I really like storms. I think it is neat to sit inside of my house and watch the clouds roll in with the thunder rumbling off in the distance. As the wind picks up, my curiosity overtakes me as I open the front door to experience the power of the storm before the rain begins. When the rain hits, I retreat inside to watch from a distance.
I understand the power of the storm, but from the inside of my house, it doesn't seem too scary. Put me in a car driving 70 mph down a highway in the same storm and it's a different story. A few weeks back this happened to me. I pulled over on the side of the road, face-timed a good friend, and sat there scared out of my mind as the lightening cracked all around me and hail pelted my car.
Now imagine what a storm is like on a lake.
With the waves crashing all around you.
With the wind whipping the rain into your face and thunder and lightening on display.
Experiencing a storm from inside my house or even from inside my car can not begin to compare to experiencing a storm on a lake. It would terrify me.
In Luke 8:22-25 and Mark 6:45-52, that is exactly what the disciples experienced.
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” - LUKE 8:22-25
Here in Luke 8, the disciples had Jesus on the boat with them and they were still scared of the storm. So scared in fact, that they woke him from his sleep- crying out in fear. I imagine they had no plan in that moment, they just simply told Jesus that they thought they were all going to drown. However, Jesus calms the storm, saves them from their impending death, and then calls them out for their lack of faith.
45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. 47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. - MARK 6:45-52
Again in Mark 6, Jesus sends his disciples in a boat out on a lake. This time though, he sends them out ahead of him as he finishes up with the crowd that had gathered to be fed. After the crowd dissipated and he took some time to himself, Jesus sees that his disciples are struggling out on the water as the storm around them intensified.
The majority of the times that I have heard this story told, I have heard it from the perspective of Matthew 14:22-33. This time around though, something different stuck out to me that I had never heard before, "He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them..."
Why was Jesus about to pass by his disciples? Why does Mark include this in his recollection of the situation? I think Jesus was going to pass by them to test their faith.
More often than not, I have heard this story told to highlight that the disciples were afraid when they saw Jesus walking on the water and Peter's lack of faith. But when you look at both stories together, Jesus doesn't walk on the water both times, but there is a storm both times. Both times the disciples were afraid of the storm, they cried out to Jesus for help and both times he calmed the storm.
How often do we cry out to Jesus in the midst of our storms? In the midst of chaos, where everything seems really scary and we are nervous, how often do we call out for Jesus to calm the storms?
Jesus used these storms to test his disciples' faith- that he remains all powerful even in the midst of the chaos. The end of Matthew 4 says, "And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'"
It's comfortable to watch storms from our own houses. Our safety secured by the faith we have that the roof over our head will keep the storm from us. The same should be said for the storms we face in our lives too. We must have faith that Jesus will take care of us in the midst of the storm and not doubt his power as the Son of God.