Waiting Into the Deep End, Part 2 of 2

Hit by a “sea-quake,” the disciples’ small fishing vessel was about to go under. Understandably, the disciples woke up the Master with cries for help. In a crisis, seeking the Lord is always the smart play. (It is the smart play in the calm, too!) But the twelve also betrayed something awry in their hearts when they asked Jesus, “Do You not care that we are perishing?” This sentiment is not unfamiliar to anyone who waits on the Lord while hovering on the brink.

In response to the disciples’ plea, Jesus asks some probing questions. Matthew, Mark, and Luke have each provided only part of Jesus’ words. To get the whole picture, we need to hear all three:

Matthew:  “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” (Matthew 8:26).

Mark:  “ . . . it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?’” (Mark 4:39-40).

Luke:  “. . . it became calm. And He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’” (Luke 8:24-25).

Matthew reports what Jesus said to the disciples before He calmed the sea. Mark and Luke report what Jesus said after doing so. Taken together, these accounts tell us that Jesus administered a double dose of discipleship. When roused from sleep, His first act was to pose a diagnostic question to the twelve. Then He performed an unbelievable miracle of deliverance by rebuking the wind and sea. In the perfect calm that followed, He returned to His lesson.

We can make several observations based on these “before and after” lessons. One, it is instructive that, for Jesus, dealing with the “faith-quake” of the disciples mattered more than addressing the “sea-quake.” The fierce storm is not enough to awaken Him. When finally roused, His first concern is not bodily peril but the disciples’ crisis of faith. He zeroes in on their hearts. After stilling the sea, He comes back to them. The text doesn’t explicitly say this: But it is as if the ruckus of the wind and waves is distracting His panicked students from their lesson, so He stands and commands the elements to pipe down! Then, in the resultant calm, He continues class.

Two, Jesus’ remarks clarify that fear and faith are polar opposites. When we trust God, we have no reason to fear! Yield to panic and faith will go out the window. The disciples were filled with dread and thus had no faith. Their fear was unjustified: Before they began their voyage, Jesus had said, “Let us go over to the other side of the Lake” (Luke 8:22). He did not say, “Let us go to the middle of the lake and drown.” The Master’s command declared His purpose and guaranteed its fulfillment, that He and His associates would complete transit to the other shore. Whatever might befall the twelve en route, Jesus had already given His word that they would make it to the other side.

Three, Jesus answers the disciples’ initial question with a matching question of His own. The implications of how Jesus responds are profound and will take a few paragraphs to sort out. The disciples had awakened Jesus by shouting, “Do You not care that we are perishing?” This complex question can be broken into a statement plus a question. Statement:  “We are perishing.” Question: “Do You not care?” By their statement, the disciples reveal what they consider a fact, they are perishing. The only thing about which they are in doubt – hence their question – concerns Jesus’ view on the matter. They ask “Do You not care” because they suspect He doesn’t.

Jesus’ immediate reply (the one recorded by Matthew) is also a complex question, that is, a statement joined to a question. Statement: “You are so afraid.” Question: “Why?”  He was not asking the disciples to state the obvious, that is, to say, “We are afraid because of the storm.” He was calling them to self-assessment. He was inviting them to discern in their fear the evidence of having lost their trust in Jesus. After stilling the storm, He asks again, “Why are you afraid?”

Think of a basketball coach who counsels a key player after he has blown a game. He asks, “Why did they beat you?” If the player says, “Because they scored more points,” the coach will chew him out for stating the obvious. The coach’s question invites the player to examine his own performance, to discern key mistakes that contributed to the loss. This is what Jesus is doing: He is calling the twelve to analyze exactly how they had arrived at the place where fear was crowding out trust.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not tell us what conclusions the twelve drew. But, we can identify solid evidence worthy of their consideration. First, there is Jesus’ statement of intention noted above - If Jesus says, “We are going to the other side,” you can KNOW that you are going to the other side. Second, based on the chronology in Mark, not too many days prior, Jesus had publicly declared His disciples to be His brothers (Mark 3:34). In this, Jesus had definitively answered the question – “Do You not care?” Third, the disciples allowed what is seen (a perfect storm) to overshadow their trust in the Lord’s sure promise and brotherly commitment. In short, they had allowed scary circumstances to drown out the truth.

The bottom line is this. The disciples did well to come to the Lord, but they should have come in faith, not fear. Their words should have reflected a confidence that the Lord loved them like brothers and that He would do what is necessary to fulfill His good purpose and to get them to the other side. Jesus did not challenge the disciples for coming to Him; He challenged them for coming to Him out of fear. I am grateful that He did not cite their fear as a reason to ignore their pleas. He most certainly stilled the storm in response to the disciples’ request. (Praise God for the many times He answers prayers, including yours and mine, that arise from fear!) But through His questions, He offered them insight into a better way.

Their fear was unwarranted! They thought they were perishing, but they were wrong. They were simply inserted into the perfect storm in order to receive a new level of insight into the identity of the Lord (more on that in the next post). They were not in any danger even though it looked like they were about to die. The Psalmist clearly spoke to their situation: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me” (Psalm 23:4).

Whenever I wait on God in an escalating crisis, I must resist the siren call of my senses. I must not allow my imagination of all that might befall me to take control. If I do, these fears will compromise my trust. Instead, I must fix my faith on these twin truths, God loves me like His son (John 17:23) and God is with me always (Matthew 28:20).

When we come to God in faith during a raging storm, it is good to express to God all the ways we desire Him to work. It is best when we do so from a place of trust, where we ask, knowing God loves us and will accomplish our good.

Comments

[C. Brown]

Living in His presence one day at a time. His place, His purpose, His plan. Thank you for painting clear pictures with words.