“Who is This”

May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the Fellowship
of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Job 38:1-11 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and
said, 2 ‘Who is this that darkens counsel By words without
knowledge? 3 Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you,
and you instruct Me! 4 Where were you when I laid the foundation
of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, 5 Who set its
measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? 6
On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When
the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for
joy? 8 Or who enclosed the sea with doors, When, bursting forth, it
went out from the womb; 9 When I made a cloud its garment, And
thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 And I placed boundaries on it,
And I set a bolt and doors,’ 11 And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come,
but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop?’” (NASB)
Mark 4:35-41 “And on that day, when evening had come, He said to
them, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ 36 And leaving the multitude,
they took Him along with them, just as He was, in the boat; 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 And He Himself was in the stern, asleep on the
cushion; and they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not
care that we are perishing?’ 39 And being aroused, He 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
so timid? How is it that you have no faith?’ {41} And they became
very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that
even the wind and the sea obey Him?’” (NASB)
We are in series B of the lectionary so most of the Gospel lessons for the
balance of the church year are going to be from the Gospel of St. Mark. Each
Gospel has characteristics that make it unique in highlighting some aspect of the
person and work of Jesus Christ. Two of the most notable characteristics of Mark is
its sense of urgency and the question about who Jesus of Nazareth is. Through the
balance of the year we will hear the word “immediately” and we will come across
the questions “Who is this man?”
While the people whose words and deeds are recorded in the Gospel of St.
Mark are often left wondering, “Who is this?” St. Mark, the author of the Gospel
puts the answer to the question in the very first verse of his Gospel. Mark 1:1 –
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The answer to the
often asked question, Who is this? is literally “Jesus the Anointed One, the Son of
God.”
In the Gospel people often wonder who Jesus is. But in other places of the
Gospel we are told that even demons know who Jesus is. Today we even heard that
the wind and the waves know who Jesus is and obey.
It had been a day of teaching and healing. As the sun was setting and Jesus
decided to cross the Sea of Galilee. Crossing the Sea of Galilee at night was not for
amateurs. The Sea of Galilee is a big enough lake to cause amateurs trouble, but the
disciples were not amateurs. Some of the disciples were fishermen who regularly
went out into the dark of night to fish. “He said to them, ‘Let us go over to the
other side.’ And leaving the multitude, they took Him along with them, just as He
was, in the boat; and other boats were with Him.’”
Once under way, Jesus decided to go to sleep. He had been working all day
and was tired. He settled into the stern of the boat. The Sea of Galilee is about eight
miles across from west to east at its widest point. Crossing under normal conditions
usually took a few hours.
On this occasion, “there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were
breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.” Even
though some of the disciples were experienced fishermen, this storm was
sufficiently violent enough to frighten even the more seasoned fishermen among
them. The Greek reads “they feared a great fear.” For the fishermen turned theology
students it looked like the end was near. Jesus on the other hand, was sound asleep
on a cushion. “They awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that
we are perishing?’”
I don’t know what the disciples thought that a son of a carpenter would bring
to the situation. From the reaction to what Jesus did do, the disciples did not know
He had power over the wind and waves. Maybe they were just looking for another
set of hands to help bail the water out.
Regardless of what they thought He could or would do, they wake Him
believing He will share their sense of urgency. That’s not what happened. “He
rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down
and it became perfectly calm.”
I am a guy who likes storms. Admittedly, I like watching them from the
safety of a shelter, but I like them. I might like them less in a boat on a lake, but I
like storms. One of the reasons I like storms and other powerful occurrences of
nature is because they put us in our place. They remind us the there are things in
this world beyond our control. Human beings have been given dominion over all
the beasts of the field. They are given to and for us. But under the curst of Genesis
3, nature is clearly not under our dominion. Thorns and thistles it shall yield and
violent and destructive acts of nature are a result of our all into sin. Romans 8:21-
22 “creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the
freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation
groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”
In a panic the disciples woke Jesus us. He immediately rebukes the waves
and the sea, then He asks the disciples “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no
faith?”
The reason for the first statement is obvious. They were afraid. They thought
they were done for. We can understand that easy enough.
The second statement, “Do you still have no faith?” was spoken in the
context of what they had witnessed earlier that day. They heard Jesus teach. They
saw the works and miracles He had performed. They should have known that
nothing was going to happen to Jesus, at least not yet. Jesus wasn’t going to die at
sea.
But there is another great mystery at work here. Jesus was exhausted. Like
any other man, woman, or child exhaustion brings on sleep. Jesus like any other
human being needed sleep. In this sense He yields to nature. Yet, He also had power
over the wind and waves. He commanded the wind and waves to stop and they did,
which brought about the question. “Who then is this, that even the wind and the
sea obey him?” The answer is– The God-Man Jesus, the Christ.
In contrast to this, God Himself asked a question of Job in the Old Testament
lesson this morning. Job 38:-12 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the
whirlwind and said, ‘Who is this that darkens counsel By words without
knowledge?’”
Many of us have heard the old saying, “He or she must have the patience of
Job.” Job was a more devout and patient than I am. He was more devout and
patient than most people I know. But the patience of Job did wear out. In chapter 29
Job longed for the days when he was wealthy, when he could give away money to
the poor, and when he was surrounded by his children, now deceased. By chapter
37, Job’s patience was at an end. He had some of his own ideas about what God
ought to be doing in His life.
By chapter 38, God had grown weary of Job’s questioning, complaining, and
ideas. “The LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, ‘Who is this that
darkens counsel By words without knowledge?’” Who is this the disciples asked
that even the wind and sea obey Him? He was God.
Many centuries earlier, God asked a man, Who is this that presumes to advise
Me, the Almighty Three? The Lord God is about to humble Job. He is going to
teach him that he, Job, knows nothing and therefore in himself has nothing to give
or say or advise. “I will ask you, and you instruct Me!” 4 “Where were you when
I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set
its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it?”
I have a friend. Big hearted. Well intentioned, but at times very annoying.
Even though he has never had a auto or house loan, he will tell you what you need
to do and how it ought to be or what you ought to do. Even though he has never
worked for a big corporation, that doesn’t stop him from holding forth about how
things work or ought to work and what you ought to do. Name the topic, he will
tell you what to do and how it ought to be done. When I am bit tired and less than
patient, I will fire off a series of questions, usually followed statements about how
things really work outside the south side of Peoria. The point of my questions is not
so much to educate my friend, because that seems like a pretty hopeless endeavor,
the point is to humble my friend into silence.
That is what God is doing with Job in chapter 38 and following. The lesson
is, God is God and He both knows what He is doing and has the power to make it
so. As for Job, he is simply called to live by faith, even if he does not fully
understand. Faith above all else is not dependent on circumstance. That brings us
back to that little boat being tossed to and fro by strong winds and high waves.
This storm was really something. It was a gale, a strong storm and Jesus was
sleeping. Jesus’ faith in God the Father was so pure and strong that He could sleep
even as the waves splashed into the boat. Tossed back and forth and getting wet,
Jesus slept.
“And He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? How is it that you still have
no faith?’” Jesus points His finger on the problem immediately. In the midst of the
storm, their faith seemed to be washed away. In the midst of his troubles, Job’s faith
began to wilt.
Enter St. Paul and the churches of Corinthian. 2 Corinthians 6:1 “And
working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in
vain . . . 3 giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be
discredited, 4 but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in
much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, 5 in beatings, in
imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, 6 in purity, in
knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, 7 in the
word of truth, in the power of God . . . by glory and dishonor, by evil report and
good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; 9 as unknown yet well-known, as
dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, 10 as sorrowful yet
always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing
all things.”
In spite of all that St. Paul and his colleagues had been through, good and bad
the Word of God was spoken and had sustained them all along the way. That’s how
it ought to have been for Job. That is how it ought to have been for the disciples in
that boat. That is how it ought to be among us.
But we, like the disciples are easily shaken. It doesn’t even take a big life
threatening storm. An ache here or there, a trip to the doctor, a change in our
financial situation is enough to produce a level of anxiety in us.
Luther preached thus. “It also happens today that it appears as if the Lord
does not see us, and had entirely forgotten about us, as He does here in the
ship, and sleeps. He lets the waves overwhelm the ship. He lets the devil and
the world rage against the Christians so that it appears that we will certainly
sink and drown. In His own time, however, the Lord awakes and shows His
might, rebukes the littleness of our faith, the fear and fright of His disciples,
and stills the noise of the people.”
When God got done asking Job “Who is this that counsels Me?” Job
understood the point. When God finished his speech at the end of chapter (41:1)
“Job answered the LORD, and said, 2 ‘I know that Thou canst do all things, And
that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted . . . Therefore I have declared that
which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
God rescued Job from his nightmare. He restored Job. The Son of God did
the same for the disciples so that He did not lose any that had been given to Him.
And in and through the Church He is doing the same for you.
AMEN.
May the peace that surpasses all understanding keep our minds and hearts in Christ
Jesus. Amen.