#1246 Matthew 8 Part 5 Riders On The Storm

 

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” Matthew 8: 23-27 ESV

Matthew 8: 23-27 The Tempest

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1: 1-10 ESV

20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. Genesis 1: 20-23 ESV

And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him - This is on the Sea of Galilee, not far from where Jesus grew up, and the lake that many of His disciples fished. We left off in the past blog with two that had declared their faithfulness and desire to follow, yet both were held back, choked out by the things of this world. One wanted his inheritance, and the other his comforts, and for this they would surely turn back, but His disciples climbed into the boat. 

…14they and every kind of wild animal, livestock, crawling creature, bird, and winged creature. 15They came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two of every creature with the breath of life. 16And they entered, the male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.… Genesis 7: 14-16

There arose a great storm on the Sea - Now the disciples are fishermen, well acquainted with the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberius, but it says, "behold", as in pay attention, be alarmed. Jesus just sent away two would be, wannabe disciples, who wanted to avoid this very thing, turmoil, trials, tribulation. Certainly Peter, his brother and their friends would be well acquainted with storms, with getting to safety, navigating through the waves.

The Sea of Galilee is more than 690 feet below sea level. To the north, Mount Hermon rises 9200 feet, and from May to October strong winds often sweep through the narrow surrounding gorges into this valley, causing extremely sudden and violent storms. - J Mac

The boat was being swamped by the waves - Water was coming in, and the little boat was bursting crests and disappearing into troughs. These were more than rough seas; this was dire.

But He was asleep - God had truly become man as well, and this speaks greatly to His humanity, He was tired, and not at all alarmed.

They went and woke Him - They are the sailors, the expert boatmen, but they go to Jesus, for He is their Rabi, and this has gotten beyond their ability to handle. 

…6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.… Philippians 4: 6-8

Save us Lord, we are perishing - If we only knew, this is nothing, this is temporary, these sorts of things can only lead to drowning and loss of life, but we have so much worse that we need to be saved from. What peace belonged to Christ, unshakeable in the storm.

…24The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. 25Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man, but a good word cheers it up. 26A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray.… Proverbs 12: 24-26

…6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. 7Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.… 1 Peter 5: 6-8

Why are you afraid, O you of little faith - Matthew Henry points out that anxiety can be a sin, that it is the sin of doubt, of mistrust in God. This is much like the original sin of Adam and Eve, they doubted God at the suggestion of the serpent, a created thing. In their minds they must of thought He was mad, because look at the Sea, their is good reason for this, but this He is uses to teach them Who He is, and where they need put their trust. He is sovereign in the midst of the worst storm.

1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge? 3Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.… Job 38: 1-3

“He does not chide them for disturbing him with their prayers, but for disturbing themselves with their fears.” (Henry, cited in Carson)

iii. They actually had many reasons to have faith, even great faith.

· They had just seen Jesus do significant miracles, showing great power and authority.

· They had seen an example of great faith with the centurion who trusted Jesus to heal his servant.

· They had Jesus with them in the boat. And, they saw Jesus sleep; His peace should have given them peace. - E Word

Rebuked the winds and the sea - The same Word that created all things with a word, now commands it with His voice. 

…2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.… John 1: 2-4

And there was a great calm - Not only did the storm stop, but so did it's effects, immediately.

What sort of man is this - They are learning more and more Who He is, that He is more than just a man. 

14The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’” 16From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.… John 1: 14-16