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2025 Study of Matthew’s Gospel #8

JESUS CALMS THE STORM

Matthew 8:18-34

Key Verse 8:26

1. What did Jesus reveal about the real-life challenges of following Him as a disciple (18-20)? What did Jesus challenge His disciples to prioritize (21-22)? What makes following Jesus worth it, even when it’s costly?
2. How did the reactions of Jesus and His disciples differ in the middle of the storm (23-25)? What do you think was the root of the disciples’ fear (26a)? What does Jesus’ authority over nature reveal about who He is (26b-27)?
3. What does the reaction of the demon-possessed men show about their understanding of Jesus’ identity and power (28-29)? How did Jesus restore them, and what does this teach us about His compassion and power (30-34)?
4. Based on this passage, how would you describe who Jesus is? What kinds of “storms” or “spiritual battles” do you face today, and how can you overcome them?

2025 Matthew’s Gospel June 1, 2025

JESUS’ AUTHORITY AND POWER

Matthew 8:18-27

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.

The Gospel of Matthew doesn’t follow a chronological order but is organized by theme when recording the ministry of Jesus. Last Sunday, we learned about Jesus’ healing power over sickness. Today, we will learn about Jesus’ authority and power over nature. I want to cover two events in the message. The first event is when Jesus teaches those who want to follow Him about the cost of discipleship. The second event is when Jesus calms a furious storm on the Sea of Galilee.

First, the cost of following Jesus (18-22)

In this event, we see two people who say they want to follow Jesus. Look at verse 19: “Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’” Teachers of the law were scholars who were well-versed in the Torah and had the important role of interpreting and teaching God’s word. And yet, this man wanted to become a disciple of Jesus. He said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” That was a bold and impressive decision. Calling Jesus “Teacher” and making that statement seems to reflect his sincere heart. Why do you think he made such a decision? Maybe he was deeply moved by the Sermon on the Mount. Maybe he saw Jesus healing many sick people and was amazed by His power. Or maybe he saw the large crowds following Jesus and got excited. He might have wanted to become a great person like Jesus. That’s why he said, “I will follow you wherever you go.” What a great decision that is. There are many people in our church who also have this kind of spiritual desire. If it is your desire to follow Jesus, I invite you to say, “I will follow you wherever you go.” I pray that God will bless your desire and your decision.

But Jesus’ response wasn’t all that positive. 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.’” What does this mean? Foxes were very common animals in Israel at the time. Even those wild animals have their own dens. Even the birds of the sky have nests to rest in. But the Son of Man had no place to lay His head. Here, “the Son of Man” refers to Jesus in His humanity. Jesus is fully God and fully human. That’s why He can be our perfect mediator. God came to this world and became a man. But when He came, He didn’t even have a small place to rest. Jesus didn’t take out a mortgage and buy a house by the Sea of Galilee. Instead, He traveled around Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem like a pilgrim, preaching the gospel. He didn’t stay in luxury hotels. He didn’t have money for a hotel room. In fact, if He had wanted to, He could have become the richest man in the world. He could’ve started a bakery and, like the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, produced an endless supply of bread without paying for ingredients—24/7. He could’ve opened a fish market, caught all the fish in the Sea of Galilee, and sold them. But Jesus chose to live the life of a poor preacher. He spent all day preaching God’s word and healing the sick late into the night, often not having enough time to sleep. Sometimes, He slept on the road. Sometimes, He slept in a boat. And when someone invited Him to stay at their house, He would sleep there. This is how Jesus lived—with no place to lay His head—for the sake of God’s kingdom. To be a disciple of Jesus means choosing to follow this kind of life.

But are we really ready to live like Jesus did? That’s a very hard question to answer. No one wants to live like a homeless person. Even if it’s not luxurious, we all want to have our own home in New York and live without financial hardship. After hearing Jesus’ words, probably none of us would confidently say, “I will follow you wherever you go.” So does that mean we should give up on following Jesus? Absolutely not! Jesus still wants us to follow Him. And He understands our weaknesses. He wants to bless our lives. But Jesus also wants us to know the reality of what it means to follow Him. He doesn’t want us to follow Him out of idealism or just based on emotional excitement. He wants us to know what the life of a disciple is really like and make a prayerful, thoughtful decision. And when we do so, Jesus will bless our lives as His disciples.

I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was a freshman in college. At the time, I was studying law at Korea University, dreaming of becoming a judge and achieving success in the world. But after I met Jesus, I was so moved by His love that I wanted to follow Him. Then Jesus spoke to me through Hebrews 11:24–25: “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” Through this verse, Jesus showed me that becoming a judge and succeeding in the world would be to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Just as Moses refused to live as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, Jesus called me to give up my worldly ambition of becoming a judge and to follow Him instead. It was a very difficult decision for me. So I prayed to God earnestly. Jesus helped me, and I made the decision to give up my worldly desire and follow Jesus. So I became a shepherd of God’s flock. Jesus will lead each person according to His will. And I have never regretted that decision. In fact, I’m deeply thankful to God for allowing me to live as a shepherd.

Many of us have given up worldly desires and ambitions in order to follow Jesus. Even though we know that the life of a disciple is hard in reality, why did we still decide to follow Him? It’s because the grace we received from Jesus is so valuable. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great pastor and theologian who resisted the Nazis in Germany, said this in his book The Cost of Discipleship: “It (the grace of God) is costly because it cost God the life of His Son. What has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.” That’s why the life of a disciple must also be costly. To follow Jesus means to be called to leave behind everything—comfort, security, even family or reputation—and follow Him. I pray that we can deeply understand what the life of a disciple means, and still say, “I will follow you wherever you go,” and follow Jesus faithfully.

Second, Jesus’ authority and power over nature (23-27)

Jesus and His disciples got into a boat and set out to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. What happened then? Look at verse 24: “Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, and the waves swept over the boat.” Do you enjoy traveling by boat? Have you ever experienced a storm at sea or on a lake? I don’t like boat rides because I’m not a good swimmer. When I was in Venezuela, I took a guest from Korea on a tour of the beautiful Caribbean Sea. We got on a small boat and headed out to an island. But the waves were so strong that I was seized with fear that the boat might flip over. I thought I was going to fall into the sea and drown. I never want to go through that experience again.

Several of the disciples, including Peter, were fishermen. They were strong swimmers and very familiar with the Sea of Galilee. They had probably faced storms many times while out fishing. So at first, when the strong wind started blowing, they didn’t think much of it. But the wind kept getting stronger, and the waves started hitting the boat harder and harder. They soon realized that this storm was much worse than the others they had experienced. They fought against it with all their strength. They used every skill they knew to keep the boat steady. They worked as hard as they could to throw the water out of the boat. But the situation kept getting worse. The sail broke, and the boat was damaged to the point where it could sink at any moment. Finally, they realized they had reached their limit—there was nothing more they could do. The boat was going down, and they were overcome with fear that they were going to die.

The journey across the Sea of Galilee can be compared to the journey of our lives. Along the way, we face both big and small storms. Some people experience unexpected accidents that leave them paralyzed and unable to walk. Others are diagnosed with serious illnesses like cancer and have to fight for their lives through long and difficult treatments. Some go through business failures and end up in financial ruin. Some lose their jobs and even become homeless. Others face storms in their families, such as broken marriages or family conflicts. Some struggle with mental health and go through the storm of depression. Just as frightening as the external storms are the storms that happen inside of us. When we go through storms in life, even greater storms can rise within our hearts—fear of death, fear of failure, fear of the future, fear of people, etc.. These inner storms can cause deep suffering. All of us have gone through some kind of storm at least once in our lives. And some may be in the middle of a violent storm right now. When we face these storms, we often do everything we can to overcome them with our own strength. And sometimes, we do succeed in getting through them. But there are times when we face storms that are simply too much for us to handle on our own. In those moments, we feel hopeless, we break down, and eventually, we give up.

But let’s remember that it’s in those moments of despair that we have the greatest opportunity to meet Jesus. While the disciples were panicking, what was Jesus doing? In the middle of a violent storm, Jesus was peacefully sleeping in the boat. Wait—how is that even possible? The wind was strong, the boat was shaking violently, water was coming into the boat, and the disciples were shouting all around Him—how could He sleep so peacefully? Not even a violent storm could disturb Jesus’ peace. Nothing could shake it. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could sleep as peacefully and deeply as Jesus did? One of the most common struggles people face today is insomnia. According to statistics, about 30 to 35% of Americans experience short-term insomnia. Around 10 to 15% suffer from chronic insomnia, meaning they have trouble sleeping at least three times a week for more than three months. The biggest causes of insomnia are stress, anxiety, depression, and poor lifestyle habits. Many of us are constantly dealing with stress and anxiety, which is why we so desperately need the peace of Jesus. So how can we experience the peace that comes from Jesus?

Look at verse 25: “The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’” When the disciples reached their limit, they finally woke Jesus. Their voices were desperate: “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” In Mark 4:38, it says, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” The disciples were even complaining about Jesus for not caring about them. The truth is, if they had asked for His help a little earlier, they might not have faced such a terrifying situation. Jesus was right there with them in the boat. They could have gone to Him for help with even the smallest problem. But their pride didn’t let them. Their own experience made them hesitate to turn to Him. They didn’t wake Jesus until they had reached the end of themselves. A wise person is someone who turns to Jesus right away—no matter how big or small the problem may be. In any case, what matters most is that they finally did call out to Jesus for help.

So what did Jesus say to the disciples? Let’s read verse 26a together: “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Jesus pointed out that their fear came from their little faith. In other words, if they had faith, they wouldn’t have been so afraid. So what is faith? Faith is about our relationship with the one we believe in. When we have a deep relationship with Jesus—the founder and perfecter of faith—and come to personally know who He is, we can have a firm and unshakable faith in Jesus. Knowing Jesus here doesn’t just mean knowing about Him intellectually or theoretically. It means knowing Him personally through experience. Through this violent storm, Jesus gave the disciples a chance to know Him in a personal way.

Jesus got up and rebuked the winds and the waves. “Quiet! Be still!” And just like that, it was completely calm. Even the violent storm obeyed His command. When the disciples saw this, they were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him.” So who is Jesus in this event? Jesus is the Creator God who rules over nature. He is the One who created and governs the entire universe—the heavens and the earth, the physical world, and the spiritual world. Do you believe that Jesus is the very God who created the heavens and the earth with His word? Who is Jesus to you—based on your own experience?

I’ve faced many storms in my life. One of them was when I was kidnapped in Venezuela. It was a Sunday night in 2011, around 10 p.m., and I was driving home when a SUV suddenly blocked my way. Four kidnappers with guns got out of the SUV and got into my car by force. They pushed me into the back seat, covered my eyes with a hat, and pointed a gun at my head, threatening me. They said, “What’s more important—your money or your life? Bring a knife. Let’s cut off his finger.” At that moment, all I could do was pray. In my heart, I cried out to God, “Lord, please save me. I’m about to die at the hands of these kidnappers. If you save me, I will dedicate the rest of my life to you.” It was a short prayer, but it came from the depths of my heart. And Jesus gave me peace. I was no longer afraid and was able to talk calmly with the kidnappers. They even told my wife, “We like your husband.” When they found out I was a pastor, they said, “We’re not bad people. This is just our job—please understand.” After two and a half hours, they let me go. As I left, I said to them, “Dios los bendiga! (God bless you!)” In this context, “God bless you” means “Repent.” Through that experience, I came to know that Jesus is the Lord of my life. I experienced Him as the Savior who moved the hearts of the kidnappers and rescued me. I also experienced that Jesus is the God who gives peace, no matter what situation I’m in. I believe that Jesus is always with me. And I believe that with faith in Him, I can overcome any storm.

I pray that all of us may believe in Jesus, who has authority and power over the entire universe—over nature, the spiritual world, and the physical world—and that we may overcome the world through faith. Amen.