Nasty Sea Storms and Ships

By Mary Vee
Matthew 8

From Matthew's Journal 

On the Sea of Galilee where Peter, Andrew, and others fished.
Photo by Mary Vee

My name is Matthew, I am a follower of Jesus. I have recorded some of what I witnessed in this post. 

I and other of Jesus's disciples are on board a boat sailing across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus is also on board. To our left and right, there are other boats sailing with us.

Because of the mountains around this sea, storms can rise quickly and with no notice. When they do, the cool waters fuel the winds, causing the storm to build and rifling tall waves that threaten to overtake the boat. 

Birds circle with the winds, screeching as they fly away from the storm.

The sky darkens. A furious squall appears.

Waves break over the boat, soaking our clothes and chilling us to the bone. 

Water pools inside the boat, rising quickly, threatening to sink the ship. We are absolutely terrified.

Jesus has fallen asleep on a cushion in the stern, (the back of the boat). 

I run to him and shake his shoulder until he wakes. When his eyes open I say, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He has to have known the trouble we are in.

Jesus sits up then stands. He looks out at the wind and says "Quiet!" He looks at the waves and says, "Be still!"

Just like that--the wind dies down as if it had never been stirred.

It took a few minutes for my heart and breath to settle down.

Jesus turns to us and says, "Why are you so afraid?"

It was a fair question. We should have been afraid, not with Him on board, but we are.

He says, "Don't you have any faith?"

We look at each other. Ashamed. Puzzled. Mystified. Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him. 




If you have questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section.


Next time I will write about amazing miracles performed by Jesus.

 Come back to read the next story.

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sources: 
*A Harmony of the Gospels for Historical Study, An Analytical Synopsis of the Four Gospels by William Arnold Stevens and Ernest DeWitt Burton, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1932
*New International Version, New King James Version. 
*My Bible College training.
*My notes and walk through classes I've taught in Children's church. Answers to student questions, etc.
*Pastoral sermons on this time
*Matthew Henry Commentary
*F. LaGard Smith Commentary
*My notes from my trip to Israel.
*Photos from my trip to Israel.

Jonah-I Can't Swim!

By Mary Vee
Jonah 1,2

From the Very Drenched Journal Notes of Jonah

Photo Courtesy

The captain pleaded with me to answer his question, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?'

This was all my fault. Had I listened to God in the first place, the ship and the crew would not have had this trouble. I'm not suppose to be on the ship. The only answer would be for me to leave the ship. I sighed.  "You need to pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then it will become calm. I know it's my fault that this great storm has come upon you."

The captain shook his head. "We can't throw you off! You're a paying passenger."  He turned to his crew. "Man the oars and row toward land."

The crew scrambled to their positions and pulled the oars with all their strength. The captain called a beat to keep them rowing but the wind fought them. The harder they rowed the farther from land the sea pushed them. They worked the oars past the midday hour. 

I couldn't believe that the waves could grow taller and lift the boat, but they did. If the captain didn't throw me overboard soon the entire crew and ship would perish. He wouldn't listen to my pleas, though.

Finally, the captain looked up at the skies and saw no relief from the storm. The crew cried out, "Lord please don't let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man. For you. O Lord, have done as you pleased."

The captain and crew said they were sorry. Their eyes saddened and their eyebrows lowered. Two of the crew picked me up and tossed me as far as they could away from the boat, preventing me from bouncing against the hull. 

The instant I hit the water the waves calmed and I sank deeper into the dark waters. 

I didn't know how to swim. My clothing weighed me down, deeper into the water. I didn't know how long I would be able to hold my breath. I'd never been under water before. I opened my eyes and watched the fish swim around me. 

But soon the air left my lungs and I knew I would drown. 

My head pounded and my chest hurt. I pushed with my arms but didn't go very far. Suddenly a large fish, bigger than the waves that hit the ship, swam toward me. This was my end. Would it hurt to be eaten by a fish?

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1. What did the captain want to know?
2. When Jonah answered him, did the captain do as Jonah said?
3. What did the captain order his crew to do?
4. After a while the captain gave up. The crew said what to God?
5. What did the crew do to Jonah?
6. Why didn't they want to do this?
7. What happened when Jonah hit the water?
8. Why did Jonah sink?
9. What did Jonah see at the end?