REFERRING to Matthew 4:23, we find the work of Christ at the beginning Christ reproved them first, and then delivered them; this is his method, to prepare us for a mercy, and then to give it us. But that is a stilted bookish view and totally unrealistic. _HILDA BRIGHT_ Matthew 8:23 - 8:27. CHAPTER 8. What is there lacking except in your faith? to go to Decapolis by boat across the Sea of Galilee. It was the evening after Matthew's Gospel is the Gospel of the Kingdom, and of the King. Save us is the language of faith; we perish is that of fear. A typical boat on the Sea of Galilee was relatively small. When the storm came up, He was asleep, but they were in a panic. The lake is in the famous rift valley, a natural fault line that runs from this region in the north down the Jordan River Valley to the Dead Sea and in fact all the way to Africa. The word that calms the storm.Christ yields to the cry of an imperfect faith, and so strengthens it. It was the stillness of wonder; the hush of bewilderment; the silence of awe. Peace, Be Still (Matthew 8:23-27) One of the best known stories in the Gospels is that of Jesus' calming the storm on the lake. [2.] 1. And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?(Matthew 6:25-27). His G846 disciples G3101 followed And when he was entered into a boat, his disciples followed him.' The other accounts describe their fear more than Matthew, but you can hear it in their words to Jesus in Matthews account as well: Were going to drown. A number of these men were experienced fishermen, who had been on the lake in storms before. A vessel making for the East would be especially exposed to that wind; and the waves raised by it would naturally drive over its prow so as to cover the decks of such a boat where it had them, and fill it where it had none (Matthew 8:24; Mark 4:37). We are dying!" Second, our faith may be expressed in our prayers to Him, Lord, save us from any of the dangers and troubles of life that we face. He also had faith in His Fathers protection even in the midst of a violent storm upon the sea. You can begin the study at any time. 26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith . He does not find fault with them for being fearful, but for being so fearful as to let their fear cover their faith, just as the waves were doing the boat. Matthew 8:23-27 demonstrates Jesus' authority over nature. Matthew 8:28-34. The freshwater sea is only about 13 miles long and 8 miles across. The effect of Jesus powerful command was to calm the storm on the sea, but also to calm their fears. Matt 8:23-27 (NIV) In our verses for today Christ demonstrates His commanding power even over the winds and the waves. Note, Christ will save none but those that are willing to take him for their Lord; for he is a Prince and a Saviour. We have already noted how the speeches give us the meaning of the flow of the story. Matthew 8 Commentary. Mount Hermon to the north is over 9,000 feet high, and the Dead Sea is about 1250 feet below sea level. What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him? (Matthew 8:27). 2. Shall we ever do so again? (Judges 6:13). 2 Even if the writers were relying on a separate and earlier source of Jesus sayings and works, as much of modern scholarship assumes, they still had the freedom to put it in their own words to suit their purpose, yet never making it say something Jesus did not say or mean. 2. You would discover them right away when you read the account in the three synoptic1_ftn1 gospels: Matthew 8:23-27 of course; Mark 4:37-41; and Luke 8:23-25. What alls here: notes, quotes, questions, and thoughts on what I read from where I read it . They are not contradictory statements; they are not discrepancies. Observe, They call him, Lord, and then pray, Save us. Note, They who would learn to pray must go to sea. 23 Then He got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. Upon arrival he casts out two demons. The famed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once penned the beautiful words, "Be still, sad heart! But God is portrayed as mightier than the raging seas (Ps. verb is superfluous. Not the winds only but the waves are silent. On the part of the Saviour a gracious response. Contrasts. STILLING OF THE TEMPEST. They were in a panic when they came to Him, not in confidence. Matthew 13:18-23 - Explanation of the Parable of the Sower 270 Matthew 13:24-30 - The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds 271 striking illustration as well as proof of the method which God has CLOSER READING: In verse 24, the storm that happens is literally a quake the Greek word that gives us our words seismograph and seismic. related by S. Mark (Mar 1:40), and by Luke (Luke 5:12). The first part is the storm on the sea and the disciples words to Jesus. It is also a sign of His calm conscience and pure heart. Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25 On the part of the disciples there was an agitated appeal. It was the language of their fervency; they pray as men in earnest, that beg for their lives; it becomes us thus to strive and wrestle in prayer; therefore Christ slept, that he might draw out this importunity. It was the sleep of physical exhaustion after a hard days work. 4, 5) would be of interest as well since God caused a huge thunderstorm to assist Israel. The author of The Land and the Book tells us that such tempests are common still in those parts, and that they are caused principally by the sudden rush of the wind down some of the deep gullies on the eastern side of the lake. We are perishing!". We have already discussed the boat and the storm so that we do not need to reiterate that now. faith hope and love 5 This is followed by an intimation that, though rejected by His own, The writer to the Hebrews quotes from that 8th psalm, and then says, Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him, but we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor . Matthew 8:23-34. I. Christs sleep in the storm.His calm slumber is contrasted with the hurly-burly of the tempest and the fear of the crew. The storm is contrasted with the calm after the miracle. Sea Matthew says that Jesus said to them, You of little faith, why are you so afraid? Mark says, Why are you so afraid? That means the valley drops sharply to the desert region in such a short distance. It is not the 'positive declaration' that has become the hallmark of so many prosperity teachers - but an unshakable trust in God's faithfulness to fulfil His Word. Be made clean." His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Waves crashed over the boat. He enjoys doing things that are simply too hard . And so their question is What kind of man is this? It too is a rhetorical question, not designed to be answered, but to express the idea that there is no one like this. The peril and perplexity of the disciples in this voyage; and in this appeared the truth of what Christ had just now said, that those who follow him must count upon difficulties, Mt 8:20. Jesus calmed the storm to encourage their faith (v. 26). 23. (30-32) Jesus casts the demons into a herd of swine. The Cleansing of a Leper. They had been long acquainted with the sea, and never saw a storm so immediately turned into a perfect calm, in all their lives. What is it being saved from? 24. Christ had given sailing orders to his disciples (Mt 8:18), that they should depart to the other side of the sea of Tiberias, into the country of Gadara, in the tribe of Gad, which lay east of Jordan; thither he would go to rescue a poor creature that was possessed with a legion of devils, though he foresaw how he should be affronted there. Matthew 8 follows the conclusion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-2). ( after ). TEXT: 8:23-27 Others pretended to cure diseases, but he only undertook to command the winds. Do you still have no faith? Luke simply says, Where is your faith? This is a little different because they are all reporting what Jesus said, not what different people said. that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. _MIRACLE OF THE WIND AND WAVES MATTHEW 8:23-27:_ Jesus had power even Jesus was accused of having a demon, but He cast out demons (Matt. Jesuss tranquility in the boat is, perhaps, a demonstration of what it means not to worry or be anxious about how things are going to turn out. him. All motion was gone. MESSIAH'S WORK AS COMPLEMENTARY TO HIS TEACHING. The faith that delighted the Lord Jesus is the absolute assurance that God is true to His spoken Word and to His written Word. Many that have true faith are weak in it, and it does but little. (2.) . 3. call to worship Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20). Martin Buber I and Thou We often associate blessings with good health, wealth, and even International Sunday School. AND WHEN HE WAS ENTERED INTO A SHIP, HIS DISCIPLES FOLLOWED The great Baptist Missionary Adoniram Judson was in a Burmese prison for preaching the gospel. When he embarked on the boat, his disciples followed him. And, look Verses 23-27. The disciples fear and panic is contrasted with Jesus sleeping on the boat. freedom To control them was to show sovereignty over the chaos that was in the universe. [So I could not help thinking of a tsunami.] (2.) Jesus then decides to take His ministry to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee to the Greco-Roman province called the Decapolis. Your email address will not be published. The men were amazed, and said, What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?. Why are things with us thus? They had been with Jesus for over a year now (judging from the chronology); they should have had more confidence after hearing all His teachings and seeing all the miracles He did (little faith is also used in 6:30; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20; and Luke 12:28). you see the King amid the storms of nature. of His righteousness; the sublimest code of morals ever proclaimed on When I was four, a tornado went through our subdivision. The two narratives that follow are brought together in all three He was exhausted from His ministry with the crowds, and so in the boat He was asleep during the storm. Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. abs._ (EGT) . (Matthew 8:1 .) For He is not only their teacher: He Prayers Opening Prayer. But, the circumstances of the storm on the sea terrified them and they thought they were going to drowneven though in their presence was the Son of Man. MATTHEWS *GOSPEL It is a simple misbelief to be too much afraid to perish in Christs company and service. He shares three examples of Jesus miraculously healing people during His ministry in Capernaum. The text is brief, and we have already noted several things about it, so this part of the study should be brief as well. THE LEPER CLEANSED. ship where they were to suffer. 25 The disciples went and woke Him, saying, Lord, save us, were going to drown!. A FRIGHTENING SITUATION (Matthew 8:23-25) 23. III. The poor disciples, though used to the sea, were in a great fright, and in their fear came to their Master, Mt 8:25. Help, Lord, we perish (see R.V.). Christs errand into the world was to save, but those only shall be saved that call on the name of the Lord, Ac 2:21. having preached his sermon, and discovered his doctrine, says Jerome, The story as told in Mark is the lectionarys gospel reading for the fourth Sunday after Pentecost year B (that is, in a couple of weeks). Let's pray together as we look at Matthew 8:18-22. But as is often the case in the gospels, words like this are retained in the Christian community with added meaning. Save us is the Gospel of the King amid the storms of nature even in universe. The famed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once penned the beautiful words, & quot ; ( Matthew 5:1-2.. Matthews * Gospel it is a little different because they are not discrepancies, us. And so strengthens it, O ye of little faith, Why are you so?. 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