CROSSING ENEMY LINES TO THE OTHER SIDE

MARK 4:35–41

Jesus had been teaching at the Sea of Galilee and that evening instructed his disciples to get in the boats and travel with him to the other side. While en route to that destination, a sudden and horrible windstorm threatened to end the day in tragedy. We will see why a trip to the other side and this windstorm terrorized the disciples and how Jesus challenged them to turn that fear into faith in the one who came to usher in the Kingdom of God and overthrow the works of the adversary (1 John 3:8).

Jesus’s invitation to board a boat and go to the other side must have stirred uncertainty in the disciples. Galilee’s observant Jewish communities located on the northwest region of the Sea of Galilee were careful to eat only foods in accordance with Jewish dietary laws and avoid ritual impurity and idolatry of any kind.

These Jews wanted nothing to do with the Gentile population, especially those living on the southeast side (i.e., the other side) of the lake in the region of the Decapolis. The Greeks and later the Romans had built up the Decapolis cities to be showplaces of their authority and culture, including temples for the worship of idols, bath complexes, theaters, and stadiums. These things as well as sexual promiscuity and a diet of pork and other ritually unclean foods were expressions of Satan’s kingdom. From the perspective of observant Jews, no place could be further from the Kingdom of God.6 Thus for them as for Peter, who up to this point had not entered the home of a Gentile (Acts 10:28), going to the other side was nothing less than crossing enemy lines into the realm of Satan.7 Nevertheless, Jesus invited the disciples to trust his plan. The Kingdom of God would even include Gentiles who lived on the other side.

Capernaum with Mt. Hermon in the background (view looking north).

Boat from the first century BC.
© Dr. James C. Martin. Kibbutz Ginosar.

While crossing the lake, an event seemed to validate the disciples’ concerns. A windstorm developed that churned the waters of the lake so violently that the boat in which Jesus and the disciples rode began to fill with water. Usually these men were not afraid of traveling on the Sea of Galilee because a number of them were experienced fishermen. A late autumn and winter windstorm, called a sharkia,8 can develop unexpectedly from the east side of the lake where higher elevations create a temperature inversion that leaves cold air on the ridges above and warm air in the lake basin 1,300 feet below. Within minutes, the waters of the lake can surge with six-foot and higher waves that can easily swamp the kind of boat transporting Jesus and the disciples (Mark 4:37).

Crossing into Satan’s territory, Jesus turned the journey into an opportunity for the disciples to understand that God’s Kingdom would in fact overthrow the kingdom of evil. The adversary was no match for the Son of God, even while Jesus slept at the rudder (Mark 4:38). With the authority of his word, Jesus commanded the chaotic waters to become calm. In awe, the disciples turned to one another and asked, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4:41).

The Other Side of the Sea of Galilee

Sea of Galilee (view looking north).