Sweet Sisters,
Today I want to share a story that is in Matthew, Mark and Luke. I want to describe it first in my own words and then I will give you the scripture references.
Jesus is tired. He has been teaching all day. He tells his disciples He wants to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They get into the boat and start to sail. Jesus goes to the stern (back of the boat) to take a nap. The Sea of Galilee (It’s actually a lake, about 8 miles across and 11 miles long. In comparison, the Salton Sea is 15 miles across and 35 miles long) is notorious for sudden, violent storms. The disciples and Jesus find themselves in such a storm. Jesus keeps on sleeping but the disciples are terrified. They wake him up, certain that they are going to drown. In their fear they demand Him to do something.
Have you ever woken someone up who was not ready to be woken up? In Matthew’s account of this event Jesus says, “You of little faith. Why are you so afraid?” Mark records that Jesus then gets up and rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Peace be still!”
The disciples are now more terrified of the man in the boat with them than they were of the storm. (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35 – 41 and Luke 8:22-25)
As I read this story there are several questions that come to mind. The first question I have is; what exactly did the disciples expect Jesus to do when they woke Him up? Did they want Jesus to join them in their fear? Did they want Him to grab a bucket and start bailing water? They couldn’t understand how Jesus could be so calm in such a time of crisis. Maybe they just needed Him to take charge and tell them what to do. They certainly didn’t expect Him to react the way He did.
The second question that comes to my mind when I read this is what kind of mood was Jesus in when He was suddenly roused from a deep sleep to a wild storm and a bunch of freaked out fishermen certain they were about to die.
I get a strong impression that he was really irritated.
I can remember times when my kids were growing up when things got chaotic and they pushed me just a tad father than I could handle. I was DONE! I would yell, “That’s enough!” “Stop! Sit down! You are all in trouble!”
Remember, Jesus was God and man. I think here we see both sides of that. Jesus looks at His disciples and says (Debbie paraphrase), “For Pete’s sake, get a grip and calm down!” To the wind and the waves he says, “Back off and leave them alone!”
When Jesus asks his disciples why are you so afraid and where is your faith? I wonder if what He was really asking them was, “How can you be so afraid when I am with you? Do you still not trust me?”
In 1874, Mary Ann Baker wrote a hymn called, Master the Tempest is Raging. It is based on this story. When led by a skilled song leader, this is a very powerful song.
Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness.
No shelter or help is nigh.
Carest thou not that we perish?
How canst thou lie asleep
When each moment so madly is threat’ning
A grave in the angry deep?
[Chorus]
The winds and the waves shall obey thy will:
Peace, be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
Or demons or men or whatever it be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, be still; peace, be still.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, peace, be still.
Note in the Chorus:
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
Or demons or men or whatever it be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies.
She continues with:
Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today.
The depths of my sad heart are troubled.
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul,
And I perish! I perish! dear Master.
Oh, hasten and take control!
Her concluding verse finds comfort in her Master:
Master, the terror is over.
The elements sweetly rest.
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within my breast.
Linger, O blessed Redeemer!
Leave me alone no more,
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor
And rest on the blissful shore.
Sweet Sisters, we are ships trying to navigate the storms of life. Jesus sails with us in our ship.
Romans 8:11 calls Him the Spirit:
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you,
he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal
bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Second Corinthians 13:5 tells us that if we have faith, Jesus is in us.
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.
Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail
the test?
Galatians 2:20 says:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in
- The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave himself for me.
John 14:20 reminds us that Jesus is in us:
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me,
and I am in you.
In John 14:23:
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My
Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home
with them.”
Because Jesus is in the ship with us, we don’t have to freak out and go into full blown panic attacks like the disciples did when they faced a huge storm on the Sea of Galilee.
We can put our trust in the Master of oceans and earth and skies. It may be a wild ride, but He will bring us into a peaceful harbor.
Debbie