Saturday, January 11, 2014
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake…Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" 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. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" (Matthew 8:18-27; see also Mark 4:39 and Luke 8:24)
Understanding the culture of the ancient Near East helps me to understand what Jesus did for His disciples as they crossed the lake. The gods of different pagan cults were popularly known. In particular, sailors and fisherman knew of Yam, the god of the sea. They were fearful of the sea because of this "powerful god," who controlled the waters and, at times, would "swallow up" boats of sailors for dinner. Yam was chaotic, unpredictable, and untamable. So, when Jesus rebukes the sea and the winds and waves obey Him, He shows that He is greater than the pagan "gods" (little-g).
In his creation song the psalmist tells of how the Lord rebuked the waters, separating them from the mountains and dry land (Psalm 104:5-9, see below). The prophet Isaiah tells of how the Lord rebuked the Red Sea so that the Israelites could escape Egypt's oppression (Isaiah 50:2; also Exodus 14:21-22). I believe that when people heard about how Jesus rebuked the sea and commanded the winds and the waves, they may have thought about these Scriptures. They may have even wondered, as the disciples did, "What kind of man is this? Mere men don't do this kind of thing – this is something that the Lord (Yahweh) does. That would mean that Jesus is…Lord."
I identify so well with the disciples, who just didn't seem to "get" who Jesus was until later in life (after His death). Yet, each experience with Him, each encounter, helped to shape and build their faith in Jesus. It was in these moments of great hurt (like Jesus' death on the Cross) or great fear (like almost drowning at sea) that the disciples began to "get" it. At 38 years old, I feel like I am just now beginning to "get" who Jesus is. What I mean is that I know in my mind who Jesus is; I can recite what Scripture says about Him. But, I feel like I am just beginning to begin to understand who Jesus is because of what He's brought me through. I think that it takes experiences, like what we see in this passage, to get to a place where we start believing in our hearts what we know in our heads; those experiences are where God shows that He can do abundantly more than we can ask or think. They show that Jesus is greater than our biggest fears and most powerful foes. Situations like these build faith within us to keep following him "into the boat" time after time.
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Scripture References (click the link below)
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