Church of the Nazarene East Rock
Questions Jesus Asked: “Why are you so afraid?”
Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?
Today we conclude our our 4-part teaching series “Questions Jesus Asked”
Often, we are quite content to ask questions of Jesus. Who are you? Where are you? Do you hear me? How could you let that happen? What do you want me to do?
We often ask questions of Jesus, but do we pause to hear the questions he asks of us?
Today we hear Jesus ask “Why are you so afraid?”
Mark 4:35-41
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Jesus notably doesn’t ask you “WHAT are you so afraid of?”
You see the answer to what we are afraid of is easy. We can likely name those things all day long- but there is no healing in that question.
The question Jesus ask’s is “WHY are you so afraid?”
Jesus is asking about WHY we are afraid- Why we don’t trust him or why we don’t think he cares. He wants us to consider those things
Today friends, Jesus already knows why you’re afraid…do you?
After a long day’s teaching, Jesus gave instructions for them to hop in the boat, and head for the other side of the Lake.
The geography around the sea of Galilee is very steep and mountainous, the surface of the lake being some 600 feet below sea level, strong sudden winds were a common phenomenon. But this was no ordinary storm.
The waves are coming over the sides, the water is filling the boat faster than they can bail- they are going down if something doesn’t change. So, they holler for Jesus who exhausted from the day, is sleeping in the front of the boat…
“Jesus! We are gonna die out here, don’t you even care?”
Commentator Robert Guelich says:
“The fear of the storm overwhelmed their commitment to Jesus and their confidence that he did care for them”
In the moment- as the waves overwhelmed the boat, their fear overwhelmed their commitment to Jesus as their loving savior and protector.
We see within their question, there is a subtle rebuke that he doesn’t even care. That’s what Jesus is really addressing in his response. They didn’t trust him
What Jesus addresses in his question is their lack of faith, their lack of trust in him as their Lord.
Their fear of the storm and death lead them to doubt God’s faithfulness, his care, and perhaps even his ability to do something about it.
Pastor and author Jeff Stott says, “The Lord’s rebuke is not about their reaction to the storm, but their reaction to Jesus in the storm.”
Jesus knew the reason they were so afraid. He knew the reason they were rebuking him as if he didn’t care was because their fear had replaced their faith in him. That’s what fear does…
Jesus is calling to us today, trying to get us to see the places where our fear has replaced our faith and trust in him. The places where doubt has crept into our relationship.
If you were to be honest today, what questions are you asking the Lord in the middle of your storm?
Do you find yourself asking like the disciples if Jesus even cares?
Can I trust you with my future?
Can you really heal me?
Is this the best you can do?
We may not verbalize these questions or ever put thought to them, but our fear shows they are there.
What would it look like for you today to replace your fear with Faith?
That’s the invitation
Jesus begin his journey with the disciples saying “let’s go over to the other side.” Today, let’s replace our fear with faith and go with Jesus to the other side. He is faithful. He is Trustworthy. He is Good.