They are meant to show you what slavery is and to teach you that this world is not your home, that you are not perishing. The crosses that Christ places upon you, even the sorrows of this broken life and your own failures, are not meant to bind you into slavery.
He is teaching you to live by faith lest you become too comfortable in this world and lose your faith.Ĭhrist became flesh and blood, in need of food and drink and sleep, and made Himself mortal, under the curse of the Law, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver us, who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. Behold the Lord sends cancer, the secret police to arrest you, a rebellious daughter. Suffering does not mean you have been abandoned, even when it seems that Jesus is sleeping away, ignoring your prayers. The disciples were right to call upon Christ and to arouse Him, but they were wrong to panic. The second lesson is we should not be afraid of pain or death. They learn that they are not perishing, that God is with them, that there is more to the storm than meets the eye.
But they learn, over time, to live by faith. They will know great sorrow and the shame of failure at the cross. None of them will be bodily assumed into heaven. Rather, the storm is typical of their and our suffering. But that was not the end of their suffering. It is not meant to spare us suffering, but to see its purpose. It is not meant to help us escape storms, so much as weather them with faith. The good life upheld by our religion is not success as the world counts success, but is faithfulness lived in the presence of God’s mercy. We love them but they are not the center of our religion. There are, of course, both spiritual and bodily benefits, in this world and the next, for good works and for keeping the Law, but those are corollaries of the goodness of God’s Law. It is not particularly interested in time management, fiscal responsibility, or anything that the world considers useful and wise. This is the religion of the cross, not of 70 virgins. The plot is that the disciples would pray and be comforted by Christ, not only for the moment but as a preparation for their ministries and as a model for us. This is significant.” This isn’t a coincidence. It reads: “Behold – there arose a great storm.” Behold means “Look here! Pay attention. Our translation strangely translates it as “suddenly.” I don’t know why. Thus we get this important little word “Behold” to introduce the whole thing. His sleeping indicates that He trusts His Father. Rather that was the purpose of the storm, its intent was to swamp the boat.
It was not incidental that the boat was swamped. The Greek grammar implies that this storm was not accidental. All but Judas and John will be killed for their faith. The reward the apostles gain for following Jesus is a storm that terrifies them and threatens to kill them. His goal is not to give you a mansion or earthly success and health. The Son of Man has no place to lay His head. The first lesson is that the prosperity Gospel people are wrong. We aren’t perfect in it, but Jesus hears our prayers. They will be rebuked: “O you of little faith.” But they continue to follow Jesus. In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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