Authority Over Nature
by Paul George
The pressure of the crowd had reached a
point where Jesus could no longer effectively minister, so
He made a decision to leave the western shore of the Sea of
Galilee, a lake thirteen miles long and eight miles wide. It
was late evening by the time His little boat left the shore
by Capernaum to sail to the other side, and it was
accompanied by several other little boats, according to
Mark. Such boats were common in an area that was dependent
upon fishing.
Verses 23-24 – “When He got into the boat, His disciples
followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the
sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but
Jesus Himself was asleep.”
The indication of the text in the exclamation “behold” is
that the storm was an unusually severe one. In other words,
those fishermen had seen many storms, but not one like that
this storm. Anybody who could sleep through this storm was
obviously very tired. That speaks of Jesus' humanness. He
was so tired, even a storm could not wake Him up. Of course,
His sleeping was a part of the divine plan, as was the storm
that was tossing the boat like a cork on the ocean. While
the Creator of the world was peacefully asleep, the boat was
filling up with water. We see here the reality of Jesus’
humanity as well as the fearless confidence He had in His
Father's care. If we could live like that. We are tossed
around by circumstances, begin to mistrust God, and panic.
The heart of Jesus was perfectly calm in His peaceful
assurance of God's care.
The fishermen did everything possible to keep the boats
afloat. Realizing the futility of their efforts, they
finally came to Jesus. When experienced fishermen who
experienced many storms on the lake and they ask a former
carpenter what to do, you know they are in a lot of trouble.
Verse 25 – “And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save
us, Lord we are perishing.”
In desperation, they cried, “We're drowning out here; wake
up” Amazed at such apparent indifference, the disciples were
not so much convinced that Jesus was God as they were merely
hoping that He was. However, that was where God wanted them.
Sometimes the Lord has to make us desperate to get our
attention. Like the disciples, we run out of human
resources. Now we need a divine solution. The disciples
hoped that the miracle worker who could heal sickness could
also handle the sea. They had fear mixed with faith. If they
had total faith, they would have been like Jesus, confident
in the Father's care.
The disciples broke in on Jesus' sleep in the same way men
come to Him in desperate situations. They are like the sea
captain who said he did not believe there was a God, but
when he was washed overboard, began to cry out for Him, when
his rescuers later asked him, “We thought you didn't believe
in God.” He answered, “Well, if there isn't a God, there
ought to be one for times like this.” Many of us cry to God
in desperation when sickness, disease, death, loss of a job,
or marital problems afflicts us. However, often our first
cry is like that of the disciples' as recorded in Mark,
“Don't you care? We're drowning.” If you have ever said
that, you have demonstrated a lack of faith in God. You do
not fully understand His love.
Verse 26 – “He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you men of
little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the
sea and it became perfectly calm.”
Someone with a lack of faith is guilty of doubting God's
love and power. If you believe in those two key attributes
of God, you can weather any storm, because you know that God
cares about you, and that He can handle any situation.
The disciples were questioning Jesus' care and ability to
help them. Evidently, their response surprised Jesus,
because they had seen Him perform all kinds of miracles. He
cast out demons with only a word and was healing all that
were sick. If the disciples did not know He cared about
human suffering, then they were blind. In addition, if they
did not think He had the power to help them, then they were
ignorant.
It is amazing how we can see a demonstration of God's love
and power, but in certain circumstances, we forget about
those things. We witness the wonderful deeds that the Lord
has done repeatedly, and yet, as soon as something tough
happens in our lives, we begin to question His love and
power.
The disciples finally learned that they did not have enough
faith, in Luke 17:5 they said, “Increase our faith.” Not
long after their request, Jesus healed ten lepers, what a
faith builder that would have been. Faith needs constant
strengthening, when our faith is “little" we distrust God's
ability and loving care, refusing to believe that He can and
will provide our needs. That causes us to worry and become
fearful. However, if we know that He cares about us and is
able to help, what do we have to fear?
Mark 4:39 says that Jesus stood up and commanded the storm
to be silent. Instantly there was a great calm. Normally, if
the wind stopped, the sea would have continued to ripple
until the waves had run their course. However, when Jesus
rebuked the winds and the sea, the sea became as glass, as
both the wind and the waves stopped. Jesus was able to stop
that storm with a mere word. Matthew's message to us is that
the One who conquers disease also controls nature. He later
shows us that Christ also controls the demons, forgives sin,
and raises the dead.
The reaction of the disciples,
Verse 27 – “The men were amazed, and said, ‘What kind of man
is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Mark's parallel account says that when the storm came, the
disciples were “fearful” (Mark 4:40.” When Jesus stopped the
storm “they feared exceedingly” (Mark 4:41). Do you know
what is more fearful than being in a storm? Realizing you
are standing in the presence of the living God. That must
have been awesome. What an experience to know that God was
in their boat that was far more terrifying than any storm.
The disciples knew that God was with them, and that reality
was terrifying.
The same Jesus Christ who stilled the sea, keeps the earth
whirling in space, and the entire universe in balance. That
same Jesus Christ will return one day and set up His eternal
Kingdom. Will you be a part of that Kingdom by faith in Him?
The Authority of
Jesus Series
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