Jesus, He will Fix It

 Hello everyone.

It has been a while since I have written anything.  The new school year has started and it has kept me pretty busy.  I starting to my school year legs under, and I hope to write more.  Any way, today I will continue my exegesis of Luke 8.  It tells the story of Jesus and how he calmed the storm.  Here is my translation: 

22 One day, Jesus got into a boat, along with his disciples.  He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake. So they set out for the other side.  23 As they sailed, Jesus fell asleep. Then a storm, with gusting winds came across the lake. It began to swamp the boat and place them in danger. 

24 They came to Jesus and woke him up, saying, “Master, we are about to be destroyed.” Getting up, Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves. Everything stopped and it was calm. 25 Then he said to them, “Where is your faith?” In fear and amazement they said to one another, “Who is this then, that he can command the wind and the water, and they will obey him?” 

One day, Jesus decides to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  (Luke refers to it as the lake.) So Jesus and his followers get into a boat and cross over to the other side.  This other side of the lake is Gentile territory. We might be surprised that Jesus would want to go there, since he has said in Matthew 15:24 that he came for the lost children of Israel. However, we do understand that Jesus' desire was for all people to know God and we know that his appeal is universal. Jesus is taking this trip into Gentile territory. He doesn’t stay very long, but the point is that he does go there, subtlely telling us that his plan to for all people, not just Israel. 

While crossing the lake, Jesus falls asleep on the boat.  As he sleeps, a sudden storm rises on the lake and it appears that the boat that they are in is about to be swamped with water and sunk. Luke says that they were ‘in danger.’ We are talking about men, several of whom were professional fishermen,  therefore used to being on the water. This was likely not their first storm, but it was a fierce storm and it appears that while Jesus slept, they were in real danger.

The disciples do two things. One is the wrong thing and the other is the right thing. First, they panic.  This is the wrong thing to do.  Jesus later chastises them for their lack of faith. But then, they go to Jesus with their problem.  This is the right thing to do.  Like the song says, “My Jesus, He Will Fix It.” 

Jesus calmly gets up and rebukes the wind and the waves.  The Greek word Luke uses here is ἐπετίμησεν (epetimasen) does mean "rebuke."  Jesus rebukes air and water. With with we see again the far-reaching extent of Jesus’ authority.  Even nature obeys him.  The wind. The water. It doesn’t matter.  When Jesus says that he has ALL authority, he is not joking.  His authority does extend over everything.In a storm, water is unruly and can be impossible for us to control.  The fact that Jesus was able to do it so easily is very impressive. 

So what is the lesson here? The apostles saw and were amazed.  We can too, because, we all face many storms.  When they come, do we panic, or does our faith allow us to remain calm as we take the storm to Jesus? Jesus may not fix it immediately like he did this one, but that does not mean that he is not in control.  He will work it out.  Out task is to trust him. 

Tom