Title: Faith without Fear / Luke 8:24
The event we are talking about today is one we know very well. One day, Jesus and his disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee in a boat. In the second half of verse 35, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Judging from the fact that you asked to cross over to the other side of the lake, it can be seen that the boat was floated in the middle of a deep lake, not to the shore of a safe lake with a low water path.
The Sea of Galilee was not a small lake. It is a very wide lake that is often called the sea. The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by high mountains. The Sea of Galilee is truly a beautiful and peaceful lake. However, because it is surrounded by high mountains, the Sea of Galilee often experiences sudden and strong winds. It's like a particularly strong cold wind around a large building in winter. The winds are usually stronger in the afternoon than in the morning or evening, so fishing is usually done at night, but the occasional evening winds are even more dangerous.
The incident reported in today's text also happened with the evening wind blowing. At the beginning of the text, it is written "at the evening of that day." It seems that the situation at this time was truly dangerous. The day was going down, and there was a great storm. In Luke 8:24, it says, "A fierce wind struck the lake." As the wind blew into the lake, a natural "great tremor (ie, a raging wave) arose in the sea" (Luke 8:24). So the boat must have swayed violently with the waves. And "the waves crashed into the boat and filled the boat" (37), endangering both people and boats (Luke 8:24). The disciples were afraid, thinking, “Now he is dead” (38).
But what was surprising was that in the midst of the storm and the crisis of death that resulted from it, Jesus was peacefully asleep. The disciples woke Jesus up and said: "Teacher, how can we sleep so peacefully when we are about to die? Please save us." Then something even more surprising happened. After waking up, Jesus said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Why do you have no faith?" Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. will be Then the disciples were greatly astonished and afraid, and said to one another, "Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey his commands?" that it did.
Then, what kind of faith can we know through this rebuke of Jesus? First of all, it can be said that they are not afraid. It is a faith that can not be afraid even in a crisis situation that threatens our lives. It is the faith that can set you free from all your worries just by being with Jesus. It is the faith that entrusts all worries and worries to the Lord. It is the faith that allows us to be at peace with the Lord when he is at peace. The Lord is quiet, but it is the faith that he does not stand up and live in all kinds of anxiety and fear, trembling.
But what do we have to do to have that kind of belief? Here, it will be important for us to see Jesus right at the center of this event. What kind of person does Jesus appear in this event? You can see that Jesus is sovereign over nature, such as wind and waves. When Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves and calmed them, it was a testament to his sovereignty and majesty over all things. Not only that, but the fact that Jesus was sleeping peacefully in the midst of the storm also dramatically shows that the Lord is the master of this world and history, not nature. It reveals that nothing in this world can resist the Son of God, nor can it interfere with his salvation work. We can see in him that Jesus is the one who works with him and through him. It shows that God is not just a sovereign over the abstract universe, but a living God who intervenes in our daily experiences and is with us and solves our concrete problems.
Verse 38 says, “Jesus slept on a pillow in the stern.” Jesus paradoxically said, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20), paradoxically, showed him sleeping well with his head in his house anywhere. Mine showed us that the one who has nothing is the one who has everything. He taught that those who can give up all possessiveness in order to follow the Lord can be free anytime, anywhere, in any situation. He is teaching that that is the discipleship that follows Jesus.
But this event also shows us that in the way and life of following the Lord, there is also peace and glory, overcoming suffering, and peace through the word of the Lord. It shows the peace and well-being of those who follow Jesus. The presence of Jesus shows us that it is the guarantee of life and the defeat of death. The Lord, who called his disciples and told them to follow him, is confirming that he will always keep them, take care of them, and be with them until the end. Jesus promised, “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
We should be able to examine ourselves to see if the disciples we saw in today's text are not what we are today. Am I not the only one who claims to follow the Lord, but does not fully know who the Lord is? Am I not the only one who is filled with all sorts of worries even though I say I am with the Lord? I'm not sure where I've been crying and screaming as if I'm dead without knowing where my faith has gone even though I've been through something a little difficult? I hope you can reflect on whether these words, "Why are you so afraid, why do you have no faith?" are perhaps not a rebuke to me today.
It wasn't just the storm and the waves that Jesus put to sleep. Jesus also calmed the anxiety, fear, and anxiety that had taken hold of the disciples' hearts. In ancient times, especially when the church was persecuted, we understood this event in today's text to mark the saving presence and work of Jesus in the persecution that threatens and destroys the church. In the art of the old church, it is said that they are revealing their understanding of the event conveyed in today's text by depicting the church as a ship that floats on a dangerous sea but has nothing to fear because the Lord is in it. I hope you all draw a picture of each of you going on a boat with the Lord on the Sea of Galilee at this time. Even in the midst of a storm that is about to turn our lives upside down and swallow our lives, without any fear, we can lay peacefully with the Lord and sleep, get up together with the Lord, and cry out loudly to the world. Just imagine. This is the image of the disciples who overcome the world with Jesus Christ.