Kingdom Authority - Matthew 8:23-27
Pastor Dennis Bone
9/15/13
KINGDOM AUTHORITY 9-15-13
Last week one of the new residents at Solutions came in to see me for counseling and upon learning that I was a pastor at a local church excitedly asked me, “Is your church Spirit filled?” I said “Yes,” clarifying that we were Christians and the Holy Spirit was in us and worked among us. He immediately said, “So you guys are doing healings, driving out demons, and beating down Satan.” I said “No,” but we talk a lot about someone who did.
As Christians we have a Savior who has this kind of authority and power; and who demonstrated it time and time again during His ministry on earth. As I pointed out last week, the miraculous works of Jesus were signs pointing to the fact that He is the divine King and the Messiah who initiates the kingdom. Jesus gave His church the authority to preach the gospel and to make disciples, and He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit to do it. Thus we must be careful that we don’t claim authority for things we don’t have, and instead focus our attention on the great commission that we do have; and not confuse the two.
In our passage this morning we see Jesus’ kingdom authority once again revealed and demonstrated in His power over nature. He does what no other man could do or attempt to do, and in so doing Jesus teaches us about what this authority means for us who follow Him as His disciples. So please turn with me to Matthew chapter 8, as we will be looking at verses 23 – 27:
Then Jesus got in 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?”
One primary purpose of Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life is to show us that He had authority and power over every facet of the curse of sin: disease, death, demons, Satan, the natural realm and the supernatural realm; and this qualified Him to be the Messiah and to be the King who brings in the kingdom. This authority is unique to Jesus because He has been given the same authority and power as God Himself; and His demonstration of it is another proof that He is God; and as the Son of God He is able to save us and deliver sinners from the curse of sin.
And so huge crowds of people follow Jesus; and He makes the case for who He is and why you should follow Him. Matthew and the other apostles take up this case in their New Testament writings; and all those who have received Christ by faith, and have trusted in Him as their Savior, and have followed Him as Lord, continue to make this same case through the gospel. This is the case that we make and that the church makes throughout the world still today. He has kingdom authority; and as we look at our passage this morning I want to consider three aspects of this authority: Jesus’ authority to call disciples; Jesus authority to control nature; and Jesus’ authority to calm hearts.
Jesus had the authority to call disciples and as we looked at last week, Jesus definition and criteria for discipleship is far different than those in the crowd who followed Him for many different reasons. Huge crowds followed Him to hear His Sermon on the Mount; and multitudes were around Him to see and experience His miracles and healings. Yet as Jesus further explained the call and cost of true discipleship, fewer and fewer people followed Him.
When we look at the people who follow Jesus today we see this same dynamic when it comes to the difference between “followers” of Jesus and “disciples” of Jesus. The word “disciple” is often used in a broad sense and as such disciples are learners or followers of someone; not necessarily believers. Some people are attached to Jesus’ teaching; they listen to it, they like it; they may enjoy the outward benefits that it can bring, but there is no inward change. Jesus describes this in His parable of the sower and the seed. Only one soil enabled the seed to mature and become productive. We see this play out in the gospels as more and more people “fall away” from Jesus when it is no longer easy or convenient to follow Him.
And so we learn from this that disciples are not those who are simply curious or intrigued with all of the exciting things going on; nor are they those who are simply intellectually convinced – who have all the head knowledge but are unwilling to give up their worldly lifestyle – true disciples are those who are fully committed. This is the authoritative call of Jesus. Jesus calls us to a total commitment to His Lordship, as we heard last week in the previous passage; and it’s this commitment that defines biblical discipleship and makes one a believer, not just a learner or follower.
Jesus illustrates this difference in John 6 when He speaks about His death and the fact that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will have no life. He is talking about commitment; His commitment first to give up His life; and then our commitment to find our life in Him. At the end of the chapter John writes: “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.” When it becomes fully apparent as to what discipleship really means the curious and simply intellectually convinced will jump ship; and the committed will say what the true disciples say when Jesus asks them if they too will leave.
“Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” It’s with this background that we move to our second point: Jesus’ authority to control nature. The crowd has narrowed to only a few disciples who follow Jesus on to the boat for an experience like no other. Without warning – verse 24 – a crisis arises; a great storm, which even shakes the veteran fisherman on board, puts everyone in danger. Yet according to verse 25 Jesus is sleeping. How can that be? This should be the first clue to us that if Jesus can sleep through it, He can solve it. Of course Jesus’ sleeping does not reflect His lack of interest or concern; as the disciples seem to imply, rather it points out His control.
This scene is very dramatic; and it’s a familiar story to us, and most certainly we would have felt much the same as these disciples, but why does Matthew record this story and what does it really have to do with us? First, it teaches us a lot about Jesus and how we should view Him as Lord; and second it teaches us a lot about us and how we should view ourselves in view of Jesus’ Lordship. The power demonstrated by Jesus over this storm not only indicates His authority over nature but is a reminder that He is the one who created all things. Yet as the Son of God, though whom all things were created, Jesus comes to earth to reverse the curse of sin through divine and kingdom power.
Jesus didn’t come to create a side show or to simply impress people with His power; He came with a redemptive purpose and all of the miracles and healings He performed were designed to establish His authority as the Messiah and to demonstrate that He was able to reverse or undo the curse of sin that plagues the creation He made; and that He has the authority to re-create and lead mankind in a different way. And so the question we hear at the end of this passage is: “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!”
This is the first response that Matthew wants his readers to have: Don’t just look at the miracle, but look at the person. Look at Jesus and follow Him. This account is much more than just terrified disciples wanting Jesus to rescue them; it’s about a Savior who has the divine authority to rescue us from sin, and deliver us from its curse.
We also see the reality of Jesus’ humanity, not only in that He was tired and needed to sleep, but that He demonstrates trust in His Father’s care. As the Son of Man, Jesus comes to experience our weaknesses and our fears as a man, and as we see in this situation Jesus trusts in the will of His Father and is fully confident in His care. You see that His power was a result of His trust and confidence in God. His authority did not exempt Jesus from human emotions, thus the point that we don’t want to miss is that Jesus was able to keep His heart and mind perfectly calm because of His assurance of God’s care. This is an important point that we are apt to miss if we don’t remember Jesus’ full humanity and that fact that He was subject to the same temptations as us.
This passage teaches us a lot about Jesus and His authority, but it’s also designed to teach us about ourselves as we consider a third major point: Jesus’ authority to calm hearts. After the disciples wake Jesus up, we read Jesus response in verse 26: “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” This might seem a little harsh when they had never seen a storm like this and the boat is full of water. Jesus’ point is that had the disciples had the same type of trust and confidence in God that He displayed, they would not have been in such a panic or implied that Jesus didn’t care about their state. Their response is very much like the response we often have to difficult problems and situation we encounter in our lives. “Lord, why are you letting me drown?” “Why are you sleeping, when I’m struggling?”
In verse 26, Jesus exercises His authority over nature by rebuking the winds and waves and creating a completely calm situation. Jesus’ point is that your lack of faith is misplaced because I have the authority to give you peace. Jesus later tells us that in this world you will have trouble; you will have storms and trials to navigate, but take heart because I will give you peace. He said, “Peace I give to you; peace I leave with you . . . so don’t let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Jesus’ rebuke of “little faith” teaches us to not doubt God’s love and power, but to trust His sovereignty. Yet this is not uncommon among God’s people. We read in Psalm 10: “Why O Lord do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in my times of trouble?” In other words, “Where are you when I need you? We often see this same sentiment expressed through the prophets and other places in Scripture when the circumstances blur our clear vision of God’s love and care for us; and forget that He is with us and has the power to give us His peace. This passage in Matthew reminds us that Jesus has the authority to give us this peace; and not only the authority to give it, but the promise to give it to His disciples – to us who are committed to Him.
The disciples learned that they didn’t have enough faith, not in terms of being saved, but in terms of full trust and confidence. We learn the same thing in times of storms and troubles, but true disciples of Christ don’t give up or walk away or keep blaming God for the trouble, instead we recognize and believe that our faith needs to be constantly strengthened; and be continually increasing, as we see and trust God’s words and His works. Matthew points his first readers and he points us, as those who continue to read and hear God’s truth throughout the years, to the wonderful words and works of Jesus, in order to draw us closer to Him as Lord. Jesus is the one who increases our faith as we listen to Him and trust Him as our Savior and now great high priest.
As Jesus’ first disciples were often perplexed by Jesus’ words and works, they asked Him to “increase their faith.” They realized that He was the only one who could consistently calm their hearts and give them true peace. Thus Jesus’ kingdom authority, demonstrated in His powerful Word and His mighty works, is meant first to declare His kingship; and secondly, for those of us who trust Him by faith as our Savior and follow Him as His disciple, this kingdom authority is meant to remind us that He is still the one who can calm any and all storms that come into our lives, because He is our peace; and He gives us peace as He increases and strengthens our faith.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
Pastor Dennis Bone
9/15/13
KINGDOM AUTHORITY 9-15-13
Last week one of the new residents at Solutions came in to see me for counseling and upon learning that I was a pastor at a local church excitedly asked me, “Is your church Spirit filled?” I said “Yes,” clarifying that we were Christians and the Holy Spirit was in us and worked among us. He immediately said, “So you guys are doing healings, driving out demons, and beating down Satan.” I said “No,” but we talk a lot about someone who did.
As Christians we have a Savior who has this kind of authority and power; and who demonstrated it time and time again during His ministry on earth. As I pointed out last week, the miraculous works of Jesus were signs pointing to the fact that He is the divine King and the Messiah who initiates the kingdom. Jesus gave His church the authority to preach the gospel and to make disciples, and He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit to do it. Thus we must be careful that we don’t claim authority for things we don’t have, and instead focus our attention on the great commission that we do have; and not confuse the two.
In our passage this morning we see Jesus’ kingdom authority once again revealed and demonstrated in His power over nature. He does what no other man could do or attempt to do, and in so doing Jesus teaches us about what this authority means for us who follow Him as His disciples. So please turn with me to Matthew chapter 8, as we will be looking at verses 23 – 27:
Then Jesus got in 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?”
One primary purpose of Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life is to show us that He had authority and power over every facet of the curse of sin: disease, death, demons, Satan, the natural realm and the supernatural realm; and this qualified Him to be the Messiah and to be the King who brings in the kingdom. This authority is unique to Jesus because He has been given the same authority and power as God Himself; and His demonstration of it is another proof that He is God; and as the Son of God He is able to save us and deliver sinners from the curse of sin.
And so huge crowds of people follow Jesus; and He makes the case for who He is and why you should follow Him. Matthew and the other apostles take up this case in their New Testament writings; and all those who have received Christ by faith, and have trusted in Him as their Savior, and have followed Him as Lord, continue to make this same case through the gospel. This is the case that we make and that the church makes throughout the world still today. He has kingdom authority; and as we look at our passage this morning I want to consider three aspects of this authority: Jesus’ authority to call disciples; Jesus authority to control nature; and Jesus’ authority to calm hearts.
Jesus had the authority to call disciples and as we looked at last week, Jesus definition and criteria for discipleship is far different than those in the crowd who followed Him for many different reasons. Huge crowds followed Him to hear His Sermon on the Mount; and multitudes were around Him to see and experience His miracles and healings. Yet as Jesus further explained the call and cost of true discipleship, fewer and fewer people followed Him.
When we look at the people who follow Jesus today we see this same dynamic when it comes to the difference between “followers” of Jesus and “disciples” of Jesus. The word “disciple” is often used in a broad sense and as such disciples are learners or followers of someone; not necessarily believers. Some people are attached to Jesus’ teaching; they listen to it, they like it; they may enjoy the outward benefits that it can bring, but there is no inward change. Jesus describes this in His parable of the sower and the seed. Only one soil enabled the seed to mature and become productive. We see this play out in the gospels as more and more people “fall away” from Jesus when it is no longer easy or convenient to follow Him.
And so we learn from this that disciples are not those who are simply curious or intrigued with all of the exciting things going on; nor are they those who are simply intellectually convinced – who have all the head knowledge but are unwilling to give up their worldly lifestyle – true disciples are those who are fully committed. This is the authoritative call of Jesus. Jesus calls us to a total commitment to His Lordship, as we heard last week in the previous passage; and it’s this commitment that defines biblical discipleship and makes one a believer, not just a learner or follower.
Jesus illustrates this difference in John 6 when He speaks about His death and the fact that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will have no life. He is talking about commitment; His commitment first to give up His life; and then our commitment to find our life in Him. At the end of the chapter John writes: “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.” When it becomes fully apparent as to what discipleship really means the curious and simply intellectually convinced will jump ship; and the committed will say what the true disciples say when Jesus asks them if they too will leave.
“Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” It’s with this background that we move to our second point: Jesus’ authority to control nature. The crowd has narrowed to only a few disciples who follow Jesus on to the boat for an experience like no other. Without warning – verse 24 – a crisis arises; a great storm, which even shakes the veteran fisherman on board, puts everyone in danger. Yet according to verse 25 Jesus is sleeping. How can that be? This should be the first clue to us that if Jesus can sleep through it, He can solve it. Of course Jesus’ sleeping does not reflect His lack of interest or concern; as the disciples seem to imply, rather it points out His control.
This scene is very dramatic; and it’s a familiar story to us, and most certainly we would have felt much the same as these disciples, but why does Matthew record this story and what does it really have to do with us? First, it teaches us a lot about Jesus and how we should view Him as Lord; and second it teaches us a lot about us and how we should view ourselves in view of Jesus’ Lordship. The power demonstrated by Jesus over this storm not only indicates His authority over nature but is a reminder that He is the one who created all things. Yet as the Son of God, though whom all things were created, Jesus comes to earth to reverse the curse of sin through divine and kingdom power.
Jesus didn’t come to create a side show or to simply impress people with His power; He came with a redemptive purpose and all of the miracles and healings He performed were designed to establish His authority as the Messiah and to demonstrate that He was able to reverse or undo the curse of sin that plagues the creation He made; and that He has the authority to re-create and lead mankind in a different way. And so the question we hear at the end of this passage is: “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!”
This is the first response that Matthew wants his readers to have: Don’t just look at the miracle, but look at the person. Look at Jesus and follow Him. This account is much more than just terrified disciples wanting Jesus to rescue them; it’s about a Savior who has the divine authority to rescue us from sin, and deliver us from its curse.
We also see the reality of Jesus’ humanity, not only in that He was tired and needed to sleep, but that He demonstrates trust in His Father’s care. As the Son of Man, Jesus comes to experience our weaknesses and our fears as a man, and as we see in this situation Jesus trusts in the will of His Father and is fully confident in His care. You see that His power was a result of His trust and confidence in God. His authority did not exempt Jesus from human emotions, thus the point that we don’t want to miss is that Jesus was able to keep His heart and mind perfectly calm because of His assurance of God’s care. This is an important point that we are apt to miss if we don’t remember Jesus’ full humanity and that fact that He was subject to the same temptations as us.
This passage teaches us a lot about Jesus and His authority, but it’s also designed to teach us about ourselves as we consider a third major point: Jesus’ authority to calm hearts. After the disciples wake Jesus up, we read Jesus response in verse 26: “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” This might seem a little harsh when they had never seen a storm like this and the boat is full of water. Jesus’ point is that had the disciples had the same type of trust and confidence in God that He displayed, they would not have been in such a panic or implied that Jesus didn’t care about their state. Their response is very much like the response we often have to difficult problems and situation we encounter in our lives. “Lord, why are you letting me drown?” “Why are you sleeping, when I’m struggling?”
In verse 26, Jesus exercises His authority over nature by rebuking the winds and waves and creating a completely calm situation. Jesus’ point is that your lack of faith is misplaced because I have the authority to give you peace. Jesus later tells us that in this world you will have trouble; you will have storms and trials to navigate, but take heart because I will give you peace. He said, “Peace I give to you; peace I leave with you . . . so don’t let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Jesus’ rebuke of “little faith” teaches us to not doubt God’s love and power, but to trust His sovereignty. Yet this is not uncommon among God’s people. We read in Psalm 10: “Why O Lord do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in my times of trouble?” In other words, “Where are you when I need you? We often see this same sentiment expressed through the prophets and other places in Scripture when the circumstances blur our clear vision of God’s love and care for us; and forget that He is with us and has the power to give us His peace. This passage in Matthew reminds us that Jesus has the authority to give us this peace; and not only the authority to give it, but the promise to give it to His disciples – to us who are committed to Him.
The disciples learned that they didn’t have enough faith, not in terms of being saved, but in terms of full trust and confidence. We learn the same thing in times of storms and troubles, but true disciples of Christ don’t give up or walk away or keep blaming God for the trouble, instead we recognize and believe that our faith needs to be constantly strengthened; and be continually increasing, as we see and trust God’s words and His works. Matthew points his first readers and he points us, as those who continue to read and hear God’s truth throughout the years, to the wonderful words and works of Jesus, in order to draw us closer to Him as Lord. Jesus is the one who increases our faith as we listen to Him and trust Him as our Savior and now great high priest.
As Jesus’ first disciples were often perplexed by Jesus’ words and works, they asked Him to “increase their faith.” They realized that He was the only one who could consistently calm their hearts and give them true peace. Thus Jesus’ kingdom authority, demonstrated in His powerful Word and His mighty works, is meant first to declare His kingship; and secondly, for those of us who trust Him by faith as our Savior and follow Him as His disciple, this kingdom authority is meant to remind us that He is still the one who can calm any and all storms that come into our lives, because He is our peace; and He gives us peace as He increases and strengthens our faith.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
