Chapter # 4 Paragraph # 9 Study # 3
August 4, 2020
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: "Teaching"
always brings its own "necessity",
but that "necessity" is often buried so deeply that it
has to be brought to the surface.
Introduction: In our introductory study of this paragraph, we saw that the overall "point" is the failure of the disciples to properly respond to Jesus' teaching. Then, in last week's study we looked into the details of Jesus' abandonment of the crowd and His focus upon the need of His disciples. That "need" is for "faith" in the "words" of Truth as soon as they are uttered: "Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart."
Our study this evening is going to revolve around Mark's focus in describing "the coming of a fierce gale of wind". The mystery of the former words is "Why did Mark mention 'other boats'?" and "What happened to those in the other boats?" That mystery lingers in my mind without a sure understanding, but it is highly likely that Jesus' abandonment of the "crowd" (of which those in the other boats were a part) means "abandonment" and the likelihood of that thesis is that the other boats sank without intervention by Jesus.
- I. To Begin: There Is Another "Coming".
- A. In the parable regarding The Lamp, Jesus said, "The Lamp is not coming so that it might be placed under the basket...".
- 1. This is a parable about the intense necessity of permitting The Lamp to accomplish its/His purpose(s).
- 2. The disciples had this "intense necessity" explained to them by Jesus so that they could "take it to heart", but there were "problems"... .
- B. In the words of our current paragraph, Mark says "And is coming a great storm of wind...".
- 1. The verbs are not the same, but they cover some of the same territory.
- a. "The Lamp comes" means that "The Lamp is moving into a specific location".
- b. "And a great storm of wind comes into being" means that "a great storm is coming into existence" in the setting described.
- c. In both cases, a "setting" is invaded so that the "setting" is now having to deal with what has come.
- 2. The particulars are not the same, but the "issue" is.
- a. The Lamp is coming into the setting to reveal the particulars of that setting so that the setting is exposed to make understanding easier.
- b. The great storm of wind comes into existence in the setting to surface the particulars that stymie understanding.
- c. In both cases, "understanding" is the crucial element.
- II. The Coming of The Great Storm.
- A. The description of the storm.
- 1. It is a "storm" of wind and dangerous waves.
- a. The "storm" is a lailaps.
- 1) The word is only used three times in the New Testament.
- a) Our current text.
- b) Luke's duplicate reference to this same event (8:23)
- c) Peter's use of the word in a metaphoric description of false teachers who are likened unto "mists driven by a storm" (2 Peter 2:17); a raging, blinding mist that keeps people from understanding true doctrine.
- 2) In our current text, the "storm" is a literal mix of extreme winds and high waves that have one "impact": the disciples' perception of a threat of impending death.
- b. It is described as "great".
- 1) "Great" in Mark's terminology runs from the relatively large size of branches on a mustard plant to the "great" size of a swine herd that numbered about 2,000 pigs.
- 2) "Greatness" is invariably relative to some "norm".
- c. It is described as "of wind".
- 1) The reference to "wind" is most likely an element in Mark's "literary design" because he wanted his readers to tie 4:35-41 to 6:47-51.
- a) At issue in both records is the disciples' lack of "immediate" faith in "words" revealed and/or "actions" taken.
- a) This is significant because of Jesus' declared intent in His "calling" of the first four disciples: He was going to transform them.
- b) Thus, these records indicate that the process of "transformation" was fraught with difficulties.
- 2) The reference to "wind" is also tied to Mark 13:27 where Jesus declared that, at some future point, "...He will send forth the angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds..." (a reference that is also tied to Revelation 7:1 that indicate that "the four winds are generally used to afflict people on the earth, and to Acts 8:1 and 11:19 where another "storm" had scattered the Church into The Dispersion).
- 2. It is a "storm" that reveals the "hidden" obstacles that reside in the hearts/minds of the disciples.
- a. It is clear that the "great fear" (4:41) is related to the "great storm" of our current verse.
- b. It is also clear that the "great fear" was generated by the "great storm".
- c. It is also clear that the "great fear" of the "great storm" was, most fundamentally, illegitimate by reason of the challenge of Jesus to their fear and disbelief.
- 1) The "problem" was that of a false heart in which things that are considered "valuable" aren't.
- 2) This indicates that Jesus deliberately subjected His disciples to their "great fear" so that they might, by faith in His words, overcome it.
- 3) This "overcoming" of fears is absolutely required of all who were to become faithful to their "calling": there will be no transformation without the transformation of the values of the heart which is accomplished by words and experiences and challenges by Jesus.
