38- Christ's Authority over Nature

(1) His Authority Over Sea, Wind and Waves

(a) St. Mark the Evangelist says: "And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. " And when the disciples were afraid, what did the Lord do? He "arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm" (Mk. 4:37,39). The effect of this on those in the ship was that they said: "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" (Mk. 4:41) Indeed, who has authority over sea, wind and waves, commanding and rebuking them and they obey? Does this not remind us of the words of the Psalm: "0 Lord God of hosts, who is mighty like You, 0 Lord? You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them" (Ps. 89:8,9)?

(b) St. John the Evangelist says about the Lord's authority over the sea: "And it was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat, and they were afraid' (Jn. 6:17-19). And St. Mark says about this miracle: "Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased And they were -greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marvelled' (Mk. 6:47-51).

(c) The Lord Jesus Christ did not only walk on the sea Himself, but also made St. Peter the Apostle walk with Him. And when St. Peter was afraid and began to sink, the Lord caught him. Peter said: "'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. 'So He said, 'Come. 'And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him. And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased' (Matt. 14:25-32). Of course, all this was done by Christ's own authority, by His own might; the might of His Divinity. Where are the laws of physics here, which speak about the law of gravity? Are these laws not of His design as well, because "all things were made through Him" (Jn. 1: 3)?

(2) Where is the law of gravity in His ascension to heaven, which is recorded not only in the Book of Acts, chapter one, verse 9, but also in St. John's Gospel, chapter 3, verse 13?

(3) Another aspect of Christ's authority over nature is His coming in the midst of the disciples after His resurrection when the doors were shut (Jn. 20:19), and we have discussed this issue before here on st-takla.org in other pages. And in the miracle of His resurrection, He came out of the tomb while the tomb was sealed and a great stone was over its mouth. These miracles were performed by His authority and by the might of His Divinity.

(4) We should not forget what happened to nature at the time of the Lord's crucifixion: The earth quaked, the rocks were split and the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matt. 27:51). And there was darkness over the whole land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour (Mk. 15:33); (Lk. 23:44,45).

(5) One of the aspects of Christ's authority over nature was that He cursed the fig tree and it immediately withered (Matt. 21:19), thus manifesting His authority over plants.

(6) His authority over animals was manifested in the two miracles of catching the great number of fish: When He called Peter to be a fisher of men (Lk. 5:4-7), and at the Sea of Tiberias, after His resurrection (Jn. 21:5-1 1).

(7) His authority over nature also appears in His healing of diseases, especially the incurable ones, by His mere order, touch or will, like when He healed the lepers, the blind, the dumb, the deaf, the mute, the paralyzed and the lame.

(8) We add to the above the miracles pertaining to Him such as His Birth of a virgin and the wonderful movement of a star to show His place of birth.

All these denote that Christ has authority over nature in all its aspects: the sun, the stars, the rocks, the (b) St. John the Evangelist says about the Lord's authority over the sea: "And it was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat, and they were afraid' (Jn. 6:17-19). And St. Mark says about this miracle: "Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased And they were -greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marvelled' (Mk. 6:47-51).

(c) The Lord Jesus Christ did not only walk on the sea Himself, but also made St. Peter the Apostle walk with Him. And when St. Peter was afraid and began to sink, the Lord caught him.

Peter said: "'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. 'So He said, 'Come.' And when Peter had comedown out of the boat, he walked on the water. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him. And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased' (Matt. 14:25-32). Of course, all this was done by Christ's own authority, by His own might; the might of His Divinity. Where are the laws of physics here, which speak about the law of gravity? Are these laws not of His design as well, because "all things were made through Him" (Jn. 1:3)?

(2) Where is the law of gravity in His ascension to heaven, which is recorded not only in the Book of Acts, chapter one, verse 9, but also in St. John's Gospel, chapter 3, verse 13?

(3) Another aspect of Christ's authority over nature is His coming in the midst of the disciples after His resurrection when the doors were shut (Jn. 20:19). And in the miracle of His resurrection, He came out of the tomb while the tomb was sealed and a great stone was over its mouth. These miracles were performed by His authority and by the might of His Divinity.

(4) We should not forget what happened to nature at the time of the Lord's crucifixion: The earth quaked, the rocks were split and the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matt. 27:51). And there was darkness over the whole land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour (Mk. 15:33); (Lk. 23:44,45).

(5) One of the aspects of Christ's authority over nature was that He cursed the fig tree and it immediately withered (Matt. 21:19), thus manifesting His authority over plants.

(6) His authority over animals was manifested in the two miracles of catching the great number of fish: When He called Peter to be a fisher of men (Lk. 5:4-7), and at the Sea of Tiberias, after His resurrection (Jn. 21:5-11).

(7) His authority over nature also appears in His healing of diseases, especially the incurable ones, by His mere order, touch or will, like when He healed the lepers, the blind, the dumb, the deaf, the mute, the paralyzed and the lame.

(8) We add to the above the miracles pertaining to Him such as His Birth of a virgin and the wonderful movement of a star to show His place of birth.

All these denote that Christ has authority over nature in all its aspects: the sun, the stars, the rocks, the earth, the sea, the wind, the waves, plants and animals, human illnesses and closed doors. His authority over these was enforced by His mere order or will, and this cannot be done by a human being but it is a Divine authority.

Christ's Authority over Everything

Divinity of Christ Books by H. H. Pope Shenouda III

Christ's Authority over Angels