Mark 4:39
And he arose¹,
and rebuked² the wind³,
and said unto the sea,
Peace⁴, be still⁵.
And the wind³ ceased⁶,
and there was⁷ a great calm⁸.
¹) To wake up.
²) To admonish or charge sharply.
³) A very strong tempestuous wind.
⁴) Silence, i.e. a hush, properly, muteness, i.e. involuntary stillness.
⁵) Put to silence, hold (one’s) peace, be still, to close the mouth with a muzzle, reduce to silence
⁶) To cease from violence, cease raging.
⁷) To become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be.
⁸) Calmness, stillness of the sea, a calm.
Other translations:
And He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush now! Be still (muzzled)! And the wind ceased (sank to rest as if exhausted by its beating) and there was [immediately] a great calm (a perfect peacefulness). [AMP] And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [ESV] Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, "Quiet! Settle down!" The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. [MSB] 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. [KJV] He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. [NIV] When he woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, "Quiet down!" Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. [NLT] Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. [NKJV]
Some further information:
And he arose, and rebuked the wind
Luke 8:24 also has: “and the raging of the water”.
Rebuked the wind,
See: Psalms 107:29; Isaiah 51:10
Who caused the wind and the sea to play up like this?
▪︎ If it was God, then Jesus rebuked God and His work!
▪︎ But if it was satan, then it is all completely clear!
Satan is still the prince of the power of the air, and when permitted by God, he can still cause storms (Job 1:13-22; Ephesians 2:2). And it was not in satan’s interest that He would reach the other side of the sea.
Sea
The Sea of Galilee lies 600 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, and has a tropical climate. Only a short distance north are the high mountains of Lebanon. The heated air about the sea invites the rush of cold waves from the mountains.
To such sudden squalls the Sea of Galilee is very liable from its position, in a deep basin, skirted on the east by lofty mountain ranges, while on the west the hills are intersected by narrow gorges through which the wind sweeps across the lake, and raises its waters with great rapidity into a storm.
Peace, be still.
Two sublime words of command, from a Master to His servants, the elements.
Observe that the word of command with which Christ rebuked the storm, we have here, and had not in Matthew.
He says, Peace, be still —Siopa, pephimoso —be silent, be dumb. Let not the wind any longer roar, nor the sea rage.
Thus he stills the noise of the sea, the noise of her waves; a particular emphasis is laid upon the noisiness of them (Psalms 65:7, 93:3,4) . The noise is threatening and terrifying; let us hear no more of it. This is,
(1.) A word of command to us; when our wicked hearts are like the troubled sea which cannot rest (Isaiah 57:20 ); when our passions are up, and are unruly, let us think we hear the law of Christ, saying, Be silent, be dumb. Think not confusedly, speak not unadvisedly; but be still.
(2.) A word of comfort to us, that, be the storm of trouble ever so loud, ever so strong, Jesus Christ can lay it with a word’s speaking. When without are fightings, and within are fears, and the spirits are in a tumult, Christ can create the fruit of the lips, peace.
If he say, Peace, be still, there is a great calm presently. It is spoken of as God’s prerogative to command the seas (Jeremiah 31:35).
By this therefore Christ proves himself to be God. He that made the seas, can make them quiet.
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm
The sudden hushing of the wind would not at once have calmed the sea, whose commotion would have settled only after a considerable time. But the word of command was given to both elements at once.
Now let us reflect on this
What did it literally and figuratively storm in the lives of the disciples. How troubled the disciples must have been when they got into the midst of that flying storm.
With Jesus they had entered a severe storm. So heavy that they thought they would perish with all hands. Although Jesus was with them, they still feared perishing.
While they all worked with all their might to keep their boat afloat, the Lord Jesus lay quietly asleep in the stern. Those disciples did not understand that their Lord could sleep so peacefully in these circumstances.
What a fear, and what a sign of weak faith in those disciples.
Did you think so too? Be very careful with your judgment, and do not blow your trumpet too loud. Because… Is it often not exactly the same in your and my life?
What a terrible storm it can sometimes be in our lives.
How deeply in life the Lord can touch us for all kinds of reasons.
And how difficult it can be, especially when the Lord is hiding Himself for a little while. As it were, as in our text asleep in the stern of that ship.
It is a beautiful story, that story of the storm that is calmed by Jesus. As long as you don’t end up in such a situation yourself. And then also have a Savior on board who is sleeping.
The disciples say it to Him, “Master, do you not care that we perish?” How terribly upset they were about their lives.
But also, how terribly sharp the picture is drawn in those disciples of everyone who thinks they will perish in the storms of life.
Sometimes we may even think that we will be lost forever.
Those are not easy times when you are in it.
God’s people have times in their life when it is so stormy inside and outside that they think they will perish forever.
This will only change when the Lord Himself calms the storm in our lives.
When this happens, we too stand ashamed, just like the disciples.
Then we too are ashamed of our weak faith.
As I said, it is quite a beautiful story, that story of the storm, which is calmed by Jesus. As long as you don’t end up in such a situation yourself.
Perhaps you who are reading this today also know about these storms in your life.
Do not despair!
He calms the roaring of the sea, the swirling waves, the howling wind.
His omnipotence was able to calm the storm at sea.
His omnipotence is no less able to overcome all the storms in your life..!
Don’t forget:
He is a mighty Savior!
And your troubles are not greater than your Lord!
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