The Rev. BT Ball
Behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”
At first glance it is a good prayer. They put before Jesus the issue at hand, at least from their point of view. They ask him for salvation from wind and wave and from a sinking boat. Save us, Lord. But their point of view is wrong. They tell him, “we are perishing.” But they weren’t. Because Jesus was there. So he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” They weren’t perishing at all; the storm that was surrounding them should have been no consequence, for Jesus had already been revealing himself, manifesting his glory, showing who he was. He was the one that Jonah was running away from; he had caused the storm to come up then on the Mediterranean Sea. He is the LORD who makes great tempest. Jonah knew that, it is why he was sleeping in the boat back then. And now Jesus, the LORD, asleep in the boat and at the same time causing the great storm to surge, the winds to blow and the waters to rise. God has come down, Immanuel, God with us. God in flesh sleeps and at the same time does not slumber or sleep. All things are subject to Him, all things under his dominion. And he uses a storm to reveal the sign of Jonah and a storm to teach His disciples that He alone brings great calm.Why were the disciples afraid then? They were living by sight of course, they knew and believed what wind and wave could do, and they knew the limitations of the boat they were in. They did not have faith that Jesus was the one who not only sent wind and wave, but to be in the boat with him was the safest place on all the earth. They believed what they could see, and what they saw was a great storm and a sleeping Jesus. What you see is a great storm and no Jesus at all – with your eyes that is. Why are you so afraid, O you of little faith? You know this Jesus even better than the disciples did. You know fully what he has done for you. To still a storm is nothing for him, for he has dealt with much greater things than that. He has won victory over your sins. He has destroyed the power of death. He has defeated Satan. Anything that could possibly cause you fear, he has shown that he is stronger than that, for He has risen from the grave. And not only has is he greater than those things that have caused you fear, he has died for your fears, all of which are sinful. Because you are to fear God alone. But yet, even still, when you see what you see, hear what you hear, faith seems begins to shrink, grow small. And you are afraid that it might even go away. The answer to fears and a little faith is Jesus and the great calm of his Word. See what he did with his disciples, he stood up and just like he could rebuke demons and get them to shut their mouths and come out of those who were oppressed, he rebuked the wind and waves. And then, at his Word, there is a great calm. And at the calm, the disciples ask, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” The man is God, and more than wind and sea obey. For under his feet he has put all your fearful enemies. He brings to you more than simply the power to bring great calm to a sea he says this to your heart and mind. Be calm, he says, for he died for you. Be calm, he says, for there are no sins left out of his sacrifice, no more fear that God will hold something against you. Be calm, hand over every burden and the weight of sin to Him. He has borne them already. His shed blood is what you see with the eyes of faith poured for you to drink. Be calm, every fear and worry you have, they are real things to deal with to be sure, just as real as the waves were on the sea of Galilee, by His Word and promise your Lord will handle. You heard the apostle preach, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18So it isn’t a bad prayer, that the disciples prayed, it is the best. Save us Lord. It is the constant prayer of the church. You know he does because he slept in death, but lives now to save. But unlike the disciples you don’t have to pray that you are perishing, because you are not. You won’t. Not forever. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Psalm 107:29 Jesus is here, and where he is in the boat that is his church. There is no fear.