Jesus Tests The Disciples
The Lord Jesus, the greatest Teacher who ever lived, gave His disciples a test to see if they had truly learned to trust Him. This was after they had been with Him for some time, had heard Him teach, and watched Him perform miracles. One evening after a vey busy day they got into a boat to cross the lake. Jesus had been very busy all day long teaching and helping the great crowds of people, and He was tired. He went to the back of the boat where He could lie down with His head on a pillow. The lake was calm and peaceful as they left the shore. The lake breezes and the smooth motion of the boat gently rocked the tired body of the dear Son of God as He slept.
Before long the winds blew harder, the clouds grew blacker, the waves became higher, and soon their little boat was tossing around in the grip of a severe storm. Some of the disciples had grown up on this lake, and they were good sailors; but soon they became frightened, for they could not manage the boat. It started filling with water, but still the Lord Jesus slept on, unconscious of the storm. Finally the disciples came to Him and wakened Him.
They said, "Master Master, don't you care that we are in danger and may die?" Then Jesus stood up in the boat. He spoke to the wind and to the sea saying, "Be still." He had made the sea. He had made the winds, and He had power over them. At once the winds died down, the waves quieted into little ripples, and there was a great calm.
When everything was quiet and the boat was moving along gently again, Jesus said to His disciples, "Why were you afraid? Do you not yet have faith to trust Me?" It was if He was saying to them, "Couldn't you have trusted Me to take care of you/ Do you not yet understand that I am the Son of God with ALL power? You have seen Me do many miracles and still when the test came you failed to trust Me." The disciples looked at one another and said, "What manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" Who is He? They had not yet learned their lesson and had failed the test.
Another time He gave them a test to see if they had learned that they could do nothing by themselves but only through trusting Him. One day Jesus had taken three of His disciples, Peter, James and John with Him and gone to a mountain top. The other disciples had been left alone. A great multitude gathered around. In the crowd was a father who had brought his little boy, hoping that Jesus would heal him.
Satan had caused an evil spirit to take charge of the little boy's mind and body. Sometimes he would fall into the fire or into the water so that his father and mother had to watch him all the time. Sometimes he would scream and fall to the ground shaking and gnashing his teeth. This had gone on for years, and the father and mother were heartbroken. They had never heard of anyone who could heal sickness such as this.
Then one day they heard about the great Teacher who could heal sick bodies. So they brought the little boy and followed the crowds. When the father learned that Jesus was not there then, he led his little boy to the disciples asking id they could heal him. The disciples had seen Jesus heal many people. They tried to help the little boy, but they could not.
People gathered around to watch. Perhaps the disciples put their hands on him and commanded the evil spirits to leave as they had seen Jesus do, but nothing happened, and he was just as sick as ever.
Then they saw Jesus coming. When He saw what was happening, He said, "Bring the little boy to Me." Then He spoke, not to the little boy, but to the evil spirit or demon that was in him, "I command you to come out of him." At once the evil spirit left the boy, and was cured.
Later when they were alone, the disciples said to Jesus, "Why did we fail?" Jesus said to them, "Evil spirits can only be cast out by prayer. They do not come out easily." Perhaps the disciples had thought that they could do this by themselves. But Jesus wanted them to learn that they could do nothing by themselves, but only as they trusted Him. They had failed in this test also, but it helped them to see that all the power was in Jesus, and not in them.
Julia Shipley is a committed Christian worshipping and serving in her local church. She has a heart for the young children and the youth believing the word of God is the final authority. For more information visit http://www.quick-christian-resources.com
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