Jesus was asleep, they went to wake Him up, and He didn't appreciate it. Now, it must be said that they were somewhat forced to do so, because they needed Him, they thought they were staring death in the face and were desperately trying to avoid it. The story is told with great economy of words in the Gospel of Matthew.
A remarkable journey
One day Jesus was in a boat with his disciples crossing the lake to the other side. A violent storm arose, waves flooded the boat, and everyone was frightened—all except, of course, Jesus. He was asleep. In desperation, the disciples, feeling lost and abandoned, rushed in panic to wake him. Another evangelist adds that they asked Jesus if it mattered to Him if they drowned.
Jesus' reaction? He wakes up, rebukes them for their lack of faith and fear, stops the storm's vituperation, and calm returns.
We, the spectators, are stunned. But what did He have to reprimand these brave men for? And besides, what was Jesus doing sleeping at such a time? Why was it necessary to subject His disciples to this trauma? I confess that I had a lot of fun rereading this story a few days ago, thinking about the faces of these men during and after this episode. And saying, between bursts of laughter, 'ah Lord, that's not nice, those poor disciples.'
Which made me think that this is actually a constant in our prayers, 'Lord, be kind to me, do this for me now. Above all, no difficulty to face, don't ask me for anything, just be kind, please.' Obviously God has a different idea of kindness. First he sleeps while they panic, then he rebukes them for lack of faith.
First question
Why was Jesus sleeping anyway? I have my own ideas about that. It seems to me that it's quite revealing of God's feelings and attitude toward us.
- To begin with, He was probably tired and needed rest; He had just been ministering.
- And why not sleep? He feared no danger. People often stay awake because they are subject to fears and uncertainties about the future. Jesus, period. His trust in the Father was total.
- He knew exactly what He was going to do, calm the storm.
- He expected these disciples to handle the difficulties that arose
- He wanted to test His disciples to see how they would react in a seemingly hopeless situation, to see whether or not they would exercise faith.
- He wanted to show them the power of God, this extraordinary God.
- He wanted to reveal His greatness to them, in the same way that He let Lazarus die before going to resurrect him.
Second question
Why, instead of apologizing for not reacting sooner, did Jesus rebuke them severely? They clearly felt that Jesus was not as present as He should have been. Don't we too sometimes wonder if God is not in a deep sleep, indifferent to our fate, while we are about to be overwhelmed by the noisy and violent waves of life? How many cry and accuse God of not being sensitive to their pain? Take Martha, for example: 'If you had been there, Lord, my brother would not have died.'
Well, I had a moment of laughter at the expense of these poor disciples, but they were still in a difficult situation, in mortal danger. These men were anything but brats. Some of them were fishermen who were used to the sea and storms, yet all of them, without exception, were seized with fear. And despite this, the Master wakes up and rebukes them.
PWhy? Because He expected them to continue to trust Him to save them despite the storm. Outstanding.
Your storm is the prelude to the manifestation of God's power. Share on XA great capacity for faith
My reaction? Magnificent. The thought that God expects me to face danger and continue to trust Him is exciting. It means there are untapped resources within me, room for growth, and extraordinary experiences ahead of me.
My reaction, not, oh no, I can't do that, but rather; Magnificent, here we go on a remarkable journey with an extraordinary God; a God who grants great authority and responsibility to men; who develops the potential that He has placed in man.
And when I read Jesus' words as He rebukes these men for their fear and lack of faith, I wonder to what extent we have limited people's growth by setting the bar too low. Jesus told his men in mortal danger that they were wrong to be afraid. He didn't say, 'Oh, poor things, it's true that it's very dangerous, and I was sleeping, sorry, you're right, it's terrifying.' No, no, he expected better and didn't hold back from saying so.
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They were already terrified by the storm, but He terrified them even more when He brought calm. Incidentally, what exactly did they expect? After all, they went to ask Him to save them. They couldn't believe it.These men were very astonished and said, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!"“I suspect this is the kind of man Jesus wants them to become, people of faith capable of facing any situation without flinching, convinced of their eventual victory. This is the kind of man He wants every Christian to be.
He wants us to be people who don't flinch or whine in times of difficulty. He wants people who don't wonder where God is, who don't renegotiate their eternal commitment in the face of temporary difficulties, but who consider that as long as Jesus is in my life, I will arrive safely.
Now I would have loved to see the face of Jesus and share His joy when, following His ascension and Pentecost, Peter and John stood before the same people who had condemned Jesus, full of audacity and not fearing for their lives; and boldly declared that they could not stop speaking about what they had seen and heard. Yes, Jesus was right to expect more from them, they finally got there. And we will too. It is obvious, we have drunk of the same Spirit.
Shalom!
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