You of Little Faith, Why Are You So Afraid?

Matthew 8:18-34, Key verse 8:26 

“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.”

1. What orders did Jesus give, and why might he have done so (18)? What did one teacher of the law propose and how did Jesus reply (19-20)? What did another disciple say, and how did Jesus reply (21-22)? What do we learn about the cost of following Jesus?
2. Who followed when Jesus got into the boat (23)? What happened as they crossed the lake (24)? What was Jesus doing, and what does this show about him? How did the disciples respond to the storm, and what does this show about them (25)?
3. Read verse 26. For what did Jesus rebuke his disciples? How did Jesus calm the furious storm? What did the amazed disciples learn (27)? What do we learn about how Jesus helps his disciples to have faith in him?
4. Where did Jesus land and how was he welcomed (28-29)? How had demons affected these men personally, socially, and in their view of Jesus? What did the demons beg Jesus to do (30-31)?
5. What did Jesus command them, and what was the result (32)? How did the pig-keepers and the townspeople respond (33-34)? What does this passage show about Jesus: how he uses his authority, what he values, and the importance of faith in him?

“YOU OF LITTLE FAITH, WHY ARE YOU SO AFRAID?”

Matthew 8:18-34, Key verse 8:26

“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.”

In the last passage we saw how Jesus’ healing ministry was an expression of his salvation mission. Jesus came to save us by taking up our infirmities and bearing our diseases (8:17). We also learned, through two personal cases, that Jesus’ healing ministry was based on faith. Jesus healed a leper because of the leper’s faith to come to Jesus in his unclean condition. Jesus healed the servant of a centurion because of the centurion’s faith in the authority of Jesus’ word. 

In today’s passage we see the events surrounding Jesus’ departure with his disciples to a new region. We can learn a lot from this about what Jesus wants to teach his disciples. Once again, the main point is faith. Becoming Jesus’ disciple is based on a decision of faith, and the life of discipleship is about growing in faith enough to overcome fear and fight spiritual battles. Let’s pray that we may see how to be disciples who grow in faith. 

1. The requirement of discipleship (18-23)

At the end of the previous passage, Jesus was in Capernaum, Simon Peter’s hometown, which was on the Northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Crowds continued to throng around Jesus. Some wanted healing. Some came to hear him. Verse 18 says, “When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.” Seeing this crowd seems to have prompted Jesus to get away to a new region. Why did Jesus leave the crowd? Was he sick and tired of serving so many needy people? Of course not. Jesus could have chosen to stay and continue a fruitful life-changing ministry right where he was, as many gospel servants are called to do. But Jesus’ calling compelled him to do something else. In Mark’s gospel, Chapter 1 verse 38, Jesus gives his disciples a reason for their departure. He says, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” Though Jesus in his human form could not travel everywhere and help everyone, nonetheless he felt compelled to broaden the reach of his message, preaching the kingdom in other towns.

People must have seen that Jesus was preparing to leave, and so some came up who apparently had the intention of following Jesus as his disciple. Look at verse 19. “Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’” This seems to be a very unique thing for a teacher of the law to say. Most of the teachers of the law were not very friendly toward Jesus. They felt threatened by Jesus’ ministry and felt they knew a lot more than Jesus did. But this teacher of the law expressed his full commitment to follow Jesus anywhere. We might think that Jesus would praise or compliment this man, saying, “Awesome! Let’s go!” But that is not what Jesus said to him. 

Look at verse 20. Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Why did Jesus suddenly talk about foxes and birds and a place to stay? Jesus must have discerned that this teacher of the law was not really ready to face the hardships necessary to be his disciple. Maybe this teacher of the law assumed that if Jesus accepted him as his disciple, his room and board would be automatically taken care of by Jesus, like a top student who gets a full scholarship to devote himself to his or her studies. However, Jesus did not have a generous grant from the temple to fund his ministry. So when he said that foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head, Jesus was telling this man that following him was not a ticket to a comfortable life—not even in comparison to some animals. Practically, Jesus and his disciples didn’t know in advance whether they would be able to sleep in someone’s house or out under the stars. 

Jesus’ warning also applies to us today, though hopefully we all have a place to sleep tonight. In fact, we can trust that God will make a way and that all our needs will be provided when we seek God’s kingdom first. But if we are thinking of following Jesus because it seems to be a way to escape earthly troubles, we are doing it for the wrong reason. Our church’s self-supporting missionaries are really great because they just went to their mission fields by faith, knowing that they would have to find a way to support themselves when they got there. It doesn’t mean that having supported missionaries is bad; but Jesus is looking at is our heart motive in following him. If we say we intend to follow Jesus, we can expect that Jesus will test our motive to see if we are really doing it to seek treasure in heaven. If we do have a holy desire, we will be willing to endure hardships and difficulties in our human situation, because we know our life on earth is just a journey, with heaven as our true destination. 

Another disciple came up to Jesus as he was leaving. Look at verse 21. “Another disciple said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’” This disciple knew that he should follow Jesus, and he seems willing to do so, but he asked Jesus for a postponement because of a very urgent obligation. When we think about the spectrum of human obligations, this is one of the strongest. In Jewish society, a son would absolutely be expected to provide for his father’s proper burial. And of course, one of the Ten Commandments is “Honor your father and your mother.” This disciple did not run off without asking Jesus’ permission, and his request seems reasonable and even honorable. 

But how did Jesus respond? Look at verse 22. “But Jesus told him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’” This is undoubtedly one of the more shocking and disturbing sayings of Jesus. What was his point? To me, it’s a reminder that following Jesus is about the most important things of all, about life and death. What is the goal of following Jesus? It is to find true life, spiritual life, overcoming even the power of death. So if we think that death is a force that compels us more strongly than what Jesus has to offer, we have forgotten what following Jesus is about. Jesus calls us to pursue life!

Jesus is not saying that when we are his disciple, we can never attend funerals or fulfill familial obligations. In fact, it is Jesus who totally changed the atmosphere of funerals, from one of wailing and inconsolable grief to thankfulness and hope. But Jesus knows that when the time comes to decide to do something for God, many good excuses will appear to prevent us from doing so. There are many people who say, “I will follow you Lord, but first let me finish college,” or, “first let me get a down payment on a house,” or, “first let me get a full-time job.” The list is endless. We can always find what we think are good reasons to do something first before following Jesus. But these are too often just reasons to avoid making the crucial spiritual decision that will grow us the next step in faith.

We could also point out here that the time span of Jesus’ earthly ministry was not long. The man who wanted to go bury his father probably did not realize how soon Jesus’ ministry would be over, and his opportunity to follow Jesus in person would be gone. Of course, we can come to Jesus by faith at any moment, even on our death-bed. But real opportunities to change our life direction for Jesus’ kingdom do not come every day. If we don’t have faith at the moment of decision, those opportunities will pass us by. 

I am the most blessed person because Missionary Anastasia could make the decision to follow Jesus’ calling, even though her family had and continues to have many needs. We should also have faith that when we follow Jesus, God will make a way to take care of our loved ones. Later in Matthew’s gospel we will hear Jesus’ wonderful promise: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (19:29)

The passage doesn’t tell us whether these two disciple candidates ended up following Jesus or not. However, in verse 23 there is an observation that’s so basic we can almost miss it, but it tells us something very important. “Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.” In the end, who were Jesus’ true disciples? It’s simple: they were the ones who got into the boat with him. It’s a matter of action, not words. What is the requirement of discipleship? The one requirement of discipleship is to follow Jesus. 

2. The disciples get storm training (24-27)

Jesus and his disciples were sailing across the Sea of Galilee, which, by the way, is 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. Look at verse 24. “Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.” I have heard that dangerous storms could appear very suddenly like this on the Sea of Galilee. This one was serious enough to threaten the lives of the disciples, even though several of them were experienced fishermen.

But Jesus was sleeping. What does this tell us about Jesus? First of all, it tells us that Jesus was fully human. He was tired from serving the crowds, and he had to sleep. Secondly, it shows us that when Jesus did sleep, he could sleep very well; even a storm did not wake him. We can see this as a result of Jesus’ relationship with God. Jesus had perfect trusting faith in God his Father, so that nothing could make him fearful. He enjoyed such secure peace as a result of his faith that this storm tossing the boat was to him like rocking in a hammock. 

The disciples, however, were not at this time experiencing peace. After unsuccessfully fighting the storm as long as they could, they reached the point of panic. They went and woke Jesus saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” (25) What does this reaction show about them? On the positive side, it shows that they did have some instinctive trust in Jesus. They depended on him. They remind me of children (and some adults) who automatically call for their mom when they get scared. However, it seems like the disciples were also upset with Jesus. How could Jesus just keep sleeping peacefully while they were fighting the storm as a matter of life and death? Did Jesus not care?

This situation of the disciples in the boat is like many situations we face in our lives. We may not be in a literal sea-storm, but we may face a combination of stressful problems hitting us all at once and taking us to the limit of our strength, kind of a “perfect storm” of life. How do we react at such a time? We might also panic and wonder why Jesus isn’t doing anything to help us.

What did Jesus do when his disciples interrupted his nap? Look at verse 26a. “He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’” Amazingly, Jesus’ first concern upon being woken was not the storm, but his disciples’ faith. This is the second time in Matthew’s gospel that Jesus said, “you of little faith.” The first time was in 6:30 when Jesus said, “will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” Here, Jesus is again teaching the need for faith to overcome anxiety and fear. Faith is meant to give us freedom from fear. To Jesus, the disciples’ fear in the storm was a sign of their lack of faith. Though the disciples did go to Jesus when they were in trouble, they had nonetheless let fear take control of their hearts. Fear is the great enemy, which makes Jesus’ disciples powerless. Without overcoming fear, we cannot do God’s will.

If the disciples had had more faith in this storm, what could they have done differently? We can find a very applicable example from Christian history. Once, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, was on a ship sailing across the Atlantic Ocean to America with some German Moravian Christians. The Moravians were worshiping when a storm hit their ship. John Wesley confessed to being terrified. But afterward, he wrote the following in his journal, dated Sunday, January 25, 1736:

In the midst of the psalm wherewith their service began, the sea broke over, split the main-sail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sung on. I asked one of them afterwards, “Was you not afraid?” He answered, “I thank God, no.” I asked, “But were not your women and children afraid?” He replied, mildly, “No; our women and children are not afraid to die.” 

Faith in Jesus gave these Moravian Christians peace in the midst of a severe storm, just like Jesus himself had. Maybe Jesus’ disciples should have sung a hymn in the storm like the Moravians did. 

Only after Jesus rebuked his disciples did he do something about the storm. Verse 26b says, “Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” Thus far, Jesus had performed personal miracles to heal the sick and to drive out demons. This miracle was in a different category and on a different scale. The winds and the waves are a force beyond human control. Meteorologists today can explain to us the shifts in weather due to air fronts coming from the oceans or the poles. They know well about the weather, but still they can’t control it. But Jesus told a storm to calm down and it did. 

The disciples responded to this as any human beings would. Verse 27 says, “The men were amazed and asked each other, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’” A few seconds before, the disciples had been terrified of the storm. Now, they were more terrified of Jesus. But this is a good thing. Notice that they began to have a new question about Jesus’ identity. Jesus is now showing his disciples that he is not just a good teacher with healing gifts; he holds of the authority of the Creator over his Creation. 

It’s good to cry out to Jesus in prayer, even if we are panicking. But after that, we should expect that Jesus wants to teach us a different point of view about the thing we were so afraid of. Have you ever been awestruck by seeing God’s work? When the sense of God’s almighty power comes into our hearts, our earthly problems seem much smaller. We cannot change the weather. But is anything too hard for God? God can change any situation in our life in a moment. Jesus’ identity as the Son of God should not be just an abstract theological assertion for us. It is tied to our personal faith in his power. No matter how big the storms in our life are, we should know that Jesus is greater—and have faith.

3. Jesus saves two demon-possessed men (29-34)

I assume that for the rest of their boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, the disciples were very quiet. They arrived at the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, in Gentile territory, called the region of the Gadarenes, or sometimes Gerasenes. Unfortunately, their welcoming party consisted of two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs. These men had been possessed by so many demons that they could not live among normal people. Appropriately, their dwelling was in the tombs, among the dead. They were so violent that no one could pass them. The men who had become possessed in this way were truly miserable. They were out of control of their own bodies. We don’t know exactly how they got this way, and we don’t want to be quick to assign blame. But we can say that such a condition is the end result of being a slave to sin. 

When these men, or rather the demons controlling them, saw Jesus, they cried out, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” (29) The demons, living in the spiritual realm, knew Jesus’ true identity. And they were extremely afraid of Jesus who would judge them one day at the time God appointed, sending them to hell for all eternity. So the demons tried to make a deal with Jesus. They saw a large herd of pigs feeding on a hillside and begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” Apparently, Jesus agreed to this, and in another display of his divine authority, Jesus spoke just one word: “Go!” At once the demons came out and went into the pigs. The pigs were totally unable to endure the torment of the evil spirits inside them. So, in a self-destructive action, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. 

Why do you think Jesus granted the demons’ request to go into the pigs? It’s certainly not because Jesus needs to negotiate with the devil. Maybe it’s that Jesus actually would not judge even demons before the appointed time. But I think he also wanted to show his disciples and all the people in that region the power of evil spiritual forces, so they could understand the kind of battle we are in. Regardless, we shouldn’t forget that this miracle is a work of Jesus’ compassion, which was focused on freeing these two men from the devil’s hold on their lives. As a result of Jesus coming into their life, they were two healed, restored men. To achieve this, Jesus was willing to sacrifice pigs. This is another lesson for Jesus’ disciples. To Jesus, one soul is worth more than any amount of material wealth.

Verses 33 and 34 say that when this happened, the workers tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. The whole town went out to meet Jesus. But they were not thankful. When they saw Jesus, they pleaded with him to leave their region. It seems they were made too uncomfortable by Jesus’ display of divine power. Maybe they were also upset at the financial loss of the pigs. They were not ready to receive the blessing of Jesus’ presence because it challenged their value system too much. But we, as Jesus’ disciples, should pray to learn his value system, overcoming the pragmatism and materialism of our times. These days, too many people are judged by how much revenue they generate for somebody else. But Jesus saw the image of God in two men whose lives had been disfigured by sin. We should have the same compassion for the people around us who are also tormented by demons in big and small ways. 

In the last two passages, Jesus’ disciples have witnessed his power and compassion expressed in many different ways. We have seen how Jesus has authority over diseases, over demonic forces, and even over nature itself. This means that when we have faith in Jesus, we have power to overcome all these things and also help others’ souls be healed. When we feel afraid or overwhelmed, we need to hear Jesus’ words, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” May God bless us to follow Jesus, overcoming all kinds of fear.