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Articles
Sound Asleep
In Matthew 8:23-25 we read, "And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish". As one studies the life of the Lord Jesus, he was a very busy man. There were many "demands" made on him. The great responsibilities of teaching and instructing the disciples, and the people in the ways of God. There were many folks who came seeking his help to be healed of him. The traveling from place to place, (and as far as I can tell, he walked most of it). Eating and sleeping in various homes and in various settings. One can imagine, that when that day was over, and the Lord and the disciples had entered the ship, all was calm. It was a quite peaceful time of tranquility. The soothing gentle rocking motion of the sea, and a heart that was free of guilt, a body that was weary from the stress of the day's work, the responsibilities, the travel: the Lord was exhausted and fell asleep. It was a sound sleep, for the great tempest did not awake him. The lighting, the thunder, the wind, the shaking of the waves of the sea, the sound of the water splashing over the ship; these did not awaked him. No, the disciples go and awaked him from this deep sleep.
Now this story is easier to relate to after traveling overseas this year. On one of my trips to the Philippines, an interesting and similar event took place. After 24 hours of traveling on the airplane, sleeping in strange beds, eating different foods, plus the pressure of language and communication problems, the sobering task of trying to communicate the truth of God, traveling across rough roads, dealing with many who seek benevolent help; I arrive to Davao city, at the home of Juantio Balbin. It was late afternoon, I had not slept well the night before, and after visiting with Juantio and Rodregio, I was to take some rest, eat supper and speak that evening. I fell into a deep sound sleep. A brother came 3 or 4 times to knock at the door to awaken me for supper, each time getting progressively louder knocking. I awoke near to time I was going to have the study with the brethren. They related to me about knocking at the door, I never heard them! Indeed the Bible has keen insight about human beings, and the true humanity of the Lord, I can relate to him being sound asleep!
