Eld Chew Chong Kiat

The record of Christ calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee presents a great lesson of faith to His disciples and us today. The use of the many conjunction ‘and’ in these seven verses, faithfully translated in the KJV, slows the reader down to pay attention to each phrase between, and to emphasise the largeness of each action clearly and equally without blurring them together. We can liken this account to a 16-page picture book, with each conjunction separating a page.

We are told that Christ preached to a great crowd by the sea (Mk 5:1-2) from a boat till the close of the evening hour. Let’s review each page of this epic account.
Page 1: v35 “And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.” Christ has spoken, and shall He fail to bring it to pass? If the disciples had believed these words, they would not have panicked!

Page 2: v36 “And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship.” The disciples sent the crowds away and set sail with Christ in the ship that He preached from.  

Page 3: “And there were also with him other little ships.” Several other little ships sailed with Jesus.

Page 4: v37 “And there arose a great storm of wind”. The imagery suddenly changed from calmness to a very great storm. None had expected this storm except Christ, who gave the instruction. Storms of life likewise come unannounced when we least expect it.

Page 5: “and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.” We can almost feel the grave danger that all in the boat experienced. Water was filling the boat faster than they could displace with buckets, and the boat was about to sink as it was rocked and tossed relentlessly. Even the seasoned fishermen felt their lives to be in jeopardy (Luke 8:23).

Page 6: v38 “And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow”. In this page, we see a contrasting image to the previous two! Peace in the time of storm - Jesus sleeping peacefully!  Besides proving the humanity of Christ who felt fatigue like every one of us, he exemplified the peace that we ought to have in life’s storms. His rest spoke loudly: “All is well! God is in control of the storm.” Christ told His disciples to get to the other side and so they did.

Peace is not the absence of troubles and storms in life, but rather it is in the midst of all these and more. Peace is a gift of God by the Holy Spirit that is like a sentry that guards our hearts and minds (Phi 4:6-7) from losing calm and faith. The disciples experienced no peace, and faith was evidently absent from their lives for a moment.  

Page 7: “and they awake him”. Here is a picture of an abrupt interruption into the peace and tranquillity. The disciples could not understand why their Lord was sleeping in such a time as this. Was He unaware of their danger? Or was He uncaring? God forbid! Certainly, Christ knew the situation that beset His disciples. He was testing their faith and would allow this experience to strengthen them for the future. How we need the same lesson to be ready for life's storms.

Page 8: “and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Sadly, they did not understand the test. They had soon forgotten who was in the boat with them. They acknowledged Him to be the Messiah; they saw Him doing signs and wonders; they heard Him speak the most amazing words of grace that warmed their hearts; they witnessed the multitudes that came again and again to hear him. But their little faith in the deity of Christ vanished with the storm, and they panicked. Is this not a reflection of us? Recall how we murmured and lost our joy when we went through difficult times, and sleep eluded us. Why? Is it not the same faithlessness as displayed by the disciples? When we rushed frantically seeking help instead of turning to the Saviour in faith to plead for His aid are we not likewise faithless?

In the subsequent imageries, we see a clear demonstration of the power of Christ and manifestation of His deity when He effortlessly stilled the wind and the waves. Neither man nor technology can do so to-date. Instantly, the imagery changed again from a storm to calmness.

The disciples were wrong, but Christ is longsuffering and faithful. He did not test their faith beyond their breaking point. He rightly could rebuke them, but He chose to do so after He delivered them from temptation.

Page 9: v39 “And he arose”.

Page 10: “and rebuked the wind”.

Page 11: “and said unto the sea, Peace, be still.”

Page 12: “And the wind ceased”.

Page 13: “and there was a great calm.”

What awesome imageries presented before us! Can you feel the power of His words as you savour the divine imageries before your eyes? Can you see who our God and our Saviour is?

Page 14: v40 “And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”

Christ knew the measure of the disciple's faith. And after removing their trouble, He rebuked them.  How piercing and searching these words are! May these words come afresh upon me for the many faithless moments! Oh how I should repent again and again each time I lose this precious peace in life’s storms, a gift from above.

If by God’s grace I pass the test, I can only glory in Christ and not in my faith and peace, for they are gifts of God. I will rejoice that He has wrought these marvellous works in my life.

Page 15: v41 “And they feared exceedingly”.  Let us hold our breath and behold Christ through His words. Let us fear Him with godly fear. This fear is the beginning of wisdom. O that we will not fail in the next test!

Page 16: “and said one to another, What manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Yes, He whom we profess as our Lord and our God is the Creator God by whom all things in the world consist. (Colossians 1:17) All the elements obey Him. His power over creation was made manifest in so many accounts in the OT and NT.

Let us have faith in God in life’s storms.