Text: Luke 8:22–25
Title: Who Is He…?
Next week is Easter Sunday.
But before the glory of the resurrection, Jesus had to go through the pain of the cross.
The way of Jesus includes suffering.
Even more than the resurrection, the cross shows us who God truly is.
Jesus is the one who speaks. He is the Word of God—the Logos.
But who is He speaking to? He speaks to us.
Why does He speak to us? So we can listen, believe, and obey—and our souls can be saved.
What we think is important and what God sees as important may be different.
That’s why we can miss the most important things in life.
Even when we read the Bible, if we only look at it from our own view, it may not speak to us.
But if we lay down our own view and look carefully, we will start to understand.
At first, it may be unclear, but the more we go on, the clearer it becomes.
Today’s passage gives us a hint of this hope.
There are only a few characters in this story:
Jesus, the disciples, some people, and wind and water.
Strong winds and waves are just natural, but back then people thought it meant the gods were angry.
So, in this story, we can think of the wind and water as if they were gods in the people’s eyes.
While the storm hit the boat, Jesus was sleeping.
The disciples were afraid and woke Him up.
Then Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves—and they became calm.
That’s the simple part.
But then Jesus asked, “Where is your faith?”
The disciples didn’t answer that.
Instead, they asked each other, “Who is this man? Even the wind and waves obey Him!”
Jesus was talking about faith,
but the disciples were focused on “Who is this?”
They were not yet truly believing.
They might have followed Him only because of the miracles.
But there’s one more person in this story:
Luke, the writer and observer.
His view is very important here.
He’s not just writing facts.
Luke wants to show us something deeper.
If we don’t know who Jesus is, how can we truly believe in Him?
It’s no use to just keep preaching, “Believe, believe,” if people don’t know who they are believing in.
Some people say,
“Jesus is kind… loving… gentle…”
But they may be only seeing the outside,
and making Jesus into something they want, not who He really is.
Many followed Jesus only for His miracles.
But if there were no miracles, would they still follow Him?
Some people only think of Jesus as someone who takes away sin so they can go to heaven.
But that makes Jesus like a sacrifice, not a person—just something to use.
That kind of thinking is cold and cruel.
In today’s passage, for the first time, the disciples ask,
“Who is this?”
Luke remembered that moment.
The Holy Spirit helped him write it down.
This was a turning point.
Light was starting to shine into their hearts.
Luke’s purpose in writing his Gospel is to show us that
Jesus is the Son of God.
Miracles are not the main thing.
What matters is what the miracles reveal—
that Jesus speaks the Word of God,
and we must listen and follow Him.
That’s the real meaning of the miracles.
Luke wants us to believe that Jesus is God’s Son.
If we only want the miracles, our faith can go wrong.
Without knowing who Jesus is, we can misunderstand the Gospel.
Why is it so important to know who Jesus is?
Because our response matters too.
When the wind and water obey Jesus,
it means that Jesus is higher than the gods of wind and water.
He is not just another god. He is above them all.
To have faith, we must know who we believe in.
If Jesus is our Lord, we must listen to Him.
In the relationship of Master and servant, obedience is key.
Who can go beyond the laws of nature?
Only God.
If Jesus speaks the Word of God,
then we must obey.
If we believe in Jesus only as a healer or miracle worker,
our souls may not be saved.
The cross is not about feeling good.
It’s not like being healed or fed with five loaves and two fish.
Without knowing who Jesus is, we may run away from the cross.
People hate suffering, so they want only the resurrection—no cross.
That kind of faith is shallow.
It only looks for easy blessings, not true trust.
If you don’t believe in Jesus as the Son of God,
how can you believe He rose from the dead?
How can you believe your invisible soul will be saved?
But if you believe Jesus is God’s Son,
then you can believe in both the cross and resurrection.
You can even believe that someone can die and live again.
Because God can do anything.
If Jesus is God,
then He can save even a selfish, hopeless soul like mine.
He can give new life.
So what is really important?
What kind of thoughts should we start with?
Our heart shapes our thoughts.
In a world that judges only by results and appearance,
let’s become people who also care about the process and the reason.
Instead of only chasing the fruits of miracles,
may the question “Who is this Jesus…?”
be the first thing in your heart and mine.
Amen.
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