Miracles Around the Lake

Lesson 5

Miracles Around the Lake

(Mark 4-6)

Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: There are miracles and then there are miracles! Recall our study two weeks ago when Jesus healed the paralyzed guy to prove that He could forgive sin? Miracles like that invite charges that they might be faked. What about miracles that cannot be faked? Miracles showing that the fundamentals of nature are under Jesus’ control? That is part of Mark’s continuing proof that Jesus is God. Let’s jump into our study of the Bible and learn more!

1. Sleeping Through the Storm
   
   1. Read Mark 4:35-38. Do you love sleeping during a storm? Listening to the rain coming down is soothing. What is different here? (The boat is being swamped and professional boatmen think they are about to die.)
      1. What do you think about the way the disciples awake Jesus and ask for His help? Is this how you would do it? (This is a typical human reaction, they are concerned about themselves and they want to know if Jesus is also concerned about them.)
      2. If Jesus is the Messiah, shouldn’t their first concern be over His survival? His welfare?
      3. What do you think the disciples had in mind? Would it be sufficient if Jesus said, “Yes, I care about you. Row harder! Bail faster!”
   2. Read Mark 4:39-41. What does this suggest the disciples had in mind? (They did not have Jesus’ solution in mind. They were simply frightened and called out to Jesus.)
      1. Did Jesus want the disciples to have a plan of action?
      2. Think about this a moment. The disciples were professional boat handlers. They had dealt with many storms in the past. What does this teach us when we face serious problems in life? (There are some problems that we cannot solve on our own. We need to remain calm and trust God.)
      3. It appears that appealing to Jesus was the last thing they did. Should appealing to Jesus be our first reaction to every problem? Even if we are subject matter experts?
   3. Look again at Mark 4:41. What do you think Mark wants us to learn from this story? (Jesus is God. Who can call the wind and the sea, fundamental forces of nature, to obedience?)
2. The Maniac
   
   1. Read Mark 5:1-4 and Mark 5:6. The picture I have is that this maniac runs towards Jesus and the disciples just after they land after surviving the storm. Should the disciples apply for a different job?
      1. Where would you guess the disciples are? (Running in the opposite direction.)
   2. Read Mark 5:7-8. Whose name do these demons invoke for protection? (God! What excuse can we have for trying to solve problems on our own?)
   3. Read Mark 5:9-13. Tell me what this scene teaches us about our choice between good and evil? What does evil have in mind for us?
   4. Skip down and read Mark 5:18-20. We have repeatedly seen where Jesus tells the beneficiaries of miracles to be quiet about it. Why does Jesus give just the opposite instruction here?
3. Faith Waits
   
   1. Read Mark 5:21-23. As you read the request of Jairus, the father, how urgent is this situation? (It is life and death. She is “at the point of death.”)
   2. Read Mark 5:24. Has Jesus agreed to help?
   3. Read Mark 5:25-26. How would you characterize this woman’s health problem? (It was chronic, not an emergency.)
   4. Read Mark 5:27-30. How do you feel when you are in a hurry and you get into a traffic jam? Is this woman an unnecessary delay in an emergency?
   5. Look again at Mark 5:30. Why does Mark tell us that power went out of Jesus? (This is further proof that Jesus is God.)
   6. Read Mark 5:34-35. What are your thoughts if you are Jairus?
      1. This is a beautiful and touching story about the woman, but does it prove that Jesus has no sense of priorities?
      2. This week former President Trump was wounded and another man killed at a political rally. Trump supporters say God saved his life and Trump detractors argue God would not save one life and let another die. Is this the question in Jairus’s mind - why does one live and another die?
         
         1. Is the question even more challenging because the woman was in no immediate danger of dying?
   7. Read Mark 5:36-37. Jesus now controls the crowd. Why not earlier?
   8. Read Mark 5:40-42. Does the delay and Jesus’ apparent lack of priorities make any difference to Jairus and his wife at this moment? (This answers all of the critical questions. The delay is absolutely no problem.)
      1. Apply the teaching of this story to every situation in which one person lives and another dies. What is the lesson? (Faith waits. Jesus will heal all who choose Him. The timing of the healing will vary, but when we are in heaven and all are healed, the delay will not matter anymore.)
4. Faith Eats
   
   1. Read Mark 6:30-32. Jesus is concerned that His disciples are not getting sufficient rest. Is that a concern in your life? Or are you not working hard enough?
   2. Read Mark 6:32-34. Would you have Jesus’ attitude? Or would you be upset that they were interfering with your rest?
   3. Read Mark 6:35-37. Is this fair? Jesus just agreed that the disciples needed rest, and now He is giving them the huge job of feeding the people who deliberately interfered with their rest!
      1. How would you view this if you were a disciple? (I would think this is a problem created by the crowd and they can cure their own problem.)
      2. What do you think about the attitude of the disciples? (Why are they telling Jesus what to do? If they learned the lesson of trust, they would say, “What would you like us to do?”)
   4. Read Mark 6:38 and John 6:8-9. In this entire crowd there is only enough for one person to eat! Are these completely irresponsible people? Don’t they deserve to go hungry?
   5. Read Mark 6:39-42. The Finis Dake Commentary says that Jesus multiplied the bread to equal perhaps twenty-thousand loaves! What does this suggest that Jesus wanted His disciples to do when He told them in Mark 6:37 to give the people something to eat?
      1. Recall that the disciples told Jesus it would cost too much. When you are confronted with people in need, do you pull back because you are concerned about the cost?
      2. Like calming the storm, this is a miracle that could not be faked. Why did Jesus decide to perform a massive miracle when the people could have enjoyed the spiritual blessings of fasting? (We must not miss that Jesus is willing to perform a miracle even over small things. Yes, you can pray for help to find your car keys!)
   6. Read Mark 6:43-44. Why would Jesus make too much food?
      1. Are your views of what Jesus can do too small?
      2. Think back to John 6:8-9. Can you be like that boy? If you are willing to share, can your small contribution end up being a huge miracle in the hands of God?
   7. Friend, we have skipped over several stories in Mark 4-6. What do the stories that we studied teach us? They teach us to trust God. Trust Him when we think we might die, trust Him when He seems to act illogically, and trust Him to help with even small things in life. Will you decide, right now, to trust Jesus?
5. Next week: Inside Out.