Who is He

Luke 8:25, “In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him.”

Sometimes I think our general knowledge of Scripture shields us from what it must have been like for His disciples to spend time with Jesus. Today the Gospels tell us the whole story of Jesus’ ministry years. We have read about the miracles to where they are almost common occurrences. We know about the crucifixion and the resurrection. At the time of the story where Jesus calmed the storm the disciples have had very little experience watching His amazing power.

This is early in His ministry years but by the time recorded in Luke 8, where Jesus calms the storm, the disciples have seen a number of healings including driving demons out of people. Large crowds were following Him everywhere they went. However, as the story of calming the storm unfolds the disciples are first afraid they were going to die and then they witness the amazing miracle and they were in awe.

Luke 8:22-25-

 ²² One day Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. ²³ As they sailed, He fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

²⁴ The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ²⁵ “Where is your faith?” He asked His disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him.”

If we were there what would have been going through our minds? Jesus says let’s go to the other side of the lake. This lake is about 20 miles wide. So they all get into the boat and start sailing. Jesus lays down to take a nap. I speculate He did this to set up the teaching moment. Then a squall came down on the lake. Some of these guys are very experienced and have spent many years on the lake. They realized this was not a normal storm and they were in great danger.

They woke Jesus from His nap. That means even in this terrible storm Jesus was still asleep. Jesus simply gets up and calms the storm and says, “Where is your faith?” They thought they were going to drown. They did not even imagine Jesus could change the situation and calm the storm.

Then “In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this?” Let’s imagine we are Peter. We have been on this lake all our lives. We have seen small storms and large storms. For the last few months we have listened to and watch Jesus as He ministers to people. We are compelled to try to understand what we have been called to do. Who is this man we are following?

Growing up Peter, like all Jewish children, heard the stories about all the prophets and amazing things some of them did. Recently John the Baptist came on the scene and preached a message to prepare the way for the Messiah. John the Baptist pointed out Jesus to Andrew, Peter’s brother, and John (in John 2) and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”. Then Andrew told Peter, “We have found the Messiah”. Now the disciples ask, “Who is this?” Could John the Baptist be right? Is this Messiah? No normal man could command the storm to stop. Other prophets have healed and even brought people back from the dead but not this. Are we following God’s Messiah?

Over the next three years the disciples will witness miracle after miracle. They will hear Jesus explain the Kingdom of God isn’t a set of manmade rules. It is based on loving God and loving others. They will be transformed into the leaders of the Church built on the New Covenant.

This is a question every person born needs to answer. So how do we answer the question “Who is He?” I was raised going to church and catechism. I knew and believed all the basic facts of Christianity. I believed in God the Father and Jesus. I believed in the virgin birth, the crucifixion and the resurrection. To me these were all facts of history that had no real effect on my life.  My answer to the question in the early part of my life was He is the Son of God. That fact was no different to me than the fact that George Washington was our first President. Both irrelevant to my everyday life. My concern is that this is not unusual in the Church today. We teach Bible stories the same way the schools teach history. They are facts that don’t actually have an effect on life today. 

Thinking back to the disciples. They spent time with Jesus daily. They listened to Him and asked questions. They watched His effect on the crowds. They spent one-on-one time with Him when they needed to understand what He was teaching them. They saw His tender care for people and, in the shortest verse in the Bible “Jesus wept”, they saw His emotions as He witnessed the pain Lazareth’s sisters felt when Lazareth die. By the time their three-year journey ended they could answer the question, Who is He. He was their Lord and Savior.

I ask again, how do we each answer the question “Who is He?” Do we sit and talk to Him about our concerns? Do we recognize His Spirit is always with us guiding us in every detail of our lives? When we sing worship songs, are we singing to Him or just saying words. Michael Card has a line in a song he wrote that says, “Do we actually praise Him or do we just coldly mouth the words”? That statement is a good measuring stick. Are we just singing or are we singing to Him?

God created mankind to fellowship with Him not just know facts. He wants a moment-by-moment relationship with us. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandments were He said in Matthew 22:36-40,

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments. They cover everything. This answers the question, “Who is He”. He desires us to love Him with every part of who we are and to love others. To help us understand, He even gave us the definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13,

 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

That is how He wants us to be with Him and with others. Christianity isn’t a list of historical facts. It is a personal relationship with our amazing Creator God. Read through that definition again, but slowly. Think about each statement. Would those that know us best agree it is how we are with others? May our Lord guide us to have the relationship with Him and others that He desires and may we help our children build a relationship with Him, not just know facts about Him