Date: 27 June 2012 16:23:53
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The disciples reacted in the same way we all do when we are afraid..Where are you? Why aren’t you helping us? What does this reading teach us about trusting in Jesus?
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Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. Matthew 23:34So the ones that Jesus sends will be crucified, flogged or chased out of town. Nice. Or these words of Jesus to the disciples:
‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ John 16:33Jesus has overcome the world, but that doesn't mean we won't have trouble. We will have trouble. So wht does the calming of the storm passage mean then? taking into account that the rest of the New Testament does not say we will be freed from troubles? It says something about the divinity of Jesus. Here was a man who could control storms. The power of God was working through him. It shows Jesus caring for the physical side of people's lives. It must have been some storm. At least four of the disciples were fishermen, experienced sailors who would have experienced the odd storm before. How bad does it have to be for then to be afraid. If these four disciples had seen signs of the storm coming would they have got into the boat in the first place. As for saving the disciples, what happened to them later? One betrayed Jesus and committed suicide, one died in exile, the other ten died for their faith in Jesus. Look to Jesus and things will be OK? I think not. One thing has me confused though, why did the storm need rebuking? If it was simply a case of calming it would have been enough. But Jesus didn't just say,"Quiet, be still. " First he rebukes the wind. The next bit is purely speculative, there's no evidence from the text itself, but could the origin of the storm have had a spiritual dimension? Jesus and the disciples all in one boat. Get rid of them all at once, Jesus death may still have been redemptive, but who was to tell about it? Could it have been a diabolical storm? Literally. Speculation over. One thing that it does say in the text is that Jesus is present with the disciples in the boat. Even before the storm is calmed he is there. With them. What is true of my experience as a Christian is that Jesus is there in the bad stuff. He goes with you through the bad things in life. In hospital all those years ago I experienced Jesus close to me in a way I have never done before or since. So what do we learn?