On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 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. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” | Mark 4:35–41
The Sea of Galilee is a big blue lake. Jesus liked to walk by the lake. His disciples walked with Him. He told them many things about God while He walked there with them.
One day, many people came to listen to Jesus. Jesus said to Peter, “Shove your boat into the water. I will sit in the boat, and the people can listen from the shore.”
The people loved to hear Jesus. They sat by the lake all day, listening to Him. When the sun began to go down, they went home. And Jesus was tired. Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us go to the other side of the lake now.”
The disciples got into the boat with Jesus. They put up the sail, and away they went, across the blue water. Jesus lay down on a pillow in the boat, and fell asleep. He was very tired.
The other side of the lake was a long way off. The sun went down. Night came. And the disciples were still sailing the boat.
And then – the wind began to blow hard. It began to make big waves that splashed into the boat. The disciples had to take the sail down. They were afraid the boat would tip over. They began to row, but they could not row very well because the waves were so big. And Jesus – He was still sleeping!
The disciples tried very hard to row to shore. But they could not get there. And the boat was almost full of water. The disciples thought they would surely be drowned.
“We must wake Jesus!” they said. And they began to call Him. “Master! Master! Wake up! Don’t You care at all that we are all going to be drowned?”
Jesus opened His eyes. He sat up and saw the wild waves. He felt the wind blowing in His face. And He saw that the boat was almost full of water.
But He was not afraid.
He stood right up in the boat. He began to talk to the wind and to the waves. He said, “Peace, be still!”
At once the wind stopped blowing! And the waves stopped splashing!
The disciples were so surprised! They said to each other, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Nobody else could make the wind stop blowing and the waves stop splashing!
Something to Talk About
- Do the winds and the waters obey Jesus today?
- Why does everything obey Him?
Memory Verse
“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” | Mark 4:41