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Jesus had finished teaching the parables about the kingdom, it was evening
(Mark 4:35). The day had started positively when Jesus healed a demon
possessed man (Matt. 12:22-23). But the day quickly turned negative when
the people started responding to Jesus. The Jewish religious leaders
did not welcome the response of the people and quickly claimed that Jesus
had performed miracles with the power of Satan. They maligned His character
because they were jealous (Matt. 12:24; Mark 15:10). Jesus responded
by warning them not to credit His ministry to the work of Satan (Matt.
12:25-45). Then Jesus told the crowd that those who did the will of God
the Father are those who are truly saved (Matt. 12:46-50). Later in the
day, Jesus taught the crowd the parables of the kingdom. It must have
been a very emotional, long day for Him. In order to escape the crowd,
Jesus eventually gave orders to His disciples to get into a boat and
go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 8:18). Jesus was tired
and needed some rest. It had been a full day.Leaving the Crowd. It appears that all the
events of the day had occurred in the city of Capernaum on the west side
of the Sea of Galilee. When Jesus directed His disciples to depart for
the other side of Capernaum, He was referring to the east of the sea
which today is called the Golan Heights. In Jesus' day it was known as
the country of the Gerasenes.
On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” (NASB) Mark 4:35 The sun was setting behind the men as they sailed across the lake. The
sunset must have been beautiful as the sunlight mixed with the clouds
in the sky. The trip would normally have taken less than two hours to
cross the water, but trouble was about to occur on the water. The Sea
of Galilee is about 13 miles (21 km) long and 8 miles (13 km) wide. The
distance across the upper portion of the lake was even less.
The gospel of Mark tells us that the disciples led Jesus away from the
crowd and helped Him get to the boat. The crowds must have been eager
for Jesus to stay. Jesus needed help!
Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. (NASB) Mark 4:36 Matthew 8:23 tells us that Jesus got into the boat first and then the
disciples followed.
When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. (NASB) Matt. 8:23 Mark 4:36 also alerts us to the fact that the crowd was very aggressive.
They really did not want Jesus to escape. Some of them even got into
other boats in order to follow Him. These people were persistent and
unwilling to let Him have any rest. It reminds us of the popularity of
Great Britain’s
Princess Diana who was constantly surrounded by international photographers
or paparazzi. Eventually, they contributed to a traffic accident and
her death.
The crowd was thoughtless because they greatly desired
Him. He was their healer and teacher and they wanted more of Him, just
like a hungry lion eyeing a herd of antelope. Just imagine the disciples
attempting to get away from the crowd and some of the crowd climbing
into boats in order to go after Him. Wow, what a passion for Jesus. Today,
we have His teachings written in a book called the Bible and yet, some
do not care if they read what He said. In fact, some have never read
the Bible. Some today might not have wanted to get into a boat and go
after Jesus.
Asleep in the Boat. Somewhere along the journey,
Jesus fell asleep because He was exhausted.
But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. (NASB) Luke 8:23 We do not know how long they had been sailing before He fell asleep,
we just know that He did. Mark 4:38 says that He was asleep in the back
(stern) of the boat on a cushion.
Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him . . . (NASB) Mark 4:38
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| Life & Heart of Jesus | ||||||||||
