Title: Storm / Matthew 14:22-32
storm
※ Bible: Matthew 14:22-32
In the Bible, it is easy to find cases where the disciples or prophets of Jesus met a storm while traveling to the other village by boat. The prophet Jonah disobeyed God's command to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and met a great storm in the middle of the sea while fleeing to Tarshish (Spain), which he thought was the end of the world at that time. Disobedience was the cause of this storm.
On the other hand, the storm that the disciples met in today's Word was not because of disobedience, but because of their obedience. Just before these words, Jesus fed five thousand people with five fish. The crowd who experienced this miracle wanted to make Jesus their king. The disciples did not differ from the thoughts of this crowd. When Jesus became king of Israel, he secretly expected that he would have a good seat. Jesus knew that these disciples were wrong. So he had his disciples get on a boat and go to the other side. The Bible tells us an important lesson through this storm, when we met a storm because we obeyed Jesus' words and we met a storm because we disobeyed Him.
First, Jesus prays for us in the midst of a storm.
As we go through life, great or small storms will surely come to us. Some storms come despite our obedience, and others come through disobedience. But God gives us great grace through this storm.
Jesus told the disciples to go to the other side, left the crowd, went up to the mountain, and prayed. Who is Jesus? “Jesus is the one who intercedes for us at the right hand of God” (Romans 8:34), “He still lives and is always praying for us” (Hebrews 7:25).
Even when the disciples were suffering from this storm, Jesus prayed for them on the mountain.
Jesus knows our circumstances and circumstances all too well. That is why Hebrews 4:15 says, “We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” This is Jesus who loves us. Please remember that Jesus is always praying for us in the midst of great and small storms.
Second, Jesus saves us from the storm.
When Jesus saw the disciples rowing in pain, he came down from the mountain and walked on the sea to rescue them. This is the theme of the Bible. The Bible records about Jesus who came to save mankind from sin and death. God came to Abraham, who was engulfed in sorrow and sorrow because he had no children. Then, “He took him outside and said, Look up to heaven, and count the stars, if you can. And he said to him, So shall your descendants be” (Genesis 15:5).
God came to Jacob as he left home and headed for a long road in the wilderness. And he did it with Jacob. “Jacob made a vow and said, “God is with me, and will watch over me on this way I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothes to wear” (Genesis 28:20). So, in Isaiah 43:2, God said, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when the rivers cross, the waters will not sink...” God is the one who comes to us in the midst of storms and saves us.
Third, Jesus grows our faith through storms.
How should we understand life's raging storms? Why does God give us such storms? Sometimes the storm feels like an unsolvable riddle. Today's sermon gives an answer to this question.