In Christian circles, we talk about the calming of the storm all the time. It’s a great story about the power of Jesus. But today something struck me about this reading to which I have not paid attention. Jesus was asleep. Yes, I know He was asleep and the disciples had to wake Him. That is not what struck me.
For the first time, I asked myself, why was Jesus sleeping? Others have probably thought about it but I had not. Did He need a nap? Was it all part of His plan to reveal His divine power over Creation? On that thought alone, I don’t think so. In fact, I think we have to look at three prior verses to get a clearer understanding of the issue here – Matthew 8: 16, 18, 20.
In verse 16, we see that Jesus had been up most of the night, if not all night, long casting out demons and healing the sick. Jesus was physically tired. In verse 18, we see more crowds surrounding Him. He is willing to heal but He tells His disciples to prepare the boat (good thing He chose some fishermen as disciples).
Jesus is willing to heal and wants to do more but His physical body has all the limitations we have. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? I have and I can tell you that it was not easy. I was part of a team that had to mark landing points for a Special Forces unit so they could better navigate during night training. We traveled down their route by Hummer while they were traveling down the river by raft. The next morning (and I should say that we had not gone to sleep and I was getting a little cranky), we forced marched about ten miles in full gear. I was getting more tired by the mile. I made enough stink to get our Lieutenant to grant my team permission to finish the march and head back to the camp so we could get some proper sleep. We missed some good training but I was physically too tired to carry on.
We all need sleep, and now we see Jesus, who is wholly God and wholly human, also needing to rest. He was not experiencing some supernatural power drain. He was tired. The hint of how tired He was is in verse 20. Jesus tells the teacher of the law that animals have a home in which they rest. He, however, has never-ending work, and His physical body was becoming overwhelmed and overworked. Could we as humans endure the hard work that comes with following Jesus?
So Jesus gets in the boat to find rest. No more crowds though He dearly loves them. No more all-nighters though He does not regret them. Just simply a chance to rest, or so we think.
As Jesus sleeps, a storm comes along and creates havoc on the lake with waves crashing over the side. The wind was howling so loudly that even experienced fishermen were no longer sure of their skills. Their precious cargo is exhausted and asleep (remember a similar story with Jonah). The disciples panic as anyone else with a natural instinct when facing the possibility of death, and they awoke Jesus, the Son of Man, and cried out for Him to save them. He was their last hope, wasn’t He?
“Lord, save us!”
“You of little faith! Why are you afraid?” Jesus gets up and rebukes creation for the strong winds and large waves that caused panic to seize the minds of men. Panic which kept the men from seeing that the tired body did not represent a waning power. Jesus, even in His sleep, had power over all creation, and neither the winds nor the waves could be a threat to Him. The disciples were not in danger because they were in the hands of God.
Satan will try everything to create panic. He wants our minds uneasy so we pay more attention to the storms around us and to forget the person to whom we belong. The Israelites faced this panic as Pharaoh closed in on them and pushed them towards the sea. God got their attention by placing the cloud between them and their problem. Jonah failed to see this as he believed his own death was a worthy enough sacrifice to save others. Jonah, a man running from God, quickly found out that God is in control as he was swallowed by a large fish and saved from death.
Jesus is more than enough when we are tired, hurting, sick, facing death, enjoying life or whatever we face. His very presence is enough and more even when we do not think He is there. He will never forsake us even if we cannot understand the circumstances confronting us or even if we never understand why. He is more than enough.
The disciples had yet to fully grasp this as they marveled among themselves about the kind of man they sat with in the boat. They were baffled by how creation obeys the Creator with a single word. This is what separates us from creation. Because of sin, we fail to listen. Only through Jesus can we begin to hear the whisper of God. When we begin to hear it though, we too will also stand amazed.
- Can you hear the voice of God? What distractions try to get your focus away from God?
- Are you working too hard? When is the last time you rested?
- Are you feeling tired in ministry or in serving others? When is the last time you stepped back, refocused on the Creator, rested, and re-engaged?
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