Mark 4:35-41 In the Boat

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 4:35-41 In the Boat

Mark 4:35   On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. ³⁷ And there *arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. ³⁸ Jesus Himself 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?” ³⁹ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. ⁴⁰ And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” ⁴¹ They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

The boat provides a fitting metaphor for life, and the obvious question would be, “Is Jesus in your boat?” Or maybe the question should be, “Are you in Jesus’ boat?” Whose boat is it anyway?

I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t buy the boat. Some of the disciples had been fishermen. Maybe it belonged to one of them, now in general disuse due to this disciple thing. Maybe they had the boat on a lease, or you could rent if for a day, but I’m not sure they were doing those kinds of deals back then. It seems like a good argument that the boat belonged to the fishermen. But on the other hand, when someone actually calms the storm and saves the fishermen, and the boat, maybe it all actually belongs to him.

I’m not sure that it matters. In fact, maybe both sides are true. Because the Bible speaks of these reciprocal relationships. Is Christ in you? Yes, definitely, as it says in Col. 1:27:  “to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” And, on the other hand, are you in Christ? Yes, and here there are too many verses to count, but here’s one: Rom. 8:1  “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Further, now that Christ is ascended and has given His Spirit to His followers, we have the presence of Christ in us through the Person of the Spirit: 2 Timothy 1:14 “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”

So whether Jesus is in your boat, or you are in His, the point is that you are together, and that He is able to calm the storms that you face. As Jesus prayed, John 17:21-23 “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”