What Manner of Man is This? Matthew 8:27

Matthew the apostle continued to write about the ventures of Jesus and shared, “when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.” Matthew continues, “And he said unto them, Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm”, and in chapter eight and verse twenty-seven of his book, Matthew shared how the disciples asked, “what manner of man is this?” where we read:

The verse reads, “But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, ...” Matthew began with the words, “but” or “moreover and” “the men marveled” which means “the disciples in the boat with Jesus wondered and admired Him”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” “what manner of man” or “what sort or quality of person” “is this” which means “is this One in whom they are following”? Matthew shared how the disciples were “admiring and wondering” who Jesus actually was.

The verse continues, “... that even the winds and the sea obey him!” Matthew added the words, “that even the winds” or “that indeed and also the violent agitation and stream of air or a very strong tempestuous wind” “and the sea” which means “ the raging body of water upon which they were sailing” “obey him” or “hearken, submit and listen to Jesus' command”. Matthew shared how the disciples noted the way the tumultuous “winds and sea” “submitted” to Jesus.

When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see the reaction of the disciples to Jesus' power, and anyone who will consider this amazing feat will marvel as well. The true “marvel” is that this God desires to have a relationship with every person who will yield their lives to Him, and the “Master” of the raging “winds and seas” makes Himself available for each and every “storm” His followers encounter. The question is, “will they have enough faith to believe He is able to calm the violent storms in their lives?”

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus “met two possessed with devils”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.