Thank you for joining us for the ninth reading in our Lenten Reading Plan. Find all the resources you need below:
Read Matthew 8 on Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%208&version=ESV
Listen to Matthew 8: https://share.transistor.fm/s/2de7fb3d
Download your own Lenten Reading Plan Bookmark:
https://higherthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/HT_Lenten-Reading-Plan-Bookmark-2601-PRINT-at-home.pdf
Download the 2026 Lenten Reading Plan Study Guide:
https://higherthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/HT_Lenten-Reading-Plan-Study-Guide-2511.pdf
In Matthew chapter 8, we have healings, then the cost of following Jesus, which is a head-scratcher because healings sound nice.
Then Jesus calms the storm. But first, he gets in a boat where, being God, he knew the storm would come.
“Oh, ye of little faith, why are you afraid?” he says.
We’ve convinced ourselves that being near Jesus should make things easier. It doesn’t work that way.
The storms come, figurative ones because somebody sinned, and literal ones because sin has been part of creation since the fall.
The question isn’t how to make the storm stop. It’s why would God get in the boat if he knew the storm would come?
That’s why God’s there — to bear the storm for sinners, not because they’re worthy, but because they’re loved.
When we fear God has forgotten us or is asleep at the wheel, we really think we need to pray more and harder. But maybe If he conquered death, maybe the storm’s not as big a deal as we think it is.
Christianity is about being near this God who descends into the fray.
The symbol of our religion is a cross. The cross hurts, but it’s not yours to carry. Jesus bears it.
Where is God when everything falls apart? Bearing the cross for sinners. For you.
If he can sleep in the boat during the storm, it’s because the storm can’t keep him dead, and it can’t keep you dead either.
Contributor Rev. Harrison Goodman is the Higher Things Executive Director of Missions and Theology.
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