Encounters with Jesus - Pt 10

One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” (Luke 8:22-25 ESV).

The next encounter comes when Jesus calms the storm. It was just another day. No one expected anything unusual to happen; the disciples had sailed on this lake many times. For years it had been a source of income for four of them. They had enjoyed its calm, battled its storms. None of them had any idea that this trip would be forever etched in their memory. As Jesus slept in the boat a severe windstorm came up, so severe that the boat was nearly swamped. Even the seasoned fishermen felt the fear of death. What did they expect when they woke Jesus? He had healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, forgiven sin, but what did they expect him to do here, confronted by the powerful forces of wind and wave? Whatever their expectations, they were not prepared for his response. Our reading says, “He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm” (v. 23). He also rebuked the disciples with a very important question, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (v. 24). They had seen and experienced so much. They were there for each miracle, and still they did not understand that all of creation was under his authority, the waves, the wind, the earth, the sky, exist and are sustained by his word. At his word the wind must instantly stop. At his word, the waves must instantly subside. As the disciples observed the power and authority of Jesus a greater amazement and a deeper fear overwhelmed them. Terrified of the obvious implication of what they have witnessed. They spontaneously asked, “Who is this?” There can only be one answer. They were in the presence of their Creator. Of course they felt vulnerable, exposed, and afraid. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. This encounter is a summation of our lives. There is no place where God and man are not in inescapable proximity. Whether we are aware or unaware, whether we ignore or acknowledge him, God, the Almighty Creator, is here, as close to us, as present with us, as Jesus with the disciples in the boat. That truth either terrifies us or comforts us. Your relationship to Him determines which of those are true. Who is He in your life?