Jesus, Master of Creation
Matthew 8:23-27
October 16, 2005
Introduction
We had earlier discussed three things Jesus demonstrated his authority over. First we looked at the fact that he exercised authority over illness, whether it had "physical" origins or demonic origins.
He exercised authority over sin, by forgiving it, demonstrated in the life of the paralyzed man brought to Jesus by his friends.
And he exercised authority over death by raising the synagogue ruler’s daughter from the dead.
Today we come to another episode that’s right in the midst of all this and we’re going to look at something else Jesus has authority over.
Jesus is trying to get away and get some rest with his disciples. Jesus is so exhausted from meeting people’s needs that when the get in the boat, he’s out and sleeping.
Let’s pick it up in verse 23 of Matthew, chapter 8.
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!"
26 He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
The temptation in dealing with this passage is to treat it like it’s just some kind of allegory - in other words, it’s not so much a real-life episode where Jesus calmed a real-life storm with his real-life power, but rather it’s a picture of how Jesus can calm the storms in our life.
And it can become "over-spiritualized" if we’re not careful.
If I were a betting man, I’d bet that just about every preacher who has ever preached from this passage gave a message about how to "trust Jesus in the storms of life."
And while I am going to deal with that aspect of this passage later in the message, I don’t think it’s the main thrust of the passage.
I think that above everything else its message is that Jesus, as the Son of God, had authority over the creation.
And when we can get a firm grasp on that, then we can better appreciate the fact that Jesus is there for us when times get tough.
So again, while I don’t want to ignore the deeper spiritual applications we can make from this passage, I think we at least need to make sure we’re not ignoring the basic lessons we can learn from this passage.
Let’s begin by taking a look at the first of these two lessons, okay?
1. Jesus has authority over creation because he is the Creator.
Track with me here, as we look at these verses from the gospel according to John:
John 1:1-3, 14 -
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
You see the connection? John is telling us that the Word of God is Jesus himself.
In other words, God spoke the creation into existence through Jesus.
Now that’s awesome. Jesus isn’t just some nice teacher. He isn’t just some moral philosopher with nice words about human relationships.
He is the creator! And he is worthy of our worship, if for no other reason than that!
So is it any wonder that when he gets up and orders the storm to be stilled that it obeys him? I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time imagining a storm giving Jesus any lip. How about you?
My hope is that as you ponder just the truth that Jesus is the creator, you will be filled with the same wonder that the disciples had when they said, "Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
Jesus created it and he controls it. Does that mean that he causes all the natural disasters we’ve seen lately? If so, then we have a pretty cruel God.
No, I don’t think that God causes all those horrific things. The Bible tells us that at times he has brought such things, but as judgments against specific people for specific reasons.
But let’s back up for a second.
When Adam and Eve blew it in the Garden of Eden, not only was man condemned as sinful, but creation itself was cursed because of their sin.
The Bible tells us in the book of Romans that creation itself waits for the final fulfillment of our salvation, which will happen when God makes the new heaven and new earth as described in Revelation.
Until then, our earth itself is in turmoil, and it’s often manifested in things like earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes.
But it’s crucial to understand that Jesus ultimately has all control, and even in the midst of natural disaster not of his making, he is still able move - either to calm the storm or to protect those who call on him during it.
And while we can’t look at all the storms we see God moving, we need to have confidence in the fact that the awesome Master of creation is not sleeping anymore. He’s right there the whole time.
You see, when Jesus was on earth, his human body got tired, just like yours and mine do. But he’s not limited by that body anymore. He’s gloriously risen and he’s coming back some day to bring all his creation back into the order it was designed to be in.
Here’s the second lesson we can learn from this episode in Jesus’ life:
2. Jesus is strong, even when we are not.
- The faith of the disciples was weak.
None of the disciples in the boat could do anything about the storm except panic. And I’m guessing that I’d probably be in that crowd, too.
After all, some of these guys were experienced fisherman who practically lived in boats, and had lived through many a storm. But this storm was life-threatening to a huge degree.
So they come to Jesus and say, "Help us - we’re going to drown," and Jesus says, You of little faith, why are you afraid?"
Now in spite of his comments here, I think it’s important to notice that Jesus didn’t just sit in the boat and say, "I ain’t doin’ nothin’ until you get your faith juuuuusssst right. It has to be the right kind of faith in the right amount, or I’m not going to save you."
Right then, I’d be wondering if panic could be considered a form of "faith." But the Bible tells us that it doesn’t count for that!
Man, I don’t know about you, but I’m glad that he’s not limited by my weakness and little faith sometimes.
Yes, our faith can have an effect, but its effect isn’t to make it so God has to do something on our behalf.
Some people have the impression that if they have the right "kind" of faith or the right "amount" of faith that it gives them some kind of leverage against God, or that they can use that "faith" to put God into some kind of harness where they can lead him around to do their bidding.
Well, let me just remind you, as I’ve done in the past, that God is not ordered around by anybody!
But my point here is that even when my faith is weak and imperfect, he is still all-powerful, and folks, that’s good news. Would you agree?
Here’s something else we can learn from the disciples, and that is that...
- The disciples went straight to Jesus with their problem.
It’s possible that they tried to row to shore and find shelter, but I get the impression that they figured out pretty quickly that they needed some help from this miracle-worker in their boat.
Jesus had already displayed power, and they had witnessed it. And they felt that Jesus could do something about the situation.
So they go to Jesus, and what’s he doing? He’s sleeping. And he’s sleeping so soundly that the storm couldn’t wake him up. Now how’s that for exhaustion?
By the way, just an aside here: I think this is just another great example of how Jesus knows what we go through. When we come to Jesus and say, "Lord, I’m beat. Trying to feed my family, trying to meet the needs of other people, I don’t know if I can go on." And he says, "Been there, done that. I know just how you feel."
But anyway, the disciples realize that without Jesus, they have no hope. So they go to him. And I really doubt they had some sort of committee meeting to decide if they should bug him for help. Nope - they went right to him, and he helped them.
You know, I got to thinking about this as I was working on the message: maybe it wasn’t exhaustion that caused Jesus to sleep so soundly - maybe it was just the fact that Jesus knew that nothing could touch him unless he let it.
I can almost imagine Jesus, on being awakened by the disciples, thought, "for crying out loud, guys! It’s just a little storm. Sheesh!"
After all, what’s a storm to the creator of the universe?
Well, that may or may not have been the case, but the idea here is that the disciples went to Jesus for help.
I’m really hoping that you can see the parallel application here - no matter what the situation, and no matter how desperate it looks, Jesus can help.
But let’s move on to a third thing we can learn from the fact that Jesus is always strong, and that is...
3. His working should bring us to awe and amazement.
To me, this is one of the main points of the whole passages. Look back at the last verse of our passage today -
27 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
I’m kinda doubting that as this whole thing got over, they began to discuss the theological implications of faith and prayer in terms of "facing the storms of life."
Our passage says these guys were blown away at what they had just witnessed: Jesus commanding creation to obey him.
My guess is that they spent their time just talking about the power of Jesus in the midst of this life-threatening time.
He had already spent time talking about the Kingdom of Heaven, what it means to love God and follow Jesus, he had just healed a bunch of people from stuff ranging from fever, to leprosy, to demon possession, and even death.
And now, he shows that he can command even the wind and the waves to obey him.
Here’s what I think my reaction would have been after all this: (open mouth like I’m stunned and dumbfounded).
And I’d probably be wondering - what’s next?
Sometimes I get to thinking about other stuff that may not be as significant as the ending of a dangerous storm. But it brings me to awe just the same.
Things like the leaves’ changing - that’s God’s doing. Sure, it serves a purpose that botanists could probably explain.
But it causes me to reflect that even the leaves are in the hands of God. And as the changing leaves indicate the coming of winter, they’re also a reminder that one day Jesus is coming back.
The biological intricacies of the human body are amazing to me. And, contrary to popular belief, God was the designer of all of that.
You might have heard the story about some scientists who came up to God and said, "Hey God, we’ve figured out how to create people out of dirt, and we don’t need you anymore."
God says, "Really. Well, maybe we should have a man-making contest. Whaddya say?"
They think that’s a pretty good idea, so they accept the challenge. One of them reaches down to grab a handful of dirt, when all of a sudden God says, "Hey! Create your own dirt!" (Source unknown)
Due to my recent finger injury, I’ve had the opportunity to learn more just about the finger, and what’s involved in making sure it works correctly.
Of course, if I was more familiar with the intricacies of a softball glove, I wouldn’t have had to learn that...
Conclusion
So considering the fact that God’s works should bring us to awe and amazement, let me ask you the question in your note-taking guide:
Question: What was the last experience you had that caused you to look to God with awe and amazement?
Some of you looked at the note-taking guide before the sermon even started, saw the question, and were able to think of something right away.
Some of you may have thought of something since I asked the question a few seconds ago.
Others of you may have to take some time to remember when the last time you were caused to think of God with awe and amazement.
Whatever the case, write it out on the blanks and stick it somewhere you can see it, just as a reminder of what God’s done in the past.
For some of you, you may have to simply be honest with yourselves and God and say that you’ve never thought of God that way.
You’ve never experienced his working in your life or the life of someone you know to that extent, and you’ve never just sat back and thought, "Wow...God."
Well, let me tell you that this same Jesus who has authority over sickness, demons, death, and creation is the Jesus we believe in and worship here.
And he wants to amaze you. He wants to reveal himself to you through the Scriptures and in his personal dealings with you, if you’ll let him.
And if you want to know Jesus in a way that’ll make that a reality, then I’d sure love to help you with that.
In the meantime, let me make a suggestion that everyone here can take and make happen this week.
Simply ask God to open your senses to notice things around you that maybe you’ve never really paid much attention to before.
Keep an eye out for stuff that’ll just cause you to pause for a moment and reflect on just how awesome and great God is.
And let him speak to you about the fact that not only is the master of Creation, but he’s also the "calmer of the storms."
Let’s pray.
