Matthew 8:23-27

Introduction

Norah and I Love to Travel

Each Summer, We Will Take a Week-Long Vacation and Travel Somewhere (Typically to the Ocean)

This Last Year We Took a Trip to Hilton Head, SC

It was Amazing!

We Definitely Want to Go Back

But We’ve Also Taken Trips to Places that We Probably Won’t Go Back to

One of Our First Vacations Together (Besides Our Honeymoon) was to Panama City Beach

While There, We Decided to Go On a Dolphin Cruise

It was a Double-Decker Boat and Most of the Passengers Chose to Sit On the Top Deck

Once We Got to Open Water, the Waves Were Pretty Rough

There Had Been a Storm in the Gulf and the Waves Were Pretty Big

So the Boat was Rocking Quite a Bit

And Being on the Top Deck Made it Seem Like it was Rocking Much More

The Other Passengers, Along with Us Were Starting to Look a Little Nervous

But as Long as You Held On to the Rails, You Were Okay

But Then a Boat 3 to 4 Times Bigger Than Our Own Came Speeding Passed Us

The Waves From that Boat Added to the Height and Power of the Already Big Waves

Our Boat Started Swaying Back and Forth in the Waves So Bad that…

The Large Trashcan Started Sliding From One Side of the Boat to the Other

We Were All Pretty Scared at this Point

It Felt Just Like the Boat was About to Flip with Every Wave that Hit Us

No One Had On Lifejackets

And it Would Have Been Terribly Hard to Swim Without One in the Stormy Water

And Not Only That, But Norah Can’t Swim

So All that is On My Mind is How I’m Going to Save Norah and Myself if This Boat Sinks

I Was in a Quiet Panic

But Then the Waves Finally Died Down and We Were Safe

We Decided From that Moment that Dolphins Aren’t Really Worth it

So, No More Dolphin Cruises for Us

The Fear We Experienced that Day was Caused By a Few Minor Waves

I Can’t Imagine What it Would Be Like to Be On a Boat in an Actual Tropical Storm

For the Boat to Actually Flip or Fill Up with Water

It Would Be Absolutely Terrifying

We are About to Look at a Time When Jesus’ Disciples Were Going Through that Exact Terrifying Situation

Matthew 8:23-27

We are Still Currently in the Gap Between Jesus’ 1st and 2nd Major Discourses in Matthew’s Account

We Finished the 1st Discipleship Passage

We are Now Starting the 2nd Group of 3 Miracles

In this Text, Jesus is Once Again Going to Blow the Minds of His Followers

But They are Also Going to Learn a Lesson About Faith in the Process

My Hope is that We Will Have the Same Results

Matthew 8:23 (NASB)

When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.

Quick Recap:

Jesus was in Peter & Andrew’s Home When the Whole City Began Crowding Around the Door to the House

They Were Seeking Healing and for Demons to Be Cast Out of Them

So Jesus Helped Them

But Then He Decided it was Time to Take His Ministry Across the Sea of Galilee

He Commanded Those Who Were Willing to Leave Everything Behind to Go With Him

Last Week We Met 2 Men Who Were Not Quite Ready to Do That

But Now We See that There Were Others Who Were Willing

They are Called His Disciples

And They Followed Him

These are Intentional Words

True Disciples are Willing to Leave Everything Behind and Enter into the Unknown with Jesus

True Disciples are Willing to Not Just Follow Jesus Where He Goes…

But Also Follow Jesus in What He Does

True Disciples Follow Jesus as Their Leader in All Things

Mark Tells Us that There Were Other Boats as Well

We Aren’t Told How Many Disciples Were Following Jesus Across the Sea

But They Apparently Needed Several Boats for All of Them to Cross Together

Matthew 8:24 (NASB)

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.

Because of the Surrounding Mountains and Ravines…

Storms Could Pop Up Out of Nowhere On the Sea of Galilee

So Before You Knew it, You Could Find Yourself in the Middle of a Storm

But Matthew Describes the Storm in a Unique Way

He Calls it “seismos megas”

Which Means “Great Shaking/Earthquake

If Nothing Else, That Tells Us This Was an Unusually Powerful Storm

Matthew Said the Boat was Being “Covered” With the Waves

This Refers to Covering Something as to Hide it

The Waves Were So High that You Couldn’t Even See the Boat

Mark Adds that the Boat was Filling Up with Water From These Giants Waves

So We Can Imagine that the Disciples Were Working Frantically to Bale the Water Out…

Only to Have Another Giant Wave Crash into Them

This is an Absolutely Terrifying Situation They’re in

And All the While, Jesus is Sound Asleep in the Back of the Boat

How Could Anyone Sleep During a Storm On a Lake that is Described as “a Great Earthquake”?

I Can Think of 2 Reasonable Ways

Absolute Exhaustion

Jesus Wasn’t Given Much Time to Rest

His Ministry Never Really Stopped

From Matthew’s Account, it Seems Like Jesus Might Have Spent All Night Healing and Casting Out Demons

Jesus is Human Like the Rest of Us

He Needed Rest and Sleep Just Like We Do

It’s Likely that He was Absolutely Exhausted

Absolute Peace

A Person Can Only Have Such Sound Sleep When They are Totally at Peace With Their Surroundings

Jesus Wasn’t Worried About Some Storm

He Has Total Trust in God’s Care and Plan for Him

Which is Exactly the Kind of Faith that Jesus Wants to Instill in His Disciples

Matthew 8:25 (NASB)

And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”

We Can Assume that Peter, Andrew, James, and John Were On This Boat with Jesus

They Were 4 Fisherman Who Were Likely Used to the Storms of the Sea of Galilee

But Even They Were Terrified for Their Lives

They Wake Jesus Up

The Word for “Woke” Means to Raise Up/Get Up

It is Used a Lot When Talking About Jesus Being Raised From the Dead

So They Raise Him Up and Ask Him to Save Them

Save = to Rescue, Deliver Them

They Want to Be Rescued From Perishing

“Perishing” is in the Present Tense and Means “Being Destroyed”

“Rescue Us, Lord; We are Dying!”

It’s Interesting to Speculate What They Were Actually Asking for

We’ll See in a Moment that They Weren’t Asking for Him to Stop the Storm

So What Did They Mean By “Save Us, Lord”?

Did They Want Him to Help Bale Water?

Did They Want His Advice or Leadership?

It Seems Like Even They Didn’t Know What They Were Asking For

They Just Knew They Were Going to Die and They Believed or Hoped that He Could Help

Do You See a Picture of Us in All of This?

I Think Matthew’s Recording of These Words Were Intended to Be a Double Entendre (Have 2 Meanings)

When the Disciples Said it to Jesus On That Boat…

They Were Obviously Asking For Jesus to Rescue Their Immediate Physical Lives

But Matthew’s Christian Readers Would Have Read These Words and Recognized Their Spiritual Significance

“Save Us, Lord; We are Perishing!”

Like the Disciples Sinking in Their Boat, Surrounded By Waves of Chaos and Destruction…

We Were Sinking Deep in Sin, Far From the Peaceful Shore

Very Deeply Stained Within, Sinking to Rise No More

Just as the Disciples Recognized that They Were Dying…

And They Called Out for Jesus to Save Them…

We Need to Recognize Where Our Sins are Leading Us

If We are Living in Sin, We are Dying and at Some Point, We Will Be Completely Destroyed

But if We Will Only Call Out for Jesus to Save Us

We Don’t Have to Worry About Raising Him Up From Sleep…

Because He is Already Risen

Risen From the Dead and Risen to Sit at the Right Hand of the Father in Heaven

Hebrews 7:25 (NASB)

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Call Out for Jesus to Rescue You Because that is What He Lives For!

Matthew 8:26 (NASB)

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.

After Jesus Woke Up Due to Their Cries for Help, He Asks Them Why They are Afraid/Cowardly

What a Ridiculous Question!

Why Would They Not Be Afraid?

They Were Caught in the Middle of a Terrible Storm and Their Boat was Sinking

Because of Their Fear, Jesus Calls Them “Men of Little Faith”

Lack of Faith Leads to Fear

The Way Jesus Saw it, They Shouldn’t Have Been Afraid of This Storm

Why?

Because He was With Them

Going Through Storms in Life Can Be Uncertain and Scary

But as Christians, We Can Rest Assured that Jesus is With Us

Come Good or Bad, Jesus Will Always Be There

And When You Have Jesus, You Have Nothing to Fear

When Suffering with Pain or Sickness…

Jesus, the Great Physician, is Always With You

He is Capable of Healing You Now and He Certainly Will Give You a Body Incapable of Pain and Sickness Later

When Suffering with Loss…

Jesus, the Great Comforter, is Always With You

He Offers to Carry Our Burdens and Bring Comfort to Our Broken Hearts

And He Also Has Promised Us Great Restoration and Renewal Upon His Return

When Entering the Final Moments of Your Life…

Jesus, the Giver of Life and Defeater of Death, is Always With You

He Has Promised that Death Will Not Rule Over Us Forever

At His Return, We Will Be Resurrected to Life that Never End Ever Again

Trust in His Promises

Place Your Faith in Him Because He is Faithful and Always Keeps His Promises

When You Truly Trust Jesus, the Storms of Life Will Not Be Able to Make You Afraid

Because You Know Jesus is With You

Matthew Then Tells Us that Jesus Rebuked the Wind and the Sea

Rebuke is a Word Often Associated with Casting Out Demons

Many Believe This Storm Wasn’t Just a Natural Storm

But that Evil Forces Were Behind it

That the Devil and His Minions Were Attempting to Kill Jesus Before His Ministry Could Go Any Further

Whatever the Source of the Storm…

The Wind and Waves Obeyed Jesus

They Became “Perfectly Calm”

Another Form of the Word “megas” is Used Again

The Situation Went From a Great Earthquake/Storm to a Great Calm

Matthew 8:27 (NASB)

The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Why Were They So Amazed at Jesus Calming the Storm?

They Had Already Seen Him Work Miracles

Why was This One Any Different?

Prophets and People of God Have Come and Gone Who Could Heal the Sick and Bring the Dead Back to Life

They Had Jewish Brethren Among Them Who Claimed to Cast Out Demons

Moses at God’s Instruction Parted the Red Sea

And Elijah Once Prayed to God to Stop and Start the Rain

But No One Has Ever Had Absolute Authority Over Nature Like This

Throughout the Bible, Power Over Storms and Sea Has Only Ever Belonged to God

And Yet This Man Simply Speaks, and Nature Obeys

This Wasn’t Just a Miracle that Proved Jesus is a Prophet From God

This was a Miracle that Proved He is God

Application

The Application From This Text is Clear

Jesus is God, So Trust Him and Do Not Be Afraid

I Want to Finish the Song I Started Earlier:

I was Sinking Deep in Sin, Far From the Peaceful Shore

Very Deeply Stained Within, Sinking to Rise No More

But the Master of the Sea Heard My Despairing Cry

From the Waters Lifted Me, Now Safe Am I

Souls in Danger, Look Above, Jesus Completely Saves

He Will Lift You By His Love Out of the Angry Waves

He’s the Master of the Sea, Billows His Will Obey

He Your Savior Wants to Be, Be Saved Today