There’s nothing better than a good night’s sleep. When my wife and I had our first kid, Judah, 14 years ago, we prized sleep above all else. One of us napped while the other took care of the baby. We’ve never been so tired in our lives.
In his narrative account of the stilling of the storm, Mark tells his readers that Jesus was “asleep on the cushion” (Mark 4:38). Why mention that Jesus was sleeping? Was he exhausted from a hard day’s work?
From Teaching to Sleeping
Grasping the context of Jesus’s sleeping during the onslaught of the storm is critical. After Jesus relates several parables on the kingdom of God (vv. 1–34), he commands the disciples to “go across to the other side” of the Sea of Galilee (v. 35). We also learn that the sea crossing takes place “on that day, when evening had come” (v. 35). This is the same day that Jesus taught the parables on the kingdom. By aligning the sea crossing with the kingdom parables, Mark invites his readers to relate the nature of the kingdom with what will transpire on the sea.
As the storm rages and waves crash into the boat, we encounter one of the strangest lines in all of Mark’s Gospel: “But he [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on the cushion” (v. 38). The flow of the narrative is jarring, since we expect Jesus to be awake in such dire circumstances. His behavior is also perplexing because this is the only passage that mentions him sleeping. You typically sleep because you’re, well, tired, and this passage mentions nothing of the sort. Why is Jesus asleep? Let’s consider the significance of the sea and the symbolic value of sleep.
Chaos of the Sea
God’s enemies dwell in the sea, as the Old Testament is replete with texts that describe the sea as the embodiment of death, rebellion, and chaos (e.g., Ex. 14:16–31; Ezek. 32:2; Dan. 7:2). Even Mark’s use of the word “sea” is noteworthy, because “lake” is a more apt description (e.g., Luke 5:1, 2; 8:22, 23). Could it be that the storm on the “sea” of Galilee symbolizes a demonic horde’s attempt to thwart the gospel’s spread? I think so.
The storm on the ‘sea’ of Galilee symbolizes a demonic horde’s attempt to thwart the gospel’s spread.
While it may seem strange to view the storm as a demonic attack, notice Jesus’s response: “He [Jesus] awoke and rebuked [epetimēsen] the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still [pephimōso]!’” Why rebuke a storm? It’s akin to yelling at pesky weeds in your lawn or commanding a rose bush to produce larger roses. Throughout Mark’s narrative, the word “rebuke” (epitimaō) often occurs in the context of exorcisms (e.g., 8:32–33; 9:25). The most relevant passage is 1:25, where the combination of “rebuke” and “silence” or “be still” occur together: “Jesus rebuked [epetimēsen] him [the demon], saying, “Be silent [phimōthēti], and come out of him!” Immediately following the stilling of the storm, Jesus disembarks in the “country of the Gerasenes,” where he exorcises a multitude of demons and casts them into the sea (5:1–13).
Resting in the Sovereignty of God
If there was a demonic attack on Jesus and the disciples during the storm, this fits with Jesus’s sleeping in the boat. Consider, for example, two passages from the Psalms that describe King David asleep amid turmoil:
I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. (3:5–6)
In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (4:8)
These passages reveal that David slept soundly despite his enemies doing their worst. Sleep demonstrates complete trust in God’s sovereign hand.
Sleep demonstrates complete trust in God’s sovereign hand.
Let’s put the pieces together: Jesus sleeps while God’s enemies attack him, because he, like David, unswervingly trusts in the Father’s protection. He knows nothing can derail his mission to die on the cross and rise from the dead.
We also learn something here about the nature of God’s eternal kingdom. The kingdom has broken into history but not in its fullness. Earlier that day, Jesus explained the kingdom’s arrival is like a mustard seed that eventually grows into a mighty tree (Mark 4:31–32). As Jesus and the disciples make their way into Gentile territory to proclaim the gospel and advance this slow-growing kingdom, the demons attempt to thwart their advance. But just as Jesus successfully defeated the Devil in the Judean wilderness (1:12–13), so here he defeats the demons on the Sea of Galilee.
Read in Context
What do we learn from this remarkable event in Jesus’s life? We learn that Jesus is fully human, and as a human, he slept soundly during an attack, demonstrating perfect trust in his Father. This is the deepest sleep anyone has ever enjoyed. But Jesus isn’t just any human; he slept like King David. We could even argue that Jesus slept better than King David because he possesses perfect trust in God in contrast to David’s imperfect faith (see Ps. 51:1-19).
The Christian life is marked by trust in God and his promises. At our conversion, we trust God’s promise to deliver us from our sin on account of Christ’s work. But don’t we continue to trust those same promises throughout our lives? Every morning, we must remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness in the gospel. Christ lived, died, rose, and ascended to the heavenly throne for us.
This account also teaches us to read each passage in accordance with the preceding and following passages. The preceding passage concerned the nature of the kingdom (4:1–34) and the following passage describes Jesus restoring the Gerasene demoniac (5:1–20). The arrival of God’s eternal kingdom clashes with Satan’s kingdom.
We can glean such insights by keeping track of what precedes and what follows. A helpful place to begin is by using the Bible outlines or the outline of each book in The Gospel Coalition’s Bible commentaries to trace the narrative’s flow. When we let Scripture interpret Scripture, we perceive a richness to Christ and his work that inevitably results in praise and adoration.