Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
The account of the crossing of the Sea (Luke) of Galilee continues in Mark 4:37-38a: “and there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow.” The specificity of the details of this vignette reminds us of the absolute historicity of the Bible. The time of day (early evening – verse 35), Jesus’ prior presence in the ship (verse 36, consistent with mark 4:1), the mention of “other little ships” (verse 36), the precise position of Jesus in the stern (“the hinder part” was the place of honor), the detail of a cushion (“pillow”) – all of these facts point to real, recorded history. The “great storm of wind” is another convincing detail. The Sea of Galilee is 628 feet below sea level and is surrounded by mountains. The result of this topography is the occurrence of a number of sudden, strong storms. The humidity of the Galilee basin combines with the down-sloping winds to create a natural wind tunnel. During this violent tempest, Jesus remained “asleep,” indicating just how exhausted He was and how completely He trusted God the Father, for His boat was nearly swamped and could have overturned at any moment. Thus, this brief narrative is filled with the kind of detail that should convince even a hardened skeptic that he is reading a historical statement.