B-Side - Mark 4:35-41

Structurally, Mark 4:35-41 is a chiasm, with the central point being the disciples waking Jesus and his rebuking the wind and sea. This emphasizes the faithlessness of the disciples compared to the faith of Jesus.

This passage begins as Jesus gets away from the crowds to rest with his disciples; he escapes the crowd to rest with us as well.

The storm is reminiscent of the one Jonah encountered in the Old Testament. The disciples are acting like faithless people; they're depicted as imperfect human beings. And even though they wake him up to berate him, he's kind to them.

Jesus will often respond to someone with a question... here, "Do you have no faith?" is going to rattle the apostles, cutting to the essence of the moment and revealing their cowardice. In Revelation 21, cowards are thrown into the lake of fire. By the end of the passage, the disciples are more afraid of Jesus than they were of the storm! Being in the presence of the supernatural is terrifying. Jeremiah 5:21-24 shows God certainly intends for his people to fear him more than they fear the sea!

Psalm 107:23-29 describes a similar scenario, with the Lord calming the storm after his people cry out in distress. 

The mysteries of the Kingdom are being revealed to the disciples little by little, but they're still a little blinded by their humanity. Even Jesus' inner circle doesn't get it yet.

After this passage at the end of Mark 4, Jesus leaves Israel for a gentile city...