A Word for Today | Luke 8:22-25
When it comes to the deity of Jesus Christ, the debate with skeptics often centers on details of Greek grammar in key New Testament statements, such as John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Another way, however, to prove that Jesus is the Son of God is by appeal to His most amazing miracles. High among these was when Jesus stood up amidst the raging seas and commanded the winds and waves so that they obeyed. The question of the disciples is the one we should consider: “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” (Lk. 8:25). The answer is that only the divine Creator is able to command nature in this way.
The stormy seas of Lake Galilee, on which the disciples were sailing, is often taken as a picture of the trials that God’s people are destined to face. There are two reasons why we encounter storms of one kind or another. The first is that we are journeying through a world that is hostile to our faith, like the dangerous waters of the sea. The second reason is that our Lord has sent us into these trials in order to grow our faith, just as he sent the disciples across this treacherous body of water (Lk. 8:22). Charles Spurgeon writes: “I scarcely know an apter picture of a church than a ship upon the treacherous Galilean Sea with Jesus and His disciples sailing in it.”[1]
The account of this miracle strengthens our faith by showing us the sovereign power of Jesus over all our trials. As the winds swept down on this lake, filling the disciples’ little boat with water, they cried in fear: “Master, Master, we are perishing!” (Lk. 8:24). Jesus awoke (He had been napping during this tumult!), stood before the storm and “rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was calm” (Lk. 8:24). What a display of divine power to save His people! Jesus wields this same power now that He is exalted to the place of sovereignty in heaven and this example encourages us to pray when we are afraid or troubled. Jesus is able to calm the winds and waves that threaten us today! What is more, His Word is able to speak peace into our hearts. His concern is simply for our faith: “Where is your faith?” Jesus asks us when we doubt or panic because of difficulty. The words of Kathrina von Schlegel encourage us to turn to Jesus in all our needs: “Be still my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.”[2]
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Phillips
[1] Charles H. Spurgeon: The Parables an Miracles of Our Lord, v. 2, Grand Rapids, Baker, 1993. p. 121.
[2] Kathrina von Schlegel, “Be Still My Soul,” 1855.