Worthy of Praise

Matthew 8:23-27

Jesus Calms a Storm

23 And when he 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?”

The men traveling with Jesus on a stormy Galilean night said something that ought to make us sit up and take notice. “What kind of a man is this . . . ?” If we ask ourselves that same question, we will start to see the big picture of who Jesus is instead of concentrating on the “slivers” of personality revealed by individual stories.

When the wind, which has been funneled through a narrow gorge, pushes out over the Sea of Galilee, the water becomes turbulent. Jesus and His disciples were caught in just such a dangerous storm while making their way to Gadara. Waves crashed over the deck of the wooden boat. The experienced seamen onboard were certain that death was imminent.

But Jesus was sleeping. He was resting quietly during a storm so frightening that the Greek word used to describe it is seismos--from the same root that gives us the phrase “seismic activity” for earthquakes. What kind of man is this who can sleep while the boat heaves and pitches? The answer is: the One who created

the seas and knows how a storm brews and what energy causes a wave to stay in motion. That’s the kind of man: a divine Being cloaked in humanity, who rebuked the winds and sea so that they became perfectly calm.

Scripture indicates that both the air and the water were instantly stilled. Such is the power of Jesus, the Creator and Lord over the universe. Taken together, all the Bible stories about Jesus reveal the “big picture” that He is the only man worthy of glory, honor, and praise (Dan. 7:13-14).