The boat
This week's study is on Matthew 8:23-27:
I like reading about Jesus. It seems like there is no end to the lessons contained in the record of his time on earth. The verses this week seem to be the story of a sudden freak storm, and Jesus taunting the disciples with his awesomeness, which ultimately ends up confusing them. But even in that, there is a lesson!
Imagine yourself in that situation though. You're in a boat with Jesus and a bunch of fishermen. Fishermen are what you might call water travel experts. If there's weather that makes fishermen start freaking out, it's got to be pretty bad. The only wild card they have is Jesus, and he's asleep! Other than item one on your to-do list ([X] Scream) what do you do? How do you handle an unplanned situation that is completely out of your control?
The disciples wake Jesus up and brief him on the current situation: "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" (Translation: "Aaaaaaagh!!!!! We're all going to die!!! Help!!!!! Amen.") Jesus could have just acted surprised and screamed with them. Instead, he shares his lesson with them and saves them from certain doom.
The lesson is that things will be okay when you're with Jesus. The storm didn't matter. The boat didn't matter. Physics and meteorology and the weather man's track record on predictions all didn't matter. Nothing mattered except for Jesus and those who were his companions. The world around him submitted to him when he yelled at it for stirring up drama.
Think about it. Jesus was asleep. The disciples had every chance to use the authority God gave them to calm the storm, and they didn't. They freaked out instead. Nothing they did or thought of doing was any good to their situation, except for calling out to Jesus. Things still turned out okay. Jesus saved them. Isn't that the way things go with us when we're learning our lessons from Jesus though?
There's no way for things to turn out badly when we're with Jesus, not in any meaningful eternal sense. There will be storms and trouble and missed chances to do the right thing, but what matters isn't all of that but that Jesus steps in when we've exhausted our options. He knows we're not perfect. He knows we could have done better. He still saves.
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly 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!”
I like reading about Jesus. It seems like there is no end to the lessons contained in the record of his time on earth. The verses this week seem to be the story of a sudden freak storm, and Jesus taunting the disciples with his awesomeness, which ultimately ends up confusing them. But even in that, there is a lesson!
Imagine yourself in that situation though. You're in a boat with Jesus and a bunch of fishermen. Fishermen are what you might call water travel experts. If there's weather that makes fishermen start freaking out, it's got to be pretty bad. The only wild card they have is Jesus, and he's asleep! Other than item one on your to-do list ([X] Scream) what do you do? How do you handle an unplanned situation that is completely out of your control?
The disciples wake Jesus up and brief him on the current situation: "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" (Translation: "Aaaaaaagh!!!!! We're all going to die!!! Help!!!!! Amen.") Jesus could have just acted surprised and screamed with them. Instead, he shares his lesson with them and saves them from certain doom.
The lesson is that things will be okay when you're with Jesus. The storm didn't matter. The boat didn't matter. Physics and meteorology and the weather man's track record on predictions all didn't matter. Nothing mattered except for Jesus and those who were his companions. The world around him submitted to him when he yelled at it for stirring up drama.
Think about it. Jesus was asleep. The disciples had every chance to use the authority God gave them to calm the storm, and they didn't. They freaked out instead. Nothing they did or thought of doing was any good to their situation, except for calling out to Jesus. Things still turned out okay. Jesus saved them. Isn't that the way things go with us when we're learning our lessons from Jesus though?
- We're tested.
- We have what we need to succeed, but we fail.
- Jesus shows us where we failed.
- Jesus fixes things.
- We're confused.
There's no way for things to turn out badly when we're with Jesus, not in any meaningful eternal sense. There will be storms and trouble and missed chances to do the right thing, but what matters isn't all of that but that Jesus steps in when we've exhausted our options. He knows we're not perfect. He knows we could have done better. He still saves.
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