Get in the boat

Get in the boat

Parable: Parable is a short, descriptive story that illustrates a moral attitude or religious idea.

Jesus used many Parables to communicate truths about the kingdom of God. Why do you think he did this?

The disciples once asked why he did this:

Matthew 13:10-16 "The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: (Isaiah 6:9-10) Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear."

What do you think he means?

I think we can take the idea of Jesus' parables further. His life was in fact a parable in that it "…is a short, descriptive story that illustrates a moral attitude or religious idea."

Let's look at an example of where Jesus actions can teach us truths (Jesus life as parable):

Matthew 8:23-27 "Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

Kinneret (Sea/Lake of Galilee/Lake of Gennesaret) is Israel's largest fresh later lake. It is 13 kilometers wide by 21 kilometers long by 43 meters deep and feed by an underground springs and the Jordan River. At 209 meters below sea-level it is the lowest fresh water lake in the world and the second lowest after the dead-sea. Due to its low-lying position in the rift valley, surrounded by hills, the sea is prone to sudden violent storms.

Context:

The disciples believed and followed Jesus – great! The story before this one tells of a others who believed but didn't follow Jesus.

Matthew 8:18-22 "When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

So when as we read Matthew we read of men who, presumably because they were impressed with Jesus teachings and power, choose not to follow him because of the cost: 1. no shelter/accommodations 2. family commitments. Then immediately following this we read of men who do choose to follow Jesus; but this is just another stage in their journey to maturity.

The disciples choose to follow him. They jump in the boat and:

Matthew 8:24 "Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping."

Because of a Galilean fishing boat's shape size, it would seem unlikely that Jesus was unaware of the storm. He would be getting very wet. Why then do you think he was sleeping?

Go often allows us to walk "through the valley of death" so that we might learn trust him. Really trust him.

Can you think of experiences that you have had which have reinforced/increased your faith in God?

There are many levels of trust. You may trust that I will be true to my word but not trust your life to me. God wants us to come to a place were we completely trust him/put out faith in him.

The disciples trusted God enough to get in the boat. This is more than the two men in the preceding story ("no place to lay his head" and "let the dead bury their own dead"). But when faced with a storm that could easily capsize their boat and drown them, they were afraid.

Despite all of the miracles they had seen to date; they doubted.

Matthew 8:25-26 "The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"

It must have been a big storm for seasoned fisherman to be afraid!

And so that they might believe he also was in command of the elements …

Matthew 8:26b "Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm."

When God came to your rescue what impact did this have on you? Were you grateful? The disciples were in awe:

Matthew 8:7 "The men were amazed and asked, 'What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!'"

This was Jesus intended result. He slept (withdrew) that the disciples might discover the extent of which they really believed/trusted Jesus and then when these competent fishermen called for help he interceded and rescued them. This produced faith in them and because it came from emotional experience it was a lasting, transformative lesson….it changed them.

So Jesus' life lived out is a parable instructing us 2000 years later that trusting Jesus just enough to put our faith in him is just the beginning of the road. That God is trustworthy and though carefully engineered experiences acts in our interests to make us even more faithful men.

We begin with a simple belief in Jesus, then in faith we step into the boat. Next he engineers circumstances so that our belief is deepened and we respond in awe giving thanks to God.

It starts with us (our decision) to trust; and God takes this as permission to test/teach/train (his decisions) leading us to praise God when we ultimately see his glory revealed in our circumstances. Then the cycle begins all over again. This the process of maturity and you can stop any time you want by simply not getting into the boat.

I emplore/exhort you all to get into the boat whenever you are invited. It is a privilege and an honour to be singled out and invited into the boat. Don't shrink away when the experience is offered to you because it a sure path to personal growth and spiritual maturity where we can become just a little more like Jesus.