Verse 32 says, “And when they went up into the boat, the wind ceased.” This was a miracle. This miracle not only testifies that the Lord is the Ruler of the heavens and the earth, but also that He cares for the hardships of His followers as they follow Him on the pathway to glory. When we have the Lord in our boat, the wind ceases. The record of the two miracles in this chapter implies that while Christ was rejected by the religious and political peoples, He and His followers were in the barren desert and on the stormy sea. Nonetheless, He is able to provide for their need and to carry them through hardships.
The Lord’s presence caused the storm to cease. I have experienced this many times. I cannot tell you how many storms I have passed through during the past fifty years. But eventually every storm ceased. Not one storm lasted more than three to five years. Three to five years actually is not a long time. To the Lord, it is just a few minutes, for with Him a thousand years are as one day. Do not be alarmed—every storm will cease.
After the Lord had caused the wind to cease, “those who were in the boat worshipped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God” (v. 33). To recognize that the Lord is the Son of God is to realize that He is equal to God (John 5:18). Hence, this indicates that the disciples acknowledged the Lord’s divinity (Matt. 1:23; 3:17).
In 14:22-33 we see a portrait of ourselves. Some of us are like Peter and others are like Thomas. Some are quick and bold, always causing trouble and making mistakes; others are timid, cautious, and sleepy. The timid ones may murmur against the bold ones, “Brother So-and-So is too quick. I don’t agree with that. He is utterly wrong. But I am slow and cautious.” I am very clear about the situation in the churches regarding the quick ones and the cautious ones. I know those who are bold and who cause trouble and those who are cautious and never cause problems. I appreciate all the cautious ones; however, I do not agree with them. Because they are so cautious, they never stir up anyone or anything. People need to be stirred up to walk on the waves so that they may get into the presence of the Lord. Those who do this will bring the Lord to the boat. No cautious one, timid one, slow one, or careful one has ever brought the Lord Jesus to the boat. In the case of the cautious ones, the Lord must come to the boat on His own. If He does this, He will find the cautious ones sleeping. No one will be waiting for Him. After waking from their slumber, the cautious ones will say, “Lord, You are here. This is rather good. Praise the Lord for this! Now it is time to go back to sleep.” Those who are slow and careful never cause any trouble or problems. We need to be quick and bold. However, in being quick and bold to step out of the boat and walk on the sea, we must take care of four things: first, that we act upon the word of the Lord, not without hearing a word from Him; second, that our direction is toward the Lord Himself; third, that we get into the Lord’s presence; and fourth, that we come back to the boat. If we take care of these four things, we shall be right, even if we appear to be wrong.
After Jesus and the disciples came to Gennesaret, the people of that place brought to the Lord all who were ill. Verse 36 says, “And they besought Him that they might only touch the fringe of His garment; and as many as touched were made thoroughly well” (v. 36). The healing power went out, not from the inner being of Christ, but from the fringe of His garment. The Lord’s garment signifies Christ’s righteous deeds, and the fringe signifies the heavenly ruling (Num. 15:38-39). Out of Christ’s heavenly-ruled deeds is the virtue that becomes the healing power. According to Numbers 15, the fringe of the garment signifies the virtue of God’s people who walk according to His regulations. The fringe was made with a blue ribbon. This revealed that their daily walk was regulated by God’s heavenly rule as indicated by the color blue, a heavenly color. When Jesus was on earth as a man, He walked in this way. His daily walk was regulated by God’s heavenly commandments. Therefore, there was with Him a virtue that could flow out to heal others.
The healing that takes place in the church life does not mainly issue from the inner being of the Lord Jesus. Rather, it primarily issues from the virtue of the Lord’s human life. In the church life we experience the Lord’s presence with us on the sea in the midst of the contrary winds. His presence prepares the way for His virtue to flow out to reach the sick people and to heal them. This type of healing is different from the miraculous healing by divine power. The garment of Jesus does not signify His divinity. Rather, it signifies the righteous deeds of His humanity. His humanity bore the mark of the blue ribbon, of being regulated by the heavenly ruling. This produced a virtue that was capable of healing the sick. This kind of virtue can be expressed only through the proper church life where Jesus is present.
Revelation 22:2 says that the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. In typology, the fruit of the tree of life represents the Lord’s divine life, and the leaves represent the Lord’s human deeds. The fruit, the Lord’s divine life, is for nourishing us, and the leaves, the Lord’s human deeds, are for the healing of others. In the new heaven and the new earth the leaves of the tree of life will be for the healing of the nations, that is, the virtue of Christ’s humanity will heal the people. In Matthew, after the boat reached its destination, the virtue of the Lord’s human deeds became so prevailing that every manner of sickness was healed. Likewise when we have the proper church life with the Lord’s presence today, there is among us the uplifted humanity of Jesus. This uplifted humanity has the virtue signified by the fringe of Christ’s garment. If we, the church people, have the proper church life and live by Christ, we shall live out His uplifted humanity. In this kind of living there will be a virtue with the power to heal those around us.
In typology, the land visited by the Lord after the boat came to shore was a figure of the millennium. In the millennium there will be a great deal of healing. Nevertheless, the healing to be found in the millennium should be experienced today. The church people should have a foretaste of the millennium. We must live out the uplifted humanity of Jesus to have the virtue that can heal those surrounding us. For others to be healed means that their corrupted character is changed. Those around the church life are all in darkness and corruption. But if the church people live out the uplifted humanity of Christ, this will cause a healing power to flow into them. Even other Christians will be healed.