“Where Is
Your Faith?”
Luke 8:22-25 (SBC,
Sligo IE)
15 July 2018
INTRODUCTION:
What do you trust in? What do you
count on to never fail you? My cousin, Sharon, and her husband, Jim, are Civil
War reenactors and they and about 300 other people put on encampments and mock-battles
all over the Northwest. On our recent trip to Oregon we went to see them, and
their group perform. While sitting in their camp conversing, one of their
friends by the name of Eric was sitting there with us in an old antique wooden
chair. Suddenly the chair gave way and Eric collapsed in the pile of rubble.
The chair that he had been trusting to hold him up suddenly gave way and he
found himself on the ground with a very surprised look on his face. His trust
in that chair had obviously been misplaced.
When people buy a car one of the factors most
people look for is “dependability.” We want a car that will never leave
us stranded. However, all of us know that even the best car can sometimes have
a problem and will need to go to the mechanic’s shop. And when we choose an airline
we want one with a high safety rating and a reputation for being on time, one
that is trustworthy; not like WOW that can leave you stranded in a place you do
not want to be, as Eoghan and Adam recently found out. Likewise, when people
look for a life-partner they want someone they can count on to always be
there for them, to be faithful unto death, and to love them exclusively. Yet
most of us know at least one person who has been the victim of an unfaithful
spouse. Yes, people will often fail us. So again, I ask you: What or who are you trusting in today that
you know beyond a shadow of a doubt will never disappoint you or leave you in
the lurch?
TRANSITION:
By now the disciples had been with
Jesus for 16-18 months. They sat at Jesus’ feet day after day and heard His
message about the Kingdom of God. They had witnessed first-hand many
astonishing miracles that Jesus had performed. Surely, by this point one would
expect them to trust Jesus fully as God in human form. But did they? If you had
asked them no doubt they would have claimed that they had complete faith and
trust in Him, but we can only know that for certain after having passed through
times of testing where we had no place left to turn and no one else to come to
our aid. Jesus knew this so on several occasions He orchestrated events to put
His followers to the test, both to refine their faith and to strengthen it.
MAIN BODY:
Verse 22: Now on one of those days Jesus and His
disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side
of the lake.” So, they launched out.
·
“Now on
one of those days…” Luke does not get specific about the date. This event
happened around the time that Jesus taught about the Parables of the Sower and
of the Light on a Lampstand. Remember, Luke was not an eyewitness to these
events. He learned about them through the disciples who were there and heard
and saw everything firsthand. So, in his interviews with them the disciples
might have been a little bit foggy about the date, but they would certainly
never forget what happened.
·
Jesus
and the disciples got into a boat and pushed off from shore. Notice that it was
Jesus who suggested that they should set off for the other side of the lake.
Now we do not know exactly where they were when they started out, but you
should keep in mind that the Sea of Galilee is a good-sized body of water.
Roughly oval shaped, it is approximately 13 miles long, north to south, and
about 8 miles wide from east to west. So, to cross to the other side meant either
a good long pull on the oars or else a bit of a sail if there was enough wind.
From Luke’s account they hoisted the sail and set out.
Verse 23: But as they were sailing along He [Jesus] fell
asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be
swamped and to be in danger.
·
I
do not know if you have done any sailing, but I have been out a few times,
albeit always in good weather. Only once did I ever experience any rough seas
but that was enough for me! Here we read that somewhere out there in the middle
of that large lake, at least 4 miles from the safety of the shore, the
disciples found themselves in a “fierce gale.” Luke does not give us the time
of day when this event occurred, but this same story is told by three of the
Gospel writers: by Matthew in 8:23-27; by Mark in 4:35-41; and of course, by
Luke here in 8:22-25. Mark tells us in Mark 4:35 that evening was already upon
them when they started out in the boat so by now, in the middle of the lake, in
the middle of the storm, it was also pitch black making this experience even
more frightful.
·
So
exactly where was Jesus while all this was going on? In Mark 4:38 we learn that
as soon as they set off from the shore, Jesus had curled up on a cushion in the
stern of the boat and had fallen asleep. He was probably exhausted from all the
travel and preaching and dealing with people. Remember, although He was God in
flesh, He still had a human body that knew hunger and thirst and fatigue; in
fact, He was subject to all the things that we struggle with every day.
·
Luke
makes it clear that the disciples were really in danger here. There was,
as the saying goes, a “clear and present danger.” With the rain lashing them
from above and with the waves washing over the gunwales the boat was taking on
water and was in danger of being swamped. And these were no novice seamen! Most
of them had grown up around the water and at least four of them were
professional fishermen. And yet, here they were, about to drown. I find it
fascinating to look at the contrast between Jesus and the disciples. Jesus was
sleeping through a hurricane-like windstorm, while the disciples were fighting
for their lives to keep the boat afloat.
Verse 24: They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying,
“Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the
surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.
·
We
do not know how long they waited before asking Jesus for help. Perhaps they
discussed it among themselves and decided to let Him sleep, not wanting to
bother Him with their “little problem.” Perhaps they thought that they could
handle this problem on their own without having to ask for His assistance.
Maybe they were embarrassed to admit that they were afraid of drowning since He
seemed to be totally unconcerned. We do not know how long they waited to wake
Jesus up, but Luke gives us the impression that it was their last resort and by
that time they were terrified, thinking they were about to perish.
·
Moreover,
by the time they decided to ask Jesus for help they had almost waited too long.
So, when they approached Him they did not come with a polite request. No, that
is not what happened at all. They yelled at Him: “Master, wake up!” And by
including what Matthew and Mark tell us, we learn that all pandemonium broke
out as different disciples screamed, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” (Luke
8:24a), “Save us, Lord; we are perishing” (Matthew 8:25), and, “Teacher, do you
not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38). The disciples by this point were
frightened and frantic. They knew that they were about to lose their lives.
They were seasoned sailors and they knew that this powerful windstorm had got
the better of them.
·
At
their pleading Jesus got up and He simply rebuked the wind and the waves and
the storm. This reminds me of a dog owner telling his pet to stop barking. “Hush! Be still! Quiet down!” And that
is exactly what happened. Immediately the waves flattened out. In that instant
the rain stopped. As Jesus said the words, the wind quit blowing and everything
became calm.
·
Think
about it. Jesus could have simply raised His arms or thought the command in His
head, and the wind and waves would have died down and become calm. But He
spoke the words out loud! Why did He do that? I think it was so that the
disciples would be absolutely clear that it was by His power that the wind and
waves stopped their raging. Just as He spoke the entire creation into
existence, Jesus wanted to show His disciples that He could speak the storm
into complete and absolute submission. Why? Because Jesus is not only human; He
is also fully divine. He is God in human form. He is the God of creation. He
who created nature demonstrated that He has power over nature.
·
Now,
do not miss what actually happened here. Normally, when the wind dies down
after a storm, the sea still churns for a long period afterwards. But in this
miracle both the wind and the raging waves immediately ceased, and there
was an eerie calm. In that instant winds and waves synchronized in the sublime
symphony of a solemn silence. The wind was instantly gone. And, astonishingly,
the lake was instantly as smooth as a mirror. I have wondered what the people
on the shore of the lake must have thought to themselves. “Wow! What just happened? One minute a ferocious storm, and the next
minute the water is like glass. That is really weird.” But, of course, they
did not know that Jesus had spoken.
Verse 25: And He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another,
“Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and
the water, and they obey Him?”
·
There
are two very important questions in verse 25: the first was posed by Jesus to His
disciples; the second was posed by the disciples to themselves and to one another.
First, notice the question that Jesus asked the disciples. He asked them, “Where is your
faith?” Jesus gently rebuked the disciples. Notice that Jesus did
not say, “You do not have any faith.” He was not accusing them of being
“faithless.” Rather, He was challenging them to consider what they were
trusting in, “Where is your
faith?” In other words, Jesus wanted His disciples to have faith in Him and
to put that faith into action. Jesus’ question was designed to get them to grow
in their trust of Him. After all, they had already so far seen Jesus heal a
centurion’s servant from a distance and raise a widow’s dead son back to life.
·
It
is easy to believe in Jesus when things are going well, is it not? But Jesus
calls His disciples to trust Him even when life itself seems to hang in the
balance. And why should His disciples trust Jesus? Contrary to the disciples
wondering whether Jesus cared about them perishing, the truth is that Jesus
really does care about His disciples. He loves us so much that He eventually
died in the storm of God’s wrath to take us safely to Heaven with Him. Jesus’
disciples are not exempt from trials and suffering and difficulties. But we
should never wonder if He cares about us. He does care about His disciples, and
He sometimes allows us to go through trials and difficulties and suffering
because He knows that it is for our ultimate good. Always remember, Jesus
proved His love for His disciples by dying to pay the penalty that we deserved.
·
After
Jesus posed His question to them we read, “They were fearful and amazed.” One would think
that after Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples (who were frightened and
frantic during the storm) would be relieved and happy it was all over, but Luke
records a different reaction. Luke says that they were afraid, and they
marveled. Mark says, “And they were
filled with great fear” (Mark 4:41). If they were fearful during the storm,
they were now utterly terrified after Jesus calmed the storm.
·
Why?
Previously, the disciples thought that Jesus was sent from Heaven. They thought
that He was someone special. But now they realized that they were standing in
the very presence of God Himself. And it absolutely terrified them.
·
The
second question in verse 25 was posed by the disciples, and it was asked of one
another. They said, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds
and the water, and they obey Him?” That seems to me to be a very
strange question: “WHO IS THIS MAN?”
·
After
Jesus had done what He had done and stopped the wind and stopped the
water, it says, “They were fearful.” That
is not a minor word, but a major one. They were terrified because now
they knew who He was. They were literally traumatized with
terror. Here was someone stopping the wind and waves, but everyone knows
that God is the only one who can do that. They suddenly knew they were in
the presence of God and that was terrifying, because they were very much
aware of the fact that God is holy, and they were not. They felt
exposed in that moment. That is why Peter back in chapter 5 when Jesus
commanded the fish and they all ran into the net, he said, “Depart from me, Oh Lord, for I am a sinful
man. Go away, because I can’t stand the intimidation!” Peter knew
exactly what he was dealing with. Whoever could control the fish was the
omnipotent, omniscient God Himself and He would know what Peter was like
on the inside, and that was too intimidating, so Peter eagerly confessed, “I know I am a sinful man, so please go away.
Your presence is too intimidating.”
·
The
disciples realized in a fresh new way that their Master really was God in human
form. He who has power over nature is the God of creation, and his name is
Jesus!
CONCLUSION:
So now here is the bottom line. We too
should exercise faith in Christ in all the tests of life. He alone is
absolutely trustworthy, in every trial and in every situation. Friends, Jesus
is God. He is God in human form who came on a mission to rescue those for whom He
gave His life. The miracle of Jesus calming the storm is just one demonstration
that he really is God. Know that He cares for you. Know that He is not
oblivious to the trials and tests you are going through right now. Trust Him,
even in the midst of your personal storm. He is trustworthy. He will never
leave you and He will never fail you.
No comments:
Post a Comment