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23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" 26 But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" ~ Matthew 8:23-27
Following the teaching the Lord Jesus gave in Matthew 5-7, Matthew validates it by sharing with us ten miracles the Lord Jesus performed in Matthew 8-9. Today, we will consider the fourth of these ten miracles performed by the Lord Jesus. His first three miracles dealt with disease while the next three will show His power over nature, the supernatural world, and over sin.
In v.23-24 of today's passage we read, "23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep."
In the context of this fourth miracle the Lord Jesus and His disciples traveled 8 miles during the night from the western side of the Sea of Galilee to its eastern side by boat. After some of the twelve got into one boat with the Lord Jesus, the others followed them in another. After some time while on the water, a storm suddenly formed and the disciples were frightened. The lower level of the lake funneled winds down suddenly creating a sudden violent storm. The winds in this storm were around speeds of 75 mph. Due to the typology of that area, a storm would come upon boaters within seconds.
Meanwhile, the Lord Jesus slept. According to Mark's gospel, the Lord Jesus made a little cushion for His head, and He fell asleep. The sea was raging, the storm was howling and the wind careened. The little boat was tossed like a cork on the ocean. The other gospel accounts of this event inform us that the boat took on quite a bit of water. All the while the Creator of the world was asleep. While He slept, He held the worlds in their places. He Himself feared not. The Lord Jesus Christ displayed the fact that He was God and He knew perfectly what was happening as He slept.
In v.25 of today's passage we read, "Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We are perishing!'"
Even though the elements on that lake that night were terrible and the disciples felt quite vulnerable, they didn't realize that they were in the best context they could be, with the God who made it all. The truth was they were most safe and they were not going to die. But, it was natural for them to feel as they did. At the end of the day we will either be defined by the Lord or our incomplete understanding of everything we encounter. It makes the most sense to trust the One who is omniscient and all-powerful. He knows what is best for us. The end goal through our vulnerabilities is our growing intimacy with Him and we do not know such intimacy unless we go through those moments that reveal our greatest vulnerabilities.
To their credit the disciples cried out to the Lord. They identified Him as "Lord" which comes from the Greek word "kurios" used 740 times in the New Testament and most of those times it is used to describe the Lord Jesus. "Kurios" is a title of honor used by servants to address their master. Through this incredible trial the disciples were being convinced that their greatest deficit was their lack of understanding of the Lordship of the Lord Jesus.
In v.26-27 of today's passage we read, "But He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?' Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, 'Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'"
The response of the Lord Jesus to the request of His disciples reveals when we believe in God’s love and His power, we can weather any storm. Believing in His love and power enables us to see that He cares about us and we will be convinced that He can and will handle any situation we encounter, no matter how frightening it may be. This is why the Lord addressed the lack of faith in the disciples. Faith is the heart's ability to see God and it is only developed in us as a result of us going through rough moments and experiencing for ourselves the love and power of God.
It was at that moment that the Lord not only stopped the wind but He also stopped the waves. How strange it must have been when the massive waves stopped. In that silence these disciples were amazed at the identity of the Lord Jesus. Their view of Him was being deepened. This was a gift that came at the greatest cost. With an expanding view of the Lord Jesus like this, it is no wonder that these men minus one died for their faith in the Lord Jesus as Savior and our God.
