Fear of death is perhaps the most common of anxieties in the human experience. Indeed, many fears and worries can trace their origin to this deep-seated concern. Through His death on the cross, Jesus has saved us from death and all its associated worries.
In this lesson, we will consider the biblical account of a group of men facing death, and the means God used to save them. In this way, we will learn by way of illustration how Jesus has saved us and how His salvation relieves our fears and brings peace to our hearts and minds.
“Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep... Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord because he had already told them so.) The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” 13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this, the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.” Jonah 1:4-5;7-16 NIV
Winds, waves, and storms of impending physical and spiritual danger billow through the book of Jonah as God summons the prophet Jonah to go to the evil city of Nineveh and warn sinners of the coming judgment. Jonah outrightly rejected this calling of God and ran disobediently in the opposite direction to board a ship to Tarshish. His companions on this escapist voyage were a pagan captain and his crew of men. Their spiritual journeys crossed paths in a terrifying experience together.
We read in Jonah 1:4 that the sovereign hand of God sent a "great wind" followed by a fierce storm upon this isolated band of men. They were far from land with no other human help at hand. The ferocity of the waves threatened to break the ship into pieces. One could imagine the sailors' hearts and minds flooded with intense emotions of their impending death by drowning:
“All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god.” Jonah 1:4 NIV
Undoubtedly these sailors would have experienced doubt and confusion: “I don’t understand what is happening to me. What will come of me?” One moment there were calm seas with a predictable day of work ahead, and then suddenly, their lives were turned upside down.
Fearfulness would have ramped up from general anxiety to sheer terror as the men tried to process their situation, amid the increasingly violent weather. Jumping into emergency rescue procedures, the crew threw as much cargo overboard as they could to lighten their ship and remain afloat in the raging tempest. The only physical security remaining were the wooden planks beneath them, and they expected that these too would soon be ripped away.
Such extreme circumstances are uncommon. However, many of us can relate to the stress and anxiety these men felt. We, too, can experience feelings of desperation when unexpected events appear to ambush us. In such times, we might feel disoriented with our stomachs tied in knots, as we try to steady ourselves and grasp for answers. Fear and feelings of powerlessness can skyrocket when confronted by the overpowering force of an unrelenting set of stormy circumstances.
Our gaze and thoughts feel fixed on the potential shipwreck and danger we perceive ahead of us that is beyond our ability to control or handle.
We might even imagine a rod of punishment contained in our troubles as if God is seeking to harm us, and reverse the steadfast promises of His Word:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
We might, as the sailors did, try to improve our situation and mistakenly look to self-driven behavioral methods to save ourselves. We might think that if we can only avoid fearful situations or have the right emergency plan in hand, then we can keep our life afloat and manage our fears. But in the end, we discover that we are sinking internally to lower depths of helplessness.
We long for lasting peace rather than living on the edge of our nerves waiting for ‘what comes next.’ Sins of unbelief, despair, and self-sufficiency gradually work their way into our hearts, and God’s empowering and comforting presence appears distant. Do situations in your life come to your mind as you think about this?
In their distress, the crew of the ship cast lots to find the source of their troubles, and the lot pointed to Jonah and his disobedience to God.
How commonly we do the same. We try to find a range of solutions for our enslavement to fear by dissecting our physical life history rather than our current heart issues before God and applying His one incredible remedy - the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jonah, foreshadowing the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, offered one radical solution to save the life of every sailor onboard - his own death.
“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you...15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.” Jonah 1:12,15 NIV
Our anxious turbulent souls become as still as a becalmed sea when we come to the blood-spattered scene of the cross of Jesus Christ. At the cross, we receive hope and experience lasting relief. When we linger at the cross, we see the fear and suffering of Jesus in His flesh as He cried out under the pressure of God’s divine wrath and punishment for our sin.