Yesterday we heard a story where Jesus slept through a storm on boat, and the rest of the boat’s occupants were terrified. They woke him up, and said:
“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?” (Matthew 8:24-27 ESV)
Did he get grumpy because they woke him? No, he was unhappy because they were afraid in the first place, and didn’t have enough faith.
If they realized what kind of man was sleeping in the boat with them, they wouldn’t have worried.
I can be a nervous flyer, and I recall one flight where there was a lot of turbulence. I kept my eyes locked on the gray haired man in a pilot’s uniform a few rows ahead of me. When I was tempted to panic, I’d look at this experienced pilot calmly reading his magazine, and calm myself down. If something was wrong, surely he’d jump up and go help, or at least start sweating and gripping his armrest with white knuckles.
Jesus was hoping for a similar reaction from his followers. Surely after following him around for a little while, they have an inkling of his power, if not his true identity?
But, apparently not. They are terrified, so he needs to wake up and do something.
He simply stands up, maybe even rubbing the sleep from his eyes with a little bedhead, and simply commands the storm to cease.
That’s apparently all there is to it.
He just tells nature what to do. I’m not talking about a simple illusion that he can pretend is a miracle. Jesus has just calmed a storm. Unless this was the biggest coincidence ever, and the storm just happened to stop at the same time Jesus said it should, Jesus appears to have control over complex meteorological systems that even today, we humans can’t control in this way.
No wonder the disciples are left asking – what kind of man is this???
Question: What do you think this incident says about Jesus?
Meeting with a Group? Your discussion questions are in this week’s Group Study Guide
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