Rebuking Jesus | Job 38:1-18

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Read Job 38:1-18

It might be hard to believe, but there are times when I yell at my kids. Usually, it’s when they’re out-of-control, playing and having fun, and completely ignoring my words. So, I’ll shout something like, “Hey, no one’s listening to me!” Typically, what follows is a hush. An almost eerie stillness – especially in light of the chaos raging only moments before. For my kids, there’s an uncomfortable quiet when they realize they’re in the presence of authority. I picture the story of Jesus quieting the wind and the waves in the same way. In Luke 8:24, the Scriptures state, “And they went and woke [Jesus], saying, ‘Master, Master, we’re perishing!’ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.” That calm must have been eerie. It was an unexpected silence and it carried the realization that they were in the presence of power.

When Jesus rebukes the storm, he’s doesn’t solely quiet the wind and the water. He makes a point. He teaches the disciples that all power had been given to him and that even the wind and the waves obey his voice. Abraham Kuyper, the great Dutch theologian describes this point well, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” It’s all his. Even the wind and the waves. The disciples learn this lesson on the lake that day. Although life is filled with storms, there is a God who stands above them all. Jesus’ rebuke and the silence that follows shouts an invitation to believe.

Wouldn’t it be great if Jesus quieted every storm? It would be, but that’s not the promise Jesus makes to the disciples – and it’s not the promise he makes to us either. It’s easy to read into this passage and assume that Jesus is going to rebuke every storm that comes into our lives, but we all know that’s not true. No, the promise is not that he quiets every storm. The promise is that every storm still knows his name. Jesus invites us to trust him as the storms rage and as they’re quieted. Thankfully, the storms bow down to him. That’s why he’s worthy of our trust, our devotion, our surrender, and our life. That’s why we can rest in the promise that even the greatest storm – the storm of sin and death and separation from God – has already been quieted when Jesus walked out of the grave. We can, therefore, trust Jesus as the storms rage in our lives and receive his peace in the questions and the chaos.

 

Reflection and Response

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By Ryan Paulson 

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