Put Away Fear by Fearing Him

“Lord, save us! We’re going to die!”

Every once in a while something happens that brings the brevity of life into perspective. This week it wasn’t just one thing, it was two. Two deadly aircraft collisions. Many lives tragically lost. When you hear about these kinds of things, even if they took place far away and didn’t involve anyone you know, it’s still shocking and saddening. We all start asking questions. “How could this happen?” We sympathize with those who are mourning. It’s all rather frightening to think about. How quickly things can change! How quickly life can end!

Hopefully we learn from these kinds of things and they result in better safety. But no matter what we do, we’re never going to be able to prevent all accidents and death. We’re never going to be able to stop all the storms that threaten us in the world. So there will always be things in this life to fear.

But in our Gospel today Jesus teaches us an important lesson about fear. He is our mighty God. He is Lord over the storms. Fear him above all things. When we do so we are prepared for life’s storms. We can put away fear by fearing him.

The account we are considering today is one of two times that Jesus demonstrated his power over storms and weather. The other one, the second one, is the time when Jesus walked on the water. This earlier miracle has some similarities. Both involve a storm on the Sea of Galilee, which seem to be unusually large storms. It’s helpful to understand that the Sea of Galilee is really more of a large lake than a sea. It’s about 8 miles wide and about 13 miles long. On a nice day you could cross it in a couple of hours.

So don’t picture something like a ship crossing the Atlantic in a hurricane here. Archaeologists have actually dug up a first-century fishing boat off the Sea of Galilee. It’s 27-feet long and 7.5 feet wide, with a shallow draught so it could get close to shore for fishing. It could move by a sail or by oars. The boat that Jesus and his disciples were in could have been the same design, or even the same boat I suppose.

It doesn’t take hurricane-sized waves to sink a boat like that one. And it doesn’t take very deep water for a man to drown. And in a place like the sea of Galilee, the shore in a storm might be even more dangerous. Sure, in the open water it’s a struggle to keep the boat from sinking. But the shore is where all the rocks are, rocks where a boat, or a man, might be horribly smashed by the waves.

And remember that a number of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen. Their whole lives had been spent on this very lake. They knew how to handle a boat. They knew good weather and bad weather. If they’re the ones who are really afraid, then it tells you just how dangerous the situation was. They were doing everything that they could do, and it wasn’t enough. So finally they went to Jesus, “Lord, save us! We’re going to die!”

The contrast here is striking. Jesus’ disciples, including the experienced fishermen, bailing out water, trying to keep the boat from overturning, in a total panic. Jesus, sound asleep on a cushion. How do you sleep through something like that? The contrast is so big it might even make you laugh.

And when Jesus woke up he didn’t join them in their panic, but he simply said, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a complete calm.

I heard someone, a preacher, once argue that the real problem here, the real failure, was that the disciples woke Jesus up. This person claimed that since faith can move mountains, these disciples should have had a bigger faith and used the power of their faith to calm the storm on their own. No need to trouble Jesus, just do it yourself.

Is that what we should learn from this? Certainly not. Faith is not a superpower that will cause your wishes to come true. Faith is trust, and trust must always have an object. If the disciples shouldn’t wake up Jesus, then what is their faith in? It’s in themselves. No, the true failure here on the disciples’ part is that they didn’t wake Jesus up sooner.

And doesn’t this describe so well the way that we often approach life? The days come and go and we face each day and its tasks and its troubles and we say to ourselves, “I’ve got this.” And sometimes those things go smoothly, no problem, and we pat ourselves on the back. And then the storms hit and the boat starts to sink. Or the planes crash. And we gasp and we panic and we forget that right there, perfectly calm and untroubled by all of it, is Jesus. Why didn’t they pray to him first? Why don’t we? Are we afraid to trouble him? Are we afraid to admit how helpless we really are? Are we afraid that he is not worthy of our trust, that he cannot or will not help us?

The power of Jesus that was on display here is something truly mind-boggling. People have tried to control the weather in various ways. Sometimes it’s with superstitious stuff. Some of it is with science experiments. There are things like cloud-seeding that try to make it rain. There are debates over how much of an effect pollution has on the weather and what should be done about it. But one thing that is abundantly clear in all of this is that we have very little ability to exert any direct control over the weather. If you ever stand outside and watch a big storm rolling in, it makes you feel pretty small and powerless.

But not with Jesus. In the middle of a life-threatening storm on the sea, he simply spoke. He rebuked the wind and the waves, and there was a complete calm. This is the power of Jesus’ word. He speaks, and it is. And none of us are surprised by this at all. We believe that Jesus is true God, one with the Father from eternity. The creative word by which the universe was made at the very beginning was his word. He said, “Let there be light.” and there was light.

And just think: this is the same powerful word with which Jesus speaks to you. Jesus tells us to trust in him. He says he will never forsake us. He promises us that in him we have rest from our labors and answer to our prayers. He says that he forgives our sins, that he makes us at one with God, that he gives us eternal life, that he will bring us to heaven. These statements from Jesus are not just the word of a great man, they are the all-powerful word of the one who speaks and silences the storm.

When Jesus’ disciples saw what Jesus did they didn’t know what to think. Matthew says “they were amazed, saying, “What kind of a man is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

At first this might be confusing. The disciples knew who Jesus was, didn’t they? They believed in him. But look at yourself. Look closely and tell me if you are any different. This is how faith is sometimes. It hears the Word of God. It knows what God says. And yet still it hesitates. Still it doubts. Still it is afraid.

You don’t have to be in a boat in a storm on the Sea of Galilee to know what that’s like. You have your own storms. You turn on the TV and see the wreckage from a deadly plane crash and wonder, “How could a loving God allow something like this?” You feel panicked and helpless at the suffering that people you care about are going through. There is no end to the bailing as your own troubles threaten to swamp your boat. Where is Jesus? Is he sleeping? Lord save me! I’m going to die!

And then he does. He answers your prayers. Sometimes in ways that open your eyes in wonder. Sometimes in ways so subtle you don’t even realize that you have forgotten just how panicked you were. Sometimes he answers prayers in ways you didn’t ask for and yet in those too the hope of the Gospel is proclaimed. You forgot, didn’t you, what kind of a man this is.

God tells us to fear him above all things. We’ll often explain that by saying that fearing God does not mean we should be afraid of him. And we can see that here too. Look at how Jesus treated his disciples. He corrected them for their small faith, but he didn’t correct them with wrath. If anything, the way he spoke to them sounds more like a parent telling his child that there is no need to be afraid of the dark. To fear God, then, is more like, “to be in awe of God,” as the disciples were when they witnessed this miracle. And that’s a good simple explanation, but there’s more that we could say about this. Fearing God recognizes God’s wrath over sin. It recognizes that his might is beyond anything we know, anything we can imagine. “What kind of a man is this?”

Fearing God also diminishes every other fear by comparison. Look how small and foolish those disciples’ fear of the storm now looks when they’ve seen the power of the one who had been peacefully sleeping in their boat. How small are the things that threaten you; the devil, the world, the weakness and corruption of your own flesh. Jesus is so much mightier. His just judgment so much bigger. His salvation so much more wonderful.

Jesus fearlessly faced that storm on the sea for the sake of his disciples and he fearlessly faced the storm of death and hell for you and me. No else could face that storm. No faith in yourself, no matter how strong, could get you through it. Jesus alone could stand up in it. He alone could put it to an end with just his word, “It is finished.” He’s the one with such fearsome power that from him the devil runs in terror, and the world will quake and crumble, and death itself will die. He’s the one who comes to you with all your fears and doubts and says, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith? Do not fear them. I am the one who has all power. See how I use that power for you!”

Jesus powerfully comforts us by his mighty word and sacraments. In this way he himself strengthens our faith, not a faith that trusts in ourselves to pull ourselves through, but a faith that trusts in him ever more to save us in the storm. What is there to fear when he gives you the promise of the peace of heaven?

Put away your fears by fearing him. Jesus is your mighty Lord. Jesus holds all power over life and death. Jesus uses all his power to save you. Amen.

— Pastor Seth Georgson