“They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (Mark 4:41)

Every disciple of Jesus must grapple with this question – not just at the beginning of our relationship with Him, but at every stage following. Who is He? And how does that knowledge impact my life day to day? I can’t answer the question in a theological way … what I’ve learned about Him from attending church. My answer must come from my experience with Him.

Everyone who encountered Jesus in the first century saw Him through the lens of their own experience and judged Him by what they already believed about God. The Pharisees and other religious leaders viewed Him with suspicion, refusing to consider He might be who He said He was … the Son of God sent by the Father to redeem the lost. The sick and oppressed saw Him as someone who brought hope and healing to their lives.

The disciples? They were likely drawn by His charisma and incredible teaching, leaving all to follow Him. But judging by this incident in Mark 4, they still saw Him mainly as a rabbi … a better version of themselves. When they saw His power to subdue the life-threatening storm on the sea, they were terrified and amazed. This was a new revelation of Jesus, a truth about Him they’d never encountered before. It changed forever their perception of who He is.

Our knowledge of Jesus is an unfolding revelation over time. Encounters with Him, like building blocks, shape and enlarge our view. Our answer to WHO IS JESUS? matures, deepens, and better reflects His glory. 

Even before the Lord Jesus came to earth in a human body the Holy Spirit was preparing God’s people to recognize and welcome Him. In Isaiah 11 the prophet lays out some of His amazing attributes:

“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist” (Isaiah 11:2-3, 5).

Those who followed Him in spite of the religious leaders’ disapproval obviously saw something special in Jesus, but they would need to see Him in varying circumstances to fully grasp His uniqueness. Out on the sea that stormy day they asked each other, “What kind of man is this?” (Matthew 8:27).

All of us begin our discipleship journey by recognizing His power to save us from our sins. Receiving Him as our Savior is vital and becomes the foundation of our relationship with Him. But if we stop there and never give Him the opportunity to show us other things, we’ll only ever know a fraction of who He is. It will diminish our joy and satisfaction in following Him.

We need to discover how He can meet our emotional and physical needs as well as our spiritual ones. Because He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present in our lives, we can turn to Him in every situation and find He has what we need. He can give us peace, even when the world around us is falling apart. He has the wisdom to solve that seemingly impossible problem. He knows the way out of our dilemma, and He can show us how to deal with that person who is making our life so miserable.

He’s the friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), our ever-present help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). He’s the comfort we need in the middle of the night, when everyone else is asleep. He’s the One who truly understands everything about our situation and can work everything out for good (Romans 8:28). Further on (v. 34) Paul reminds us that “Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is interceding for us.” With Jesus as our intercessor, what possible life situation can overwhelm or defeat us? We are “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (v. 37).

Without a broad knowledge of Scripture we won’t discover all the resources we have in Jesus, and without turning to Him when a need arises we’ll never be sure He’s sufficient to meet it. No one else we consult – family, friends, experts, gurus – is like Jesus. He steps into any situation with the same authority He displayed in the boat that day. We just need to remember to invite Him into our situation rather than trying to handle it ourselves. 

Throughout the Old and New Testament, God reveals himself as everything we need. He’s Jehovah-Nissi, our banner of victory; Jehovah-Shalom, the One who brings peace. He’s Jehovah-Rophe, our healer, and Jehovah-Tsidkenu, our righteousness. Abraham discovered on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22), He’s also Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who provides – even providing the sacrifice He asks us to give!  

When we have a clearer view of who He is, we’ll not panic when troubles arise. We’ll know our Lord is sufficient for it. Paul prayed that the eyes of hearts might be enlightened that we might “know the riches of his inheritance and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19).

Let’s not settle for a few crumbs when there’s a banquet spread out for as far as the eye can see … available to us in Christ! God gave us His Word and protected it from every enemy so we might KNOW how awesome He is. Discoveries in every area of life depend upon our willingness to invest time and resources in uncovering them. Our discoveries about Jesus in our storms may (like the disciples) scare us at first, but as we learn to trust Him in more and more ways, we’ll grow in our faith and our life with Him will become more exciting and satisfying. Will you let Him show His power in your life today?

Lord Jesus, help us to trust you in all areas of life, not just in saving our souls. Build our trust in you by revealing new things about yourself we’ve never considered before. Wean us away from looking to the world for our answers or trusting in our own strength. Show us today how powerful you are, and how much you love us and desire to meet our every need. Amen.