Tag Archives: Jesus

What if walking on water wasn’t the point of the story… What if it was….

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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

When I was reading Luke 8:22–25, this morning, two verses stood out:

  1. “They were filling with water and were in danger” (v23).
  2. “Where is your faith” (v25).

It is interesting how you can read the same passage many times, and never notice a particular verse. And then suddenly it will jump out at you, like you’ve never seen it before.

I have read Luke 8:22–25 many times. I have also listened to it preached about, watched a movie depicting it, and sang a song about it. I have also almost, as I talk about below, read a book about it. And yet, I don’t ever remember seeing or hearing the words “they were in danger.”

My impression was always that even though they saw the storm they were never in any real danger because Jesus was in the boat. But it says, “they were filling with water and were in danger.” I don’t know about you, but even thinking about the word sends my heart, and mind racing.

But there’s Jesus sleeping. The exact opposite of what you would think somebody would do when a boat is filling with water.

Why was he doing this? Warren B Wiersbe answers this question, before asking another, Jesus certainly knew that the storm was coming, yet He went to sleep in the ship. This fact alone should have encouraged the disciples not to be afraid. What was their problem? [1]

Usually the teachings about this passage focuses on the actions of the disciples. They were afraid. They went to wake Jesus. They didn’t get out of the boat.  

But let’s think about what Mr. Wiersbe said, Jesus certainly knew the storm was coming, and he went to sleep in this ship.

Jesus knew the storm was coming and he knew what their response would be, but that did not cause him to lose any sleep.

I remember hearing about a popular book, written about this passage, titled If you want to walk on water you’ve got to get out of the boat. I loved the title, and immediately wanted to buy it. Though somehow, I never got around to it.

In thinking about this passage today I’m starting to wonder if walking on water is the point of the story.

I hear a few intakes of breaths… but just go with me on this.

They were the disciples of Jesus, the one who slept in the face of danger. They were the disciples of Jesus, who himself, said of them, “It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher” (Matthew 10:25).

They were to be like Jesus, but in the face of danger they forgot.

But what if they didn’t?

 Just imagine how impactful the story would have been if instead of trying to do something about their problem, they kept their gaze on Jesus? What about if instead of coming to him in a panic, yelling at him, they went to him and stood at his feat and remembered who He was?

Jesus was sleeping and, I contend, so were they. In all their panic they were asleep to the truth of who they were with.

What was their problem? Warren says it is,

The same problem God’s people face today: we know the Word of God, but we do not believe it when we face the tests of life. It is one thing to learn the truth and quite something else to live it. “Where is your faith?” is still the key question. Are we trusting God’s promises, or are we trusting ourselves or our circumstances?[2]

 Is this world scary sometimes?

Yes!

Are we in danger of having the waters rise above our heads at times?

Most definitely!

We don’t need to worry that we are going to drown.   

But we don’t need to yell at Jesus to wake up.

Neither did the disciples.

I truly believe that if they would have come to Jesus and waited on him, instead of yelling at him, when he did wake, and they finally turned around, they would have seen that the storm, and danger had passed.

Keep your eyes on Jesus,

who both began and finished

this race we’re in.

Study how he did it.

Because he never lost sight

of where he was headed…

-Hebrews 12:2–3

The Message

If you are now facing danger and are yelling at God to wake up and help you

God is saying to you….

Dear Sweet Child of Mine

I see you. and I see the full situation that you are in. I am in control, and I will not let you drown. keep your eyes fixed on me and not your problem. Bring to me all of your concern and your worries. and then look at me, continue to really look at me, and trust that I will be calming the storm around you as you do so. I love you and I will not let you down. You are loved.

Peace be unto you.

[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1992), 166.

[2] Ibid.

Faith

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“And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.” (Matthew 15:21–28, ESV)

If I am honest for years I struggled with this passage. This is most likely due to the fact that I (like most of us) have felt the sting of rejection at times, and as a result I focused more on the words Jesus said to her than her response to them. But now this is one of my favorite passages . There is a lot to glean from it. Including the fact that:

  1. Jesus came to her – The passage says “Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out” So Jesus, who was fully God (as well as fully man), and therefore would be all knowing, came to a place where she was. She was no surprise to him.
  2. Jesus said that her Faith was great – Even though Matthew uses the “great” word twenty times in his book, this is the only time that he links it with the word “faith.” Also it “is interesting that Jesus does not commend the woman’s persistence or her humility.”1 Those are things that are about her character. Jesus only complemented two people on their faith. She was one and the Roman centurion, (Matthew 8:10) was the other.  So what does great faith look like? Well:2 

*Great Faith Looks Like Self-forgetfulness – She sought Jesus at all cost, regardless of how she looked to others.

And Jesus only complemented two people on their faith. She was one and the Roman centurion, (Matthew 8:10) was the other. There are several reason he could have done so, such as:2

*Great Faith Focuses on a Higher Power – She knew that Jesus could do for her daughter what she had to power to.

*Great Faith Does Not Quit When Obstacles Interfere – Jesus tested her faith by giving her reasons to give up. But she persisted. Phillips Brooks said “Do not pray for easy lives. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.” Never quit!

*Great Faith Wins – If you are doing what God has called you do do, you will accomplish it in his timing.

3. Jesus answered her Prayer – Jesus gave her the desire of her heart through her faith in him.

So now looking at this passage I see that she was a woman who pursued God with all her heart, and although she did struggle, she was heard, and her prayer was answered.

Not every prayer may be answered in the way that we desire, but every prayer of ours will be answered. We will not be turned away.

All verses from: The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 15:21–22.

  1. Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 405–406

2. Outline taken from LeRoy Lawson, Matthew: Unlocking the Scriptures for You, Standard Bible Studies (Cincinnati, OH: Standard, 1986), 196.

The way to victory

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed – that exhilarating finish in and with God – he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. – Hebrew 12:22 MSG

Trust God in your struggles

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“And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease.” (Mark 5:24–35, ESV)


I’ll be honest I never really gave this story much thought when I was younger. But now, after seeing friends and family struggle with things for years I feel this woman’s pain.
Twelve years is a very long time to be struggling with a issue that “not only [left her] defiled, [but caused her to] defile anything and anyone she touched. Her illness had left her personally, socially and spiritually cut off” (WBC). And that is not to even mention the fact that the very doctors that were meant to help her caused her to suffer. And on top of all of that she suffered financial hardship as she “spent all that she had.”
Now I don’t know about you but if I were in her same situation, if I were an outcast who has done nothing wrong , who was physically ill, has been mistreated by them ones meant to help me, and if I had spent everything and still saw no relief, I might just be very angry at everyone around me including and most importantly God….and yet as tired and worn as she must have been, she noticed God enter her space and she reached out to him, Not only that but she vocalized her faith.
I do not understand why some people go through life with relative ease and why some people seem to face one challenge after another, and I get how it can make one weary and at times feel unloved. But while I do not always understand it, I do know that God is no respecter of persons. He loves you and I just as much as he loves any other person on this planet. He does not have it out for us, or is ignoring us, thought it may feel that way at times.
What I have witnessed is that the struggling has brought me into a deeper relationship with God that I would not have ever had otherwise. It forced me to get real in a way that I would never have done if everything was all sunshine and daisies. It strips off everything until all that is left is just me and God, and the hem of his robe, that I must reach for.
If you are going through a tough season, whether it has been one week, one year, or twelve, like this woman, I am so sorry for what you are going through, I have no words, because hard is hard is hard, but my encouragement is that you think on this story, She reached out and God came through. Yes, God does not always come through immediately. But, I do believe that he does not leave his children without hope, he does not leave them with out the help they need.
He loves you, you are not alone. I am praying for you!
Twelve years is a very long time to be struggling with a issue that “not only [left her] defiled, [but caused her to] defile anything and anyone she touched. Her illness had left her personally, socially and spiritually cut off” (WBC). And that is not to even mention the fact that the very doctors that were meant to help her caused her to suffer. And on top of all of that she suffered financial hardship as she “spent all that she had.”
Now I don’t know about you but if I were in her same situation, if I were an outcast who has done nothing wrong , who was physically ill, has been mistreated by them ones meant to help me, and if I had spent everything and still saw no relief, I might just be very angry at everyone around me including and most importantly God….and yet as tired and worn as she must have been, she noticed God enter her space and she reached out to him, Not only that but she vocalized her faith.
I do not understand why some people go through life with relative ease and why some people seem to face one challenge after another, and I get how it can make one weary and at times feel unloved. But while I do not always understand it, I do know that God is no respecter of persons. He loves you and I just as much as he loves any other person on this planet. He does not have it out for us, or is ignoring us, thought it may feel that way at times.
What I have witnessed is that the struggling has brought me into a deeper relationship with God that I would not have ever had otherwise. It forced me to get real in a way that I would never have done if everything was all sunshine and daisies. It strips off everything until all that is left is just me and God, and the hem of his robe, that I must reach for.
If you are going through a tough season, whether it has been one week, one year, or twelve, like this woman, I am so sorry for what you are going through, I have no words, because hard is hard is hard, but my encouragement is that you think on this story, She reached out and God came through. Yes, God does not always come through immediately. But, I do believe that he does not leave his children without hope, he does not leave them with out the help they need.
He loves you, you are not alone. I am praying for you!