What Kind of Man is This?
What Kind of Man is This?
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?”
Matthew 8:23-27
When our children were young, we discovered "The Donut Man" who put Bible stories to music for kids. One of his songs was entitled What Kind of Man is This? based on the passage above where Jesus calms a storm by simply speaking to the winds and the waves. Who can do that? The song goes like this:
What kind of man is this?
What kind of man is this?
He spoke to the rain and the rain stopped falling
He spoke to the wind and the wind stopped blowing
He spoke to the waves and the waves stopped rolling
What kind of man is this?
What kind of man is this?
He must be the Son of God, cause
He spoke to the rain and the rain stopped falling
He spoke to the wind and the wind stopped blowing
He spoke to the waves and the waves stopped rolling
What kind of man is this?
What kind of man is this?
Indeed, what kind of man is he? This is no ordinary man. In Matthew 11, John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the One who was to come or if they should look for someone else. Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you see and hear, the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them," fulfilling the Old Testament prophesies about the Messiah who was to come. This was no ordinary man!
Two things stood out to me in this passage. First, Jesus' words in verse 26: "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" What struck me was that the antidote to fear is faith. It was not that they had no faith. It was that they had little faith - ineffective, defective, or deficient faith. Jesus is calling his disciples to a clearer understanding of who he is. If he is able to command even the forces of nature, showing his sovereign nature, why should we be afraid? Our faith must be based on who Jesus is.
The second thing that stood out to me is the fact that the disciples "marveled" at what Jesus did. At that point, even his disciples did not fully understand Jesus' identity. I ask myself. Do I marvel at who Jesus is or do I take him for granted?
Lord, give us eyes to see you and faith to trust you when we feel afraid. Give us a heart that marvels at who you are. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment