God can Still the Chaos

Luke 8:22–25

22One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they put out, 23and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. 24They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. 25He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?”

Historical Context

The Lake of Galilee is about 13 miles long and 8 miles wide and it’s also in a valley area, so, when the wind whips up the storms arrive even before you know it. It is very easy indeed to get caught out in a storm on Lake Galilee. These were experienced fishermen – they knew the Lake very well and so they wouldn’t have gone out on it if they had thought for one moment that they would get caught out. But the ferocity of a storm on Lake Galilee comes out of nowhere. And that, of course, is what happened to the disciples.

Theme: God can Still the Chaos

There’s something quite fascinating about the sea in the Bible. The sea is mentioned loads of times. In the Book of Job in the Old Testament, God determines the course of the sea. In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, there is a description of heaven, the new Jerusalem, where the sea will be no more. Many other references too. But what is particularly interesting is that when the sea is mentioned in the Bible more often than not it is a metaphor. In the Bible, the sea is used as a metaphor, representing chaos and disorder. So, in the Book of Revelation, for example, when it says that there will be no sea in heaven, it is a metaphor to say that there will be no chaos in heaven but that everything will be beautifully peaceful and ordered.

So, in this story from Luke’s Gospel when Jesus calms the storm and the sea is stilled, it is a symbol for us that God can still the chaos and disorder in our lives.

The words of God to us in Isaiah 43 bring this promise:

      “Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you.

      I have called you by name; you are mine.

      When you go through deep waters,

      I will be with you.

      When you go through rivers of difficulty,

      you will not drown.”