Mark 4:35–41
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
It's a bit of a strange statement that Jesus "rebuked the wind". The word "rebuke" is most often used in the context of a person rebuking another person or of Jesus rebuking a demon. However, in Luke 4 Jesus rebukes a fever. Here, he rebukes the wind. The word can also mean, to speak sternly, order, charge. (Matt. 12:16; Mark 3:12; 8:30; Luke 9:21) Its likely this sense that we see the word being used here.
In any case, the sea, the wind and the waves are stilled by the power of Jesus word! The sea in ancient cultures, and even today, was thought of as one of the most volatile and dangerous aspects of nature. If you've ever been out on the ocean in a storm you know firsthand the power of the sea and fear it provokes. Yet, in the ancient world, travel by sea was a necessary risk because of the transportation advantages it provided.
For Jesus to command the wind and the waves demonstrates incredible power and authority, which only God possesses. This scene harkens back to the creation narrative of Genesis 1. God creates the universe then, with nothing other than his voice, brings order to the chaos of creation. This also could reflect back on the Exodus story of Moses parting the Red Sea for the people of Israel to cross over on dry ground. A number of other texts in the OT point to God controlling and calming the sea as well. (Psalm 65:5-8; 107:23-32; 77:16)
In the big picture story of Scripture, evil has corrupted the order of God's creation. As a part of the curse after the fall the land produces thorns. So it is this evil and corruption behind even the storms on the sea that claim the lives of sailors on a regular basis. Jesus bringing order to the chaos of even creation is a further sign of God's kingdom coming—a return to Eden, a permanent Sabbath rest, a new creation where the lion will lay down with the lamb in peace, a world in which the creation no longer "groans" (Rom 8:18-22). In Revelation 21 John is describing his vision of the new heaven and the new earth and in it he says, "...and the sea was no more." Here the sea is used as a symbol of chaos and danger that in the new creation will be no more. This redemption that God is bringing through Jesus is so much more than personal salvation, although not less than that; it a cosmic redemption of all creation.
It's scenes like this that likely led John to personify Jesus as the divine Word of God. Jesus carries the power of God's word in himself. He speaks and the demons obey him. He speaks and the wind and the waves obey him. Interestingly, the disciples seem to still be uncertain about Jesus' identity. Again leading the reader to ask, what more do you need to see?