Revelations At Sea
Luke 8:22-25 ·July 9, 2023· Joel Passmore
Part of: Luke
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The disciples experience a lot of fear. Not just once, but twice, they experience a lot of fear. As I was thinking about fear, it occurred to me that fear is the kind of thing that a lot of us like to kind of play around with, as long as we're still ultimately in control. We even pay for the experience of getting afraid, right? There's scary movies, books that terrify us. There's acreage upon acreage that people buy and set aside and build these things.
We'll pay money to get into these amusement parks because we will be amused by fear. It's amusing to us to strap ourselves into exposed cars, hurtling down cliffs and going 70, 80 miles an hour. It's amusing because, instead of terrifying, because we think that ultimately we're still in control, right? Sometimes I tell myself that. Let's just do a survey. Who here will, the roller coaster will be the first thing you go to if you go to Busch Gardens or King's Dominion?
Yeah, it used to be, yeah. I can do about one before I get disoriented now, and I've got to sit down. We were going to Busch Gardens with the Inmans a couple summers ago, and on the way there, the Inman kids were talking about the roller coasters, and my kids were talking about, well, like, this is our favorite show. We like this show. And the Inman kids were like, there are shows? We realized we were about to have two different theme park experiences put together into one day.
Sometimes when I'm getting on one of those rides, I tell myself, you know what? They check these things all the time. They're not high school kids. I tell myself that, checking these rides. They're professionals. Did you hear about the Fury 325 roller coaster in Carowinds just this past week? So this is North America's longest steel roller coaster. It reaches a height of 325 feet. It goes as fast as 95 miles an hour. But a park guest noticed a new element of thrill that had been added to the coaster.
A crack in the support beam. Go ahead and put that picture up there, Lou. It's an alarming-looking crack. And it was noticed by a park guest who was just filming the ride. And you can see, like, a video of the car going by this huge crack. They shut the ride down, which is kind of odd. You see that? You see that crack over there? So it's a little odd, right? It's a roller coaster. You would think people would get, the line would get longer when they hear about a crack, right?
The thrills have just gone up. But of course, we know that's not really going to happen. It's now gone into too much danger. It's gone from some kind of contrived, controlled danger to, like, real danger, right? And now people will not get in line. They shut the ride down. It took about an hour, I heard, for them to shut the ride down after this was discovered, I know. So it went from, like, contrived fear to real fear, right? And so everybody fled.
Let's shut this thing down. We've got to fix this thing immediately. On a contraption that is designed to make people afraid, real danger, real loss of control brings out real fear. And that's what we want to avoid at all costs. We're fine with fear that we can kind of control and play with. But real fear, we don't want anything to do with. Today's passage is probably a familiar story. The disciples are in a boat with Jesus. There's a raging storm.
But in its essence, it's a story about, it's a real story about ordinary, fearful people who learn more about Jesus and learn that he's the one to take their fears to. So if you, if you, if like me, you are an ordinary, fearful person, come with me to Luke 8 and let's encounter Jesus today. This is the word of God for us. Let's, let's listen to it attentively, let's receive it as the authority in our lives, as completely trustworthy and true.
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. Pray with me.
Lord Jesus, we know that this really happened. You were really on this boat with these disciples, that you did this miracle. You did it to show them and you have the words recorded to show us that you have power, that you can be trusted, that you have control. Lord, will you help us to rest in you? Help us to behold you for who you really are. Strengthen our faith, but do it by showing us who you are, leading us to you. And Jesus, we pray this in your name.
Jesus helps fearful people not by giving them more control. That's really what we want. We just want more control and we'll be less afraid. But he doesn't do that. He fixes their eyes on him. That's his solution to fear. When he reveals himself to us, when we know him more, we're led into a trust that can endure storms, that can get through storms. There's two things about this passage. The title of this passage today is Revelations at Sea. Put your faith in the only one who can guide you through the storm.
I'm calling it Revelations at Sea because there's a lot of things that this whole episode reveals to us. We're going to start with this, the revelation of the storm. What does the storm reveal? Now, this story takes place in the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is really just a really large lake. It sits below sea level. It's like a bowl that's surrounded by hills and low mountains. To give you an idea of its size, here is the South Chesterfield area in the Tri-Cities.
And here is the Sea of Galilee superimposed on it, actual scale. So, it stretches west to east from the Walmart on Route 10 all the way over to Rivers Bend. And from north to south, it goes from Bellwood all the way down to Colonial Heights. So, it's huge. You'd be able to see the other side, not because it was so close, but because there were mountains over there. It sat below sea level, and there were mountains that kind of ringed it.
The disciples had been on the sea many, many, many times. Several of them were experienced fishermen. Most of them were from this area. As little boys, they would be out on this lake, sailing all the time. They knew it well. They knew that it was subject to sudden, violent storms, air that would come down from the mountains and collide with the air that was over the lake, and create these sudden squalls that would come up out of nowhere. And that's exactly what happens this evening.
A windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. It really says something that these seasoned sailors were terrified. You know the weather's bad when the locals get scared.
They probably knew people who had died on this sea from storms similar to this one. And now they're caught up in one. Rembrandt imagined this moment in a painting. I've put it up here. You probably can't see it very well.
It's a little bit imaginative, but I think it gets the essence of what's going on here. Some of them are trying to pull in the sails. Some are holding on to the riggings. Others are paddling. One guy's leaned over, probably vomiting over the side of the boat. Some of them are just hunkered over in shock. Look, I think it depicts well what's going on here. These men, they cannot get things under control. They're sure that the end is near. Water is spilling over into the boat.
It's sinking. And all the while, Jesus is sleeping. So after trying all they can, they go to him in desperation. Master, Master, we are perishing. This is more than just irritation that Jesus is not pulling his weight. They're in danger. The boat is about to go under. And to them, Jesus seems passive. He seems detached. He seems aloof.
In Mark's telling of this story, their words are much more pointed. In Mark's telling, they say, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? This is a direct accusation on Jesus' character. You don't care, do you?
Now, you don't have to be out on a boat to be feeling like this. Threats come in many forms. Anything that shakes our security brings out fear. The breakdown of our bodies or of our families. Losing your job. Losing your best friend. Even good things like a new school, a new phase of life, a new business venture can feel like a storm.
Whenever we sail into the unknown, we are tempted. We're beset by fear. We're afraid of loneliness. We fear failure. We fear rejection. We're afraid of being insignificant, of being mediocre, of being forgotten. What if things don't turn out like I had hoped? What if things don't get better?
Any of these situations make us feel like that painting. Like we're in a tiny boat in the middle of a storm. And it's going under. When you're afraid, you react. A lot of times you don't even know that you are afraid until after you've reacted.
Sometimes I've been talking to someone, reflecting on myself. And what will come out of my mouth is, I guess I'm just afraid that dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. And I realize I didn't even identify it as fear. But that's really what's going on in my heart. Fear drives us. It makes us react. And that's what happens for the disciples. This storm has revealed something in them. It's brought something out of them.
This is what it brought out. This is the revelation that the storm brought out. But they forgot that Jesus' leadership is reliable. Think about this. Why were they out on the boat at all? Why weren't they traveling by foot? They did lots of travel by foot. They could have easily crossed the lake by walking around. Not only that, but in Mark's account, we learned that this whole thing happens in the evening. Evenings are exactly when these storms come up on the Sea of Galilee.
Why would they go out then? Why wouldn't Jesus say, you know what? Let's wait until tomorrow morning. Why did they go out? Because Jesus told them to. This whole experience, this whole adventure, it took place at Jesus' initiative. He led them out to sea and into the storm. And Jesus doesn't make wrong turns. They might not know why they're out there, but they could trust his purposes for them.
When I was a kid, I used to love the Choose Your Own Adventure books. Any kids ever read those? You know the books where you're the main character, and you flip and you find the best ending, and then you trace your steps backward.
In those books, if you make all the right decisions, you get the best outcome. Isn't that exactly how we view life? I'm the main character in my story. We're rugged individuals. We chart our course. We captain our ship. If we make all the right decisions, we have the best outcome. If God has any role at all, you know what? He can look over our shoulder at the map. Make suggestions from time to time. He can sit in the crow's nests, tell us when there's danger ahead.
And certainly, he can get us out of a jam if we're ever in trouble and get us back on track towards our goal, our destination. That kind of mindset is in each one of us, and that kind of mindset inevitably leads to fear because we're the captain. We chart the course. We make the destination. Instead, we should entrust ourselves to the one who says, I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
His leadership gives us peace. John Newton knew a thing or two about sailing and ships. He said this, I don't know about each one of you, but my life has definitely taken some twists and turns that I did not see coming.
And there is a constant sense of assurance when I look and I realize, you know what? Jesus is my pilot. He doesn't make any wrong turns. I might not exactly know why some things have happened to me, but I can trust the one who's leading me. But you don't have that assurance when you think that you're the pilot. And that's what the disciples forgot in this moment. They forgot that his leadership is reliable. The other thing they forgot was that Jesus' presence gives us security.
The disciples, they didn't find it all that comforting that Jesus was with them in the boat unless he got up and did something. He was right there. But what good is he when he is asleep? He's no good, according to them. They would only feel assured if they saw him engaged like they were in the crisis.
Sometimes when I'm upset about something and I'm talking to Nikki about it, I'm like, why aren't you upset about this too? Because she's like, not giving me a mirror image of the emotion that I'm giving to her. And I'm like, doesn't this bother you? Why don't you care? If she's not giving me exactly what I'm giving to her, she must not be caring about this. She must not be engaged. But that's not always true, right? That's unfair of me to do that.
That's what the disciples are doing to Jesus. If you're not up panicking like us, Jesus, you must not care. What good are you? What good is a mighty God if I don't see his might right here, right now, in all the ways that I want him to do it? If he's not meeting my demands, what good is his might?
He's not delivering me from this hardship in my life right now. So what use is he? God, wake up. Do something. Now, when God wants to assure his people of something in the Old Testament, he oftentimes starts with this. He says, fear not, for I am with you. That's the first way he starts out. Fear not, for I am with you. Their deliverance was guaranteed because of his presence with them. He was already close with them. That was the first thing, the main thing they should look to.
Not his activity. Not the plan that he handed to them. Here's why you can trust, because here's my plan. He says, no, remember, I'm with you. That's why you can rest right now. That's why you can lay down your fear. That's what ensures our survival, our blessing, our stability. God is with us. Faith means not judging with our eyes how much we see him at work, but believing that it's his presence with us that ensures our security.
So these things have been revealed about the disciples. But there's more to the story. Then Jesus takes action and reveals something about himself. Let's talk about the revelation of the calm.
When Jesus dealt with the storm, he wasn't polite. He didn't ask nicely. He rebuked the wind and the raging waves. The word rebuke is epitemao. It means to order around with strong disapproval. He's scolding the wind. He's admonishing the wind about its behavior. It's the same word, in fact, that Jesus has used when he's cast out demons, when he threw the fever out of Peter's mother-in-law. It's the same word. He rebuked it. I've chaperoned a lot of field trips in my day.
Anytime 30 or 40 elementary-aged kids are together, there is only one direction that the energy level can go. It goes up. That's the natural course of things. It ratchets up. It ratchets up. It ratchets up. And then before long, even the kids who are ordinarily quiet are yelling and their heads off and running around. Sometimes bad decisions start happening. And right when you think the walls are about to come down or the bus is about to fall off the side of the road, a teacher will speak up sternly, forcefully, and rebuke all of the chaos and regain total control.
And you just know that you have witnessed authority. Parents are looking around at each other. What do we do? But the teacher can say something and rebuke, and all the kids, it comes right down. Now, you've probably seen that, but imagine seeing that with nature, the wind and the waves. Jesus speaking to the wind and the waves like they were unruly schoolchildren. And the wind immediately going down to nothing.
This man they called teacher had told the wind and the waves, sit down and shut up. And nature listened to him. But in contrast to this, look at how he speaks to his disciples. Tenderly. Gently. Not with the same tone. Not with the same rebuke. They had been frantic. They had been full of accusations. And he speaks to them patiently. He says, where is your faith?
Yes, there was a critique for them. Yes, there was a call to growth. But it's not given to them with the same tone that he spoke to the storm. Friends, do you see the patience of Christ towards you and towards me?
He's loving. He's patient. He's kind. Where is your faith? He's pleading with you. He will not break a bruised reed or put out a smoldering wick. In fact, this whole episode, it's not a surprise to Jesus at all. He's not surprised by how they reacted. He's brought them out here to reveal more of himself to them. This is what he reveals. He reveals that he has power to control what they can't.
The irony of this story is that the disciples were afraid after Jesus calmed the storm. Did you notice that? Their fear before the storm, during the storm, is just implied by their panic. They're coming to Jesus, shouting at him. Their accusations. But it actually says explicitly that they are afraid after Jesus has calmed the storm. The peace on the water brought by the words of Jesus, it's left the disciples quaking in their boots. Why?
In the ancient Near East, the open waters were ominous. They were threatening. It was this uncontrollable, dark force that you dared not tamper with because it would overwhelm you. It was a threatening place of dark, dangerous power. Control over this domain was something that only God had. Only God had. We saw that earlier in the scripture reading and you see this also in Psalm 89 which says this, O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O Lord, with your faithfulness all around you.
You rule the raging of the sea when its waves rise. You still them. Only God could do this. The disciples would have heard this psalm in their synagogues as little children and now it is coming to their minds as they stare at this man in the boat.
They have seen another glimpse of his power. It was far beyond anything that they expected. That's why they say, who then is this? Who is this who commands even winds and water that they obey him?
Jesus reveals this power over the natural world, over the raging sea to show them who he is. He is God in human flesh and they are just now beginning to wrap their heads around that. He just did something that only God can do. Who has control over the sea? Who has control over the storms in my life? Who has control over all the circumstances of the earth and the ones that I'm currently going through? Only God and this man in the boat has just shown and he's proclaimed to them that he is equal to God.
He is from God. He's the Son of God. And he's calling them to trust in him. But the second thing that this reveals about Jesus is that Jesus has a greater deliverance in mind.
Now, I didn't put this together the first two dozen times or more that I've read this passage. But think about this. They didn't think that he could calm the storm.
If they did, they wouldn't be marveling. They wouldn't be saying who then is this? They'd be saying, We knew you could do it. That's exactly what we wanted you to do. Calm the storm. Thank you. We knew that you could. No, they were shocked that he could do that. That means that when they came to him during the storm, frantically waking him up, they weren't seeking a miracle. They just wanted some ordinary help. Bailing water, rowing, something that any of them could do.
They wanted more hands engaged. Jesus, grab a bucket. Grab an oar. Grab that guy who's keeling over the side. Just do something. When I consider this, I think about all the times that I come to God, the Almighty, the King of Kings, and I'm asking for meager, short-term fixes for the things happening to me. I'm not coming to him with the scope of miracles that he is capable of as the God of the universe. I'm coming to him with the small stuff, the stuff that I could do if I just had more hands.
I don't come to him with the huge redemptive acts that he wants to do. I ask him to clear away obstacles, to make things a little easier, to get me out of difficulty. What small things to ask of a God who is so great.
I should be asking for supernatural, gigantic, God-sized work equal to the scope of his power and the greatness of his promises. I should be pleading with him. God, make your glory known through every difficulty you have led me into, every obstacle you have brought before me. Lord, don't give me an easy life. Give me a life which proclaims your power and your salvation.
Be my sweetest delight and my strongest refuge and my ultimate joy in every circumstance that you bring me into. Church, let's strive to be people who have prayers that reflect the size and the scope of God's power.
Don't tell Jesus to pick up a bucket. I just need a little bit of help, Jesus. Pick up this bucket. Help me, Ro. They weren't expecting that kind of power. They weren't asking with that kind of expectation of what he could do. So where are we? Because Jesus, I'm here to tell you, Jesus has a bigger deliverance in mind for your life than the prayers that you're praying right now. The prayers that I'm praying right now. He has got a bigger deliverance in mind.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him. The deliverance that he has in store will completely awe us once we see it. It will blow us away. We'll be like the disciples in that boat, marveling at him, marveling at what he is capable of, of what he has done. Not just when he brings us out of the storms, but how he brings us through the storms. Safe.
I wonder how often the disciples thought back about this voyage in the boat. This surely must have been one of the pinnacle moments, the most dramatic things that they ever experienced following Jesus. They thought they were going to die, and then they ended up more afraid because they saw him for who he really was.
They woke up to tell him that they were perishing, but of course he already knew that. He already knew they were perishing. That's why he came. That's why he came. To give himself in our place so that we could live.
Where's your faith? If it's in Jesus today, my friends, you have an answer for every fear, every storm that comes your way. You have a future, and you have a hope that's secure.
He will bring you safe to the shores of his kingdom. Let's pray. Oh Jesus, you are so great. Thank you for your patience with us. Patience with our franticness. Patience with our small prayers. Patience as we try over and over to take the wheel out of your hand. You're so patient with us to show us more of who you are, to lift our eyes to you, to give us reassurance for our fear.
Will you please continue your work in our hearts? Help us to pray bigger prayers, Lord. You have a huge and awesome and amazing deliverance in store for everyone that trusts in you. And that deliverance will not change no matter what storms come our way.
Lord, we need more faith to grasp the greatness of your promises, the greatness of who you are. Will you please give us that? Help us to behold you, to look forward to what you have in store for us. Thank you for who you are. It's in your name we pray.