Mk 4:35-41
35[One] day, as evening drew on, [Jesus] said to [his disciples], “Let us cross to the other side.” 36Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. 38Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. 40Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” 41They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
THE WIND AND THE SEA OBEY: In the Book of Job, Job refuses to see his affliction as punishment for personal wrongdoing and asks for God’s explanation. God answers, not by justifying his action before men, but by referring to his almighty power. Using the ancient myths of powerful gods defeating the forces of darkness and the abyss, the author presents God as defeating and controlling the powers of the deep. God stills the roaring sea and silences the howling wind (Jb 38:8-11; see also Ps 107:25-30; Prv 30:4).
Sudden violent storms on the Sea of Galilee are well known. The one that falls upon the apostles is so severe that even if they are experienced fishermen, they are terrified and so rudely awaken Jesus. Rebuked by Jesus, the wind falls and there issues a great calm.
In the muzzling of the storm, comparison to the God of Israel who is the Lord of history and nature cannot be avoided. There are cosmic overtones in the account. Jesus “rebukes” the wind as he would the demons; the wind and sea are “living forces” that are subdued by Jesus with his sovereign word of command.
“Who then is this?” is the question not just of the disciples but of all believers. It is a question that invites a response of faith. In subduing the angry sea, we are told that Jesus is the living Lord. What is true of the God of Israel is also true of him. With Jesus in the midst of the believers, there is nothing to fear from dangers of nature and other “storms” of life.