Matthew 8:23-27

Rachel Workman: 23 Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. 24 Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

26 Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

27 The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”

In these verses what stands out to me is "and suddenly there was a great calm". One minute the disciples think they are dying and in the next there was great calm. That's exactly who Jesus is. One minute you think there's no way out and the next Jesus just commands his peace over your situation.

I look at the word faith here and sometimes I think the word is a little overused and it loses its meaning. Do I have faith that Jesus has me? I can't sit here and claim to know the heart of God. Yeah, he's got me. But that doesn't mean I can't go down a path of suffering still. But where I do have faith is in Christ being who he says he is. He is the living Son of God, who died on the cross for my sins. That's enough for me. He may not promise us puppies, kittens and cotton candy every day but what he does promise us is eternal life. And that is enough.

____________________________________________________________________________________

John Burnett:  ²³ When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose ^[a]a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. ²⁵ And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” ²⁶ He *said to them, “Why are you ^[b]afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and ^[c]it became perfectly calm. ²⁷ The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”  The disciples had not been with Jesus long but they had witnessed miracles by this time yet they still did not have faith in Him.  I know my faith would be strengthened if I was in the boat with Him but now we have His Word and it is far more convincing to me as a Christian because I have the Holy Spirit, who opens my eyes and gives me ears to hear.  The disciples did not have the Holy Spirit yet and they had no idea of what Jesus was capable of, even though Jesus said two words to them and they drop their lives and followed Him. 

Unlike the world who doesn’t know that they are perishing or doesn’t care that they are perishing, in this environment the disciples knew that he could save them so they asked Him to save them, they just didn’t have faith that he could or would do it the way He did, with His words.  We know this was easy for Him because he created everything with just His words.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Allen Michaels:

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. Sudden storms are a constant issue on the Sea of Galilee due to its small size, a shoreline that’s 680 feet below sea level, and being surrounded by mountains. So it’s safe to assume that the disciples had not foolishly set out in a storm. They had been caught without warning, and were in great danger. Many times we start out with good intentions only to have everything turn to crap. Most of the time we are doing something that WE think is right. It’s only when the waves come flooding over the boat that we realize that God probably isn’t real happy with what I’m doing. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Although the disciples had witnessed many miracles, they panicked in this storm. It never even dawned on them that Christ could bring them through this storm unscathed. They were experienced sailors knowing the dangers on this sea; what they didn’t know was that Christ could control the forces of nature. I’m like this myself. I relax in the boat during calm seas and tell Jesus to “go ahead and sleep…I got this!” But once there’s “trouble a brewin” I’m all “wake up Jesus, can’t you see I need your help?” There is often a stormy area of our human nature where we feel God can’t or won’t work. When we truly understand who God is, however, we will realize that he controls both the storms of nature and the storms of the troubled heart. Jesus’ power that calmed this storm can also help us deal with the problems we face. Jesus is willing to help if we only ask him. We should never discount his power even in terrible trials.

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!”

Why are you fearful? - You should have remembered that the Son of God, the Messiah, was on board. You should not have forgotten that he had power to save, and that with him you are safe. So Christians should never fear danger, disease, or death. With Jesus they are safe. No enemy can reach him; and as he is safe, so they shall be also.