Jesus demonstrated some impressive control over things no human had ever done before. Elijah had commanded rain to not fall until he spoke another word, and Moses had called for hail to fall, but in two instances, Jesus demonstrated a control over nature that was above that. There were two specific times that Jesus calmed a storm over the Sea of Galilee. In one instance, Jesus fell asleep on the boat despite the storm. In the second, Jesus came to the disciples in the storm by walking on water. Jesus had much more to say on these matters than merely calming a storm and shocking the disciples to wonder, “Who is this man?” Let’s explore what we can see about Jesus’ intentions in these two instances.
In the first case, Jesus was tired and fell asleep in the boat. This wasn’t a normal ship but more like a rowboat. It was small enough that fishermen could throw out their nets and pull up the nets by hand, rather than by a crane. Those were the typical type of boats that could carry a dozen men or so across the sea. The Sea of Galilee was small enough that a professional swimmer could swim across, and boats were often available for rent to get from one side to another. This storm wasn’t a kind of storm that would sink a full vessel, but these rental boats would certainly be a concern. The storm was severe enough that experienced fishermen did believe they would die unless something happened. And Jesus was sleeping.
How could the man who had turned water to wine, healed lepers, made the lame walk, and confronted the overbearing religious leaders of the day be sleeping when His life was on the line, too? Take notice that the disciples didn’t ask Jesus if He wanted to live. They asked Him if He cared if they lived. Yeah, we would not have been much different. Jesus was tired and He took a nap – in a boat when rain and water were splashing all over the boat, likely soaking Him. How could He sleep through that anyway? Jesus would have been disturbed from sleep like any normal person in His physical body. Finally, He woke up, rebuked the storm, and looked at His disciples with a “Why did you disturb me for that?” kind of a look. Did they not know that as long as Jesus was with them, they were practically invincible to the things of nature or the world? That was Jesus’ mindset. Because He was with them, a silly storm wasn’t going to take Him down. He was on a mission from God, and a storm wasn’t going to get in the way of it.
This reminds me of an account of Hudson Taylor on his way to China, where he would spend the bulk of his life starting China Inland Missions. On the way, the ship got disabled as it was relying on the currents and the winds, and the current path was directing the ship towards an island of cannibals. They were building their fires to get ready for a feast. Taylor spoke up and said, “Have you considered praying?” He knew he was called to China, and that mission was not going to be cut short by a shipwreck on an island of cannibals. He prayed, and the winds turned to send the ship back on proper course.
This is also like Paul’s shipwreck of Acts 27. He knew he was being sent to Rome, and despite the crew refusing to hear his wisdom to not sail and winter early on, they chose to go. A 2+ week storm crash landed them to Malta where they would winter anyway. But Paul was not scared of the storm. He wasn’t even concerned about a viper that bit him. Paul had the same mentality as Jesus. Jesus was on a mission from God and a storm wasn’t going to stop Him. He wanted His disciples to learn the same thing. They didn’t learn it for a while, but as showcased by Paul and many since, many believers have learned it. As long as you are on God’s mission, you will not be touched, no matter what comes your way.
Jesus took control of another weather situation in which He walked on water. When Peter realized it was Jesus, he asked to come join Him on the lake. I can picture Jesus thinking maybe Peter finally got the message from the previous storm, but then Peter started looking at the waves and began to sink. Jesus had to save him and then calmed the storm. But think about how it wasn’t just Jesus walking on water; Peter did, too. And Jesus didn’t congratulate Peter for stepping out; He rebuked him for doubting. Yet, Jesus saw in Peter what no one else would have seen: the leader and anchor that he would become as the voice of the Apostles. Jesus saw that confidence growing in Peter, but He also knew that much of it was driven by the flesh. He gave Peter that chance and, despite knowing Peter would fail, He still showed that those who trusted in Him would be doing wonders beyond human comprehension. It would be Peter who performed the first miracle by the Apostles after Pentecost by healing a cripple, and it would be Peter who specifically requested to be crucified upside down, a more painful death, so that he would not be done in like his Savior.
Jesus controls all our situations and any storm we face. If we are on God’s mission, no storm is going to take us down. If we set our eyes on Jesus, while we may not literally walk on water, we will do wonders that the natural minds of our day could not conceive. Jesus wants us to have such confidence in Him that we could lie beside Him and take a nap in the middle of a storm, knowing God will protect us. (Note, I am NOT saying to be presumptuous by any means, but for when we know we are in the center of God’s will.) He wants us to trust Him to the point of getting out of our safety net and walking on water with Him. And all it takes is for us to not look at our circumstances and to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Let Him deal with the storm, and He will silence it. The winds and waves obey Jesus; why would our circumstances be any different?
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