{"id":91,"date":"2015-01-15T19:48:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-15T19:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:10060\/?p=91"},"modified":"2021-05-05T04:14:25","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T04:14:25","slug":"sleeping-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost:10060\/sleeping-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleeping Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
It is a great comfort to me to know that when I\u2019m sleeping, the Lord is taking care of business. As the psalmist says: He doesn\u2019t sleep or take naps (Ps. 121:4<\/a>). He goes and goes and goes. But if the Lord doesn\u2019t sleep, what are we to think of sleeping Jesus in Mark 4:35-40<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For various reasons, I\u2019ve been prompted to read the passage several times this week. Different truths about the Lord\u2019s sovereign care for His own come to me each time. But, I must say that I\u2019ve been puzzled, and at times a little amused by some things. Of course, it was not a funny situation for the disciples. It was life-threatening. But, in the middle of it all, there\u2019s Jesus asleep on a pillow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The passage doesn\u2019t offer a lot of detail, so imagine with me the fishing boat in the midst of the storm. It\u2019s dark, very dark. The boat is not very big. It\u2019s got a mast and some oars. It\u2019s packed with disciples. There\u2019s probably little room to stand or to sit comfortably. The wind and the waves are throwing the boat out of control so that everyone is in danger of falling into the sea. And there are no life jackets!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus, seemingly aloof to the possibility that he or his dear friends could be suddenly lost in the darkness of the storm, is asleep. And, mind you, He is not just catching a few winks slumped over on one of the disciple\u2019s shoulders. The passage says that He was asleep on a pillow. He is totally out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t know about you, but I would not have waited until the boat was knee deep in water to wake Jesus up. I would have been freaking out as soon as the first big wave splashed over the side. But, I\u2019m no fisherman. And I have no real experience with sailing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the disciples, however, were experienced fisherman and knew well the dangers of sailing. And so, perhaps this is why they waited to wake Jesus. Maybe they thought the storm would soon pass? Maybe they just figured that Jesus would eventually wake up on His own?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTeacher,\u201d they finally called to Him. \u201cDo you not care that we are about to die?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus, I imagine, did not even stand up. Perhaps from His place on the pillow, He looked out on the violent waves and said firmly but did not shout, \u201cQuiet! Be still!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not difficult to imagine the shock, and even the horror, the disciples must have felt when suddenly the boat beneath them became perfectly still and the wind immediately ceased to howl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?\u201d Jesus said to them in the silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!\u201d they said to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTeacher! Get up!\u201d they had yelled at Him in the storm. But now it was they that had been awakened. This Man that lay on the pillow was no mere expounder of truth, they suddenly realized. Only God Almighty could have stopped the storm. Only God Almighty could have slept in the midst of the storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet us go over to the other side,\u201d Jesus had said to the disciples before they had entered the boat. It was not a suggestion, or even a wish. It was a promise. Jesus slept because there was no doubt in His mind that they were going to make it to the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear Christian, do not look at the violent waves all around. Do not look at the winds that threaten to rip the sails from the mast. Do not even pay attention to the water that is filling the boat. Look at Him who is in the boat with you. See the peace in His face and rest in the certainty that the Lord\u2014mighty to save\u2014has said to you:\u00a0Let us go over to the other side<\/em>\u00a0(Mark 4:35).<\/p>\n\n\n\n