…Did you know that this story is the only time in the entire Bible that Jesus is mentioned as sleeping? I learned that this week. The only time God cared to tell us that Jesus slept was during a massive storm, on a fishing boat, that was flooding.
I think Jesus slept because he trusted his Father. In the bible, sleep is a divinely granted time of rest. Here’s an experience from David.
Psalm 3:5-6 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
If you were surrounded by thousands who hated you and set their face against you, would you sleep? Or would you be pacing the floor, laying sleepless on your bed, your mind filled with anxious thoughts?
Jesus exemplifies perfect trust. There is not an ounce of doubt. He sleeps in the safe and secure providence and sovereignty of God. For he knows that there is no reason to doubt. But we, like the disciples in those early days, still often consider circumstances with our eyes, and with simple human reason, but not by faith, as though Jesus is with us.
I would guess that plenty of you, like me, have asked a question like the disciples. When some storm comes upon you, and the LORD seems to be sleeping, it feels like perhaps he does not care. The past four+ years of whatever Covid did to my body, it often seemed like the LORD did not have any concern over my plight. He could have been sleeping soundly on the couch while I suffered away and felt like I was perishing.
Does Jesus care? Yes. He died on the cross in our place, not simply feeling the pain of physical torture, but enduring the wrath of God upon sin and the feeling of abandonment by his Father. He does care. But every manner of trial and tribulation is part and parcel of this life, for whatever reason. God ordained the world to operate in such a way while under the duress of sin. But those sudden storms that come upon you do not mean that God does not care. Certainly, it’s an opportunity to trust God like Jesus. But it does not mean that God does not care…
