Message

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JESUS CALMS THE STORM

Luke 8:22-25

Key Verse:8:25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the wind and the water, and they obey him.”

  People say that life is the continuation of one storm after another whether they be big or small. Indeed, storms come every day, from everywhere, and to everyone, even to Christians who love God and live according to his will. No one can escape from these storms. However, the important thing is not how to escape from the storms, but how to overcome the storms. In today’s passage, Jesus’ disciples meet a huge storm which led them to the point of death. But Jesus calms the storm and teaches them who he is and how to overcome storms of life. I pray that God may help us to have faith that overcomes the storms of life. Amen.

 Look at verse 22. “One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out.” Here, according to verse 26, the other side of the lake indicates the region of the Gerasenes. Until then, Jesus was busy healing the sick and preaching the word. Wherever Jesus was, the crowd followed him because they saw the image of God in Jesus. Jesus was a good shepherd for them. Jesus welcomed them and served them all day long without any hint of complaining. However, this was not the case with Jesus’ disciples. They were tired of the demanding crowd. They had to serve these persistent and helpless people by working with Jesus. It was not easy for them to follow Jesus. Jesus knew the disciples’ situation. Jesus knew that they needed rest and a break from the crowd. Jesus himself also needed to have personal time with them. So he suggested to them that they cross over the other side of the lake. Jesus’ disciples knew what Jesus’ word meant. So they immediately got into a boat and set out.

  Sailing with their master Jesus was like a dream to them. While Peter and John enjoyed the beautiful sunset on the west horizon, Jesus fell asleep. The gentle breeze smoothed their sailing and everything seemed to be all right for them. However, life always would not go as they had expected. While the boat was in the middle of the lake, they encountered a squall.  A squall is a sudden and violent storm. Such storms frequently occur on the lake of Galilee, which is situated 700 feet below sea level. When cold air passes through the valley of the mountains by the lake and meets hot air over the lake, a squall arises anytime and anywhere. The squall in today’s passage was so violent that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

Look at verse 23. “As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.” As we know, among Jesus’ disciples there were several veteran fishermen such as Peter, Andrew, James and John. To overcome the storm, they must have done their best to control their boat. Peter rolled down the sail, and James laid down the anchor. Andrew pumped the water out of the boat together with John and the other disciples. Despite their bone crushing efforts, the storm became worse and worse and the boat became heavier and heavier. They were in great danger.

  What was Jesus doing at this crucial moment?  He was sleeping. While the waves were breaking over the boat, the water splashing on their faces, and his disciples yelling, Jesus was sleeping on a cushion in the stern of the boat. (Mk 4:38) What two completely different pictures in one incident! What does this picture of Jesus teach us about him? We learn that Jesus is the perfect God and the perfect man. Jesus healed the sick and preached the word day and night. He could not eat and sleep properly by serving the demanding crowds. Even though the whole world is his own, he did not have a place to lay his head. He was human like one of us. The Apostle Paul said about Jesus in Philippians 2:6-7, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness…

Next, there is perfect peace in Jesus. Even though his disciples were in a perfect storm, Jesus was in a perfect peace. Nothing bothered Jesus, not even a violent squall. Those who have Jesus in their life experience perfect peace. Once, John Wesley, an English preacher, was in ship bound for America. In the Atlantic Ocean, the ship met a big storm. John Wesley was terrified with fear of death. At that moment, he heard the sound of hymn singing. The Moravians, a German missionary group, were singing hymns in the middle of the life-threatening storm. John asked them, “Aren’t you afraid of death?” They answered, “No sir, we thank God for this.” “What about your women and children?” John continued.  The Moravians said, “No, they’re not afraid, either.” This incident motivated John Wesley to be converted into a new creation. He saw a perfect peace in the Moravians’ life through their faith in Jesus. Jesus said in John 16:33. “I have told you these things, so that in me you have peace. In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.” 

  What was his disciples’ response to Jesus? Look at verse 24. “The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”  In Mark’s gospel the disciples asked, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mk 4:38) They might have been angry with Jesus, who was only sleeping while they were in great danger. Like the disciples, we also come to Jesus with the same question, “Jesus, don’t you care if we perish?” “Jesus, where are you when we are suffering?” “Jesus, how long must we go through this hardship? Don’t you care?”

  How did Jesus answer them? Look at verses 24b-25a. “He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was clam. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.” Jesus said, “Quiet! Be still!” (Mk 4:39) Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves, like Dr. Augustine Suh, who rebukes his children when they fight each other. What happened to the storm which was rebuked by Jesus? The storm subsided and all was calm. As if nothing had happened, it was completely calm. This event reminds us of Psalm 89:9, which says, “You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.”

  After rebuking the storm, Jesus now rebukes his disciples, saying, “Where is your faith?” What did Jesus mean when he asked his disciples “Where is your faith?”  Jesus meant “Don’t you still believe that you are absolutely okay as long as you are with me?” Jesus meant, “Are you still afraid of death while I am with you in the same boat?”  Jesus meant, “I am the Lord of Creation and the Ruler of Nature. Don’t you believe in me?”  Up until then, his disciples had witnessed how Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead. They also had witnessed how Jesus drove out demons and cast out evil spirits. Above all, they heard wonderful words of life, the good news of the kingdom of God through many parables. Therefore, they must have had faith in Jesus and praised the Lord like the Moravians. But they were gripped with fear and cried out before the storm.

  When we are in the same situation like Jesus’ disciples, we must remember Jesus’ words, “Where is your faith?” When storms of life seem to overcome us, we are apt to be terrified and ask Jesus, “Jesus, don’t you care if we drown?”  When we suffer from the loss of beloved ones, health, job, or from failures on exams and tests, we cry out, saying, “Jesus, we are going to die. Don’t you care?” We have learned that Jesus is the Mighty Savior and the Giver of Life. He is the Lord of Creation and the ruler of human history and destiny. As long as Jesus is with us, we are absolutely safe and secure. We believe that our lives are in God’s hands and that God will care us until God’s appointed time comes. Amen.

  An English missionary David Livingstone had strong faith in Jesus’ sovereignty over his life. He believed Jesus’ promise to his disciples after giving the great commission, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt 28:18-20) According to this promise of Jesus, David left for Africa to preach the good news of Jesus to African people. During the 30 years of his missionary life in Africa, he had to go through many trials and hardships. Once he was attacked by a lion and lost his left arm. He also lost one of his eyes because of tropical diseases. Nevertheless, David never gave up. He believed that Jesus always would be with him and care for him until he finished his mission. David believed that all authorities, even authority over his life and death belonged to Jesus and that his promise is true.

Sometimes, my faith has been tested by trials and storms. But, one thing I firmly believe is that God will not take my life until I finish my mission on this earth. I believe that my life is in God’s hands and that he will take care of me as long as I serve him on this earth. By asking “Where is your faith”, Jesus asked his disciples to have a sense of God’s history over their lives. Jesus’ disciples must have remembered how Jesus healed the lepers, how he opened the eyes of the blind, how he fed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish, and how he raised the widow’s son from death. We also must remember how God has saved us from the darkness of sin, how he has guided us into the promised land, and how he has fed us and provided us with necessary things thus far. Some of us may be anxious about our uncertain future. Others may worry about their health, children’s education, job condition, financial difficulties and so on. Still others have habits of worrying in advance and of worrying continually.  Through today’s passage we need to hear Jesus’ rebuke, “Where is your faith?”

Nick Vujicic was born without limbs. He has no arms and legs. When he was eight years old, he attempted to kill himself. He thought that he would be better off dead than to live without limbs. But he didn’t do so when he thought about his parents who would cry for him for the rest of their lives. Nick met a huge storm. But he overcame the storm when he met Jesus in John’s gospel. Jesus’ word completely changed him from a man of sorrow to a man of joy, from a man of misery to a man of glory.  John 9:1-3 says, “As Jesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (Jn 9:1-3)  Based on Jesus’ word, Nick began to believe that he was not born in misery, but born for the glory of God. In Jesus his life without limbs was not misery anymore, but full of meaning and glory. Since then, he began to live for the glory of God with his life. He learned how to type, how to draw, how to cook, and even how to swim without arms or legs. He traveled around the world and encouraged millions of people how to overcome their human limitations and to live for the glory of God. Nick Vujicic, when he met the storms of life, remembered what Jesus said. When he remembered Jesus’ words, he became more than a conquer over his life. When storms of life overwhelm us, we have two choices; to make our life better or bitter. Those who have faith in Jesus and fix their eyes on him make their lives better than before. Amen.

  What was Jesus’ disciples’ response to his miracle? Look at verse 25b. “In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” Jesus’ disciples had fear of God. They saw the image and the power of God in Jesus. So they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the wind and the water, and they obey him.” “Who is this” “Who is Jesus?” Jesus is the one who command the winds and the water. He is the Lord of Creation and the Ruler of Nature. Who dares to command and to rule nature, but God alone?  Jesus is God. He is the Creator God who created the lands and the waters in the beginning.  One day Mohammad commanded a mountain, “Mountain, come to me!” But, the mountain didn’t move. So Mohammad said, “If you don’t come to me, I will come to you.” Thus Mohammad made himself a comedian.  But Jesus is different. When Jesus spoke, the water gathered. When Jesus commanded, mountains arose.

  In today’s passage we learn who Jesus is and how to overcome storms of life. Jesus is the Lord of Creation and the Ruler of Nature. He is the giver of life and is mighty to save. As long as we fix our eyes on Jesus, we can walk on the water like Peter. As long as we are in the same boat with Jesus, our voyage to the heavenly harbor will be absolutely safe and secure. As long as our life is in his hands, we will be okay in all the storms of life. May God be with each of us and care for us until we finish our journey to heaven. May God make America a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Amen.

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• JESUS CALMS THE STORM-message.doc

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