And There Was a Calm - a podcast by Rev. W. Reid Hankins

Sermon preached on Luke 8:22-39 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 12/26/2021 in Novato, CA.















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We enter into another new section in Luke. We just finished a section dealing with hearing and heeding the Word of God. Today’s section returns to Luke developing the power and authority of Jesus, something he deals with throughout the rest of this chapter. Today’s passage will show Jesus’ power and authority over nature. Next passage will show it over the demons, and then after that, his power and authority over illness and even death. So then, today, we see Jesus’ ability to control even the wind and water. And as we study this power of Jesus, we see that it also speaks to questions of fear and faith. Let’s dig in.







We begin then with recognizing the danger that they were in on that boat. The background is given in verse 22. Jesus wants to go with his disciples across the lake. This is surely the lake known as the Sea of Galilee, which was a common setting for Jesus’ ministry. This is fairly good-sized lake, about 64 square miles in area, roughly 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. By comparison, it is just slightly smaller than Clear Lake in Lake County just north of us. So, it is a good-sized lake, with plenty of room to get yourself in trouble if a big storm developed.







And that is exactly what we find here. Verse 23 says that a windstorm came down on the lake. Now let me say that if you read commentaries, they like to point out that the topography of the lake makes it so that such windstorms are not uncommon. While I appreciate that windstorms in general might be common on that lake, I don’t think that comment does justice to what we read here. People were on that lake in boats quite regularly, and to my knowledge it was not that common to have a boat lost on the lake due to a storm. But, here you find that this windstorm was of such violence between the wind and the waves that it caused that boat to be in great in danger. This is told to us explicitly in verse 23. It says the boat was taking on water. It literally says they were in danger; that they were in jeopardy of sinking on that large lake. Their danger is also told us to implicitly in verse 24. That’s when we see how concerned Jesus’ disciples were when they woke him and told him that they were perishing. Realize four of the twelve disciples were previously professional fisherman who fished on this lake. They knew the conditions. They knew a bad storm when they saw one. They obviously had survived any previous storms they had encountered when on the lake. But this time, the urgency and seriousness of the disciples’ words show they fear that this time they won’t escape with their lives. Storms may be normal on that lake, but this storm was not normal.







I think it is important to understand that they were in real danger here. You know, when the professional sailors are worried about the storm, that’s when I would get worried too! Luke’s gospel is the only one to report in their words the twice call to Jesus, “Master, Master.” That surely reflects their panic and terror. It’s easy to look back at their fear and panic and find fault with them after the fact. But in the moment, under ordinary circumstances, their great concern seems like a very understandable and natural reaction.







And yet in contrast to the panic and concern of the disciples, you have Jesus. The wind and waves were raging and tossing the boat around. The disciples in their panic seemed to look a lot like those wind and waves. But in contrast, Jesus is asleep. He is calmly asleep with everything going on. I don’t know how you could sleep at a time like that, but Jesus was fast asleep through it all.

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