Have you ever been afraid? Really afraid? In today’s lesson, the disciples are really afraid. They are in a large crowd. And when Jesus sees the crowd around them, He gives orders to cross to the other side of the lake. But then a teacher of The Law comes to Him. Read Matt 8:18-20.
The teacher of The Law says that he will follow Jesus wherever He goes. What does Jesus reply? Jesus’ reply to the scribe is not implying a life of homelessness, but rather a ministry without the creature comforts. Jesus did not lead a comfortable life. He was letting the scribe know that following Him would be a life of sacrifices.
Read verses 21-22. Another disciple said to Jesus that he must first go and bury his father. In other words, he would follow Jesus when his elderly father had passed and he no longer had to care for him. What was Jesus’ response to him? Jesus was telling this man to set aside anything that got in the way of following Him. Following Jesus must come first in our life.
Read verses 23-27. Jesus then got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. A torrential storm arose that frightened the disciples very much. What was Jesus doing while this storm was raging? It was common for fishermen to take their boats out on the Sea of Galilee at night. This was a normal time to fish. It was also common for weather to shift so this must have been quite a storm for these expert fishermen to be so afraid. Jesus, however, is able to sleep as He has complete trust in God. The disciples interpret His sleeping, however, as lack of concern for their safety. But we can see their faith in Jesus’ ability to save them as they woke Him and asked Him to save them from the storm.
Once awoken, Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith, asking them why they were so afraid. Then He got up and rebuked the wind and the waves. What did He say when He did this (Mark 4:39)? The wind and the waves obeyed Him and were still.
This is not the first time that God has commanded the sea. Remember when God parted the Red Sea for Moses (Ex 14:21-29)? God is in control of all nature. The disciples would have known of this previous occurrence, yet they were still amazed that the winds and the waves obeyed Jesus (Psalm 89:9). They knew Jesus was the Messiah yet they still were amazed that He had the power of God. Mark 4:41 tells us that they were terrified at this.
As Christians, we know that God has the ability to carry us through the storms of life (Eph 4:14). Though they showed weak faith, the disciples did the right thing in turning to Jesus for help. God always understands the storms we go through and is there with us as we go through them. Always trust Him to be with you and watch over you as you weather them.
Record Psalm 107:29 in your journal.
Responding to God: Are you willing to make sacrifices to follow God? Do you trust through life’s storms? Pray for courage to trust Him through life’s toughest moments.
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