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Ever feel spiritually inferior? Like you don’t measure up? Like you can’t measure up?
Then you are in the right place. This message is for YOU!
In this PODCAST, we bid a fond farewell to the parables.
I cannot put into words how much I have enjoyed our study of each of them. The seven parables of Matthew 13 speak so clearly to us, revealing to us exactly what Jesus said the spiritual climate in the world in which we are now living would be like. With pinpoint accuracy, He said it would be so. And it is.
So somewhat sadly, we turn the page and move immediately into the next phase of Jesus’ ministry.
I do say “immediately” because we read this in Mark 4 (as we harmonize the four Gospels and present Jesus’ life and ministry in chronological order):
… And I’ve got to tell you, I cannot help but to chuckle when I read this:
“Jesus taught them using parables; privately to His disciples He explained everything. On that same day when evening had come, He said to them, Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.”
Oh my friends, you have NO IDEA — and there is NO WAY that I can adequately convey to you the idea — of JUST how terrified AND terrorized disciples were to hear this.
But I will try.
Now, before I get into all of that, a couple of thoughts…
Let’s start out by reading Matthew 13:51
51 Jesus asked his disciples if they understood all these things. They said, “Yes, we do.”
Oh no they didn’t!
You see, as Jesus and His disciples were going to the other side of the sea, after He told them these parables, it was not His intention to convey to them (or us, for that matter) that Jesus will still all the storms in your life. There are actually times when He will send certain storms into your life, for good purpose always. But, He does promise (in other portions of Scripture) to remain along beside you through life’s storms.
Now, if you have ever been inclined to think that you can never, ever be good enough and are destined to fail at anything you try, so therefore you can never earn God’s favor, then you are hearing the right message!
So, what DID Jesus intend? What is the takeaway that the writers of the Gospels want us to bare in mind?
- Jesus is God. Keep in mind that before Jesus calmed the storm, they were afraid, but after He calmed the storm, they were TERRIFIED! “Who is this man?” they asked, “even the wind and the waves obey Him!” They didn’t mean, “wow… He even controls the weather.” What they did mean was: EVERYTHING (even the devil, himself) obeys Him!
- As God, Jesus understands how hard it is sometimes for our faith to flourish; and he totally gets it when our faith falters completely. He doesn’t love us any less during these times, nor does He think any less of us. He knows how hard the Christian life is.
So, back to the story. Jesus had just delivered the messages of the parables to His disciples. Night had fallen. He checked with them to make sure they all understood His teachings, and they all dutifully followed Him into a boat to go across the sea, at night, to a region full of barbarian Canaanites.
Mark 4:35-41 says this:
35 That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the east side.” 36 So they left the crowd, and his disciples started across the lake with him in the boat. Some other boats followed along. 37 Suddenly a windstorm struck the lake. Waves started splashing into the boat, and it was about to sink.
38 Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow, and he was asleep. His disciples woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re about to drown?”
39 Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The wind stopped, and everything was calm.
40 Jesus asked his disciples, “Why were you afraid? Don’t you have any faith?”
41 Now they were more afraid than ever and said to each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Then, we immediately read in the next chapter, about the very first person they encounter on the other side of the lake, after being terrified over what they just saw!
Jesus and his disciples crossed Lake Galilee and came to shore near the town of Gerasa. 2 When he was getting out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit quickly ran to him 3 from the graveyard where he had been living. No one was able to tie the man up anymore, not even with a chain. 4 He had often been put in chains and leg irons, but he broke the chains and smashed the leg irons. No one could control him. 5 Night and day he was in the graveyard or on the hills, yelling and cutting himself with stones.
6 When the man saw Jesus in the distance, he ran up to him and knelt down. 7 He shouted, “Jesus, Son of God in heaven, what do you want with me?”
Mark 5:1-7
But the details of that story are for another week.
Yet, it helps set the full context of that day for Jesus and His disciples. He basically was telling them, before they got in the boat that night, “Guys, I just taught you everything you need to know about your future and my future. I’ve just spent the entire day telling you everything you need to know about your coming kingdom and my coming kingdom. And I have just spent the day teaching you everything you need to know about you, as my disciples, and me, as your King. So, do you understand this?”
They thought that they did.
So then,
35 That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the east side.” 36 So they left the crowd, and his disciples started across the lake with him in the boat. Some other boats followed along. 37 Suddenly a windstorm struck the lake. Waves started splashing into the boat, and it was about to sink.
38 Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow, and he was asleep. His disciples woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re about to drown?”
39 Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The wind stopped, and everything was calm.
40 Jesus asked his disciples, “Why were you afraid? Don’t you have any faith?”
Mark 4:35-40
In other words, Jesus told them, “I thought you said you understood what I taught you all day? How can my kingdom come as I taught you if we all drown tonight? You think some water and wind will come between us and what I said was coming? As I said before, in the short term, things will get dicey, but in the long term, you win! And you think we’re going to die tonight in this boat? Haven’t you heard anything that I’ve been telling you?
The crazy thing is that we’re no different from the disciples that night. We, too often, can only see the storm that is right in front of us, forgetting everything that he has promised.
And He asks us, “Why are you so afraid? Why don’t you have any faith? Why don’t you believe me?”
So… think about it. Your faith falters sometimes? So did the disciples. The difference between them and you? They actually lived with Jesus. You haven’t. The had exponentially more reason to believe Him and still, their faith collapsed.
Give yourself a little grace.
And when your faith falters, just remind yourself that you are in great company. It’s part of the human experience. Jesus isn’t threatened by it. He understands it. And the gentle Jesus that we all know and love will simply whisper in your ear, “How long have we been together? How much have I taught you in the past? Why are you still afraid? Why don’t you believe me?”
And, just like He did with His disciples, He will refuse to give up on us and continue to walk, teach and love us patiently, gracefully and all-powerfully.