March 9
“The men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’” Matthew 8:27.
On this occasion, when Jesus saw the huge multitude of people coming for help, He gave instructions to His disciples to prepare a boat for them to cross over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Because Jesus had had a physically exhausting day, He got into the boat and lay down in the stern on a pillow and fell asleep, as the evangelist Mark reports.
Suddenly, a violent windstorm arose like a hurricane with tornado force. The waves were splashing higher than the boat. The boat was filling with water, and the disciples were not able to bail out the water. From all appearances, the boat with the disciples would sink.
Where was Jesus? In the midst of the violent storm, He was sound asleep! The disciples were totally terrified! Not being able to cope with the situation, and not knowing what else to do, they came to Jesus and awakened Him. They said to Him, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” That was not the only thing that they said. The evangelist Mark, who also reports this incident, states that they asked Jesus, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” We might say that it was an insulting question!
Jesus arose to deal with both the violent storm and His doubting disciples. Jesus rebuked them rather harshly. He asked, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” The disciples had witnessed many miracles before this incident whereby Jesus demonstrated that He is the almighty Son of God. How quickly they forgot what He had done in the past when people came to Him in the hour of need!
Yes, we think of ourselves. How often in life do we find ourselves in a situation where we do not know where to turn or what to do? How often would our Lord say to us, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” There are times when we, too, need to be admonished for doubting our Lord’s presence and His promises to help us. He invites us, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble,” and He promises, “I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me,” Psalm 50:15. Both in the Old and the New Testament, He gives us His promise: “The Lord, He is the One who goes before you, He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed,” Deuteronomy 31:6, 8. “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” Hebrews 13:5.
After admonishing His disciples for their little faith, Jesus said to the wind and waves, “Peace, be still!” and immediately the sea was calm! The disciples marveled and asked, “Who can this be, that even the winds and sea obey Him?” Yes, Jesus is the almighty God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Yes, for you and me, Jesus can still the storms of life!
As the almighty Son of God, He conquered sin, death, and the devil for us. Through His suffering and death He redeemed us. Through His resurrection He conquered death and the devil for us. We are assured in Scripture, “(Jesus) was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Romans 4:25, 5:1.
O God of Jacob, by whose hand, Thy people still are fed;
Who thro’ this weary pilgrimage, hast all our fathers led.
Thro’ each perplexing path of life, our wand’ring footsteps guide;
Give us each day our daily bread, and raiment fit provide.
Oh, spread Thy covering wings around, till all our wanderings cease;
And at our Father’s loved abode, our souls arrive in peace. Amen.