Our text is found in Matthew chapter 8 vs18-27. Please read beforehand. In this miracle we will see Christ’s omnipotent power controlling the forces of the natural world. We will also see in examing the text it reveals something of our faith.
Firstly. Look at the disciples.
In Matthews gospel it records the incident prior to Him launching out onto the sea with His disciples.there are three types of people who possess Christ.
A.) Check verse 19 and 20 where it says A CERTAIN SCRIBE. Verse 21 verifies that he was disciple. The next thing is he calls Jesus Master. ‘Masteri will follow thee withersoever thou goest.’ This is a remarkable offer from the scribe considering His position and to what class he belonged to. The Lord gives a remarkable answer. ‘The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but he Son of man hath not where to lay His head’. In the Lord’s answer the disciple is not rejected, nor directly rebuked. We don’t know what happened with this disciple. I believe the Lord left it this way that we might apply it to ourselves Christ was saying here you have security, you have position, you have rank you have it all going for you but I don’t have these things and all these things that you have must take second place to me.
B.) Now check verse 21,22 where it says ‘and another of His disciples ‘ the first disciple may well have been to hasty in His commitment. This one is possibly to slow. From the scripture we can see he is a disciple a follower of Christ and careful examination tells us that he had been given some kind of mission to do. But he said unto the Lord ‘Suffer me first to go and bury my father’. Before obeying Jesus however he wanted to do something else. That something was to bury His father. It
Initially appears that the Saviour is being harsh, but He’s not. Remember Jesus is teaching His disciples. What appears here is this disciple has seen something that is more important than His discipleship. This is not the Lord teaching family duties but teaching priorities as a disciple. Here we see His discipleship depends upon His faith.
C.) Now check verse 23
‘and when He was entered into a ship His disciples followed Him’. These are the 12. HIS disciples they followed Him immediately. In Mark and Luke’s account Jesus says ‘Let us pass over unto the other side’ and they went no ifs buts or maybe they launched forth.This is the kind of disciple that the Lord is looking for. One who puts His worldly possessions and other people’s relationships in second place. Their discipleship here is one of faith.
The question for us is where are we in our discipleship?
Secondly Look at The Difficulty.
Let us understand that some if not all were seasons fishermen on the sea of Galilee. They were used to the storms and stalls which would come swiftly onto the sea of Galilee
They would not have been frightened of a storm or rough weather and they sailored on until the ship was covered with waves. Marks account says the waves beat into the ship, Luke’s account says they were filled with water, and we’re in jeopardy. It was then that they came to Jesus their master. You can imagine the disciples were starting to panic. They looked to Jesus but HE’S ASLEEP. What about the never failing care how can He sleep. Their flesh screams help looking at the gale force winds , the raging seas and the sense of an overwhelming force. They forgot all they had learnt and all they had seen with their master, in desperation they went to the Lord ‘Master carest thou not that we perish’. They could not wait a moment longer; their faith was little according to the Lord. It is true to say sight, sense and feelings make poor theologians and little disciples. It is FAITH that counts. What was happening here we may ask ourselves, weren’t they the Lord’s disciples. Why then such a body soul and spirit testing trial? Well beloved they forgot or didn’t realise that just because you are in the boat with Jesus doesn’t mean you are exempt from the storms of life. (In fact you get more). Their faith was tested at their natural strongest point, After all weren’t they burly fishermen that could handle the storms on the sea.Yes but no matter who we are or our capabilities The trials of our faith will come how we handle them depends on our faith. Don’t forget to remember the Lord can do a lot with a little faith.As a grain of mustard seed!
C.) The Deliverance
Check out v25-27.
As we consider these three verses remember the disciples still knew Him as their Lord. ‘Lord save us’. Notice that the Lord calmed the disciples first ‘Why are ye so fearful’. There is a message here for us After he has calmed us there is a peace that follows.
Our scripture goes on to say ‘Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the sea;’ notice initially just who are we dealing with, Jesus He was a man, He was asleep in the boat, physically exhausted so deep in sleep so deep that sea water wether spray or water was splashing on him. The rocking motion of the boat it all did not rouse him. It was the sleep of serenity of perfect trust in His Father. It was a sleep though that could be woken by the cries of souls in distress. The Lord is like that, you will not find Him sleeping when you call for His help.
‘He arose and rebuked the wind and the sea and there was a great calm’. What words what power what control. Jesus Christ our great creator God had exercised His Omnipotence over His world. Had He been just a man the storm would have raged on but our Lord Jesus Christ caused harmony to be restored on the sea of Galilee causing a great calm; silencing the causer of disharmony, Satan.
It is a wondrous thought, a blessed comfort to know that God’s almighty power is engaged in His believing people. According to His will He has undertaken to preserve His saints in the midst of storms. And yes He has undertaken to save every soul that will come unto God by Him. Have we come unto God by Him? Are you in His boat yet? It won’t sink.
God bless
Michael Whitehouse