A Divine Combination: Jesus, Water, Word

5th Sunday after Pentecost, 6/24/18
Mark 4:35-41


A Divine Combination: Jesus, Water, Word
I. Jesus is God almighty.
II. Jesus is always faithful.
III. Jesus still uses water and word.


Any person with even an elementary knowledge of biology knows that water is essential for life as we know it. I assume you know that. But will you bear with me for a short biology refresher? Life is comprised of cells. For a cell to function, essential elements must pass into the cell and pass out of the cell, and water is necessary for those processes to occur. Without water, there is no life.

So, wherever water is present on earth, we find life. Brian Glazer, an oceanographer at the University of Hawaii stated, “Whether it be ice-covered lakes, whether it be deep-sea hydrothermal vents, whether it be arid deserts—if there’s any water, we’ve found microbes that have found a way of making a living there.” Where there’s water, there’s life.

That’s why NASA’s motto in the hunt for life on other planets has been “follow the water.”

Many of us have recently seen the photos and data from NASA’s Mars Observer. Launched in 1992, its mission is to scour the Red Planet looking for signs of water in order to find evidence of life.

Water is essential for life. It should come as no surprise, then, that water and earth were the first two elements of God’s creation. The Bible makes it clear that the Son of God was the Word of God which brought water and earth into existence. God spoke and it came into being. The Word.

Thousands of years later, that Son of God took on human flesh and blood and came into this world as Jesus.

This morning we have those same three components before us in the familiar event recorded in Mark 4: Jesus. Water. Word. We had that same combination each morning this past week in our VBS. We had it before us at the beginning of this service in the Sacrament of Baptism.

It’s a divine combination: Jesus, water, word. Jesus intends that combination to be your daily comfort and your eternal assurance. Join me as we take a look at that combination for a few minutes this morning.

Part I.

What keeps you awake at night? What fills you with fear? Maybe it’s the dark. Perhaps it involves your finances or your health. Maybe your fears arise from something one of your children is facing. But how about a storm? As long as we’re safe inside a house or other sturdy structure, the power of a storm is impressive, but perhaps not fearful. It’s when we don’t feel safe that the storm fills us with fear. Face that same storm while you’re driving in a car or camping in a tent, and you don’t feel so safe anymore. You know your life is in danger.

That’s what the disciples felt on this day in their life with Jesus. They were with Jesus in a boat on the Sea of Galilee when “a furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.” Remember who these disciples were. Some of them had been born and raised on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Some of them made their living each day as fishermen on this very lake. They knew it like the back of their hand. But they also knew how prone that lake was to violent storms. The topography of that area made it ripe for killer storms to arise. This was one of them and the disciples knew it.

Apparently Jesus didn’t. Mark informs us that “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.” When Jesus didn’t wake up to help them—even by bailing water out of the boat—the only conclusion they could draw was that Jesus didn’t care. Their question was loaded with an accusation, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” They had a monster storm of life on their hands, and Jesus seemed to be useless.

What they really had was a storm of faith. Jesus had already made it clear to them who he was—he was the promised Savior of the world. Each of the miracles they had already witnessed him perform pointed to one great truth—Jesus is God almighty. He had healed many people of their various diseases and sicknesses. He had driven out demons. The disciples had received the testimony of John the Baptist which stated that the Holy Spirit had descended on him like a dove and the voice of God the Father from heaven declared him to be the Son of God. That’s the One they had asleep in the boat with them. But they were filled with fear. Their doubts about Jesus overwhelmed them.

So, “he got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” He speaks his word, just as he did creation, and reveals his almighty power.

A divine combination: Jesus, water, word.

Part II.

We had that same combination every one of the five days of our Vacation Bible School. This year’s theme was “Splash Canyon” with the tagline that “life is a wild ride.” Trust me: it’s not so easy to convince a child that life is a wild ride, but those of us who have lived for at least a couple decades know it all too well. It’s like white water rafting. One minute the raft is safe in calm water; the next you’re in the ride of your life in the midst of dangerous rapids.

Our VBS children learned that very thing. The listened and learned as Moses was placed in a basket for what could have been a dangerous ride on the Nile, but God was faithful in protecting him and providing for him. The Children of Israel had the Jordan River at flood stage between them and the Promise Land, but God was with them and enabled them to cross the river on dry ground. The Syrian general, Naaman, was upset that God’s prophet, Elisha, instructed him to wash himself in the dirty waters of the Jordan River, but when he did, God cured him of his leprosy. The Apostle Paul’s life was in danger while on a ship in the midst of the Mediterranean Sea. Those sailing with him were certain they were going to die in the fierce storm. But an angel appeared and assured Paul that not one, single person would die. Finally, our VBS students saw how God was faithful in having Jesus baptized in the Jordan River so that he could be our Savior and to show us how important baptism is for every sinner.

In every Bible event, the children made the connection: Jesus, water, Word. That’s God’s saving power in our lives.

Part III.

And how fitting that we witnessed that very divine combination in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism at the beginning of our worship this morning: Jesus, water, word!

Just like Wolfgang, we all come into this world with sin inherited from our parents. The Bible declares, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5). Two sinful parents share their sinful nature with their child. That’s how desperately we need a Savior from sin. We’re under sin’s curse from our very conception.

And our gracious Savior Jesus comes to us in Holy Baptism and uses Baptism to bring us to faith in him, and, in doing so, to remove sin’s curse. St. Peter declared, “Baptism now saves you also” (1 Peter 3:21). The power to save us comes through the word of God connected with the water. It brings spiritually dead people to spiritual life. St. Paul makes that connection in these words, “[God] saved us by the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Baptism doesn’t merely symbolize rebirth and new life in Christ; it gives rebirth and new life.

How can I be so sure? Because that’s what the risen Lord Jesus said. Martin Luther once declared, “If Jesus had said, ‘Take a sow’s ear and apply to a child’s head and speak the name of the triune God for the forgiveness of sins, then that’s what would happen because that’s what Jesus said. But he didn’t. Instead, he said take water and apply it in the name of the triune God for the forgiveness of sins. So that’s what Baptism is—a gracious washing away of sins and a washing that gives new life in Christ.”

A divine combination: Jesus, water, word.

Impressive, isn’t it? Jesus shouts, “Quiet! Be still!” and the storm stops and it’s completely calm. With his word God protects Moses and Paul, heals Naaman, leads his people to a new life in the Promised Land and declares Jesus to be the Son of God at his baptism. Impressive, isn’t it!

The words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” connected to the water bring forgiveness of sins, new life and salvation. Impressive, isn’t it?

Well, apparently not impressive enough. We know those words. We’ve heard those words. We’ve received the gracious water of Baptism, but it’s not enough. We live in fear, wondering if and when our Lord Jesus is going to help us. We live with doubt, wondering about our Savior’s love for us. We live with guilt over past sins, uncertain about how we stand with the holy God. We life with uncertainty, wondering what lies beyond the grave for us. We stand at the very precipice of despair, wondering what good our faith is.

At those times in your life, recall the divine combination: Jesus, water, word. At your baptism he placed his name on you—child of God. He wrote your name in the Book of Life. He used your baptism to drown your sinful nature and to bring you the forgiveness of sins, new life with him, and eternal life. And now he continues to come to you through his word. He wants to do that every day of your life to assure you of your forgiveness and his presence in your life.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s nothing for Jesus to rebuke the wind and waves. How much more impressive to wash your sins away by his death and resurrection and to assure you each day that you have life with him! That’s what your Savior is all about—assuring you of life with him. Hold on to that life which he gave you with his divine combination: Jesus, water, word. Amen.