“The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:27).
Jesus had just been asleep on the boat when His disciples, caught in a terrific storm, awakened Him. They were overcome with fear that they might drown. This is another example of Jesus’ power over circumstances. We read this now and wonder about the disciples. Didn’t they know that the boat won’t sink if Jesus is in it? Maybe they thought that before the storm came up but it’s different when the wind is blowing hard and the waves are breaking over the boat. They were frightened and thought they were going to die. If that wasn’t enough, Jesus was asleep on a cushion. Jesus, of course, calms the storm after they awaken Him.
The question the disciples ask at the end of this scene interests me. “What kind of man is this?” If anyone knew who He was it was these twelve men. They had seen miracle upon miracle. They had witnessed His power. Yet, this miracle surprised them. They had unconsciously placed limits around Jesus and when He stepped out of their preconceived boundaries they realized that they didn’t know everything about Him that there was to know.
That little boat was their world and it was out of their control. Isn’t that the way we feel in a crisis? Things are happening that are beyond our ability to control them. We don’t know if we are going to make it through this or not. We call on Jesus more out of fear and desperation than out of faith.
When He comes through for us we ask the same question of ourselves that His disciples asked. “What kind of man is this?” We learn in a crisis what they learned. Jesus is more wonderful than we imagined Him to be. He can handle any storm that comes our way. He is the Almighty Son of God!
