In the corona storm in a small boat.

As I write this, South Africa is in lockdown day 27 (Wednesday 22 April 2020).  We are in a fierce storm that came suddenly and unexpectedly.  Early January some may have thought the coronavirus will only affect Wuhan and maybe China.   This morning  2,557,917 people have been infected and sadly 177,688 have died.  It is a storm or a pandemic affecting the whole earth and it's people.

When I received the picture below, it reminded me of Jesus with His disciples on the sea of Galilee in a small boat during a great windstorm.

The storm seen from my friend Zev's roof:

Sea of Galilee seen from Tiberias

There are three accounts of this event in the Bible.  Mark, Matthew and Luke wrote about it.  The essence of the three accounts are the same:

• The disciples were with Jesus in the boat.
• The storm came and they were afraid they expected the end.
• The called on Jesus.
• He calmed the storm.
• Jesus rebuked the disciples for lack of faith.
• The disciples were amassed.

Let's look at the accounts and then I will conclude with a few brief remarks.

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Mark 4:35-41 English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Calms a Storm

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

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Matthew 8:23-27 English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Calms a Storm

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

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Luke 8:22-25 English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Calms a Storm

22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

Let's now conclude with some comments on the observations of Jesus and His disciples in the storm in relation to our situation with the coronavirus.  

• The disciples were with Jesus in the boat.  Similarly Jesus is with us in the lockdown situation. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus said to his disciples "..behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 
• The storm came and they were afraid they expected the end. The coronavirus came unexpectedly and fear is rife al over the world. There are many fake messages and fear is on the increase.
• The called on Jesus.  It is often only in a crisis that we turn to God. You would expect that the disciples would immediately have called on Jesus. They however did not. We also often try and resolve issues all on our own and if we fail we turn to Him. They knew Him and that he can do wonders. They have seen his power.
• He calmed the storm.  Jesus took control and commanded the storm to cease.
   
• Jesus rebuked the disciples for lack of faith.  Jesus did not only calm the storm but turned to His disciples.  We need to learn from it.  He questioned their lack of faith.
• The disciples were amassed. Are you amassed by how the Lord is protecting you and how He is always in control?  He can calm our storms.

In conclusion let me ask a few questions.  Do you know Jesus?  Do you have him in your "boat in the storm"?   Have you called Him for help or are you blaming him for the storm?  In Acts 3:19 we read what Peter said:
"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord"

“The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” ― Oswald Chambers

May God bless you and your family.

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Good Friday in Lockdown

Dear Friends,

Greetings from us in lockdown.  I want to share a few thoughts with you today as I am thinking of you, friends, family and others that I have met.   This is the first time we and most likely you are experiencing being constrained in our movements on a Good Friday.

We live in an information age where moments after a global event happened, it is made known over media like TV, Radio, Internet, email, and social media.  I can imagine how news of Jesus’ crucifixion spread by word of mouth.   The question “Have you heard that they crucified Jesus?” must have been asked as people travelled by foot passing each other etc.   The response typically could be “No!  Why did they do that?”   or “Who is Jesus?”

Today we live in an age where people celebrate things and often, like gate crashers at a wedding party,  do not know who the bride and groom are!   Many people have hear about Jesus but do not know that He is the Saviour.  There are also a sizable portion of people on the globe that have not yet heard about Jesus or that have not yet met a believer in Jesus Christ.

This morning I received a prayer request and you may want to pray for the same things in this time:

1. Pray for those affected by Covid-19.  There are those who are sick,  losing their own lives or even  loved ones.  Many are financially impacted and many will lose jobs and income.
2. Pray for the medical teams and health workers that are exposed and under tremendous stress.
3. Pray for leaders of the nations to make wise decisions -  our country’s leader and leaders worldwide.  Pray that God will lead them to rule just and wisely.
4. Pray that God will bring an end to this pandemic soon and that He will expand His Kingdom.  
5. Pray that the Gospel will continue to go out after these events to all the corners of the world and that God may be glorified!

Philippians 4:4-7 ESV

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We are praying for you.  May you continue to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

God bless you and your family,

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Johan and Linda Grobler

One of Johan's photos on Instagram

I have read John Piper's book "Coronavirus and Christ"  You may also want to download a free copy from www.desiringgod.org/books/coronavirus-and-christ  

It is available in pdf, ebook and audiobook as a free download. The paper copy is available via Amazon for $8.99 but alas we cannot receive it during lockdown!

https://www.desiringgod.org/books/coronavirus-and-christ

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