours? He is doing a thing God does! Who is in our boat? The sleeper in the stern was God in the flesh!
The disciples, just like the people of Psalm 107, had seen the deeds of the LORD (Psalm 107:24). They had cried to the LORD while in their trouble (Psalm 127:28). And they need to thank the LORD for his steadfast love, his covenant commitment to his people (Psalm 127:31).
And, just as the people of Psalm 107 and the disciples of Mark 4 needed to extol and praise the Lord, we should do the same. He cares for us. He is with us. He is trustworthy. And he is the glorious Creator God who will one day calm every storm and make all things new.
