This passage in Matthew is a familiar story of the miraculous ability of Jesus Christ. Where are Jesus and his disciples? What problem arises? What does Jesus do? How do his disciples respond?
I have often shared my perception of Jesus and the frustration he must have felt when dealing with the disciples. This story has been used again and again in messages usually focusing on the lack of faith that the disciples had. But I want to focus on the concluding comments that the disciples made.
The twelve have been following Jesus and his ministry for enough time that they have heard him preach and teach. If Matthew is written at all chronologically then Jesus has also healed many sick people prior to this trip in the boat. We might assume that these men are following Jesus because they believe he is the Son of God. But do they really?
Apparently not. If they truly believed him to be the Son of God, God in human form, then they wouldn’t have been amazed at the miracle of the calming of the storm. And if such a miracle did amaze them, the question arises – why did they ask him to save them?
But my fear is that so many of us who call ourselves “Christian” would be equally amazed by the power of Jesus. We claim that we believe Jesus is the Son of God. We claim him as Savior, but we seem to act as if we doubt his ability to forgive our sins or remove them.
Are we simply paying lip service to Jesus, or do we really believe in him as Savior. And if we really believe in him as Savior, can we have faith in the power of Christ? Our faith must be real and not a superficial, shallow cover to what we really believe.
DAILY CHALLENGE: Do you truly believe Jesus can remove your sins and save your soul?
