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Matthew 8:23–27 (ESV)
And 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 swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.
And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”
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.
And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Introduction: The Importance of Asking Questions
We know that kids are notorious for asking many questions… and often parents are creative with their answers.
There is a trend on Twitter where moms and dads share snippets of these exchanges with their children.
My daughter asked me if cheese is a vegetable, so...yeah she’s an optimist.
My 4-year-old asked me if I’d fit in a trunk and suddenly being put in a nursing home doesn’t sound so bad.
My son just asked me if I when I was little I had to stay inside for COVIDs 1 through 18
My three year old asked me if the tooth he just lost "is going to heaven."
These are the precious moments that make parenting so worthwhile.
I reminded him that he bit me last month and told him his tooth was hell-bound.
Today, my 6yo asked me if monkeys only eat bananas, and now I’m questioning my entire adult existence because I have absolutely no clue what the answer to this question is.
My daughter asked, "If dreams can come true, what about the bad ones?”
I laughed and laughed and then I cried.
In today’s text, the disciples are traveling with Jesus by boat across The Sea of Galilea.
When a storm threatens their lives, they pose two questions—questions that most of us have grappled with.
They could be summarized like this:
1) Does Jesus Really Care About Us?
Have you ever been puzzled that the Lord would allow you to go through a certain storm in life, leading you to ask, “Does the Lord really care about me?”
The good news is that we are not the first generation to ask such a question.
The disciples themselves pondered the same thing.
2) Who is Jesus?
If you haven’t asked this question, you certainly should.
It is not enough to merely believe Jesus existed.
The important question is “Who is He?”.
Our text provides insight to both of these compelling questions.
I. Does Jesus Really Care About Us?
The Sea of Galilea is a large body of water—about 13 miles long and up to eight miles wide.
It lies just over 600 feet below sea level providing it with rather mild, year-long temperatures.
However, it is surrounded by mountain ranges to the east and west that extend over 2,650 feet above the level of the lake.
There are strong warm winds that come from one side of lake that meet with cool winds from the other side… and they converge, producing storms out of nowhere with waves seven feet and more, easily able to swamp a boat.
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Before diving into our text, lets give a broad view of the storyline thus far:
Remember, Jesus was up on a hillside where He taught about the Good News of the Kingdom of God
He then then came down to crowds of people where he demonstrated the power of the Kingdom… He healed multitudes of sick people and delivered them from demonic oppression and then, what does He do?
Matthew 8:18 (ESV)
Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
Jesus needs a break from the crowds of people.
So He commands His disciples to get in the boat so they can take about a six mile journey by night to get to the other side of the lake.
Matthew 8:23 (ESV)
And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.
And when they are traveling this massive storm comes out of nowhere and the disciples are scared for the lives.
They believe they are going to perish.
Who’s idea was it travel to the other side of the Lake?
It was Jesus’ idea.
Here is my point: the disciples are in this predicament because they obeyed Jesus.
In the familiar story of Jonah, God sends a storm that threatens the lives of the sailors because Jonah disobeyed God.
He was supposed to go to Nineveh to preach a message of repentance to the wicked city… but he tried to flee the plan of God… consequently, God sent a storm.
Now, the disciples obey Jesus and they find themselves in a storm, so tumultuous in fact, that they think their lives are over.
Have you ever been in a season where you are really trying to serve Jesus and walk in obedience to the Bible, only to experience a very difficult storm?
This can be really confusing.
It’s like, “Jesus, I am trying my best to serve you, why would you let this happen to me?
This is precisely what is happening with the disciples.
Matthew 8:25 (ESV)
And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”
They actually question Jesus, and questions His concern for Him.
“Jesus, do you even care about us?”
You say, I don’t see that in the text.
Fair enough.
But Mark—in His Gospel— expounds on this conversation between the disciples and Jesus.
Mark 4:37–38 (ESV)
And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.
And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
There was a popular idea in Judaism that also exists in Christianity: it is called the retribution principle.
We can summarize the principle like this: If I follow God, He will bless me.
If I disobey Him, my life will be in chaos.
The book of Proverbs alludes this idea.
But this is why it is important to look at the Bible as a whole.
When Job’s life fell to pieces, his friends assumed that he had some great sin in his life.
But that wasn’t the case.
It seems the disciples—at this point—hold to some version of the retribution principle.
What is Jesus doing while this storm is happening?
He is sleeping!
It’s like Jesus there is the massive storm happening… why aren’t you helping us? Do you even care about us.
But Jesus gently rebukes them: “why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”
They have just witness Jesus’ compassion being poured out on multitudes of people, yet they are questioning His concern for them.
Jesus knew what He was doing.
He knew the storm was coming.
Through this frightening situation, He is teaching His disciples about who He is, which tells me this: storms in our lives our not meaningless.
Ten of His twelve disciples would be martyred for their faith in Jesus and one would be exiled.
They would have to learn to trust Him.
When God allows storms in our lives, sometimes it is because of our own disobedience; and out of loving discipline, God uses these circumstances to draw bring us to repentance.
Other times, we can be walking in obedience, doing our best to serve God and other humans, and yet, God allows us to go through some excruciating circumstances.
When you go through a storm, it can feel like the Lord is asleep and unconcerned about you; DO NOT doubt His love!
The beauty of the story is that He was in the boat with His disciples.
And He will be in the boat with you.
He doesn’t abandon us in our storms.
In the story, Jesus gets up, rebukes the winds and the sea, and immediately the storm subsides.
The disciples then ask another question: “What sort of man is this?”
In other words, “Who really is Jesus?”
Let’s explore the answer to this question:
II.
Who is Jesus?
A) He is a Human Being
Matthew 8:24 (ESV)
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