Faith is very important in our Christian life. Our very name, “believers,” shows this. Faith is essential to please God, to be saved, to be justified, to have our prayers heard, to inherit God’s kingdom, and to live peacefully and joyfully in a world filled with trouble. We need to constantly grow in faith. There is a false faith and a true one, a dead faith and a living one. The Bible reveals that many will be deceived because they do not have true faith, and it commands us to examine our faith.
In Matthew, our Lord shows what true and false faith are. Those who truly believe in Christ inevitably become his disciples. Therefore, there are false disciples and true disciples. We have seen three false disciples with false faith: one who followed Christ for comfort, another for wealth and money, and another for fame and reputation. That is false faith. It lacks the mindset of being ready to leave everything to follow Christ. Although they want to follow Christ, their false faith makes Christ a part of their life, but not the center or goal of it. Christ’s disciples, like Peter and John, had true faith, but it was a “little faith” that needed to grow. However, they were ready to leave everything and did leave everything for Christ, not giving excuses like the three false disciples.
According to Matthew, our understanding of the authority of Jesus Christ is critical for a foundation of sound, true faith. Matthew seeks to illustrate examples of Christ’s authority in every realm of life—over disease, demons, nature, and even death. He has all authority in all areas and circumstances of our lives. Do we truly believe and realize that, like the Centurion, who said, “Lord, I am a man under authority… I know you have all authority; just say a word, it is enough.” Without his word and command, nothing good can happen to us.
Only when we grasp this will we, in turn, trust him in every circumstance of life. True faith doesn’t just affect our eternal destination; it changes the way we live day-by-day. It changes how we view life’s circumstances. Faith looks to the Lord, embraces him, leans upon him, and finds the deepest satisfaction in a relationship with him. At the heart of this kind of faith is a certainty of Christ’s authority in every realm of life. We believe that without him, nothing would happen in our lives and that he is the one guiding us and working everything for our good. Matthew wants us to see this authority from every angle so that whatever circumstances we face, we might do so with confident faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even at the end of his Gospel, Matthew records our Lord’s declaration, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” When our faith grasps that, we live in the way he instructs us. Only in recognition of this authority can we, as his true disciples, “go into all the world and make disciples” and grow the kingdom of God. Apart from believing his authority, we would be far too timid, fearful, and selfish to embark on such a task. So, a crucial part of faith is grasping the great authority of Christ.
In today’s passage, we have an instance of Christ’s great authority over nature. It’s an amazing story.
The stilling of the storm provides very important lessons from the Lord about discipleship, about what it means to have faith in him, and about what it means to be a follower of him. For those disciples as fishermen, the sea was part of their life. In our lives, we also face storms, in terms of trials. Our lives may be storm-tossed and look like they are sinking. This story teaches us that he is “Lord of all storms” and shows us how we can trust him to save us from the storms of life that we may encounter. He has authority over everything on this earth, including the most unpredictable and uncontrollable things, such as storms at sea. He may, in his wisdom and love, allow us to experience storms sometimes, but they are never outside of his control. With nothing more than a word, he is able to bring the storm to an end and replace it with a great calm. And so, as long as he is with us in the midst of the storms of life, we will never have a reason to fear.
There are many applications to this passage, so I will present them as headings. Let’s look at seven specific applications it teaches us about trusting our sovereign Lord during the storms of life.
Principle #1: Even When We Follow Jesus Faithfully, ‘Unexpected’ Storms Will Come
(vv. 23-24)
Matthew begins by telling us, “Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him” (v. 23). The word “follow” connects this passage with the one that just preceded it. In that previous passage, two men had sought to follow Jesus, but they were made to stop and first count the cost of following. Everyone has a besetting sin. The scribe’s besetting sin was worldly ease and comfort. The second one’s was wealth and money. Another’s was worldly fame and reputation.
Jesus said, “Don’t come to me for comforts or money or fame. People who primarily want worldly comforts, money, and fame are not my true disciples. My true disciples will leave those things for me if needed. Don’t come to me; my kingdom is not of this world, nor is it about worldly glory or a happy, luxurious life.” The church is not a place for seeking personal comforts, money, or a reputation. The second man said, “Okay, then, if you don’t give me that, which is what I want, then let me first earn it by burying my father and then come and follow.” Jesus’s response was, “My disciples don’t give me second place in life; let the dead bury their dead.” Both men had to confront the difficult challenges that come with “following” Jesus, and both decided not to get into the boat.
To be a “disciple” of Jesus means to be a “follower” of him. It means to go where he says to go, do what he says to do, and believe as he says to believe. Many people will come to Christ with the wrong motives. Not everyone, after counting the cost, is willing to accept the challenge of following Jesus. But there were some who agreed to follow him as he wished. Verse 23 talks about them. They were disciples who followed him even after this challenge. When he got into the boat to cross over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, they “followed” him. And that’s what identified them as “disciples.” Disciples “follow” Jesus wherever he goes!
But then, look what happened to these men who followed Jesus. The storm strikes! “And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves” (v. 24). This is not an ordinary storm. The Sea of Galilee is a lake known for sudden and severe storms, sometimes caused by earthquakes. The Greek word that Matthew uses to describe it (seismos) is one that means “a shaking” or “a quaking.” It’s the word that’s ordinarily used to describe an earthquake. It’s actually a tsunami-like wave, so high that it fills the boat and tosses it.
Verse 24 says, “And behold there arose,” and the word “behold” means “look.” It’s a statement of exclamation, implying that this was unexpected, with no preparation, and sudden. It was a shocking, surprising, and severe thing. These experienced fishermen and sailors would ordinarily have been able to tell in advance that a windstorm was coming, but this one was unexpected. They had seen many storms and had been on that little lake many times when the wind had blown, but never anything like this. This was a great “seismos,” a quaking, an upheaval, and a violent shaking as the winds and the movement of the earth hit that little boat through those waters. Think about what we’re told: it came suddenly, it was described as “great,” and it was so threatening that we’re told that “the boat was covered by the waves.” A big shaking was happening, and water was covering them. Can you imagine their shock? You can see fear in their faces.
And here’s perhaps the most amazing and remarkable thing about this storm: it came when they were simply following Jesus and getting into the boat! They were doing the right thing. They were obeying the Son of God! If they hadn’t done that and had stopped with the others, they would never have faced this. And yet, this violent and life-threatening storm fell upon them anyway. There’s a great spiritual lesson for us in this. We shouldn’t ever think that just because we’re following Jesus, we have a right to expect to be exempt from the storms of life. Those storms may come, even though we are following Jesus very faithfully.
Jesus could have prevented the storm from coming at all if he had seen fit to do so. But his disciples were following him, and he led them right into a storm! Now, why would Jesus do this? We need to keep in mind that Jesus has greater things in mind for his followers than they have for themselves. We have it in our minds that we ought to have a comfortable life with him, but he didn’t call us for that. He knows that as his followers, in training for his kingdom and for eternity, we need to get caught in some storms now and then so that we can learn some new truth about him in an experiential way. We should mature, and our faith should grow towards perfection. Our most important lack is our weak faith in him, and our faith should increase. So he knows just the right time for us to enter into a storm, and he knows just what we need to learn from that storm in order to trust him even more.
As the apostle James has taught us: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4). So here’s a first principle: learn to expect that as you follow Jesus, storms will come. They come for a very good purpose, so that we will learn something new about our great Savior’s love and power toward us!
Principle #2: Though It Seems as if the Lord Is ‘Asleep’ During the Storm, He Is Still Present
(v. 24)
What a terrible scene: an earthquake, waves like a tsunami, hitting the small boat. There is an emergency crisis. Can you imagine such a shocking storm? They were lifelong fishermen, and they had seen many storms, but now they were scared. How big and scary it must have been! They had never seen anything like this. They were seeing death face-to-face. The boat was filling with water. Initially, they tried to scoop the water out with buckets, with great activity. They ran here and there, but after a certain point, the storm would break the boat, and you cannot swim in such a powerful storm. For every bucket they put out, ten more would fill.
Where is the hero in all this? It’s so beautiful. He was asleep. What a scene! If you were to make a movie, the camera would turn to the fury of the activity and the fear and shock of the disciples, with the storm tossing the boat. Then the camera would turn to him, in sound sleep. What a contrast! A musician would have to use different sounds for the storm and for his sleep. For the storm, all the instruments and sounds would be frantic, but for his sleep, just one quiet instrument. The contrast is so amazing, and it is happening at the same time.
He was in a deep sleep. Matthew makes Jesus stand out in stark contrast to all the panic that’s going on around him. In the original language, Matthew even puts it in a way that gives it a certain emphasis. Literally, he writes, “But He—He was asleep.” What a picture that paints! I believe the Holy Spirit has a great sense of humor.
He slept well. Anybody who could sleep through this was very tired. And that speaks to me of Jesus’s humanity. He was so tired that he went to sleep, and even a storm couldn’t wake him up. He grew weary. Mark says he made a little cushion for his head. He put a little cushion under his head; the surface was hard wood, and he put the cushion there. His body was on the wood, and he slept. He must have been soaked to the skin by now, with waves hitting him, but he was still asleep. The sea is raging, the storm is howling, the wind is careening around, the little boat is tossed like a cork on the ocean, and it’s filling up with water. The Creator of the world is peacefully asleep. Oh, I see the loveliness of his humanity there.
He was not only human like us, but he was a perfect man. See the beauty of Christ in his true humanity: depending fully on his Father. He is so committed to the will of his Father in faith that he sleeps while others think they will all die. The disciples cry, “We are all going to perish, including you.” But the Lord Jesus is sleeping calmly on the bosom of his Father. “He who keeps me will never slumber.” He is so trusting in his Father that even such a storm cannot disturb his peaceful trust and sleep in God. On a hard wooden plank, with so much sound and shaking, and with a small cushion, with the storm tossing and water dashing, his sleep cannot be disturbed. Oh, to sleep like this. Some people don’t get proper sleep sometimes, even in a cotton bed in a five-star hotel with an air-conditioned room.
This shows you what a clear conscience can give you, even in the middle of a storm. And I see the confidence he had in God. He’s so peaceful that he doesn’t even fear. He absolutely trusted the Father’s care, with a total absence of any fear. Oh, that we could live like that. We get tossed around by temporary circumstances in our world, and we begin to mistrust God, and we panic. The heart of Jesus was perfectly calm. He was so peaceful in the care of God.
How can Jesus sleep at a time like that? Well, for one very obvious reason, it was because he was tired. But for another, much more profound reason, it was because he wasn’t in a panic over the circumstances, like we so often are. He was at perfect peace in the midst of the storm because he knew that the storm was under his control at all times. He was in his Father’s will, and he knew that no matter what else happened around him, his Father’s will would still be fulfilled in him. He had no reason to be afraid, which is vividly illustrated by the fact that he was asleep in the midst of the storm. And as long as he was in the boat, the disciples had no reason to be afraid either.
When you are in the midst of a storm, just remember: Jesus is there too, in the midst of the storm with you. His apparent “silence” is to see if you will trust him and have confidence in him. When you and I go through a storm, it may seem as if the Lord isn’t aware of it. It may seem as if he was “asleep.” But we can be sure that he isn’t. He never sleeps on us; and if it appears that he does, it’s only meant to test our faith in him. As Psalm 121 says, “He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:3-4).
Do you know another thing? It’s not just Jesus who can sleep like that.
Oh, what peace! But we can rejoice in faith. As a believer, this is the peace that Christ has left as an inheritance to you. He tells us, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). He also says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). What a joy! At this moment, that is written in your name. It is there for you to use. In faith, receive that peace—the peace of Christ that is beyond all understanding, which will make you sleep deeply, even in the midst of a storm. We can be confident that Jesus, who experienced perfect peace in the midst of the storm, is always with us in the storms of life that we encounter. And he offers us his own perfect peace in our storm if we will just accept it.
So, the storms will come, but Jesus is with us in them. And this leads us to a third principle.
Trust and Plead
During a storm, the best thing we can do is trust in Jesus and plead with Him to reveal Himself. In the story of the storm on the Sea of Galilee, the experienced sailors did everything they could to save their ship, but when they ran out of options, they came to Jesus, a carpenter from an inland town. They woke Him with a desperate, three-word prayer: “Lord, save! We perish!” This simple, heartfelt prayer shows that they recognized His authority, knew their need for rescue, and understood their own helplessness.
This prayer is a perfect model for us in our own storms. It’s a “sinner’s prayer” that can be prayed at any moment of desperation. It shows that when we’ve exhausted all human solutions, we can turn to Jesus with a combination of fear and faith, pleading with Him to intervene.
Rebuke of Unbelief
Before Jesus rebuked the storm, He first rebuked His disciples for their lack of faith. He said, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” This shows that the greatest danger in our lives isn’t the external circumstances, but our internal unbelief. Poverty and sickness cannot harm us as much as doubting our Lord.
The disciples’ fear was not a normal, healthy fear, but a cowardly and sinful one. Their faith was insufficient to handle the crisis. They had seen Jesus’s miracles and love, but it hadn’t sunk deep into their hearts. They questioned His care and His power. Jesus wanted them to realize that having Him in the boat meant they had no reason to be afraid. He desired to grow their faith, for it is more precious than gold. This spiritual condition, not the storm itself, was the core problem He wanted to address.
A ‘Great Calm’ with a Word
Jesus’s power is absolute. The Bible says He “rebuked the winds and the sea,” and there was not just a calm, but a “great calm.” The winds and waves didn’t gradually lessen; they suddenly ceased. This is a demonstration of His divine authority over all creation. He has the power to turn any “great tempest” into a “great calm” with a single word. This power, which controls the forces of nature, also extends to all areas of our lives.
Worship and Sovereignty
After the storm was stilled, the disciples were filled with a profound sense of awe. They asked, “Who can this be? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!” They feared the living God more than they had feared the storm. This experience led them to a deeper appreciation of who Jesus truly is, and it prompted them to worship Him. They realized He was not just a man but the Son of God.
Going through a storm with Jesus gives us a chance to see His glory and respond with worship. The storms of life are not a punishment but an opportunity for God to train us and reveal Himself in new ways. When we emerge from a storm, having trusted and pleaded with Him, we should come away with a heart full of worship and an even stronger faith in our sovereign Lord.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 