Calm Terror
Then rising up, He rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm. Matthew 8:26
Rebuked – Are you in the boat with Jesus? If you are, the first question that comes up in the midst of a storm is this: “Where’s the life preserver?” It’s the last question you need to ask, but unless you are a lot more spiritually inclined than most of us, it will still be the first question in your mind. Jesus answers this question, but not in the way we expect.
As a rule of thumb, biblical interpretation should begin with what the text means to the first audience that heard it. So, we have to resist the temptation here to immediately spiritualize this story. We’ll try not to do that. Instead, we’ll try to stick with what the disciples experienced. But the implications are pretty powerful and we won’t try to avoid them. After all, if you’re in a sinking boat, you want to know how Jesus will rescue you (remember the Hebrew word yasha’?).
The disciples are very concerned. Any one of us would be. It’s a long swim to the shore and in this perfect storm, not many will make it. They cry out, “Save us!” There’s something ironic about that very cry. Jesus is also in the boat without a life preserver. How is Jesus going to save them? He’s in the same predicament. Men in panic often don’t think straight, but at least they noticed who wasn’t worried. Since Jesus was sleeping in the midst of this chaos, they reasoned that He must know something they didn’t. He seemed unconcerned. Maybe He had a secret raft.
They were not prepared for Jesus’ solution. Jesus rebukes the storm. The Greek verb is epitimeo. It means to admonish with emphatic authority. It’s the kind of word we find when Jesus casts out demons. Now put yourself in that boat. Has anyone you know ever castigated the wind and the sea and told them to behave? If someone did that, would you consider him sane? When you are about to drown in the violent surf, does reprimanding the ocean sound like a reasonable solution to you? If it does, then you probably need to see a friend of mine who specializes in mental illnesses. No one is his right mind believes such a thing is possible; no one, that is, except Jesus.
Amazingly, the elements obey Him. No wonder these men marveled. In fact, they were more frightened after the calm than before. What kind of man commands the earth and the sea? Only a Man who is God. Sitting in the boat next to such a man must have been terrifying indeed.
What is the lesson here, if we might be so bold to ask? First, the lesson is about the sovereignty of our Lord. He rules everything! Then, there is an implication. When I am in the boat with Jesus, I have nothing to fear. He rules everything! He is quite capable of doing something that appears insane, and pulling it off. I need to fear Him far more than any circumstance in my life.
But there is another lesson. The solution to my problem is never a change in circumstances. The disciples traded the storm for a man who controlled the weather. Were they better off? They would be, if the man in the boat loves them. Fortunately, He does. The solution is not about physical reality. It’s about who loves me.
Topical Index: Love
