Matthew 8:18-27

Matthew 8:18-27

Peace Be Still

I.                    True peace in life only comes through trusting faithfully in the authority Christ; so we must trust Him unconditionally and undividedly (Vv. 18-22)

a.        In Matthew chapters 8-9, Jesus proves His sole and complete authority over all creation through dealing with the unsolvable and uncontrollable issues which overwhelmed the people. In all these circumstances and needs, Jesus was the answer because He alone had authority and power over each circumstance. Tucked away in this series of miracles, Jesus’ interaction with two would-be disciples gives us a view into how Jesus’ authority over creation becomes actively realized and fruitful in our lives. First Jesus encounters an expert in the law who seems extremely eager to follow Him. But it’s very beneficial for a Scribe to be associated with popular teachers. Jesus is the hot new teacher at the moment, so the Scribe likely wants to go with Jesus because it will bolster his career and he’ll surely share in all the fame that will come with following Jesus. The Scribe’s motive was purely selfish, but Jesus makes sure he understands that truly following Him requires giving up all that he has, planed, and desires in life. He must trust in Jesus’ authoritative will, plan, and purpose, share in His sacrifice, and live to serve and not be served. Many seek to follow Christ because they think that adding Jesus to their life will help them accomplish their desires. But Jesus calls true disciples to make knowing and trusting in Him their primary objective. True peace and purpose isn’t accomplished by adding Jesus to our lives, it’s accomplished by unconditionally surrendering and committing our whole life to Him, and trusting in His unmatched authority. A second man declares that he’s ready to follow Jesus, but first he wants to go and bury his father. The request seems reasonable, but again Jesus sees through his veneer. Jesus isn’t being harsh or insensitive. The man’s father likely isn’t deceased yet, but the man wants to devote attention to Jesus when he thinks he needs to, and still be able to give his full attention to his worldly life when he desires. Jesus calls the man to let the spiritually dead care the physically dead because there’s only true life and peace in following Him undividedly. Only trusting undividedly in the One who has all authority over all things will enable us to truly love, value, and minister to others. Following Jesus undividedly, desiring His Lordship, prioritizing opportunities to worship Him, learning about Him, serving Him and His gospel, and growing in Him never hinders, but only increases our ability to faithfully love and serve our families and others. But too often we allow anything to be an excuse to neglect Him and His Word because we wrongly think it’ll bring peace in our lives and relationships. When Jesus speaks, leprosy, paralysis, fever, infirmity, demons, and even death obey, but do we? True peace and purpose in life only comes through trusting faithfully in and fully submitting to His authority. (Vv. 18-22; Prov. 3:1-8; Matt. 6:33; 7:24-29; 8:1-3, 8-10, 28-32; 9:1-7, 20-38; 10:28-39; Luke 9:23-25, 57-62; 14:28-33; Phil. 2:5-8; Col. 1:18-20)

II.                 True peace in life only comes through trusting faithfully in the authority Christ; so we must trust Him alone in all circumstances (Vv. 23-27)

a.        Having finished with the two men, Jesus and His disciples get in the boat and begin the journey across the sea. As they’re crossing, a storm suddenly whips up. The disciples are familiar with the Sea of Galilee storms, but this one is different. It’s more sudden, more intense, and considerably more frightening, shaking them to their core. It swamps their boat, and leaves them terrified and certain they’ll die. So they seek out Jesus’ help, finding Him sleeping peacefully in the back of the boat. In their great distress, they wake Him up and plead with Him to save them, but before He responds to the weather, He calls the men to examine themselves, asking why they’re so afraid, why is their faith so weak, and where is their courage? Then Jesus rebukes the storm and calls for peace which comes immediately and completely. The disciple’s jaws drop in marvel and awe of Jesus because they saw a fresh vision of His deity and His total power and authority over all circumstances. Jesus calmed the storm, but that’s not the point. Wasn’t His authority and power over the storm was exactly the same while He asleep and they were terrified? The disciples had no peace in the chaos of the storm because their peace was dictated by their circumstances and not the One who is sovereign, powerful, and authoritative over all circumstances. Jesus doesn’t calm every storm in our lives. But He alone sovereignly controls every storm for His will, purpose, glory, and our greatest good, so our peace in life’s storms must be found in our relationship and knowledge of the One who is authoritative over the storm, who alone is good, and is always present with us in every storm. Storms come quickly and unannounced. We’re not in control, but circumstances don’t dictate peace in our lives when we  trust faithfully in the One who alone has authority over all circumstances. (Vv. 23-27; Job 38:1-11; Ps. 29:1-5; 50:15; 65:5-7; 89:9; 107:23-32; 121:3-4; Isa. 26:3-4; Jonah 2; Matt. 11:27-30; 28:18-20; Mark 9:24; Luke 17:5-6; John 14:27; 16:33; Rom. 5:1-5; 8:18-39; 2 Cor. 4:6-12, 16-18; 12:7-10; Phil. 1:21; 3:8-10; 4:6-7; Col. 1:13-17, 24; 2 Tim. 3:12; Heb. 4:14-16; 12:5-11; Jas. 1:2-8)