Matthew 8:23-27
And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A gale arose on the lake, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”
Since listening to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we’ve encountered several characters who demonstrate just the kind of lived-out faith Jesus was speaking about. From a leper to a centurion we saw people demonstrate that faith is actively trusting Jesus for your every need and good. Not only that, but we also learned that Jesus is eager to respond – eager, that is, to care for these characters, to make them well and to make them whole.
But it’s not just we – Matthew’s readers – that learn this, of course. The disciples are there as well. Indeed, the disciples are Jesus’ primary audience, the ones who listened to him preaching his most famous sermon and then heard those professions of trust and witnessed Jesus’ response to those in need. But after all these displays of “disciple-like” faith, Jesus’ own disciples can’t muster anything quite like that. Or at least, judging by his words of rebuke to his disciples, that’s what Jesus seems to think.
To be honest, I find Jesus’ reaction a tad confusing. Having been on a boat in fierce winds and rough waves, I know how frightening it can be to have water swamp the boat. Moreover, the disciples cry out for Jesus to save them, a clear testimony to their belief that he can, in fact, deliver them.
Why, then, does Jesus criticize them? I’m not completely sure, but I wonder if it’s the fact that they are afraid. Notable, he comments directly on their fear, which apparently was evident even after they’d asked him to save them. So perhaps they ask Jesus to save them, but do not really believe – at least not enough to trust as did the leper and centurion – that he can. This possibility seems confirmed in that they are “amazed” when the storm responds to Jesus’ command and only then profess their awe.
Does that mean that disciple-like faith requires trust that is absent of fear? If so, then most of us likely wonder if we have the capacity for such faith. But maybe that’s why Matthew includes this story – one of two where the disciples are caught in a tempest at sea – to reassure us that even Jesus’ own disciples struggled to live into what Jesus expected and promised. If it takes them time to grown in faith, then perhaps we should not be surprised that it takes us time as well.
One thing remains constant, however: to those who trust fully and those who don’t, Jesus still responds. Then…and now.
Prayer: Dear God, grant us faith to turn over our cares, worries, concerns, and fears to you, trusting that you will hear us and respond. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Post image: “Christ Asleep during the Tempest” by Eugène Delacroix (ca 1853).
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