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.
Mark 4:39 (ESV)
Selling, buying, organizing, packing, moving… the upheaval of change is one of the most challenging stresses in life. Who, in the midst of this kind of storm, does not crave the beauty of calm? Why am I so powerless to create calm and why is it so elusive?
The Greek word “peace” that Jesus uses here is, siope, meaning He commanded the sea to be silent and mute—taking away its ability to “speak” and rage. The Greek word for “be still” is pefimoso, meaning to muzzle or silence. An innate attribute of nature is to rage and storm just like the default of our nature is often to rage and storm, and it frequently takes supernatural intervention to produce calm. But unlike nature which immediately obeys, we sometimes choose to resist that intervention.
The Jews believed that Jehovah was the Creator, and only He could control the behavior of the wind and the waves. They knew Proverbs 30:4, Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name? Surely you know. Jesus, by ordering the forces of nature with His word, was revealing His role as God’s Son before His disciples.
Mark tells us then the wind and churning seas “ceased” and there was a great calm. This Greek word, kopazo, carries the idea of “grew tired.” The natural elements were totally drained of their destructive forces in one second. Amazed, the disciples questioned, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him? The stilling of the storm, of course, was an epiphany, a powerful manifestation of the deity of Jesus.
This experience became deeply convicting when Jesus asked Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? Instead of keeping their gaze on Jesus, the disciples focused on the frightening chaos of the sea. When by faith they returned their gaze to Jesus—they were able to regain their composure in the midst of His great miraculous calm. May it be so for me!