Well, good morning. Turn with me to the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 4. While you're doing that, let me, just on behalf of Robin, my wife, and myself, just express our love for you all here. You know, you've been good friends for a lot of years, and you've been really a tremendous blessing and encouragement to Robin and I. We just are thankful to the Lord. We rejoice in his goodness to us in bringing us into contact with each other, and we really are grateful. Well, let's look here in Mark, in Mark chapter four and verse... beginning in verse 35. Let me just read this first, and then we'll consider some of the things that we can find here. Verse 35, on the same day when evening had come, he said to them, that is Jesus, he said to them, let us cross over to the other side. Now when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was, and other little boats were also with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? 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. But he said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? and they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" Now, this is a remarkable story, as is every story about Jesus. It's a short story, but it's full of great things. All the elements of the Gospel are here in this story. A great storm, a people in great need, a great saviour, a saviour who is a man sleeping in the stern of the boat, a saviour who is God, the Almighty, whom even the winds and the sea obey, a saviour who cares, and so much more. Why am I preaching? on this today. Well, I want us to consider, above all else, what is Jesus like? As the disciples said, what manner of man is this? What is Jesus like? And two, you know, I thought this is a portion that I think fits so well with what we've been looking at in the book of Jonah. We've been looking at the type, we've been looking at Jonah as a type of Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. Well, let's look at the reality. Let's look at the one who is greater than Jonah. And so I'd like for us to do that a little today. Now, in the first chapter of that wonderful epistle of Paul to the Philippians that we just heard from, Paul says, to die is gain. To die is gain. And then he says, why? Why is it gain? To depart and be with Christ is far better. Far better to be with Christ than anyone in this life. Far better to be with Christ than anything in this world. Far better than anything in the entire universe. In recent years, I'll have to say how little I know of what Paul is speaking about. But I do know that the more we know of Christ, what he's like, the more we'll love him. And the more we love him, the more we'll desire to be with him. We could say that The Bible, what is the Bible about? We could really say in its entirety, the Bible is given to us for this specific purpose, to tell us what Jesus is like. Isn't that true? We know that Jesus himself said that all scriptures testify of him. And the more we understand by God's grace, and work of his spirit, the more we see of him in the scriptures, and the more we delight and rejoice in that. Now, some of the scriptures are what we would call more doctrinal, more doctrinal like the book of Hebrews, for example, where we see the redemptive work of Christ laid out in great detail. And I once remember preaching to the pastors and teachers in the Minyami area of where we work. And I was speaking from the very first chapter of Hebrews where we read, God has in these last days spoken to us by his son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power. When he had by himself, by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. And how all the offices of prophet, priest, and king in accomplishing the redemption of his people are fulfilled in this one glorious person, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when I had finished, one of the pastors there, Samson, who I've spoken of in the past, was so moved, tears were running down his face. And this is what he said, he is a different kind of man. Well, that's what the disciples are saying. What manner of man is this? But too, there are other scriptures, other scriptures in the Gospels and the Psalms in particular. We saw some of that, which give us a much greater insight into the more intimate details of the words spoken by Jesus. The things that he did, the thoughts that came into his mind, the emotions and desires of his heart as he lives a life. and dies a death like no other man ever has or ever could. And the disciples make this startled exclamation, what manner of man is this in this story we just read? And that's an important question. It's a question we should continually ask. We never can plumb the depths of it. even as the Lord's people. We should always be asking, what manner of man is this? What is he like? Well, this story tells us a little bit about Jesus. It has three major parts. It has a great storm, a perishing people, and a wonderful savior. In verse 35, we read there, on the same day when evening had come, he said to them, let us cross over to the other side. Now, when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was. They took him along as he was. Now, that's seemingly a strange statement. What does it mean? Well, I think it's like the statement we read in John 4, when Christ comes and meets the woman of Samaria by that well. And we read there that he being wearied, sat thus by the well." Well, how did he sit by the well? He sat wearied by the well. That's how he sat. And we read here, they took him into the boat as he was. Well, how was Jesus? Here too, he was completely and utterly exhausted. This is how he was. Why? Because of his ceaseless labor during that day. You see, it says, on that same day. On that same day they went into the boat. Well, what occurred during that day? If you glance back, just look back in this same chapter, or go back to chapter three. Chapter three, all on this same day, and it's speaking about the continuous activity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He went about doing good, and only good, doing works of mercy and grace, preaching continuously words of truth, words of life. Look in Mark 3, verse 7. But Jesus withdrew from his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judea, and Jerusalem, and Edomia, and beyond the Jordan, and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude. when they heard how many things he was doing came to him. So he told his disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for him because of the multitude, lest they should crush him. For he healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about him to touch him." He's preaching the gospel. And just that alone, the multitudes pressing... Notice how it's saying, the multitudes pressing upon him. And this is exhausting. This is exhausting. And then he... I can't go into all of this, but then he goes, look, in verse 13, he goes up onto the mountain. In verse 13, he went up onto the mountain and called to him those he himself wanted, and they came to him. And there he appoints... the 12 disciples, anointing them into this great ministry that they'll have. And the multitude comes together again, look in verse 20, then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And then, just skipping down, then in verse 31, after all of this, preaching to them. This is where he comes and casts out the demon, and they accuse him of casting out by the power of Beelzebub. Then his mother, in verse 31, then his brothers and his mother came to him, and he deals with that, preaching the truth. And then beginning in chapter 4, he begins this long period of preaching and teaching in parables. This is all in one day. But you see this continuously throughout the life of Christ. He's continuously working, laboring. He was out in the elements all day, being pressed by the multitude, constantly with people, preaching until the evening had come, and he was exhausted. He's a man. He was exhausted. Jesus goes about this work as if these things were matters of life and death. Because they are! And he lays his head on a headrest in the stern of the boat, and as soon as they depart for the other side, Jesus goes to sleep. And this great windstorm arose, and Jesus continues to sleep. In the midst of this tempest, Here, there's this roar of the seas, the pounding of the waves against the boat, the howling of the wind, the terrified shouts of the disciples as they strive with everything they have to survive. And Jesus sleeps. Think of this. The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, who neither Faints, nor is weary. Is weary. Is weary. Here in the stern of the boat is a man just like you and me. Physically, emotionally, psychologically, mentally, exhausted beyond measure. Why is he even here? Think back to what we just heard earlier. Why is this God even here? Why is the everlasting God, the Lord of glory, the creator of the ends of the earth, even here? A man in the stern of the boat, in a storm, being drenched by waves on the Sea of Galilee because he cares for poor sinners. That's why. Why is he in this state of complete and utter exhaustion? Because he cares for his people. This is one of the chief attributes of the good shepherd. This is what distinguishes him from all other shepherds, false shepherds. What do we read there in John 10? The hireling flees because he is an hireling and what? Cares not for the sheep. But the Good Shepherd is so different, isn't he? He cares for the sheep. That's one of his chief distinguishing characteristics. The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep. And Jesus did that in his life, in his death. He did that in his life too, didn't he? Isn't he giving his life for the sheep in his life, as well as his death? Well, Jesus said to them, let us cross over to the other side. In verse 36, now, when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was, and other little boats were also with him, and a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on a pillow, and they awoke him and said, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Now, when they started out, the weather was good. They set out upon a tranquil sea, in the calm of the evening without any thought of the coming storm. They launched out and as they sailed over the sea, the wind began to pick up and the sea became rough. But in the boat, I count at least four experienced fishermen, Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They had spent their whole lives on this very lake. They're at home on the sea. They've weathered many storms. This is... What would we say? This is their strength, isn't it? This is their strength. This is what they know how to do. They can handle this. They were expert sailors and went about doing what they knew how to do. They thought they had it all under control. But this was a great windstorm. A storm like they... had never experienced before. Mark says it was a great tempest. It was a great tempest. And the waves became huge in the driving gale and beat into the boat, and the boat began filling. And the disciples had exhausted all their abilities, all their strength, and they knew everything was beyond their control. It would have been a terrifying experience. They knew that they were at the point of perishing. You know, without control, there's chaos. And with chaos, there's death. If the sailor's not in control of the vessel, he'll die. If the farmer's not in control of the farm, there'll be no food and he'll perish. You can apply that to anything in life. If there's chaos, there's going to be death. A world of chaos is a world of death. Control is important, but what we need to learn is that we're not in control of anything. God is in control. Without him we can do nothing. His word tells us that. Without him we can do nothing. It is in him we live and move and have our being. It's not... We think this. We think this in our foolishness. Well, we do some things and other things God's in control of. No, no, no, no. God is in control of everything. and we can do nothing. We tend to act as if that's not the case, but it is. Every move you make, every breath you take, is by His sustaining power. Without Him, we can do nothing. And I'll have to tell you, I've been learning this from the time the Lord first saved me. And I don't know about you, but I'm still learning. I'm still learning. Well, the situation for these disciples is desperate. The disciples have done all they can. The boat is in the grip of this monstrous storm. The waves are crashing in, filling the boat. And they know the boat is going down. Then they think of Jesus. Well, where has he been? He's been there the whole time. Why then, in the midst of this great trial, a life-threatening trial that had come upon these men, why did it take them so long to think about Jesus and cry out to him for help? Well, that's a good question, isn't it? I wish I could tell you that I have no idea. I don't understand the disciples' actions at all, but I do understand because I do it all the time. I know you do too. The storm has blurred their sight of Christ. Isn't that what has happened? Their eyes, their minds, their strength are all taken up in the circumstances that are before them. Their focus is on themselves, on the storm, on everything that's happening. And they've, in that moment, forgotten all about Christ, who's sleeping in the stern of the boat. They've taken their eyes of faith off of Jesus. And the disciples wake in Jesus and say, Teacher, Now they've thought of him, they come, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? You know, and I thought how piercing and heartbreaking it must have been for Jesus to hear the disciples say that. Do you not care? You know, the spirit later rebukes the disciples through these scriptures, doesn't he? Have you thought of that? Through these scriptures we're reading. Can you imagine the disciples later reading these words of Mark or of the Spirit bringing these things to their minds that they said to Jesus after his death and suffering and burial and resurrection? Do you not care? The Lord, think of this for us, the Lord is with his people in a much more profound way than just his physical presence in the boat. He's in our hearts, he's in our minds by his spirit, The spirit of truth which he tells us, he's given to us and abides with us forever. Now the Lord uses these storms to test our faith, to cause us to ask the question, do I have faith at all? The storms of our lives. Do I trust him to care for that which is most precious to me? And what is that? My soul. Do I need him? Do I depend upon him? Do I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? That's the question, isn't it? Well, what can we say of the faith of these disciples? It was little, but it was faith. They turn to Jesus at this critical point. From all appearances, he's just a man asleep in the stern of the boat on a headrest. He's the son of a carpenter from Nazareth. Why would these experienced fishermen think that he could help them in any way in these circumstances? Because they knew and believed that Jesus could save them. Isn't that true? Have you received the gift of faith? Your faith may be small, and my faith may be small, but it is faith, and we will cry out to Christ in our trouble. We will. We will. True faith cries out, and we'll always cry out to Christ. There has never been a man, woman, or child in the thousands of years of this earth, who has cried out to Christ and has not been heard. Not one. Not one. There has never been one who cried out for mercy, who did not receive mercy. There has never been one who has cried out for forgiveness, who did not receive forgiveness of sins. There has never been one who cried out to be saved, who was not saved. Not one. And there never will be as long as the world shall last. How do I know that? Because Christ himself said, all that the Father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I will by no means, no means cast out. Not one. Well, think of the noise of the storm. You know, my father, was in the military during the Korean War and they sent him to the Philippines. And he experienced a hurricane there. He said there's nothing, he said he'll never forget the noise. Never forget the noise. He said that the hurricane stripped the paint right off those landing craft that were out there. And he said he'll never forget the noise of the storm. He said, the greatness of the noise is impossible to comprehend unless you've experienced it. And here they are, they're in this great storm, the noise of the storm. Think of this, the noise of the storm didn't waken Jesus. The crashing waves didn't waken Jesus. The great heaving of the boat didn't waken Jesus. The water pouring into the boat didn't waken Jesus. No, no. What woke Jesus? The cry of his people. The cry of his people. He heard their cry and arose. Now these circumstances, they're temporal circumstances, aren't they, that they're facing here? But they point us to the spiritual reality of the inward storm, a storm which is far more lethal than any storm on the Sea of Galilee. In Isaiah 57 we read, The wicked are like a troubled sea. This turmoil of the troubled sea is representative of the storm in the soul of every man, every man born into this world. the storm of sin in the soul. And this storm is a storm of death. This storm won't just kill the body, but will take you down into the darkness of the depths and destroy your soul in hell. And there are times when the Lord uses the storms of life to cause a person to see that inward storm which ravages their soul. And these storms come suddenly and unexpectedly. They shred your life, batter you on every side, tear away all that you trust in, overcome your strength, until you know that this storm is too great for you. You may be Doing all you can, like the disciples, thinking you can do it. But then you're brought to a point where you know you can't. Where you know you can't. And you know you're perishing. And you fall down before the Lord and cry out, Lord, save me, for I am perishing. The storms of life are inevitable for all of us. They will come, and they'll come when we least expect them. The question is, are you and I prepared for the storm? What will we do in the storm? How will we react? What will be the outcome? They're serious questions, aren't they, when it comes to spiritual things? And there will only be two outcomes, as we know. Only two outcomes. Either the storm of your soul and my soul will be quieted by the one who says, peace be still, or you and I will perish for eternity in the depths of the storm of God's judgment for the sin of your soul. Only two outcomes. Look at verse 39, 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. But he said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? And I know that All of you have seen the Pacific Ocean, the sea right here. Robin and I used to spend a lot of time, before we went to the field, along the rugged California coast. Came up numerous times, as far as up along the Oregon coast as well. And you sit there, even with a small storm, and you see the power of the waves come roaring and crashing against the cliffs there, the might of the wave as they crash and the speed that those waves come in. It's amazing. It's awesome, isn't it? The relentlessness of those waves. But that's just a mere shadow of what the sea must have been like in this great windstorm. waves rising like mountains, then dropping this little vessel into the trough as if they were going to be swallowed whole. The noise, the pounding waves against the boat, the roar of the wind, the lashing and the driving rain, the groaning of every fitting in the boat. Then Jesus arose. And think of In what's pictured to us, in the reality of this storm, in this little boat, Jesus arose and we see the power and the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ. As he stands in the boat, in the midst of this great tumult, the one who spoke the world into existence rebukes the wind and says, peace be still. And the wind ceased. And there was a great calm. He speaks, and it's done. It's always that way. Just a word, and it's done. The winds and the waves obey the voice of their creator, don't they? In Psalm 93, we read, I think this is wonderful. Psalm 93, the floods have lifted up, O Lord. The floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea. There he is, there he is, in the boat, rebuking the storm, the waves. Well, what effect did the calming of this terrible storm have on the disciples? In the storm, they thought they'd reached the point where they would perish in the sea, and they were afraid. But when the Lord, by the word of his mouth, quiets the storm, calms the waves, they were more afraid. They were exceedingly afraid. Why? Because they knew more of what Jesus is like. They were given a greater understanding of who he is. They feared him with that fear of awe and reverence. The disciples began to understand a little more, I have no doubt, of what Isaiah spoke about. When he had that vision, you remember, and he says, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above it stood Seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. And one cried to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. Who is this person that Isaiah saw? He was this man standing in the boat on the Sea of Galilee. When confronted with the splendor and majesty, the glory, the holiness of Christ, Isaiah was laid prostrate. He was overwhelmed. He cried, woe is me. This is the reaction of anyone who's ever come to a knowledge of Christ. Sees him, woe is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Isaiah feared exceedingly and these disciples feared exceedingly. They were given a glimpse and Think of this, just a glimpse, just a glimpse of the glory and majesty of the King, the Lord of hosts. And they said to one another, what manner of man is this? The disciples had been thinking about the storm, about themselves, about what they needed to do to survive, about whether they would survive, and a thousand other things. They were distracted, weren't they? I think they were distracted. They had not been thinking about Jesus. But now, what are they thinking about? They're entirely focused upon Christ, aren't they? The more we know of what Christ is like, the more you and I will focus on Him. This is why your pastor preaches Christ to you. I know you know that, but so many don't. Do you want to see the glory of Christ? Well, listen. Listen to what he says. What manner of man is this, the disciples ask. Well, let me close then with this one answer. He's the only one. who can save his people from perishing in the storm of their own iniquity. He is the one who spoke all things into existence, upholds all things by the word of his power, the omnipotent God. But listen now. Listen. Listen carefully. He cannot speak away the sin and iniquity of his people. Can't be done. Can't be done. Even the word of His power, even the word of His power cannot take away sin. He cannot speak to the storm of the sin-ravaged soul and say, peace be still, and the sin is covered. No, no, no. No, no. Something far greater was required to purge your sin and my sin. Christ had to suffer a far greater storm, the storm of God's justice and the storm of God's wrath for our sin. Turn over to Psalm 69 for a moment. Psalm 69. And you, you. Psalm 69. In the Garden of Gethsemane, We know as Jesus begins to take that awful cup of the wrath of God, he cries out, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. The magnitude of the sufferings that the soul of God would cry out like this. Consider that. The soul of God would cry out, My soul! is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death." In Gethsemane, we only catch glimpses of this incomprehensible suffering of Christ that is before him. But in the Psalms, we're given insight into the thoughts that he thought and the prayers that he made during this time. What a glorious privilege we have that the word of God has given this to us. Look here, here is Christ in the storm of God's wrath. Save me, Psalm 69, verse one. Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink into deep mire where there is no standing. I have come into deep waters where the floods overflow me. I am weary with my crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail while I wait for my God. Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. They are mighty who would destroy me because my being my enemies wrongfully. Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it. Well, why was he in these deep waters? Why did the floods of God's wrath overflow him? Because we stole. Because we stole and he's restoring. We sinned and he satisfies divine justice. He bore our sins and carried our sorrows. That's why he's in this storm of God's wrath. Turn over to Psalm 88. Psalm 88. Just one more. Just one more where we're given an insight into the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of his agony for us. Psalm 88. Jesus, think of this, Jesus hung upon the cross for hours in an agony of suffering. Yes, a physical suffering, but far more the suffering of the wrath of God. And here in this psalm, we're given thoughts that were in the heart and mind of Christ as he hung upon the cross of Calvary in the hours before his death. Oh Lord, verse one, oh Lord God, of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before you. Let my prayer come up before you. Incline your ear to my crying, for my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to the grave. I am counted with those who go down to the pit. I am like a man who has no strength, adrift among the dead. Like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, and who are cut off from your hand, you have laid me in the lowest pit. In darkness, in the depths, your hand lies heavy upon me, and you have afflicted me with all your waves. Look down to verse 14. Lord, why do you cast off my soul? Why do you hide your face from me? I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth. I suffer your terrors. I am distraught. Your fierce wrath has gone over me. Your terrors have cut me off. They came around me all day long like water. What manner of man is this who would suffer such a storm. Jesus died a death no other man could ever die. He drinks the cup and suffers the storm of the wrath of a holy God. He came into deep waters. The floods overflowed him, he says. He went down into the deep, into the darkness, into the depths. He cried, your wrath lies heavy upon me. The wrath of God. And you have afflicted me with all your waves. Your fierce wrath has gone over me. Your terror has cut me off. And in doing that, this man satisfied the justice of God. He swallowed the storm of God's wrath for his people. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, such that he could say for every one of his people, peace, be still. This is what Jesus is like. He is greater than Jonah. Amen. Stand with me, please.