Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Mark #13 - Jesus: More Powerful Than We Imagine
2021-01-14
Mark 4:35-41 (NIV)
I grew up in Florida, and throughout my childhood I spent a fair amount of time at the beach. And while there is plenty to enjoy about the beach, there are also quite a few things that can get dangerous really quickly. One of those things is called a rip current. It’s a really fast, really strong current of water that pulls anything in it out to sea.
One day I found myself in a rip current. I’m a decent swimmer and knew what was going on, and obviously I made it…. But one of the lasting impressions it had on me was a deep reverence for the power of water. I mean, when I say there was nothing I could do to fight against it, there was NOTHING I could do. It took every bit of strength I had just to stay afloat until someone came to help.
The sea has always demanded respect. The ancient world considered it a place of chaos and danger. It was only the gods that had influence over the waves, because they knew from experience, like I did, that you can try to fight it, but it will win every time. Jews had history and poetry shaping their view of the world that made clear that only Yahweh controls the water, and last time we saw something like that during the Exodus.
Jesus is about to give his disciples a major clue about the extraordinary nature of his identity. Imagine yourself in this scene.
----------REFLECT----------
1. What moment in this story stood out to you the most?
2. Could you imagine being the disciples? Imagine fighting this strom and then everything becomes quiet and calm? What would it mean for you to realize you were standing in the boat with someone who had the power that only Yahweh is supposed to have?
3. Are you up against any God-sized storms in your life or in our world right now? Situations where the wind and the waves are so big and so powerful that it seems like only God could calm them? Take this moment to call on Jesus for that situation.
----------GO DEEPER----------
Bible Project: Mark Overview >>
Bible Project: The Gospel >>
Bible Project: Gospel of the Kingdom >>
----------CONNECT----------
Find an InterVarsity Chapter >>
Start an InterVarsity Chapter >>
Learn More >>
More Episodes
2021-01-12
2021-01-11
2021-01-10
2021-01-09
2021-01-08
2021-01-07
2021-01-06
2021-01-06
2021-01-04
2021-01-03
2021-01-02
2021-01-01
2020-12-25
2020-12-24
2020-12-23
2020-12-22
2020-12-21
2020-12-20
2020-12-19
2020-12-18
Get this podcast on your
phone, FREE
