Do you know what a boat’s mast is? It is the two poles that stick up in the middle of the boat where sailors set the sails. If you’ve ever seen one, you may know it looks like a cross. While Mark doesn’t tell us if the disciples’ boat had a mast or not (it likely did), he is making a connection between the shape of this story and what happened to Jesus on the cross. On the waters, Jesus saves his twelve disciples from drowning. A small salvation. But on the cross, he saves all his disciples (including us) from the punishment of eternal death for our sins. Our big salvation! In today’s story, Jesus brought peace to the wind and waves. On the cross, he brought peace between sinful people and a holy God! You see, this scary boat ride is not just to teach us how powerful Jesus is or that he can calm the storms we encounter on earth. It also teaches us who Jesus is (the Creator and Son of God) and what he came to do (save us).