Seeds for 07/17/2023 - Matthew 8:23-27
Scripture: 23 Then He got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!”
Observation: This is a powerful story that expresses both a physical reality about Jesus’ command over the natural world and a personal reality about Jesus’ command over the analogous challenges in our lives.
The plot is simple and straightforward. A sudden “furious storm” threatens the boat and the lives of those in it. The disciples panic. Jesus calms the storm. The disciples are “amazed.” Here’s what I’m observing and reflecting on today.
Contrast between the disciples’ reaction to the storm and Jesus’ response to the storm. The “furious storm” didn’t raise Jesus’ threat meter the way it did the disciples. He was sleeping through it and had to be awakened! He even accuses them of lacking faith and asks why they were “so afraid.” When things in life are out of our control, we are susceptible to panic. The urgency level raises more quickly than we can figure out what’s happening and how to address it. Action is needed but there’s too much coming at us. We get overwhelmed.
The disciples didn’t have mature faith, but they had just enough to call on Jesus. Panic doesn’t make sense when you’ve got the Lord of creation on your side. Still, simply calling out to Jesus was enough to activate His saving concern for them. This is a wonderful reassurance for us. They weren’t alone against the storm. They had Jesus in the boat and they went to Him for help.
The disciples’ response to Jesus’ power is exactly right. They “were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!’” Amazement and curiosity are the results of an encounter with Jesus. This is what leads to saving faith, authentic worship, and deeper discipleship. One thing reading the Gospels can do for us is inspire awe and draw us deeper because of the honest questions that Jesus evokes in us.
That question in particular—”What kind of man is this?” is exactly the question the disciples had to wrestle with throughout the Gospel. It’s the question at the heart of the Bible itself, and it calls for an answer from each of us.
Application:
What about Jesus’ life and ministry inspires you to amazement and curiosity?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, keep me calling out to you, with whatever faith I have. Draw me into wonder and keep me seeking to know you more. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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