Luke 8 Part 1 (5)

Pray Psalm 29.3-6.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The LORD is over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful;
The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars,
Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.

Sing Psalm 29.3-6.
(Toulon: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art)
Over the waters, over thunder’s roll, God’s voice creation’s mighty pow’rs controls!
Cedars collapse at His majestic Word; nations are shaken by our mighty Lord!

Read Luke 8.1-24; meditate on verses 22-24.

Preparation
1. Why were the disciples fearful?

2. What did Jesus do?

Meditation
The Psalms, such as Psalms 29 and 147 – among many other places in the Old Testament – teach that Yahweh – the LORD – is sovereign over all creation, including all its waters and winds. Creation does what Yahweh tells it to do.

So what does this suggest about the ultimate identity of Him Who commanded the sea to be still, and it did? The writer of Hebrews tells us (Heb. 1.3) that our Lord Jesus, exalted to the right hand of God, upholds the entire vast cosmos by His mere Word. He speaks, and the entire cosmos – all those billions and billions of stars and galaxies and everything in or on them – does what He commands. His Word is powerful because it is His Word.

Jesus rebuked the raging wind and sea and “they ceased, and there was a calm.” How does that work? We cannot know. We can only read the report and draw the conclusion it suggests: Jesus is Yahweh, Immanuel, God-With-Us. He rules the world with truth and grace and with the unsearchable, unfathomable power of His Word. Every moment Jesus speaks to everything in the cosmos, saying, in effect, “Do that again.” And it does.

If Jesus ever stopped speaking to the cosmos, as John Scotus Eriugena wrote, it would simply cease to exist. And amid all those powerful words spoken to every particle and planet, Jesus speaks to you and everything you are – your cells, breath, blood, bones, brain, and everything else. Because He speaks to you, you continue to exist. And He speaks to you because He loves you; and He speaks to all the details of your life, most of which you seldom give a thought. He’s speaking to them constantly, bathing and suffusing and pervading everything about you with words of love.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
And it is because the disciples knew that Jesus loved them, that they came to Him, in their fear because of their jeopardy, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” (Lk. 8.24). They knew in Whom their only hope
was fixed, “Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless” (Ps. 60.11).

We, too, on a daily basis must cry out, “Master, Master” give us help from trouble, and help for our very maintenance and existence. Jesus tenderly cares for us and wants to do so: “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…” (Matt. 23.37). So gentle and kind is He.

We can cry out, like Asa did when he faced an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, “LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!” (2 Chron. 14.11).
“Arise for our help, and redeem us for Your mercies’ sake” (Ps. 44.26).
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46.1).
“Help me, O LORD my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy…” (Ps. 109.26).
“Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 124.8).
“Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; and deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, for Your name’s sake!” (Ps. 79.9).

Master, Master, preserve our life. Help us for Your mercies’ sake. You are our refuge and strength. You are the Creator and have power over all Your creation. You provide eternal help by atoning for our wretched sinfulness. And for all this help we thank You and say, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mk. 9.24)

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4.16). Because He loves us so!

Oh, how He loves you and me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.
He gave His life, what more could He give;
Oh, how He loves you, Oh, how He loves me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.
(Kurt Kaiser)

For reflection
1. What are some things that cause you to become fearful? Can Jesus handle these?

2. Why do you think some people have difficulty believing that God stands ready to help them in their times of fear?

3. How can believers help one another look to God for help with their fears and needs?

He who was sleeping was awakened and cast the sea into a sleep. He reveals the wakefulness of his divinity that never sleeps by the wakefulness of the sea that was now sleeping. He rebuked the wind and it became still. Ephrem the Syrian (306-373), Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 6.25

Pray Psalm 29.1, 2, 7-11.
Praise and thank the Lord for His sovereign rule over all creation. Meditate on Him, exalted in glory, and seek His strength for the work of this day.

Sing Psalm 29.1, 2, 7-11.
(Toulon: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art)
Give praise to God, you children of the earth! Tell of His strength, proclaim His glorious worth!
Give to the Lord the glory due His Name! Worship in holiness; His grace proclaim!

God speaks and lightning streaks across the sky; by His decree He shakes the desert dry.
Speak, Lord, and life to beasts and men is giv’n. Forests dissolve, and glory rings in heav’n.

Sovereign, the Lord sat o’er the raging flood; sovereign forever rules our gracious God!
God will His people bless with strength and peace: Lord, may Your holy Word to us increase!

T. M. and Susie Moore

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.