In The Beginning
A Meditation on Genesis 1:1-3 and Mark 4
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
—Genesis 1:1-3
Mark chapter 4 ends with an all too familiar story that we’re prone to pass over as if it’s completely normal.
Jesus is asleep on a boat with His disciples when a storm breaks out. They wake Him up, terrified, and ask frantically, “Do you not care that we’re dying here!?” Jesus hops up and says, “Peace, be still!” And very quickly, the storm and sea settle into gentleness.
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
It’s hard to know from our seats today, but I wonder what the disciples were more afraid of—the storm or the fact that Jesus, at a word, rebuked the wind and sea, and it obeyed.
Based on context clues, I think they were more afraid of the latter.
It’s implied the disciples are panicked and distressed during the storm, but they are literally struck by fear at the words of Jesus. In fact, they were filled with it. But, we know this is a godly fear, not a sinful fear, because their fear drove them to worship.
“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
Their fear of Jesus drew them closer to Jesus. The moment made them curious.
Who is the man who, at a word, can change every circumstance?
If He could do this, what else could He do by His Word?
My friends, we have an answer to that question. He’s the same man who was in the beginning speaking the same word into the same chaos.
I often imagine the tension between peace and chaos in Genesis 1:1-2.
There’s stillness.
Nothing.
Darkness.
It’s quiet.
Maybe it’s only peace?
Maybe I only imagine chaos because I know what happens inside me when I’m still, and there’s nothing to distract me.
The point remains, though, that absolute darkness rests on the nothingness of the world.
And it’s in that absolute darkness that the Spirit of God hovers.
I’m prone to believe that the same Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters in Genesis 1:2 was hovering over the face of the waters in Mark 4.
I believe that because of the obvious parallels between Genesis 1:3 and Mark 4:39.
Genesis 1:3 - Let there be light!
Mark 4:39 - Peace, be still!
By a spoken word, everything changed.
In Genesis 1, no longer did darkness and chaos rule the day.
In Mark 4, no longer did darkness and chaos rule the day.
It was the same God, dishing out the same peace, by the same power, and the same word.
You don’t need a change in circumstances. You need a declaring word from God.
The disciples in Mark 4 were looking to Jesus to fix something.
After all, He was the oldest and wisest of the bunch. If anyone knows what to do in the midst of a storm at sea, wouldn’t it be Him? So, frustrated He had not imposed His wisdom, yet, they woke Him, hoping that He would have some solution to their plight.
Doubtless, they were looking for some extra hands to help right the ship in the storm.
What they got was a declaring Word that stopped the storm.
The disciples were looking for a temporary fix.
Jesus was looking to give them an eternal reality.
Right after Jesus calmed the storm He asked a very important question for us today. “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
I’m growing convinced in my own life that it doesn’t take much faith to ask Jesus to change our circumstances. In fact, it takes almost none.
It takes far more faith to believe He can speak a Word that invites us into a new reality.
It takes far more faith to sit with Him, waiting for His solution.
It takes far more faith to endure the darkness and chaos with Him.
When we look at Jesus as a problem-fixer, we will abandon Him when He’s not fixing our problems in a timely manner.
When we look at Jesus as God of heaven and earth, the one the wind and waves obey, we will wait for Him to speak His Word into the darkness and chaos of our lives—no matter how long it takes.
—Brandon
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Reflection Questions
What situation has you panicked and in distress that may cause you to miss the all-powerful presence of God in your life?
What scares you about waiting on God in the midst of your difficulty? Take inventory of your heart and take your fear to God (this is what the disciples did when they asked Jesus if He even cared about the fact they were dying).
Do you see Jesus as a problem-fixer or as the God of Heaven and Earth? What needs to shift in you in order to believe He is who He says He is?
Thanks Brandon! How much more should we sit under God’s Word every chance we get! His Word is so powerful, but we must receive it meekly. The wind and waves obey Him but I can default to disobedience when I let my pride rule my heart.