One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” Luke 8:22-25
It was 1:24 am on March 18th 1990. Richard Abath, a security guard went to investigate the knocking at the employee entrance door. On the other side of the door were two men who identified themselves as Boston Police Officers. They said they were there because they had heard there was a disturbance. Abath, going against security protocol, but feeling comfortable in their explanation, buzzed them in. Once inside they calmly asked Abath to come out from the counter he was standing behind because there was a warrant out for his arrest. Once Abath was away from the counter, the police officers calmly proclaimed to Abath and his night watch partner, “Gentlemen this is a robbery.” Being away from the “panic” button at the counter, Abath and his partner were now at the mercy of their captors.
They were led down to the basement where the “officers” promptly tied them up and then spent the next 81 minutes pulling off the largest art heist in modern history. By the time the thieves had exited the building at 2:45 am they had stolen thirteen works of rare art by Degas, Vermeer, and Rembrandt from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum located in Boston, Massachusetts. The total value for these stolen works of art was north of $500 million dollars. The thieves had an idea of what they were looking for and specifically targeted Rembrandt’s works that were located in the “Dutch Room”.
Of the hundreds of paintings, etchings, and drawings that Rembrandt created this one his “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee” is his only known seascape, and one of the stolen works, making this heist all the more disheartening. It’s a painting that is still missing along with the other works to this day. This particular painting has always been one of my favorites. I love using art to learn about a passage of Scripture because for me it brings the passage to life in a very visual way.
There is frequently an aura of mystery surrounding great works of art.
And with most of these great works being hundreds of years old the modern-day viewer is often left with questions about the artist, the scene painted, and dozens of other questions that are often left unanswered. With the passage of time the intrigue only grows, especially when you throw in an art heist or two.
Even though Rembrandt uses much “artistic” license in portraying this particular biblical passage, it helps me to understand what this event may have looked like when it took place. Other than the written word, and long before movies and television, art was a primary means of bringing a story to life. Meditating on a piece of artwork is known as “Visio Divina”. This practice involves pondering art so that a person might see how God is working in the story the artwork is depicting.
Regarding this painting you can immediately see the obvious, that there are people in a boat facing a fierce storm. If you take a minute to really look at the scene, you can almost feel what the sailors are going through. You can sense their struggle.
You notice the five men at the top side of the boat are kind of battening down the hatches, taking down the sails, holding on for dear life. It shouldn’t be lost that they are the one’s furthest from Jesus but also working the hardest. On the bottom half of the scene are eight figures. They are closest to Jesus and the ones least involved with the storm, except for the sailor on the far right who is really struggling with the rudder. They are also the ones most engaged with Jesus.
The guy at the bottom of the painting his head is over the side of the boat…we all know what he’s doing. The guy right above him is praying. There are the two sailors close to Jesus, who I suspect are the angriest with him for sleeping and for allowing them to venture into this terrible storm. To the left of the old man whose back is turned to us is a faint, hardly distinguishable figure. Perhaps an Angel? The angelic figure stands right in the middle of the dark and light; possibly representing their ability to travel between the heaven’s and the earth?
The lighting is also interesting as Rembrandt cast the men at the top half of the boat in light; whereas those closest to Jesus on the bottom half are in a darker hue. I wonder why? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Jesus is the Light of the world, so why would Rembrandt cast Him in the dark?
In this scene you can feel the wind, the cold water, the sheer terror that this crew of seasoned seamen are facing. Center right is Jesus Himself. He is still semi-reclining and doesn’t seem to be particularly bothered by all that is going on around Him.
And then you notice another figure. It took me a while to notice this but if you count, you will count 14 figures in the boat. The passage says that Jesus and His Disciples went across the lake. A question for you? How many Disciples did Jesus have? He had 12. So, including Jesus there should have been a total of 13 people.
Standing next to the guy facing away from the viewer and in between the guy who I think is seasick, is a man holding his cap and a rope. Art experts tell us that is Rembrandt himself. He decided to put himself into the scene as well. He is the only guy in the scene who is looking toward the viewer. Everyone else is engaged with either the storm or with Jesus, but this guy is holding his hat and it looks like he is almost saying, “Can you believe this? I am in a boat in a storm with Jesus”? So, Rembrandt is the “14th Disciple”!
I love this painting and I love the story that it tells. And the passage; Luke 8, is a passage that I use a lot during funerals. Because like the Disciples in the boat, what people are dealing with during times of grief is a contrast between faith and fear.
Faith in wanting to believe in a God who still loves them in spite of their circumstances, and a fear of continuing on in life without the loved one who has passed on.
The Disciples in the boat certainly had fear. What they learned during their battle with the raging sea storm was that in the midst of their fears Jesus was right there with them. In fact, Jesus wakes from His slumber, turns to the storm and says, “Peace be still!” And then He turns to His friends and He asks them, “Where is your faith?” A hard question for all of us as we often lose sight and forget that Jesus is with us during our rough times. We know He is with us during the good times…isn’t that why we have good times? But how can Jesus be with us during the challenges we face in life? If you’re like me I tend to think that if Jesus is with me, if He is blessing me, if I am experiencing His favor, then I wouldn’t have tough times. It would be smooth sailing, wouldn’t it? My marriage would be great. My kids wouldn’t talk back. And I would have to deal with health problems as I get older.
We learn from this passage that it was the challenge of the storm that brought the Disciples to a closer relationship, and a better understanding of who Jesus was.
As the clouds parted, the rain stopped, the thunder and lightning ceased, and the water returned to a gentle calmness, the Disciples were amazed at what they had just witnessed. With water still dripping from their faces they asked the question, “What kind of man is this? That even the winds and the waves obey him!” A question asked even though they had witnessed Jesus heal the sick, relieve the possessed from their demons, and renewed the leper’s skin.
It wasn’t until they witnessed Jesus’ command over the very forces of nature, AND saving their own lives, did they ponder the idea that Jesus was God. This challenge on the sea was a turning point in how they viewed Jesus.
Over the course of my may years in ministry I have heard the same from countless people; although they hated going through a challenging season in their life, what it did was bring them to a deeper understanding of who God is. As Pastor Rick Warren says, “You don’t get faith by sitting in a Bible study group or just talking about it. Faith is like a muscle; it develops by being used.” Faith is a key ingredient in our ability to overcome our fear. And the exercise of faith is rarely easy.
But just like a muscle that must be tested in order to grow stronger, so is faith that part of our spiritual walk with God that must be tested in order to be developed over time. Although I don’t hope challenges on anyone. I do hope that your faith in Jesus will grow as you draw closer to Him.
RECOMMENDED READ:
"Faith in the Fog" by my friend and author, Jeff Lucas.