The disciples went and woke him, saying "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"

He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"

 

         The heart of this passage is the relationship between fear and faith. As we watch the disciples, we think about what it is that causes us to be afraid, and what it means to have faith to follow Jesus. So often the disciples become a negative example of faith. They don't seem to get it right until after the Resurrection and really until the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost. But this section casts the disciples in a very positive light. We can see them moving from fear to faith.

         We begin in verse 18, where Jesus decides to go to the other side of the lake. This has something to do with separating the disciples from the crowds. The other side of the lake is Gentile country, and the Jewish crowds following Jesus in Galilee will not want to go there.

         But before they can get in the boat and begin their journey, two men come up to Jesus and declare that they want to follow him, they want to be disciples. The answer of Jesus is a bit abrupt, and we do not find out if either ends up going along. But Jesus seems to be giving an honest warning to them. Discipleship seems great, but it is an itinerant lifestyle, there are no secure bunks at the end of each day. The other warning is more serious: Your regular duties will be interrupted if you choose to follow Jesus. Then he says, "Follow me."

         Then Jesus gets into the boat, and his disciples follow him.

         I like this image of getting into a boat. The boat image says you will go where Jesus goes. That will not always be convenient. It is not like a train that stops every few minutes so you can get off. Once you step into a boat, you are committed. The water is not always going to be calm. It is sometimes hard to get into the boat with Jesus because it can be risky, there can be some uncertainty in it. But the point here is that Jesus has authority over whatever we may find to be frightening.

         So the disciples soon find that their obedience places them in the middle of a furious storm. There is nothing quite like being on the water at night in the middle of a storm. The storm can remove your courage or sense of security very quickly.

         I heard a pastor once talk about a time in his life when his little child was in some kind of distress, a health problem that threatened his life. And he said that he was amazed at how quickly his panic and fear drained his faith from him. He went in a matter of minutes from a person who thought of himself as a model of faith, to someone with little if any faith. Panic can do that to you. The storm at sea drained the faith of the disciples, and they cried out, "Lord, save us. We are going to drown."

         Jesus spoke to the winds and the waves and calmed the furious storm. But before that, he spoke to the fear in the disciples. Donald Carson writes, "He does not chide them for disturbing him with their prayers, but for disturbing themselves with their fears."

         The scripture speaks of many different types of fear. Often fear is paired with anxiety. This is panic fear, urgent fear. This is what wakes you up at 3 a.m. It can often be physical. It is trembling fear. It is the fear that says "We are going to drown."

         There is fear paired with timidity. This is the fear of people that causes us to compromise, to pull back, to keep silent. It is the fear of the power of money that can cause us to abandon mission and focus solely on self-preservation.

         It is to these two types of fear that "Fear not" is spoken by angels and by Jesus.

         There is a kind of fear that is paired with reverence, with recognition of God's power and sovereignty. The Israelites discovered in the Old Testament that they could stand before the Mighty God with fear and love, for God is great and mighty and gracious to his people. The one who trusts God does not need to fear enemies, adversity or danger.

This is the fear that recognizes the authority of God in our lives. I think Peter helps us some here. His church was suffering persecution. I Peter 1:13, "Set your hope on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." Then he says in verse 22, "Love one another deeply, from the heart."

         When the Smietanas moved a few weeks ago, I stopped by their house on moving day, trying to time my arrival to coincide with the serving of the donuts and coffee. There I saw a group of you, many of whom had been with them at the funeral service for Kathy's mother, many who had helped daily through the turmoil of the move. I saw love from the heart, and people putting a face on the hope we have in Christ, which is powerful in removing fear. This is real in our experience.

         What happened in the disciples when they moved from "Lord, save us, we are going to drown" to "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and waves obey him?" Matthew gives us some clues as we read ahead in the next chapters.

         Jesus confronts two violent demoniacs, two very frightening men, when they get to the shore. The disciples do not cry out for help, but trust Jesus.

         Next a paralytic is brought to Jesus and he forgives the man's sins. That is considered to be blasphemy and yet the disciples do not flee.

         After that Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, to be a disciple. Again the disciples do not run home out of fear of this sinner joining them. Rather, we find them eating with Jesus and the sinners.

         The disciples of John come and criticize their lifestyle. They do not panic.

         A ruler comes to Jesus and asks him to touch his daughter who has died, so she will live. This is way beyond the comfort zone of the disciples, but they go with Jesus.

         So, at the end of chapter 9, Jesus is able to give his disciples a commission.

Then in chapter 10, he calls them to him and gives them authority, and sends them out.

I think they moved from fear to faith.

         A Bible dictionary article on faith stated that through the healing miracles of Jesus, the disciples came to trust in his power and in his mission. This faith, or trust, "presents the possibility for God to do his work."

         "Jesus himself lived by faith and submitted to its possibilities."

         I like to think of the possibilities that open up when we live in a faith relationship with God. We live in an age that is very skeptical of even the existence of God. We are surrounded by messages that promote self-reliance, and that look to technology to solve all our problems. We get so focused, even in the church, with questions of what we can do in our own power and with our own resources. The more we focus on ourselves, on our skills, on our knowledge and our resources, the more we close down possibilities for God to work. Then we become disciples who choose to not get into the boat with Jesus, for we simply cannot take any risks.

         The faith relationship with Jesus opens us up to new possibilities in life. God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. As we come to communion today, we focus on following Jesus, on moving from fear to faith, on recognizing who Jesus truly is and then making that personal commitment to live under his authority. In receiving the bread and cup we get into the boat, and follow him.

         Amen.