It can do no harm, and, for the present, may blow as it listeth, while He gives the trembling disciples a lesson. They wake Jesus, hoping that He will do something about the storm and save them. In Matthews gospel, it is also followed by Jesuss calling Levi, and subsequently identifying the twelve. So, in this version, we dont seem meant to assume that Levi/Matthew was in the boat when this happened. It was the sleep of physical exhaustion after a hard days work. _When he was come down from the mountain, great I. Christs sleep in the storm.His calm slumber is contrasted with the hurly-burly of the tempest and the fear of the crew. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. But be careful: they are not making things up to embellish the account. As that other man we meet in the Gospels, I beseech Jesus, 'Help my little faith, so weak yet so trusting'. And when He was entered into a ship, His disciples followed Him. The faith which Christs disciples had in His Godhead was little in comparison of what they had ground for. ship where they were to suffer. Jesuss tranquility in the boat is, perhaps, a demonstration of what it means not to worry or be anxious about how things are going to turn out. 's narrative Section 16 Note the contrasts here. Uniform Series 24 Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. 8:25 So [the disciples] approached and woke Him up saying, Lord save us! But it should encourage us to know that even the closest disciples of Jesus were not much different at times. In fact, archaeologists found a first century fishing boat of this kind a few years ago. better rendering. I. (Matthew 8:23-27 KJV). He was the Messiah, the King of Heaven and Earth. That idea was important in the Bible, for the seas were always the symbol of chaos. This theme of controlling the seas was stressed in Job 38:8-11. Christ may sleep when his church is in a storm, but he will not outsleep himself: the time, the set time to favour his distressed church, will come, Ps 102:13. And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?(Matthew 6:25-27). In our story Jesus must have gotten into the boat in the region of Capernaum, on the north west shore, because He got out of the boat on the other side near Kursi (on the eastern shore about half way down the coast). He was the Messiah, the King of Heaven and Earth. Of all the gospel writers Matthew is the most orderly. The magna charta of Christ's Kingdom: the unfolding Matthew 8:23. THE KING MANIFESTED BY SIGNS OF DIVINE POWER. 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? In between their request and their amazement is Jesus rebuke of their weak faith. CONTENTS: Jesus heals a leper, the centurion's servant and Peter's The voyage which followed was characterised by two principal features. What assurance as well! To them it would doubtless have a different look. 3.) will experience their sorrows, and show His heart of compas 23-27 It is a comfort to those who go down to the sea in ships, and 23. ENTERED INTO A CHAPTER 8 section to matter which resembles that of Mark and Luke, and Now the boat would not be a large one. Jesus sleep is significant to consider for a moment. Each gospel writer includes some of the things that happened there in the boat. On the one hand, as natural to men who did not know how many moments they had to live, it was exceedingly brief and abrupt. Christ, by commanding the seas, showed himself to be the same that made the world, when, at his rebuke, the waters fled (Ps 104:7-8), as now, at his rebuke, they fell. What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him? (Matthew 8:27). and the ship was covered with waves. How easily this was done, with a words speaking. The church may be like to be drowned, and Christ may seem to neglect the matter.5. Why are things with us thus? Was it lack of discernment? _HILDA BRIGHT_ We might remember Matthew emphasizes the way Jesus fulfills scriptural prophecies, and structures the narrative around long teaching passages interspersed with narrative sections, which especially emphasize Jesuss authority. What is my attitude towards my own death? The trip across the lake, or sea as it is referred to in our text, is followed by casting out demons in the region of the Gerasenes / Gadarenes, in each of the synoptic gospels. of His ministry summarised as teaching and preaching and healing _Excursion to the eastern shore with its incidents_ (Mark 4:35 to Mark And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, Save us, Lord; we are perishing! He said to them, Why are you afraid, you men of little faith? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. 23 Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Mount Hermon to the north is over 9,000 feet high, and the Dead Sea is about 1250 feet below sea level. The posture our Saviour was in when the tempest arose; he being weary on the land, was fallen, asleep in the ship: our blessed Redeemer hereby sheweth himself to be truly and really man; as he took upon him our human nature, so he subjected himself to our human infirmities. 5:20; Luke 8:22-39). Chapter s 8-9. 16:21-23; based on Daniel 7:13-14). Verse 23. They had never seen anything like this. gratitude Chronologically, though, it has to come later in Jesus ministry, probably in the fall of the second year of his ministry (fall of 31 A.D.). 8:23-27 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. religion _Behold, there came a leper and worshipped him._ After Dr Ross joined the faculty of Beeson Divinity School in 2002 as Beeson Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew. Here you see the King amid the storms of nature. 25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, Lord, save us! 1 You will no doubt see the word synoptic frequently in studying the Gospels. But Jesus was sleeping. This is one reason why He chose to designate Himself as the Son of Man, a Messianic title from Daniel 7:13-14 to be sure, but also a way of describing Himself as the authentic man, invested with power, humble, obedient, and finally exalted. We can all become discouraged by our doubts and by our difficulty in believing in Jesus, in his message, in his power. As they cross the sea, a great storm arises and threatens to sink their boat and drown them all. are often in perils there, to reflect that they have a Saviour to This tells us about the cosmic scope of Jesuss authority. that destroy relationships or make my plight worse. What is being saved? reading After His conversations with two reluctant followers, Jesus gets into the boat to go to the other side of the sea. Jesus then decides to take His ministry to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee to the Greco-Roman province called the Decapolis. Observe. But add the speeches and we see that Jesus calmed the storm at their request for help, but before He did it He rebuked them for their weak faith. Are you not worth much more than they? While the disciples were with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee, a great storm arose. The best authorities omit the definite article. He was exhausted from His ministry with the crowds, and so in the boat He was asleep during the storm. When he embarked on the boat, his disciples followed him. That strange blending of opposites is often repeated by us. This sea, or better lake, is in the north of the land of Israel; it is the only fresh water lake in the land, and so a great place for fishing. Psalm 8 had said that God made man a little lower than the angels and gave him dominion over creation. II. A vessel making for the East would be especially exposed to that wind; and the waves raised by it would naturally drive over its prow so as to cover the decks of such a boat where it had them, and fill it where it had none (Matthew 8:24; Mark 4:37). Not the waves only but the lingering swell by which such waves were usually followed. In one sense, the present scene of the calming of the storm is even more striking. Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25 meaning A faith which does not wholly suppress fear may still be most real; and the highest faith has ever the consciousness that unless Christ help, and that speedily, we perish. verb is superfluous. Luke says that one day Jesus said to His disciples, Let us go over to the other side of the lake (8:22); He fell asleep (8:23); and when the storm came up they were in great danger (8:23). Here was a man having dominion over the earth and the sea. Matthew 8, Wesley's Explanatory Notes, One of over 125 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, produced by John Wesley between 1754 and 1765, has stood the test of time. Observe, 3. For the exposition, see the notes at Mark 4:35. 5-13 Compare Luk_7:1-10. (2.) In a way, their request for Him to save them already had answered who this one was. What about me? And, behold, there came a leper_ The issue of would be followers having been settled Jesus now prepares Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? We accept the chronology of Mark, who explicitly texts that aren't in the lectionary The disciples, several of whom were experienced fishermen, were unable to bring the boat safely to shore and became fearful for their lives. The message of the passage is rather straightforward: Jesus has authority over nature. Boat is. When His disciples came to Jesus fearful of the stormy sea, He asks them Why are you afraid? Note, They, and they only, will be found the true disciples of Christ, that are willing to go to sea with him, to follow him into dangers and difficulties. There is the terror of the disciples and the composure of Jesus who is asleep! One student asked another, What did he say? And the answer was, He said, dont write on the back. Well, if we were looking for a dictated or recorded transcript, that is not what I said. Imminent and sensible dangers will drive people to him who alone can help in time of need. (Delivered Sunday, August 28, 2005 at Jesus has shown himself to be the Messiah He had already done miracles by His powerful word, and now here He did another over the storm. Mark, who relied on Peters report, recorded another. 25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us! Christ could have prevented this storm, and have ordered them a pleasant passage, but that would not have been so much for his glory and the confirmation of their faith as their deliverance was: this storm was for their sakes, as Joh 11:4. The second section is Jesus rebuke of the disciples and then the calming of the storm. These narratives make a large leap forward in the Do we think they huddled, decided on a precise wording to use in their approach to waking Jesus, and then in unison or by representative said their one sentence? Whenever sozo is used, it is important to ask three questions. This text Matthew 8:23-27 is not in the lectionary, but that doesnt mean this story is one of those things you wouldnt know about the Bible if all you knew were the lectionary. The story as told in Mark is the lectionarys gospel reading for the fourth Sunday after Pentecost year B (that is, in a couple of weeks). All of that is said to be the voice of the LORD (not of Baal, the storm god of Canaan where that storm was situated). And if we can go into the next story, the disciples question about who this one is will be contrasted with the demons who knew exactly who He is. the parables which St. Matthew gives in chapter 13 Their words are interesting: Lord, save us. In their experience this was a simple and urgent request. Matthew 8:23. "L A SHIP. The first one is that Matthew says that the disciples cried out to Jesus Lord, save us. At its deepest it is about 160 feet deep, depending on the fluctuation over the years. followed him. That psalm describes a thunderstorm growing in the Mediterranean Sea and sweeping inland over Lebanon, causing damage to the trees and shaking the hills with an earthquake. 26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Mt. It was, however, the boat from which he had been teaching (Mark 4:36). We know not the way of the wind (Joh 3:8), much less can we control it; but he that bringeth forth the wind out of his treasury (Ps 135:7), when it is out, gathers it into his fists, Pr 30:4. They were in a panic when they came to Him, not in confidence. It was well they had him so near them. But gradually as we learn more and more in the faith, as the disciples did over several years, we will become bolder and more confident in the Lord (look at the confidence of the disciples in Acts 2-4). Matthew 8:23. I. out his material haphazardly. 26 Jesus responded, Why are you afraid? The Winds and the Waves Obey His Will (Matthew 8:23-27) Storms terrify many people. Matthew 8:23-27 King James Version 23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. The boat which probably to their nautical eyes seemed too small for its work. Choose music to play during the daily prayer. The disciples faith in forsaking all and following Christ, was great faith, but in this present act their faith was week, through the prevalency of their fear. Lord, save us! But a rearrangement of the order of the stories by Matthew for rhetorical or theological purposes is not a problem. It was only when the disciples called on Jesus that he responded. when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: And he open DISCIPLESHIP IN TRAINING I let my look rest on the desperate situations in my present life, or that of the world, and let this cry well up from the depths of my heart. It is used usually against things that ought not to be, such as the weak faith of the disciples. But Jesus was sleeping. 23 Then He got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. He also had faith in His Fathers protection even in the midst of a violent storm upon the sea. Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window). The journey to the other side would have normally taken a couple of hours. All motion was gone. How came we ever to question His power? And today? One thinks immediately of creation where by His word the LORD brought everything into existence, even including controlling the seas (Gen. 1). He is saying essentially the same thing that Matthew said. The people who go down to the sea in ships in Psalm 107 sound a lot like the disciples in Matthew: they are afraid in the face of the storm, and they cry out to God in their distress. Jesus Calms the Storm. When the sayings were particularly important teachings, or teachings that were repeated frequently, then they might put more of the exact phrasing in their gospel reports. First, it should help us to build our faith, our confidence in Christ. 24 Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. history. Christian living Note, Christ is a Nonesuch; every thing in him is admirable: none so wise, so mighty, so amiable, as he. The glory of the deliverance which Christ doth give to His people in their greatest strait is marvellous and far above all that they can apprehend ere it come. 25And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. The fishing villages of Capernaum and Bethsaida so frequently mentioned in the gospels were on the north west and north shores of the lake. Reflection,
When next the waters seem about to close over me, can I remember to cry out to the Lord, in the certainty that my cry will be heard? Christ and his disciples no sooner put forth to sea, but dangers attend and difficulties do accompany them: a tempest arose, and the ship was covered with waves. (Matthew 8:5 .) Matthew 8:23-27 Theme: This passage teaches seven principles about trusting our sovereign Lord while we're in the midst of the storms of life. Choose the size of the text for your daily prayer. Sunday school The reason of it; Even the winds and the sea obey him. This is at once one of the Change). (Judges 6:13). On the way He quiets a terrible storm. The disciples are amazed at this power. Jesus rebuked the disciples for their weak faith. 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