What manner of man is this?
The storm, which arose suddenly and without notice, was raging. The boat, being filling with water, was in danger of breaking apart. The apostles, convinced that they were going to die, turned to their Lord. And they found him, in the back of the boat, on a pillow, asleep. Awakened by these anxious, desperate disciples, he simply got up and calmly spoke – “Peace, be still.”
What manner of man is this?
He is the one who immediately replaced certain death with decisive calm. And he did so simply by speaking. We shouldn’t be surprised – this is the same one who brought all things into existence simply by speaking. Ten times in the creation account in Genesis we read the words, “And God said…” (Genesis 1). Concerning Jesus, Paul wrote, “For by him were all things created” (Colossians 1:16). And John adds, “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3).
What manner of man is this?
He is the one that turned the scandal of the cross into the power and glory of God. The Romans intended for crucifixion to be as humiliating as it was painful – to be as shameful as it was agonizing. And they succeeded. Crucifixion also was a deterrent – which explains why the place of crucifixion often was along a well-traveled road. But after being crucified, Jesus turned the cross into something very different.
Paul addressed this when he wrote to the Corinthians – “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:23, 24). No longer humiliating, no longer shameful, the cross of Jesus manifests the wisdom, power, and glory of God.
What manner of man is this?
He is the one that can take a broken and marred life, create it anew, and fit it for God’s service. He is the one who can replace life’s heavy burdens with rest for the soul. He is the one who can save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him. Jesus can do these things because of the manner of man he is – the Christ, the Son of God.
Thomas Larkin