The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany–30 January 2022
Matthew 8:23–27
23 And when [Jesus] got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (ESV)
What is the point of Jesus calming the storm? Throughout history, many a preacher has suggested that today’s Gospel teaches that Jesus will protect us from the storms of life. But the brutal truth is that Jesus, in fact, does not always protect us from life’s storms. Oh, in Matthew’s account, Jesus does make the danger go away. The disciples do not die, nor does the boat sink. But in genuine Christian experience, our Lord often allows the danger to remain, and even to prevail. Disciples of Jesus do experience long-suffering afflictions, and they do die from a variety of causes, including diseases, wars, natural disasters, shipwrecks, plane crashes, and car accidents. Churches also have been destroyed by storms and fires as well as persecutions. Moreover, the very Lord to whom the fearful disciples turn—the Lord Jesus Himself will go to the cross, where the Father will not spare Him from death. Oh, it will not do to say that Jesus will always protect us from the storms of life.
Throughout history, there have also been many a sermon asserting that the stilling of the storm teaches us how to be true disciples of Jesus. Now, it is true that today’s Gospel can teach us much about being Jesus’ disciples. But Christian discipleship is not the main theme. Rather, the primary focus of this miracle is to drive us into a deeper understanding of Jesus and His authority. Of course, we, as Jesus’ disciples, have a secondary place in today’s drama, but the limelight is on answering the disciples’ astonished question: What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?
Jesus is centre-stage in the drama of the storm being stilled. But on the edge of the limelight are His disciples. And so it is very worthwhile for us to consider this secondary theme of what Jesus is up to with His disciples.
Jesus is coaching the disciples against despair and He is training them for endurance. He wants to teach them to remain undismayed amid dangers. He allows trials and terrors to arise and He even sleeps through the storm so that He may give an occasion for the disciples to experience the timidity of their hearts and ultimately so that they may attain a clearer perception of the Lord’s deliverance.
The disciples’ efforts as sailors had failed. The windswept waves were ready to swallow them up. When the breeze is mild, even the poorest sailor can manage the ship. But in the crosswinds of a tempest, we want the best pilot with all his skill. And so the disciples run in fear to the very Pilot of the world, the Ruler of the universe, the Master of the elements. They beg Jesus to banish the danger and to save them in their despair.
When the disciples wake up Jesus, He literally says to them: Why are you cowardly, O you of little faith?. Faith requires courage, courage to believe that God is good and gracious and mighty to save. Faith requires the courage to believe that even when the waves are crashing into one’s boat that God still has the whole situation well under control. Now, it is commendable for us to honestly tell God about our desperate needs: “save me, Lord, for I’m lonely, I’m depressed, I’m sick, I’m dying”. With such a prayer, we cast our cares upon the Lord. But even in our praying, it is possible for us to cross the line into cowardice and smallness of faith, as the disciples did when they said: Save us, Lord; we are perishing. That word “perish” has the sense of ruin and destruction. Thus, the disciples use a word that contradicts and fights against the word “save” and that shows that the disciples do not fully trust Jesus to take care of them. Do you see? It is always proper to ask the Lord to save you in your need, but it is never proper to say that you are being ruined and destroyed, for that would mean that not Jesus but your troubles have the last word.
And now, how does all this impact your life as a disciple of Jesus?
Well, Jesus is coaching you against despair and He is training you for endurance. He wants you to keep trusting in Him even in life’s storms. In these storms, your Lord allows you to experience the timidity of your heart. But it is a good thing that at times you feel weakened and even overwhelmed by your afflictions, for then you see just how timid and fearful your heart really is and just how great is your need for a Saviour. And then, the Holy Spirit can turn your eyes away from yourself and give you a clearer perception of Jesus and His mighty work of deliverance.
St. Paul and his coworkers experienced such great afflictions that he writes: we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). And as you endure the great storms of your life, your Lord Jesus is working in you the same confident, courageous faith. You may at times despair, as even St. Paul did, but through all your storms, your Saviour Jesus is teaching you to remain undismayed amid dangers and to rely not on yourself but on the God who raises the dead and who will one day raise you to life everlasting.
Every disciple of Jesus experiences heartache and trouble. Through it all, God is drawing us into His tender arms. When things are going smoothly,
we think we can manage the ship of our lives. But in the crosswinds of a tempest, with the waves pouring into our ship, we understand that we cannot cope on our own. And so we run to the very Pilot of the world, the Ruler of the universe, the Master of the elements. Now, we do not always run to Jesus with the courage to believe that He is good and gracious and mighty to save. Sometimes, we run to Jesus in cowardice and with a small faith that does not fully trust that He can take care of us. But even in the smallness of our faith, we are still Jesus’ disciples and He will still arise to save us, perhaps not from the storm but through it so that we reach the shores of heaven safely.
This brings us back to the disciples’ astonished question: What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him? The answer to this question is the main point of this miracle. Jesus is centre-stage in the drama of the storm being stilled. Oh, He does have an important lesson about our being His disciples, but the primary focus of this miracle is to drive us into a deeper understanding of Jesus and His authority.
The stilling of the storm does not mean that Jesus will always protect us from the storms of life. Rather, this miracle points to something greater. The wind and sea obeying Jesus shows that He possesses the authority of the Creator. Jesus is God’s Son, the second person of the Trinity, who, with the Father and Holy Spirit, created the world and who reigns over it. The fallen world has shown itself to be a place of threatening danger. Jesus, however, has the authority to calm the chaos and to restore peace and order to the fallen creation.
Right now, we live in a fallen creation that is disordered, unpredictable, and even dangerous. But today’s Gospel promises that there will come a time when not just storms on the Sea of Galilee will be stilled, but the entire creation will be restored to God’s design, to its original submission under the rule and reign of the God who made it. Then it will not just be the temporal lives of some disciples that are spared; all the redeemed in Christ shall be raised to live forevermore in the new heavens and new earth. That restoration will take place through Jesus, for He and He alone has the authority to accomplish it. He is the one who is already bringing in the rule and reign of God, and He will finally and fully usher in God’s reign on the Day appointed. Do you see? There is more at stake here than your personal storms; we’re talking about the whole restoration of fallen creation for all of eternity. That is what the miracle of the stilling of the storm is pointing to!
The disciples in the boat did not yet understand the extent of Jesus’ authority. But now, this side of Easter, we understand and believe. We acknowledge that Jesus is God’s Son and that He has the full authority to repair and restore creation and to undo all the damage caused by sin, even death itself, through His own death and resurrection.
The stilling of the storm gives us the assurance that our Lord Jesus has all things well under control, not just in the future—on the Last Day—but also now in our present lives. For the repair and restoration of fallen creation has already begun in Jesus’ own death and resurrection. And the restoration has already begun even in your life through Holy Baptism, by which you are now a new creation in Christ.
But the birth pangs of creation will continue until the Last Day. On that day, the Son of Man will rebuke once more and all will be calm again—and forever. Jesus has come with authority over all things. Jesus comes for those in need who call upon Him in faith, even though we sometimes lack courage and are filled with timidity and smallness of faith. In our great need, Jesus comes to us to be our Saviour. And so, in spite of the storms of our lives and the smallness of our faith, we can rejoice that Jesus is in the same boat with us. And He will never leave us nor forsake us. He who now has received all power in heaven and on earth will come again with glory on the clouds of heaven and will fully manifest His authority to save us. Meanwhile, amid all your storms, your Saviour Jesus embraces you and says to you: Stop being afraid; I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. Indeed I was dead, but, behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and the grave (Revelation 1:17-18, Brighton’s translation). Yes, it is true. For all of eternity, Jesus, God’s Son, has complete control over all things. Thanks be to God!
Trinity Lutheran Church 
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