Epiphany 4| Matthew 8:23-27| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| February 2, 202523 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,
His wondrous works in the deep.
25 For He commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and He delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love,
for His wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol Him in the congregation of the people,
and praise Him in the assembly of the elders. Psalm 107:23-32
That was just a portion of Psalm 107. Psalm 107 recounts God’s works of salvation found in Scripture, using the following outline: Some found themselves in a sorry situation, they cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord helped them, and so the Psalmist invites us to give thanks to the Lord. If you know your Bible well, you can tell which Bible stories the Psalmist is referring to in each of his verses. So, what Bible stories does the Psalmist teach us with the verse I just recited? Well, in fact, there are three stories this verse describes.
The first is the story of Jonah. God called Jonah to preach against Nineveh, the great capital city of the Assyrian Empire. But he fled on a ship into the Mediterranean Sea, trying to fit in with a bunch of sailors and merchants going about their business. But God hurled a great storm upon the sea, so that the mariners feared for their lives. They cast their cargo into the sea, caring nothing for the profit they had hoped to make, and caring only to save their lives. The captain commanded every man to call out to his god. But they found Jonah a sleep inside the ship. After casting lots, Jonah admitted that the storm had come on account of him, because he had fled from the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. He instructed them to cast him into the sea and the storm would stop. The men tried in vain to reach shore without throwing a man overboard, but finally they acquiesced to Jonah’s instruction. They cried out to the Lord for mercy and forgiveness and cast Jonah into the sea. The sea was calmed, and the pagan men worshiped the Lord, the one true God.
Yet, Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, and was trapped in the belly of the sea creature for three days and three nights. Jonah serves as a type of Christ. Jonah’s experience is a sign, which teaches us of the ministry of Christ. And so, this leads us to the second story described in the passage from Psalm 107. Jesus went into a boat with His disciples. Yet, the Lord hurled a great storm upon them. Like Jonah, Jesus was asleep. Yet, when He awoke, He calmed the sea.
Jonah teaches us about Jesus, but Jesus is greater than Jonah (Matthew 12:41). Jonah was sent to preach to the people of Nineveh, but he fled, because he was afraid. Jesus was sent not only to preach, but to die for a hostile people, and He did it praying, “Father, Your will be done.” The men in the boat with Jonah had their own sins for which they were guilty. Yet, only Jonah was thrown overboard and the sea was calmed for his sake. Yet, Jonah was not guiltless. God raised the storm on the sea because of his rebellion. Yet, when God’s wrath raged against mankind for our sin, it was Christ who was tossed into the stormy sea, and the sea was calmed for us. Christ was not handed over to the storm of God’s wrath on account of His own sins. Unlike Jonah, He was guiltless. Yet, like Jonah, he was delivered over to death to save others and spent three days in the heart of the earth.
Why is Jesus better than Jonah? Yes, Jesus is sinless while Jonah was a sinner. Yes, Jesus marched bravely on to suffering, shame, and death in order to fulfill God’s will, while Jonah ran away. Yet, the distinction which makes Jesus infinitely better than Jonah has to do with who Jesus is. Like Jonah, Jesus was sleeping in the boat during the deadly storm. What does that prove? Well, He was tired. Why was He tired? Because He’s human! Humans get tired! Yet, when Jesus awoke, He rebuked the wind and the sea, so that there was a great calm. His disciples marveled and asked, “What sort of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
Indeed! What sort of man is this? That’s the point! He is not just a man. He is God. This is what makes Jesus so much greater than Jonah! Jonah was thrown into the sea for his own sin, so that the sea was calm for a moment and the mariners in the ship could get safely to shore. Jesus was thrown into the storm of God’s wrath for the sins of the whole world, and so the sea of God’s judgment became calm as God’s wrath was appeased and our sins were atoned for. Jesus could only do this if He were God. And Jesus is God. As He slept in the boat during the storm, He remained the same God who controlled the wind and the waves. And so, He remained true God, Lord of the earth and sea, when He was nailed to the cross on which He died. Even as He was laid lifeless in the belly of the earth for three days, He remained the God by whom the foundations of the earth were laid and continue to hold together. Everything Christ does as a man, He does as God. He is forever both God and man. And because Jesus is both God and man, His work of salvation saves not just a handful of men in a boat, but it wins salvation for the entire human race.
And this introduces our third story described by Psalm 107:23-32. And that is your story. Although, there is not a specific Bible story about you, the Bible very much tells your story. Because the Bible teaches you about human nature and the entire human race of which you are apart. And so, when Scripture says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and that you were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind (Ephesians 2:3), Scripture is speaking about you. And when Scripture states that Christ came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) and to make propitiation for all through His blood (Romans 3:24-25; 1 John 2:2), it is writing about what Christ has done for you.
One thing often missed in this story about the stormy sea, is who sent the storm. People often think it is Satan, or the sinful world raging against the Church. And it is true that the boat is a biblical illustration of the Church, and Satan and the wicked world do rage against Christ’s Church like a storm, and that Christians are kept safe from the attacks of Satan and the world by staying with Christ in the boat, that is, by holding to Christ within the safety of the Christian Church. However, Psalm 107 clearly says, “They saw the deeds of the Lord, His wondrous works in the deep. For He commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.” And Scriptures states in Jonah 1, “But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.” And while Matthew writes simply that a great storm happened on the sea, who is it who commands the wind and the sea and they obey Him? It is not Satan. It is God!
And so, who is it who hurls the storms at you in your life? People are uncomfortable answering this question. Yet, the correct answer is actually the most comforting! It is God. God controls the weather. God is your Judge. God is your heavenly Father, who chastises you and disciplines you for your own good! Paul Gerhardt writes in His beautiful hymn, “Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me,” “When life’s troubles rise to meet me, Though their weight May be great, They will not defeat me. God, my loving Savior, sends them; He who knows All my woes Knows how best to end them.”
It is God who sends your trouble. And it is God who takes your trouble away. St. Paul writes in Romans 1, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” The great storm you fear, which you should fear, is God’s wrath against your sin! He is just. He will execute His wrath against all ungodliness. Yet, it is Christ Jesus, true God and true man, your righteous Savior, who stands between you and God’s wrath, who casts Himself into the sea of God’s wrath, and makes it a great calm! God’s storm rose against you on account of your sin. And God calmed the storm by taking your sins away through Jesus’ blood.
Scripture states that God chastises the son whom He loves (Hebrews 12:6). God loved the disciples. That is why He cast a storm upon them on the Sea of Galilee, so that they feared for their lives. Now, how can that be loving? Well, what was the result of this trial? Did they die? No. They cried out to Jesus and He saved them. That is the best result of any situation. This is why St. Paul writes that all things work out together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
Jesus said, “Why are you afraid; O you of little faith?” So, what was the result of this trial? The disciples had a stronger faith with better knowledge of Christ and increased courage. They needed to see how weak their faith was, so that they would pray for a stronger faith. Though Christ won salvation for everyone, a person can only receive salvation through faith. They needed to see how powerful Jesus is to save for them to realize who He is. They needed to survive a storm, so that they would have courage to face another one.
When Jonah’s ship was being tossed by the storm sent by God, the sailors cast the cargo overboard to lighten the craft. Boy did they learn perspective by that storm! They set out with confidence into the Mediterranean Sea with goods to trade and make themselves rich. That was the sole purpose of their trip. Yet, when God threatened their lives with a storm, they threw all their wares overboard with which they had hoped to gain great wealth, so much had they learned to value their lives instead of earthly riches. And God does the same kindness to you, although in the moment you do not recognize it as kind. He sends trials into your life, so that you give up your love for things on earth that have become your idols, so that you value Him more than anything, and trust in His salvation more than the fleeting pleasures of this world. It is by taking us through the storms of life that God teaches us to say, “Take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife, let these all be gone, they yet have nothing won, the Kingdom ours remaineth.” (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, stz. 4)
You went down in a ship, so to speak. And God hurled a storm upon you. And what have you done? You cried out to the Lord in your distress, and He delivered you. You recognized that you are a poor, wretched sinner, who deserves the trouble you endure and more. And Christ has forgiven your sins. You recognize that the things of this life are not your true treasure, and Christ has promised you true treasures in heaven. You called out to the Lord in your distress, and He answered you, so that even if your suffering continues in this life for a while, you have comfort that God will bring you through it for Christ’s sake. Only Jesus can calm the storms sent by God. And you have learned that He does.
So, let us thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! Let us extol Him in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the assembly of the elders. Amen.
doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,
His wondrous works in the deep.
25 For He commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and He delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love,
for His wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol Him in the congregation of the people,
and praise Him in the assembly of the elders. Psalm 107:23-32
That was just a portion of Psalm 107. Psalm 107 recounts God’s works of salvation found in Scripture, using the following outline: Some found themselves in a sorry situation, they cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord helped them, and so the Psalmist invites us to give thanks to the Lord. If you know your Bible well, you can tell which Bible stories the Psalmist is referring to in each of his verses. So, what Bible stories does the Psalmist teach us with the verse I just recited? Well, in fact, there are three stories this verse describes.
The first is the story of Jonah. God called Jonah to preach against Nineveh, the great capital city of the Assyrian Empire. But he fled on a ship into the Mediterranean Sea, trying to fit in with a bunch of sailors and merchants going about their business. But God hurled a great storm upon the sea, so that the mariners feared for their lives. They cast their cargo into the sea, caring nothing for the profit they had hoped to make, and caring only to save their lives. The captain commanded every man to call out to his god. But they found Jonah a sleep inside the ship. After casting lots, Jonah admitted that the storm had come on account of him, because he had fled from the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. He instructed them to cast him into the sea and the storm would stop. The men tried in vain to reach shore without throwing a man overboard, but finally they acquiesced to Jonah’s instruction. They cried out to the Lord for mercy and forgiveness and cast Jonah into the sea. The sea was calmed, and the pagan men worshiped the Lord, the one true God.
Yet, Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, and was trapped in the belly of the sea creature for three days and three nights. Jonah serves as a type of Christ. Jonah’s experience is a sign, which teaches us of the ministry of Christ. And so, this leads us to the second story described in the passage from Psalm 107. Jesus went into a boat with His disciples. Yet, the Lord hurled a great storm upon them. Like Jonah, Jesus was asleep. Yet, when He awoke, He calmed the sea.
Jonah teaches us about Jesus, but Jesus is greater than Jonah (Matthew 12:41). Jonah was sent to preach to the people of Nineveh, but he fled, because he was afraid. Jesus was sent not only to preach, but to die for a hostile people, and He did it praying, “Father, Your will be done.” The men in the boat with Jonah had their own sins for which they were guilty. Yet, only Jonah was thrown overboard and the sea was calmed for his sake. Yet, Jonah was not guiltless. God raised the storm on the sea because of his rebellion. Yet, when God’s wrath raged against mankind for our sin, it was Christ who was tossed into the stormy sea, and the sea was calmed for us. Christ was not handed over to the storm of God’s wrath on account of His own sins. Unlike Jonah, He was guiltless. Yet, like Jonah, he was delivered over to death to save others and spent three days in the heart of the earth.
Why is Jesus better than Jonah? Yes, Jesus is sinless while Jonah was a sinner. Yes, Jesus marched bravely on to suffering, shame, and death in order to fulfill God’s will, while Jonah ran away. Yet, the distinction which makes Jesus infinitely better than Jonah has to do with who Jesus is. Like Jonah, Jesus was sleeping in the boat during the deadly storm. What does that prove? Well, He was tired. Why was He tired? Because He’s human! Humans get tired! Yet, when Jesus awoke, He rebuked the wind and the sea, so that there was a great calm. His disciples marveled and asked, “What sort of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
Indeed! What sort of man is this? That’s the point! He is not just a man. He is God. This is what makes Jesus so much greater than Jonah! Jonah was thrown into the sea for his own sin, so that the sea was calm for a moment and the mariners in the ship could get safely to shore. Jesus was thrown into the storm of God’s wrath for the sins of the whole world, and so the sea of God’s judgment became calm as God’s wrath was appeased and our sins were atoned for. Jesus could only do this if He were God. And Jesus is God. As He slept in the boat during the storm, He remained the same God who controlled the wind and the waves. And so, He remained true God, Lord of the earth and sea, when He was nailed to the cross on which He died. Even as He was laid lifeless in the belly of the earth for three days, He remained the God by whom the foundations of the earth were laid and continue to hold together. Everything Christ does as a man, He does as God. He is forever both God and man. And because Jesus is both God and man, His work of salvation saves not just a handful of men in a boat, but it wins salvation for the entire human race.
And this introduces our third story described by Psalm 107:23-32. And that is your story. Although, there is not a specific Bible story about you, the Bible very much tells your story. Because the Bible teaches you about human nature and the entire human race of which you are apart. And so, when Scripture says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and that you were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind (Ephesians 2:3), Scripture is speaking about you. And when Scripture states that Christ came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) and to make propitiation for all through His blood (Romans 3:24-25; 1 John 2:2), it is writing about what Christ has done for you.
One thing often missed in this story about the stormy sea, is who sent the storm. People often think it is Satan, or the sinful world raging against the Church. And it is true that the boat is a biblical illustration of the Church, and Satan and the wicked world do rage against Christ’s Church like a storm, and that Christians are kept safe from the attacks of Satan and the world by staying with Christ in the boat, that is, by holding to Christ within the safety of the Christian Church. However, Psalm 107 clearly says, “They saw the deeds of the Lord, His wondrous works in the deep. For He commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.” And Scriptures states in Jonah 1, “But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.” And while Matthew writes simply that a great storm happened on the sea, who is it who commands the wind and the sea and they obey Him? It is not Satan. It is God!
And so, who is it who hurls the storms at you in your life? People are uncomfortable answering this question. Yet, the correct answer is actually the most comforting! It is God. God controls the weather. God is your Judge. God is your heavenly Father, who chastises you and disciplines you for your own good! Paul Gerhardt writes in His beautiful hymn, “Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me,” “When life’s troubles rise to meet me, Though their weight May be great, They will not defeat me. God, my loving Savior, sends them; He who knows All my woes Knows how best to end them.”
It is God who sends your trouble. And it is God who takes your trouble away. St. Paul writes in Romans 1, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” The great storm you fear, which you should fear, is God’s wrath against your sin! He is just. He will execute His wrath against all ungodliness. Yet, it is Christ Jesus, true God and true man, your righteous Savior, who stands between you and God’s wrath, who casts Himself into the sea of God’s wrath, and makes it a great calm! God’s storm rose against you on account of your sin. And God calmed the storm by taking your sins away through Jesus’ blood.
Scripture states that God chastises the son whom He loves (Hebrews 12:6). God loved the disciples. That is why He cast a storm upon them on the Sea of Galilee, so that they feared for their lives. Now, how can that be loving? Well, what was the result of this trial? Did they die? No. They cried out to Jesus and He saved them. That is the best result of any situation. This is why St. Paul writes that all things work out together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
Jesus said, “Why are you afraid; O you of little faith?” So, what was the result of this trial? The disciples had a stronger faith with better knowledge of Christ and increased courage. They needed to see how weak their faith was, so that they would pray for a stronger faith. Though Christ won salvation for everyone, a person can only receive salvation through faith. They needed to see how powerful Jesus is to save for them to realize who He is. They needed to survive a storm, so that they would have courage to face another one.
When Jonah’s ship was being tossed by the storm sent by God, the sailors cast the cargo overboard to lighten the craft. Boy did they learn perspective by that storm! They set out with confidence into the Mediterranean Sea with goods to trade and make themselves rich. That was the sole purpose of their trip. Yet, when God threatened their lives with a storm, they threw all their wares overboard with which they had hoped to gain great wealth, so much had they learned to value their lives instead of earthly riches. And God does the same kindness to you, although in the moment you do not recognize it as kind. He sends trials into your life, so that you give up your love for things on earth that have become your idols, so that you value Him more than anything, and trust in His salvation more than the fleeting pleasures of this world. It is by taking us through the storms of life that God teaches us to say, “Take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife, let these all be gone, they yet have nothing won, the Kingdom ours remaineth.” (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, stz. 4)
You went down in a ship, so to speak. And God hurled a storm upon you. And what have you done? You cried out to the Lord in your distress, and He delivered you. You recognized that you are a poor, wretched sinner, who deserves the trouble you endure and more. And Christ has forgiven your sins. You recognize that the things of this life are not your true treasure, and Christ has promised you true treasures in heaven. You called out to the Lord in your distress, and He answered you, so that even if your suffering continues in this life for a while, you have comfort that God will bring you through it for Christ’s sake. Only Jesus can calm the storms sent by God. And you have learned that He does.
So, let us thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! Let us extol Him in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the assembly of the elders. Amen.
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