Sunday Sermon

"The Lord of Creation"
[Mark 4:35-42]
March 5, 2006 Second Reformed Church

Jesus is the Lord of Creation.

"Well, I know that."

Then, what did Jesus have to do with Hurricane Katrina?

We're told in this morning's Scripture that Jesus needed a break from the crowd, so He told the disciples that they should sail across the Sea of Galilee. So, they began to sail across the sea. Jesus went to the stern -- the back -- of the boat, got a pillow, and went to sleep. Suddenly, a violent hurricane sprang up, the winds were howling, waves were crashing up over the sides of the boat, and the boat began to fill with water.

A point of information: this is a normal occurrence on the Sea of Galilee. Violent storms suddenly and without warning, spring up on that sea. That is why the floor of the Sea of Galilee is littered with sailing vessels. It was not unusual that such a storm would come up. Some of the disciples were experienced fishermen: they would have known the dangers of the sea and how to attempt to live through them. What was unusual was that their rabbi, Jesus, was asleep during this violent storm

So they went over to Him and shook Him awake and said, "How can You sleep through this? Don't You care that we could all die? Don't You think it would be useful if You offered some help, or at least worried with us?"

And Jesus looked at the storm and the sea and rebuked them: "Silence! Be calm!" And they were. The winds were still; the sea was like glass. And the disciples were terrified, not of the storm anymore, but of Jesus. And Jesus rebuked them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" Jesus said, "You think you know Who I am, but You don't. If you understood Who I am, you wouldn't be afraid of a hurricane."

So, Who is this Man? The disciples asked each other in terror, "Who is this that the wind and the sea obey?" And there is our first answer. Jesus is One Who exercises control over the creation. Jesus has the ability to command the creation to do what He wills and the creation obeys Him. We see His Power again when He was in Jerusalem, after the Triumphal Entry, "In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went over to it and found nothing on it, but only leaves. And he said to it, 'May no fruit ever come from you again!' And the fig tree withered at once" (Matthew 21:18-19).

"But where does Jesus get the authority to command creation?" Here we have the second point: Jesus created everything, so everything is under His Control. Paul tells us that Jesus "is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, whether, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones and dominions or rulers and authorities -- all things were created through him and for him.. And he is before all things, and in him, all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17} Everything that is, other than God, was created by Jesus.

Daniel echoes this truth, that Jesus is the Creator of all of the creation, and He is also Lord over it all -- creation exists in obedience to Him, "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belongs wisdom and might. He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals the deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him" (Daniel 2:20-22).

Notice, we humans -- you and I -- are part of the creation. Jesus created us and He has authority over us; He is Lord. Hear again from the book of Daniel, "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the hosts of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can say to him, 'What have you done?'" (Daniel 4:34b-35). So, the clear teaching of the Scripture is that Jesus is the Creator and Lord over all of creation, including humanity.

"But why did Jesus put His disciples through that?"

There are at least four reasons:

First, Jesus brought them into the hurricane to rebuke them and humble them for their lack of trust and faith and for the sin of fear. Even though they didn't know as much about Jesus as we do, they knew God, and they believed that He is the Creator and Lord of the creation. So fear and lack of trust and faith was the wrong response. Just like when Peter walked on the water, and then sank as he took his eyes off Jesus and feared the winds and the waves, instead, so the disciples took their eyes from the Only One Who could help them and instead focused on their circumstances.

"Well, it's not easy to focus on Jesus and trust in Jesus when you're suffering and in danger and so forth."

That's true: it's perfectly natural to meet up with a terror and forget all about God, but that is the foolish and sinful thing to do. When the Psalmist was being hunted down and he was sure he was going to be killed and he felt rejected by God, down to the depths of his soul -- he did not turn from God -- he pursued Him: "Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God" (Psalm 43:4).

Jesus brought them into the hurricane to rebuke them and humble them and cause them to learn to respond like the Psalmist: "I don't know how we're going to get out of this. I don't know why God is allowing this to happen. So I'm going to take everything I am and spend myself on what I do know: that God is the Almighty, worthy of worship, and my exceeding joy, and I will trust in Him and praise Him no matter how this turns out because He is always worthy."

Second, Jesus brought them into the hurricane to emphasize His care for them. Jesus didn't have to stop the storm: He could have let them drown, and it wouldn't have been a sin. But Jesus showed His Care for the disciples and saved them from the storm.

These first two lead to the third reason Jesus brought them into the hurricane: He wanted to make it clear to them that they still had spiritual work to do. It could have been easy for them to get prideful, after all, they were the disciples of the Messiah -- the Savior. The could have thought that they had made it, and all was well. But Jesus showed them that they were not done -- they were not holy -- they still had to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, as Paul would later say. That's not to say that they earned their salvation, but that they participated in their growth -- just as you and I participate in our growth. Milk may be fine for a baby, but if we do not move on to meats, we will eventually wither away and die.

And fourth, Jesus brought them out into the hurricane to continue to reveal Himself to them. Surely, from their terrified reaction, they knew something of Jesus and His Nature and Power and Authority that they did not know prior to sailing out into the sea. Jesus desires to be known as He knows, "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15).

So, how should we respond? How should we respond to a Hurricane Katrina, or a severe diagnosis, or a great trial?

First, let us recognize that Jesus is the Lord of Creation: God is in control of all of the creation. Nothing happens that is outside of God's Plan. Everything -- absolutely everything -- that happens -- is part of the plan of our loving God -- the same God Who sent His Son to die on the cross and rise again to the glory of the Father. My disease is part of God's Plan for me. It did not happen outside of the will and plan of God.

And some ask, "Well, what about the devil?" Satan cannot do anything without permission from God -- Job 1:6-12 shows us that Satan has absolutely no power except what God gives him. Satan can do nothing that God has not approved as part of his plan. Satan did not make God resort to Plan B. The fall of Lucifer and then of Adam and Eve were always part of God's Glorious Plan.

So, second, let us submit to God no matter what occurs. That's hard. When we're suffering or bearing other's burdens, we might be tempted to wave a finger at God, to rebuke or correct God, or to demand an explanation from Him. What we ought to do is receive what God gives us. Rev. Dr. John Piper, who we have prayed for, said of his diagnosis of prostate cancer, "My wife and I got down on our knees and thanked God for this gift from His Hands." That might sound crazy. But understand, he was not saying he was glad to have cancer, or that he hoped it would get worse -- he is not a masochist. What he was saying is, "God, You are the Lord of Creation, in Your Plan, I have received cancer, and we worship You because You are worthy of worship."

Still, that's not all: thirdly, let us seek after God and His Will, praying, and putting our hope and trust in Him. It is perfectly appropriate to pray to be delivered from disease. I pray to be healthy. Others are praying that my disease will leave me. However, being safe and healthy is not the most important thing -- the most important thing is that you and I seek after God and His Will and put our hope and trust in Him.

The creation, including our bodies, has been corrupted and distorted by our sin. The creation groans as it falls apart. Paul tells us, "For the creation itself was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now" (Romans 8:20-22).

So, yes, let us pray for each other, to be delivered from pain and suffering -- that's biblical, but let us be at least as active in pursing the Will of God and putting our trust and faith in Him always, based on His Promises, knowing that our God loves us, even enough to send His Son, so we have every reason to trust Him and follow Him, not matter how things may look or no matter what we may not understand.

And fourthly, let us not presume to know the Mind of God. When Hurricane Katrina hit, there were those who said they knew why, some people said that the hurricane hit because the people of New Orleans are greater sinners that "us," some said the hurricane hit as punishment for the Presidency of George W. Bush, and some people said the hurricane hit as a freak result of nature and chance -- and beloved, we can't say those things. We dare not presume to know the Mind of God. What do we know? We know that the hurricane happen as part of God's Plan. God intended it to happen. We also know that the people of New Orleans are sinners -- just like you and me and President Bush. Whether God specifically sent the hurricane or merely allowed it, and for what reasons, we don't know. What we do know is that we have a duty as Christians to pray for them, to help them in any material way that we can, and to also make sure that the Gospel is brought to them. The same is true for anything we come up against: we are to pray, to do what we can, and to preach the Gospel.

Jesus is the Lord of Creation. Everything happens according to the Plan of God. God loves us, and we are saved through the blood of Jesus. Let us believe that truth of the Scripture. Let us bow in submission to Him, praying for each other, trusting God, and seeking His Will. And let us not presume to know the Mind of God, but instead, let us throw ourselves on Him, however and wherever we are, and worship Him, because He is always, always worthy.

Let us pray:
Almighty God, Sovereign Over All Creation, as we come before Your table this morning, we ask for Your Grace. We ask that our faith and trust and hope would be strengthened. We ask that we would hold fast to You in the midst of all of our hurricanes, knowing that You cannot do evil, but "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17). In Jesus' Name, Amen.