What should we do when we feel ourselves sinking under the weight of fear and anxiety? What do we do when we feel we are at the end of our ability to bear yet another circumstance that saps our energy and disrupts our ability to think straight? Does God care or are we left to our own devices? Today’s passage from Matthew 8 provides direction for us in times like this.
“And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” Matthew 8:23-27
One could imagine Jesus’ disciples’ eyes wide in terror, incapacitated by thoughts of impending harm. Only a short time before, these same men had fixed their eyes on Jesus and confidently followed Him as He led the way to the boat and into the journey ahead. Perhaps they felt somewhat invincible being in this select group. Or maybe having seen Jesus heal the sick, they thought that their lives would be safe and easier. But now they find themselves suddenly in a severe storm.
Time passed as the storm increased in intensity and battered their sails and rigging, and water swamped the boat. This small band of men feared being swept away by the waves. Eventually, they cried out to Jesus for help, but we need to ask the questions: What were the disciples doing beforehand? How did they handle their fears?
We know that the panicking disciples waited a while before approaching Jesus, hesitating until their emergency had reached a point of no return, and they lacked any more solutions to save themselves. One could imagine that they were not passive in their efforts to save themselves and most probably used every ounce of their strength to keep the ship afloat. They would have drawn down the sails, made frantic course corrections with the tiller, baled water overboard, and tried everything possible. Perhaps they felt ashamed or overwhelmed that they could not manage better by themselves and left their plea for help unto the last possible minute. Although Jesus was only a short distance away, they were lost, alone, and confused.
They did not include Jesus in their plans to save themselves and this brought fear and doubts.
We can relate to the disciples' feelings of fear and alarm as we traverse waves of financial peril or terrifying phobias, family breakups, relationship tensions, and impossible work schedules that bring us to our knees. Our fear is driven by the power of an invading army within our minds, hearts, and bodies. We apply willpower and sheer grit to our situations until we have little strength left to stand up against these marauding enemies of worry and panic. Martin Luther's words are helpful: "Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing."
Resembling the disciples, we may hide in distress away from God, numb and resourceless. The tsunami of emotions washes us towards a fear of death until eventually, we cry out in desperation, as the disciples did:
“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” Matthew 8:25
When the disciples cried out to Jesus, He asked them a thought-provoking question.
“And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Matthew 8:26
By posing the question "Why are you afraid?", God amplifies our human condition in which we are powerless to save ourselves. But at the same time, He magnifies His blessed Son's finished work on the cross as the one solution for our struggles.
Perhaps the same question passed through the mind of the shepherd boy David when he saw the little faith of the quaking soldiers facing Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Or maybe Caleb and Joshua thought this way about the other ten spies who described themselves as grasshoppers compared with the "giants" in Canaan (Numbers 13-14).
Their hope did not rest on an outcome of Goliath being defeated, or on the enemy’s forces in the Promised Land being wiped out. Their hope went far beyond to their faith in God and His truth-filled promises.
Similarly, in the boat on the lake with Jesus, a cameo of perfect calm, contentment, and peace was waiting for the disciples:
Jesus lay asleep on the wood of the deck in the midst of the peril of the disciples’ situation as the boat was covered in flooding dark waves of danger.
At this point, the story changes from one of defeat to a scene of victory as Jesus rose in power to save His disciples. Perhaps Satan, the prince of the power of the air, was intending to defeat God’s purpose of saving the world through the cross, by attempting to drown Jesus and His disciples in advance. But Jesus spoke these awe-inspiring sovereign words that demonstrated His control of the universe:
“Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26
Dear Friends, Jesus Christ, full of grace and truth (John 1:14), lowered Himself into the terror and condemnation of our existence as our Substitute and Scapegoat. Jesus entered into the mess and storms of our lives. He rose victoriously from the dead (often termed ‘sleep’ in the Bible), from laying against another wooden object, the cross of His torture at Calvary, after rebuking and defeating our greatest enemies of sin and death. By His death, and through His resurrection, Jesus destroyed death, the last weapon of Satan. As a result, a ‘great calm’ entered our hearts when Jesus’ sacrificial ransom was accepted by His Father, and we received justification and reconciliation. Do you see the gospel in this story in Matthew?
Jesus set His face like flint (Isaiah 50:7) to carry out a divine rescue mission, surrendering His body and His perfect life. He saw our stricken faces ahead of Him, saw us chained to the Old Covenant requirements of the Law, and helpless to keep any part of the Ten Commandments given at Mt Sinai because of our sinful nature (James 2:10). He knew we had no hope of escaping from the eternal terror of Satan’s territory in the depths of Sheol (Psalm 89:48), or God’s punishing wrath because of our unholy sin. His soul travailed, and His heart beat with love and compassion to save us:
“I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.” Isaiah 50:6 NIV
“My heart pounds, my strength fails, and even the light of my eyes has faded.” Psalm 38:10 NIV
Jesus carried His means of death (John 19:17), a wooden cross, stumbling in exhaustion and pain up the road to the hill of Golgotha. The sinless Jesus became our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), hanging from three nails (John 19:18), exposed naked to the world in weakness. He died in weakness thus ensuring we were forever strong by faith in His shed blood poured out at Calvary.
Through His death and resurrection three days later, a New Covenant of grace was cut at Calvary, destroying the previous covenant that bound us in utter despair and fear in our failing willpower to redeem ourselves.
“For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,” Romans 8:3 NKJV
Having died and risen in Christ, we were lovingly clothed with magnificent garments of salvation:
Our sins were washed clean in His blood (1 John 1:7).
Our fear is washed through with His love as we see our punishment on Jesus and the wrath of God appeased (Romans 5:9).
Satan was shamed and defeated (Hebrews 2:14-15).
We were arrayed in His robe of perfect righteousness, standing in peace before our eternal Father (Isaiah 61:10).