Audio - Jesus Calms the Storm

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The Fourth Sunday in Epiphany
February 1, 2009
Jesus Calms the Storm

TEXT:  (Matthew 8:23-27 NKJ) 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?"
 
Once again we see a connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament—in our text, Jesus commands the water of the Sea of Galilee to calm and He commands the wind to stop blowing—Jesus is using the stormy waters to teach His disciples about faith and trust in God—in the Old Testament God used the great flood over all the earth to kill evil and save God’s people—Noah and his family were saved in the ark—in our text Jesus saves His disciples from the water in a boat
 
Another Old Testament example is the parting of the Red Sea when God rescued His people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt—after the rescue, God provided water for His people in the desert for 40 years—and water as used to teach God’s people about faith, trust, and the power of God over the nature created by God—some examples of those days in the wilderness that directly relate to our Savior, Jesus the Christ include the Rock that followed God’s people in the desert to provide their water—we probably recall the familiar story of Moses striking the rock and water coming out—but I like the way Paul describes that Rock as Christ
 
(1 Corinthians 10:1-4 NKJ) Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2  all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3  all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
 
Christ was among the Israelites throughout the years in the desert—He was the source of their salvation—He was the key to their survival—Christ gave life to those people chosen by God—it was Christ who guided the children of Israel across the Red Sea
 
(Isaiah 63:9-12 NKJ) In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days of old. 10 But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them. 11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying: "Where is He who brought them up out of the sea With the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, 12 Who led them by the right hand of Moses, With His glorious arm, Dividing the water before them To make for Himself an everlasting name,
 
We have other clues to help us understand this—let’s examine the bitter water of Marah that was made sweet when Moses through a tree into the water as God instructed—who would think that throwing a tree into bitter water would make it sweet—this again is an act of faith and trust
 
(Exodus 15:23-26 NKJ) Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" 25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them, 26 and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you."
 
The bitter waters made sweet by the tree remind us that the bitter suffering of Christ on the cross brought sweet victory over death—for Christ—and for us Christians who have faith and trust in the Lord—now we return to the lesson of Jesus calming the waters in the storm
 
As we consider this text—we must remember that all Scripture is given to us to strengthen our understanding of how we believing Christians can live a life of obedience to God—Jesus chastises His disciples because of their lack of faith—it is by faith that we overcome the threats and dangers of this world—it is by faith that we overcome Satan and his evil doers—it is by faith that we are saved
 
The lesson Jesus is teaching the disciples is that their faith was weak—and how did He know it was weak?—because they woke Him when the seas were seen as a threat to them—these men were afraid—and that fear was for this body on this earth—when our faith is right—we fear nothing on this earth—because we are not of this world—we are citizens of heaven—we await the call from God to come home
 
(Philippians 3:20 NKJ) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
 
Let’s take some time to review faith—first, faith is a gift from God—and it is the source of our salvation—we believe that Jesus died for our sins—and we believe God raised Him from the dead—and that is how we are saved
 
(Ephesians 2:8 NKJ) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
 
Now after reviewing these teachings of faith—we can consider why Jesus spoke to His disciples the way He did—these were the preachers that would carry on the work of spreading the Gospel after Jesus ascended into heaven—and they were so weak in faith—so fearful of worldly dangers—their faith had to be strengthened
 
God gives us faith to deal with the uncertainties and evil things of this world—when our faith is strong—and we encounter evil or worldly danger—we think not of the danger or evil—but we think of heaven and the gift of salvation that we obtained through Jesus Christ
 
When our faith is weak and we encounter the same danger or evil—we think of being hurt or killed—or the evil overpowering us—that was Jesus’ point—the disciples faith was weak—and they feared death—when our faith is strong death has no power over us—we will never even see death—Jesus taught us that
 
(John 8:51 NKJ) "Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."
 
Listen to what a much seasoned Apostle John wrote in his First Epistle concerning our power as Christians
 
(1 John 5:4-5 NKJ) For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
 
It certainly sounds like the John who begged Jesus to help him during the boat ride in the storm has learned much about faith and overcoming the world—our faith is our power—power over the world—power over evil—and power over death itself
 
To end our lesson—we see Jesus get up when His disciples awakened Him—and He calmed the storm so they would no longer be fearful—this is a lesson on love—Jesus brought clam through His strength and power over all forces in the world—including the storm
 
LUTHER’S SPIRITUAL INTERPRETATION OF THE LESSON
 
The Ship represents all Christians
 
The Sea represents the world
 
The wind and the storm represents Satan and his work in the world
 
The disciples represent the preachers in this world
 
Before Christ entered the ship there was a calm on the sea—when Christ and the disciples embarked on their journey—the storm began to rage—the peace and calm were gone—Christ Himself told us that He did not come here to bring peace—but He came to cause disruption of peace
 
(Matthew 10:34 NKJ) "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
 
There will never be peace on earth until Judgment Day—there cannot be peace as long as there is good and evil—the two are at war and will remain at war until the end—then there will be peace in the New Heaven and the New Earth
 
The only peace Jesus brought was peace of mind that we are citizens of heaven—when we reflect on what Jesus preached we see the sword of division He speaks of—Jesus called the wise fools—the rich lost—the saints sinners—He enraged the world to hate Him—and they still do hate Him—it will always be that way
 
The closer we are to Christ—the greater the devil storms to try and knock us out of the boat and into the world—preachers that drift away from Christ will find calm—the world can tolerate preaching—but it cannot tolerate the preaching of Christ—we must continue to preach Christ—let the storm of Satan lash out—we do not fear him—he has no power over us
When we preach the Word in truth we convict the world of sin—and they are outraged
 
(John 16:7-11 NKJ) "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 "of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 "of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
 
Learn from Paul—learn from Christ Himself—when we are weak—cry out to Him—and we will be strong—and the closer we are to Christ—the greater the storms of this world—stand fast and endure the storms—and God will take you to your reward in heaven
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!