Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev19960414.htm

MATTHEW: JESUS AS ISRAEL'S MESSIAH AND HIS MESSIANIC KINGDOM
Part VIII: The Proof Of Jesus As Israel's Messiah
C. Christ's Authenticating Authority Over His Disciples' Areas Of Expertise
(Matthew 8:23-27)
  1. Introduction
    1. It is easy to trust God in our areas of weakness, like the soldier in a fox hole who fears for his life. It is quite another thing to trust God in an area where we feel proficient as we tend to trust ourselves the more.
    2. In Matthew 8:18-22, we found that Christ is totally sovereign over his disciples' reputations and fortunes. But even more, He is sovereign over what they themselves feel is under their personal control!
  2. Christ's Authenticating Authority Over His Disciples' Areas Of Expertise, Matthew 8:23-27!
    1. When Jesus called the disciples to follow Him, a number of them were fishermen who made their living on the Sea of Galilee. If anywhere they felt proficient, it was on that body of water, cf. Mtt. 4:18-21.
    2. But Jesus demonstrated His sovereignty over what they felt was their own area of expertise, Mtt. 8:23-27!
      1. When Jesus got into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee in Mtt. 8:23 with 8:5 & 8:18, the disciples, in keeping with Christ's original command to follow Him, also got into the boat with Him, Mtt. 8:23b.
      2. In keeping with the nature of sudden weather changes on that lake, a sudden, tumultuous storm whipped up so that waves swept over the boat, Mtt. 8:24a.
        1. The Sea of Galilee lies in a long, sunken valley that trails down from Capernaum in its north to the Dead Sea farther south in Palestine.
        2. When storms crop up over the brow of the hills surrounding the lake on east or west, the movement of colder air in from the north funnels down and between the hills like a venturi, whipping up sudden, vicious gusts and endangering seafarers caught in the open water. (Bib. Know. Com., N.T., p. 39)
      3. However, Jesus was asleep apparently on the leather rowing cushion at the boat's stern where the fishing nets were often thrown, an area of 6 feet by 4 feet or so, and was humanly oblivious to the problems of the storm and the water's waves, Mtt. 8:24b.
      4. Though they were experienced fishermen on that lake, the disciples were at their wit's end as to what to do about their plight, and awoke Christ, pleading with Him to do something to help out, Mtt. 8:25.
      5. Christ's response is very instructive in the art of living by faith, Mtt. 8:26-27:
        1. Before addressing the problem of the waves whipping up and over the boat, Jesus took the time to ask them why their faith was so little, and why they were so afraid, Mtt. 8:26a.
        2. His rationale was as follows: if they had left their fishing nets and boats along this same body of water to follow Him in Mtt. 4:18-21, and if they had followed him to get into the boat, they should not have expressed concern now tha t they were in the storm as He, their Messiah, was in their boat! After all, if they were going to follow Him as their Messiah, since HE couldn't drown before ruling Israel, certainly they shouldn't expect the boat to sink as long as He was in it with them. Their only concern was waiting until things got better instead of getting all lathered up like the waves were!
        3. Then, upon addressing their lack of faith, Jesus got up and addressed the fearsome waves and wind: (a) he rebuked the wind and waves. (b) Not only did the wind suddenly stop which could possibly have been explained due to the sudde n weather changes on that lake, but the waves that would have thrashed about for many minutes suddenly ceased and the lake became fully calm, Mtt. 8:26.
        4. These experienced fishermen, at their wits end on a lake where they were usually proficient, simply marveled at the omniscient, omnipotent proficiency of Christ in ruling nature about Him, Mtt. 8:27.
Lesson: Christ is looking for us to realize the dire limitations of our own human abilities, and to trust HIM in those areas instead of clinging to them on our own terms and in our own strength.

Application: Pick out those areas of life where we feel we are the most proficient. Then, ask ourselves if we realize that we cannot control our actions in those areas to meet all the crises that we face in them. If we feel we CAN handle all thin gs there, we have a tiny faith. If we realize that though WE cannot handle them, but that GOD CAN and WILL, we are relating well in faith in these areas.