By Dr. Thurman R. Hayes Jr.

The Sea of Galilee, in northern Israel, is one of the world’s most beautiful places. My trips to Israel live vividly in my heart, and this lovely body of water is always a highlight.

It lies 700 feet below sea level. When you approach it from one of the hills that surround it, you look down and see the clear, shimmering Sea of Galilee at the bottom.

Usually it is calm, but occasionally the warm air from the Sea rises to meet the cold air coming down from Mount Hermon, which is only about 40 miles away and rises to 9,200 feet above sea level. When this happens, sudden storms break out on the sea.

Mark 4 tells us about one of those storms. It came at night, as Jesus and his disciples were crossing from the western side of the sea to the eastern side. Because the 12 disciples came from the area around the sea, they were used to storms. Several of them were professional fishermen who had spent their lives on this body of water.

Typically, storms didn’t “freak them out.” But on this night, they were thoroughly freaked out. In fact, they were sure they were going to die.

But Jesus was perfectly serene, sleeping as if nothing were happening. He’s never afraid of anything. He’s got everything under control. His disciples woke him, shouting, “Don’t you care if we perish?” Jesus simply rebuked the wind and waves, issuing the command, “Peace! Be still.” And in a single instant, there was an eerie, dead calm.

Now the disciples were even more afraid. “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

The answer is that Jesus is the sovereign King, God incarnate. When you read the Gospels, it is clear that all authority in heaven and earth is his. He has authority over nature, over disease, over demons and over death.

But Jesus is also the savior King. There are fascinating similarities between this incident and the book of Jonah. Both Jonah and Jesus are in a boat that is caught in the middle of a violent storm. Both Jonah and Jesus are awakened by others in the boat, who think they are about to die. And in both cases, a divine intervention calms the storm.

In Jonah’s case, he says, “I am the reason this is happening. Throw me overboard and the sea will calm down.” That doesn’t happen with Jesus. Or does it?

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus is headed to Jerusalem, where he is going to hurl himself into the ultimate storm on our behalf, so that our storm can be stilled, so that we can be at peace with God.

He is going to sacrifice himself beneath the waves of our sin. He is going to the cross, where he says, “Throw me in,” so that we can be rescued.

“Who then is this?” He is the Savior of all who turn to him and trust him.

Dr. Thurman R. Hayes is senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Suffolk. Follow him on Twitter at @ThurmanHayesJr.