Jesus’s Command Is Enough, Part 1
David W Palmer
(Matthew 8:18, 23–27 DKJV) … he gave the order to depart to the other side [of the lake]. … {23} Then Jesus went onboard the boat, and his disciples followed him. {24} And behold there arose a strong gale in the sea so that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was sleeping. {25} And his disciples approached him and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us; we are being destroyed!” {26} And he said to them, “Why are you fearful? You of little faith!” Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the sea and there came a great calm. {27} And the men marvelled, saying, “What sort of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him?”
“His disciples followed him”
Perhaps this could read, “His true disciples followed him,” because he is now commanding them to a new level in their apprenticeship program. They are going from spectators to participators, from supporters in the stands to being in the game in front of the crowd—facing deadly opponents. Jesus led them into a boat to cross the tricky waters of Galilee. Only serious followers of Jesus take this level of risk.
This is a perfect picture of life following Jesus. The boat can float, but also can easily be rocked, tipped, or sunk … and, it is full of Jesus-followers. This is not a holiday cruise; this is precarious; it takes concentration, focus, and effort to keep it unified, afloat, and on course. What’s more, following Jesus out into the deep exposes everyone in the same boat to extreme danger en-route to eternal fruit.
“There arose a strong gale in the sea so that the boat was covered with the waves”
Predictably, just when the tender disciples set out in humble obedience to trust Jesus, the enemy sent a storm; his objective, as always, is “to steal, to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10 KJV). Satan is trying to maintain his [usurped] position as the “god of this world,” and to protect his deceptive kingdom of darkness. Jesus, the living word, along with his disciples—potential replicas of the same ministry—was coming to expand God’s kingdom. By default, this meant that Satan’s kingdom was severely threatened. No wonder he fought back with a vicious counter offensive.
“But he was sleeping”
Now we look at Jesus; he was asleep. He had given the command to his apprentices: “Cross over to the other side!” (Mat. 14:22, Mark 4:35 NKJV). We know that Jesus only did what he saw with his Father, and only spoke the words he received from him by revelation (John 5:19, 8:26, 14:10). These are the words and vision that he then passed on to his apprentices. In other words, Jesus had delegated to them the living word that he had received from his Father. With complete faith in God’s kingdom system, he fell asleep. Jesus knew that God watches over his word to perform it (Jer. 1:12). He also knew that he had released God’s word to his disciples, and grace from God was therefore upon them to carry it out completely and successfully. So he cast all the care on his Father and fell asleep with complete faith that the word from God was enough.
“Lord, save us: we are being destroyed!”
However, the disciples took their eyes off the living word they had already received, and began to focus on their natural circumstances: “the boat was covered with the waves.” Instead of realizing that in the living word Jesus had given them, they already had all they needed to muzzle the storm; they demanded additional help from Jesus—trying to get him to do something more, or to give them another word to help them. But he had already given them what he had received for this crossing: the word from his Father to go to the other side. Nevertheless, they decided to wake up Jesus: “Lord, save us; we are being destroyed!”—wrong idea, wrong approach, and wrong timing. They should have been standing against the storm with the word they already had, not trying to get another one.
Let’s review the correct sequence:
