Pat Boyle

Junior Faith ‘06

Jesus as a Model of Faith

 

Temptation in the Desert (Luke 4:1-11)

            While Jesus is fasting in the desert for forty days, he is tempted multiple times by the devil.  The first time, he is tempted with food.  Next, the devil offers him immense power.  Finally, the devil questions Jesus’ power, telling him to jump from a temple and command His angels to save Him.  Each time, Jesus responds by quoting the Old Testament, each passage showing His immense faith in the Father. 

            During this time, Jesus is practically starving himself, and there is no better chance the devil has to tempt him.  Yet Jesus remains true to God, exhibiting great Faith in His father, and not giving into the pressures.  Jesus is setting the example of how we should react to pressure, whether it is peer pressure, or any other kind of pressure. 

The Storm on the Sea (Mark 4:35-41)\

            In this story, Jesus and the apostles are traveling in a boat at sea.  Jesus is sleeping at the stern, and a furious storm suddenly strikes.  The apostles wake Jesus up because they are scared, and he immediately commands the winds and waves to stop.  The apostles are astonished by this, but Jesus just asks, “Do you still have no faith?”

         Jesus challenged the apostles’ faith here.  He knew that they would become frightened, but he waited for them to question him to stop the storm.  Jesus is challenging us here for situations that are similar to the storm, such as a tragic accident or a near-death experience.  When these kind of things happen to us, we question God’s power, sometimes even His existence.  Here, Jesus is showing us that we do not have to be afraid, because He will always “calm the storm,” for us.

Matthew 14: 22-33

         After praying by himself, Jesus returns to the boat to find it far away from shore.  So he walks on the water towards the boat, frightening the apostles greatly.  They think it is a ghost, but Jesus reassures them, and Peter asks if he too can walk on water.  Jesus urges Peter to do so, and he does, but he gets scared and starts to sink.  Jesus immediately saves him, and asks “Why did you doubt?”

         Jesus is once again questioning the faith of His apostles.  He calls Peter a man of “little faith,” and doesn’t understand why Peter doubted him.  In this story, Jesus is telling us that faith can get us through anything.  Maybe it cant literally let us walk on water, but if we have enough faith, and our faith is strong enough, then we can virtually do anything.