The departure from Capernaum.
I. ITS ATTENDING CIRCUMSTANCES.
1. The multitudes. The Lord departs from them. It was not so when he saw the multitudes at the mount of the Beatitudes. He taught them then; now he departs. The enthusiasm and excitement had become very great; all the city was gathered together in wondering expectation. Perhaps they were wishing, like the five thousand after the miraculous feast, to take him by force to make him a King. He was a King, indeed, but his kingdom was not of this world; he would not use earthly means for the accomplishment of the Divine purpose; he would not avail himself of Jewish enthusiasm, the fanaticism of an excited multitude. The kingdom would come, but it must come in God's appointed way—through patient teaching and working; through a life of holy self-denial and perfect obedience; through a death of Divine sell-sacrifice. The cross was to draw all men unto him; the cross was to give him the empire over human hearts, lie had no yearning for popularity, no delight in the applause of crowds. He left them. "lie gave commandment to depart unto the other side."
2. The proposal of the scribe. A teacher himself, he addressed Christ as Teacher. lie was struck with our Lord's power and wisdom; he had witnessed his miracles and heard his teaching. The Lord was about to depart from Capernaum, to leave the thronging and excited multitude. This one scribe wished to follow him; he was ready, he said, to go anywhere that he might be with Christ. The wish seemed good and holy, but the Lord did not encourage him in his purpose. Perhaps he was acting from a sudden impulse, carried away by the surrounding excitement. The Lord could see his heart; it was not the heart of an apostle, lie was ready to follow Christ now, in the season of his popularity; but would he persevere in danger, in persecution, and in hardships? The Lord does not hide the self-denials of the Christian life. At all times there is the strait path and the narrow way; at that time there was danger and self-chosen poverty. He himself, the Messiah of whom Daniel had prophesied; who, though the Son of God from all eternity, had become in time the Son of man, had no settled dwelling, no home of his own. His disciples must be as their Master. Would the scribe follow him now? We are not told; probably we should have been told had he persevered.
3. The excuse of the disciple. The scribe, unbidden, had offered to follow Christ. The Lord had first called this disciple. "Follow me," he had said, if the similar narrative in St. Luke, placed much later in the history, refers to the same incident. The disciple hesitated; he had a pressing home duty. His father was dead; he must, he thought, attend the funeral.
II. THE CROSSING OF THE LAKE.
1. The tempest. The Lord and his disciples entered a boat, seeking perhaps quiet and retirement. Suddenly a violent storm swept down upon the lake; the boat was covered with the dashing billows—it was rapidly filling; the danger was great; the disciples, hardy sailors as they were, were terrified. But the Saviour slept. The Church of Christ seems often in exceeding peril amid the chances and changes of this mortal life; dangers arise, when least expected, in the midst of calm and prosperity. Christ's people are fearful; their faith fails them. But he is in the ship, though he may seem asleep. And the ship that bears the Saviour of the world, the Church that hath the presence of the Lord, may be tempest-tossed, grievously vexed, driven hither and thither by the raging billows, but it cannot be lost, it cannot sink; it must at last reach the blessed haven—the haven where we would be.
2. The prayer of the disciples.
3. The miracle. The Lord heard not the noise of the storm; he heard the cry for help. He hears his people always when they call upon him out of the depths, in the hour of darkness, in terror or in agony. The cry, "Lord, save us!" never goes up in vain when it is uttered in earnest supplication. He is with his chosen when they pass through the waters of affliction, when they are in the fires of anguish, his presence bringeth calm. He gently reproved the disciples, "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" They should not fear who have the grace of Christ's presence; they should have faith in his power and love. He rebuked the winds and the sea. He stills the tempest now; he brings us safe through the storm of adversity; he stills the tempest in our hearts. "Peace, be still!" he says; and there is a great calm, where once there were harrowing doubts, distracting perplexities, anxious cares. "What manner of man is this?" All things obey him: the storms of nature and the storms of the restless heart. "What manner of man is this?" The Man of sorrows; the Word made flesh; the Son of God, "who loved me, and gave himself for me."
LESSONS.
1. Christ's servants must not seek popularity; it is a snare and a temptation.
2. Christ was poor; his servants must be contented.
3. Those whom he calls must follow him; no earthly ties must separate them from him.
4. Trust him in danger and distress. He heareth his people's cry; he giveth peace.