Matthew 8:24-26 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.
Jesus and his
closest followers, the Twelve Disciples, boarded a small boat on the Sea of
Galilee. They planned to sail to the opposite side of the Lake to a city named
Gergasha. The lake was well known for sudden storms, Jesus and his followers
were experiencing one of these storms. The twelve disciples were sure they were
going to perish in the strong winds, thunder, and lightning. They woke up Jesus
as one human might wake up another human during a crisis such as this one. What
they were about to learn is the one that created the winds and waves could most
certainly calm them. Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith and ask them
why they were so afraid. The word afraid in Greek deilos (di-los), (Strongs 1169) has an
extremely tough meaning. It refers to being cowardly, timid, or fearful. Jesus
expected His closest followers to place their faith and trust in Him regardless
of any outside circumstances.
Jesus awoke from
his sleep and the Bible tells us that He rebuked the winds and the sea. The
word “rebuke” is an interesting word concerning what Jesus did at that moment.
The word ”rebuke” in English means to sharply disapprove or criticize someone
or something. The English word rebuke comes from the Greek word “epitimao” (ep-ee-tee-mah-o)
which means to honor, to mete out due measure, or to censure. Whatever he said
to the natural elements through His deity they obeyed. Since He created the
water, the wind, and the waves it only makes sense that He would have control
of them.
The
twenty-seventh (27th) verse tells us that the disciples marveled
that even the wind and waves obey Him. To them, it was one thing that He could
heal the sick with just the sound of His voice, but now they see even nature
itself obeys His commands.
We all will face
times in our lives when we are plagued with gaps in our faith. The challenge we
all have every day is to face our doubts and fears by placing our complete
faith and trust in God. I have a small cross that hangs over my desk at home
that has a saying on it. I try to read it every morning before I go out to face
the world. Sometimes I will slip and leave in a hurry and forget to read it.
Thank God those days I can stop, close my eyes, and ask God to remind me of
what it says.
Here is what it
says: “Good morning this is God. I will be handling all your problems
today.”
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