Matthew 8:23-27
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
In the three previous chapters, chapters five to eight, Jesus preached or taught what is known as the sermon on the mount. In chapter eight we read that he continues to compassionately minister to the needs of the people. He heals a man with leprosy, He ministers to a Roman Centurion whose servant was paralyzed and sick. After that Jesus goes to Peter’s house and heals his mother-in-law and later that evening, He healed the many who came who were sick and were demon-possessed. Finally, even after giving the orders to cross to the other side of the lake, (Matthew 8:18), Jesus continued to minister to others before he finally shoved off with His disciples. No wonder in verse twenty-five it tells us that “Jesus was sleeping” in the boat during the storm.
There many lessons we can glean from Matthew 8:23-27. Starting with verse twenty-three, “Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.”. Remember in verse eighteen Jesus had already given the order to crossover to the other side of the lake, “When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.”. This means the disciples knew the destination and direction where Jesus was going and obviously how He was going to get them there. In other words, it was God’s will for them to go where they were going and the means used of how they were going to get there. The action of the disciples to get into the boat with Jesus demonstrates the commitment to follow Him and be with Him.
How does this apply to us more than two thousand years later? Are we following Jesus daily where He leads us in our life journey? Or are we going our own way and doing our own thing in our lives without Jesus? Are we trusting Him to go where He wants to leads us? Is that trust demonstrated by our actions of commitment, like the disciples getting into the boat with Jesus?
Verse 24, Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. Didn’t Jesus know beforehand about the storm because of His omniscience as with many other instances? And Jesus being God and knowing about the upcoming “furious storm” which was not a surprise to Him, what was the reason why He allowed the others to get in the boat with to go to the other side of the lake? Was there a something about Jesus that the disciples needed to learn about Jesus and only could by going through the storm with Jesus
The storm was a surprise for the disciples because Matthew tells us it came “without warning”.
When we experience an unexpected crisis (COVID-19) or a challenging situation happens (temporary loss of income), or countless other possible events while we are following Jesus, we must never forget it is not a surprise for Him even though it is for us. The key point to remember when these things happen, be sure we stay in submission and obedience to God’s will for our lives following Jesus and not to forget that Jesus is always with us. There is a big difference between following and being with Jesus when an unexpected storm happens “without warning”, and not being with Jesus when they do.
Matthew 4:18-22, 18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
We know from Matthew 4:18-22 at least four of the disciples were professional fishermen and two of them, James and John were clearly second second-generation fishermen. So, for these men encountering unexpected “furious” storms and knowing how to handle a large boat that would hold a half of dozen peopleand probably more at the beginning was not a problem. They had the experience but also possibly the pride of knowing how to deal with it. As you probably know,with some people along with their experience many times comes with pride, “I know how to deal with the situation!”.
Yes, often Jesus calls on us and uses our experience for the journey to go to the other side of the lake, but what will we do when we confront many of the unexpected storms of life that we cannot handle? How long do we struggle trying to deal with it ourselves before we call on Jesus who is with us all the time?
We need to be very careful not to add to the scripture here. Matthew doesn’t tell us who went to Jesus and woke Him up, telling Him, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”. Was it the experienced fishermen? Or was it another, who finally gave up on the experienced fishermen desperately and unsuccessfully trying to navigate the unexpected “furious storm”? What we do know is what Jesus told all of them, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”.
What were the two things that Jesus commented about the terrified disciples? The disciples had faith, but it was a little bit, not “a lot of bit”, as my grandchildren sometimes say. And most obviously they were afraid. Is the lack of enough faith or trust, and not really knowing who Jesus is and relying on Jesus’ presence and protection, the cause of many of our fears?
There will be many occasions in our life time that we or others we know and love will experience “furious” storms that come upon us unexpectedly. Who,and, or what will we be relying on? Or in other words, in whom and in what do we have our faith, trust or confidence in? We will always need to and should go toor call on Jesus when we confront storms. But it is hard to have confidence or trust someone who we hardly know.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Verse twenty-seven tells us something about the disciples who were in the boat with Jesus. They were still in the process of really knowing who Jesus was because they were astonished by what He did. The closer we are to Jesus in our relationship with Him and the more time we spend with Him in prayer and in His Word, the better we will know who He is and will be expectant in faith for what He will and can do when the unexpected “furious” storms of life try to swamp our boat and drown us.
Pastor John
