The fourth lesson from the Great Physician is found in the stilling of the storm on the Sea of Galilee in Matthew 8:18,23-27. The same incident is also recorded in Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25. “Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side” (verse 8 ESV). Go over, not go under! The key to this incident from the viewpoint of the training of the twelve is seen in the words of Jesus in verse 26, “O you of little faith.” The faith of the disciples was severely tested.
We should note that when the Bible writers were inspired to pen their narratives, not everything that happened was included. In some places a summary is given (like Matthew 4:23-25). The last verse in John’s gospel reads: “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). So every incident that is included is in the record for a reason, and as unashamed workmen of the Word (II Timothy 2:15) we should diligently meditate on what that reason might be.
I can remember as a youth singing a well-loved song written in 1874 by a Baptist lady, Mary Ann Baker, and found in 225 hymnals! It is based on this incident. “Master, the tempest is raging!” It took some liberties with the Bible story, so let’s go to the source. I am using the Matthew record.
“And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing.’ 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” (Matthew 8:23-26).
The storms on the Sea of Galilee are fierce, according to the commentaries, yet Jesus is at the stern, the back of the boat (Mark)sleeping. That would be a lot harder than trying to sleep on a long-haul jet! When it got really dangerous with water filling the boat, the disciples woke Jesus up, saying “Save us at once, we are perishing!” (Robertsons Word Pictures).
The solution to this predicament is that Jesus expected his disciples to handle the situation themselves, not to call on him just because it was blowing a gale. “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26). “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40). “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25). Every believer is expected to stand on the Word themselves, to have faith in their own faith. When you live in the Word and the Word lives in you, you could be the only person on a Pacific island and still have all your needs supplied. We would say today, “Sometimes you just have to jump and trust the parachute!”
“It is a beautiful thing when a man abandons himself to the Word, swings utterly free, and lets God loose in him until ‘Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world’ becomes a thrilling reality” (E.W. Kenyon). He goes on to say, “Faith is a problem only when we do not know the Lord and we do not know the Word. Give place to the God inside of you. He unveils Himself as your need demands it… Once it was God’s Word in Jesus’ lips. Now it is God’s Word in your lips.” It is too easy to have faith in other’s faith; it is a thrilling adventure to have faith in your faith.
Mark’s gospel gives us the actual words spoken, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39 KJV etc.), but Matthew and Luke say he “rebuked” the wind and the waves, so we know the tone in which the words were spoken. The Amplified Bible renders the words as “Hush now! Be still (muzzled)!” Other translations better render it as “Silence! Be still!” (CSB), and “Be silent! Be still!” (CLV). It was a command spoken with authority. When training a puppy you don’t say, “Come here, sweetie.” You speak loud and sharply, “Come!”
All three accounts speak of a “great calm.” “Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly all was calm” (NLT). “The sea became smooth as glass” (MSG).
The surprise of the disciples at the ease and quickness of the solution is given in verse 27: “And the men marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?'” It could be that this was the first time they saw faith at work in the natural world. It would not be the last.
This is a most important lesson: have faith in your own faith. This applies not only to divine healing but also many other “curve balls” that life throws your way. We used to say “The Word works when you work the Word,” but that is not so. “The Word works when you apply the Word” is much closer to the truth. Soak yourself in God’s positive Word and you’ll be ready to command the negative intruders to leave your life. “And having done all, stand firm!” (Ephesians 6:13).
Today Daryl and I saw 2 people jump out of a plane with parachutes for the first time. Little did we know, the day would turn into miracles, walking though history, and being restored to God’s goodness and words. I found this article as I jokingly searched for parachutes in the Bible. Reluctant, I became encouraged and applied this teaching to my life. How can can one not want to walk in faith and trust in the words God has already bestowed to us? Trust, believe, apply, and jump. God is not an abandoned God nor will He abandon us.