You’ll Survive. Jesus is in the Boat
Matthew 8:23-27
February 2, 2025 anno Domini
What if that boat had sunk? What if the waves swamped the boat or the wind overturned that little vessel, and it went down claiming the lives on board?
We would not be here. Oh, we likely would exist. None of our relatives were on that boat, but there would be no Redeemer because there wouldn’t be any Christian church because there would be no preachers because there would be nothing to preach if Jesus was dead. The whole Christian church rode in that little boat.
There asleep in the stern is Jesus of Nazareth. He is exhausted after a long day of healing the Centurian’s servant, Peter’s mother-in-law, and everyone within walking distance who heard about this miracle worker. It’s hard work to care for people who are sick, and Jesus just pulled a 14-hour shift. Don’t forget Jesus is fully man so He gets tired. With Him are the 12, 11 of whom would become His apostles, His sent ones, proclaiming His death for the sin of the world and His resurrection from the dead.
No boat ever carried a more precious cargo. You would think, that since the Son of God was in the boat God would grant it smooth sailing. That’s why St. Matthew says, “Behold.” Whenever you hear “behold” in the Bible there’s going to be a change of scenery. Behold, a star appeared in the East. Behold, an angel appeared to Joseph. Behold, the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God descended as a dove on Jesus and the Father spoke. Behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that boat was being swamped by the waves.
Why is there a great storm? Because of our sin. Because God allows us to feel the consequences of sin. St. Paul tells us in Romans that the whole creation is groaning under the weight of sin. Things go wrong in God’s good creation because God cursed creation for the sin of man. Why are there wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and freezing rain that destroy and kill? Those are the consequences God allows because of our sin.
Why is the Christian church persecuted? Sin. Every human is born sinful and unless the Holy Spirit works to create faith in your heart you will hate God, hate His Word, hate His people, and hate everything about Him. If you believe you love God and His church. If you remain in your sin you hate God and His church. Mysteriously God allows that hatred for now.
Why should we suffer if we have turned from sin to Christ? Why should a boat carrying the holy apostles and our Lord Jesus Christ encounter a deadly storm? When faced with such mysteries we need to return to God’s Word and listen to Him for the answer. Sometimes He reveals why He does what He does. At other times what the Holy Trinity discusses in the heavenly kitchen stays in the kitchen.
Why did the Lord have Jonah thrown overboard? Why does the Lord allow us to suffer? Why did a great storm threaten to swamp that little boat? It all happens for one purpose, that you might be born again as God’s child, that you might have hope since God has adopted you as sons, that you might believe that your body has been redeemed, that you might be confident because as long as Jesus in in the boat with you, nothing can harm you.
God allowed the storm so that the 12 might feel their helplessness. At least four of the 12 were professional fishermen. They knew the Sea of Galilee. They had sailed and fished through many storms, but this was a great storm. The word Matthew uses is similar to earthquake – it was a great swelling up from the depths of the sea. It was like nothing they ever experienced. If any of the other men looked to James, John, Peter and Andrew, they would have said the same thing the doctor will say at some point in your life, “There’s nothing I can do.” Then where will you turn?
They turned to Jesus and He was sleeping. They assumed that was the problem. It’s a common assumption when we experience helplessness. God must not be paying attention. So what do you do? You try waking Him up. Maybe you yell at Him, get angry, try to shake Him with threats. That’s okay. He’s God He can take everything you can dish out. He wants you to turn to Him, but above all He wants you to trust Him and that’s where the 12 teach us.
When they woke Jesus they said, “Save us Lord; we are perishing.” You know the rest of the story. In a moment Jesus would demonstrate His omnipotence, His complete power over creation. He will command the waves to be still and the Sea of Galilee, in an instant, will become glassy calm. The disciples would see His omnipotence and marvel that the wind and the waves obey this man. What they forgot was His omniscience and His mercy and His mission. They forgot that even while Jesus of Nazareth slept, the Lord God never slumbers or sleeps. They forgot that He loved them and that He would not lose any of them, except for the one destined to betray Him. They forgot that the Son of Man came to earth to seek and to save the lost, pretty hard to do that from a watery grave.
That is why Jesus rebukes them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Have you forgotten who’s in the boat with you? Do you really think it matters that Jesus is asleep? Do you think the boat is going to sink with God in it?
These are all good questions to ask when you fear the future of the church. Today is exactly 24 years since I moved to Saint Cloud to be your pastor. There have been times I feared that Redeemer wouldn’t be here in 10 or 15 years. I consoled myself that I would get my dream job of working at Fleet Farm or Scheels. Those fears happened when someone left the church because of me. And people have left Redeemer because of me. They’ll tell you if you ask them. You yourself may have left a church because of the pastor or certain people in the congregation. People have left churches because little children disrupt the service, because people visited too loudly before the service, because their granddaughter who never goes to church couldn’t commune. Why would you leave a congregation? I bet you have an answer.
Those are all the threats that come from within the church when she is sailing in calm waters. What about when persecution comes? What about those early days of the Christian church when Christians were skinned alive or had molten metal poured down their throats to stop their confession once and for all? Will the church last when the real storms come? What does the text teach us? The church cannot be sunk as long as Jesus is in the boat. Even if He looks like sleepy Jesus you need not fear. Why? Because of the sign of Jonah.
Jonah is a type or picture of Jesus. When people wanted to see a sign that Jesus was truly God He said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Matt 12:39) Jonah did not want to go to Ninevah because he didn’t want his enemies to hear God’s Word and be saved. Instead of going up to Ninevah, Jonah went down, down to Tarshish, down into the belly of a boat, and then, by God’s hand, down into the belly of the fish. God took Jonah down to death before Jonah was willing to go up to Ninevah. Jesus is the greater Jonah because Jesus wanted to obey His Father. He did not flee from God, but came down to earth for us men and for our salvation. He went down and was swallowed up in death by the earth. Jesus gladly died so that we His enemies could live. Three days later the earth spit Him out just as Jonah was spit out. Jesus arose because sin was forgiven, death couldn’t stomach Him, the grave could not hold the Living Savior of the world. That’s Jesus. For you. If you’re in the little boat of Christendom you’ve got nothing to fear.
The church and every congregation is going to have storms. We punch holes in the boat when we sin against each other. We’ll have great storms from without because the world hates Jesus and His church. Will our congregation be here in 10 years? I don’t know. Based on the construction we can weather natural storms better than most. But even if this congregation is not here, even if a third of the congregations in the Missouri Synod close, Christ’s church will sail on, as long as Jesus is in the boat. (For your information and comfort – did you know the continent of Africa has 54 million Lutherans – more than the entire rest of the world?)
It’s not part of the text, but this is our great task. To hold Jesus in the boat. The full Jesus of Nazareth, true God and true man, the Jesus who calmed the storm and the Jesus who was swallowed in death and three days later was spit out alive. The Jesus who said marriage was one man and one woman and the Jesus who said every human is created by God and worthy of life. The Jesus who said there is no other way to come to the Father except through Him. Many a congregation has thrown Jesus overboard in the hopes of saving their church or denomination. But if Jesus is not in your boat you’re sunk.
So this week brace yourselves for the storm and be glad because Jesus is here with you and for you in His boat the Church. In His name. Amen.