The biblical narrative of Jesus calming the storm has intrigued and captivated children and adults. This was not a miracle as such, but a demonstration of His almighty powers. Still, apart from the supernatural nature of our Lord’s taming of the sea and wind, there is an additional element of this incident to be considered.
This event is recorded only in the synoptic gospels—Matthew (8:23–27), Mark (4:35–41) and Luke (8:22–25); John does not comment on this incident. Matthew includes it following our Lord’s healing of leprosy, paralysis, disease (8:1–17), whereas it follows His parable teachings in Mark (4:1–34) and Luke (8:4–18). There is one other instance of His power over a turbulent sea when Jesus walked on the water: Matthew 14:22–33; Mark 6:45–51; John 6:16–21.
This study will follow Luke’s version, incorporating details from the accounts of Matthew and Mark.
Luke 8:22: Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out.
At the outset, this verse provides the key note to be considered for the entire passage: that our Lord from the beginning had declared with full assurance a successful seafaring trip.
Luke 8:23: But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.
The fierce gale of wind was a typical occurrence on the Sea of Galilee; it was literally a furious storm like the force of a hurricane.1 It is described in Matthew 8:24 as a “great storm on the sea.” From the Greek word for storm seismos (σεισμός) we get our English words “seismic” and seismology, the study of earthquakes. Bruce describes this as “an earthquake of the sea, the waters stirred to their depths by the winds.”2
Note that prior to Luke’s description of the storm, Jesus fell asleep and remained asleep during these frightful weather conditions. A dramatic contrast is presented here: our Lord sleeping peacefully as the furious storm rages and despite the fact that some of these disciples were experienced sailors, they are terrified and panicking. Some might contend that there is nothing unusual about our Lord being able to sleep in the midst of a violent storm since He is God. Yet sleeping indicates an aspect of His humanity. Thus, if He could sleep peacefully, we too can have that type of tranquility during the storms of life.
Next, they began to be swamped and in danger. Matthew relates the idea of being swamped by stating “the boat was being covered” (8:24), indicating that the waves were rising above and into the boat. Thus, they indeed were in danger—their lives were in jeopardy.
Luke 8:24: They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.
Now it is with intensity they awaken our Lord: “Master, Master!” In Mark 4:38 they address Him as teacher (Rabbi) and in Matthew 8:25 they address Him as Lord. Which is correct? Most likely all of them, some cried different names, but the idea is that their intention was to wake up Jesus—their Lord, Teacher, Master.
Luke records that they cried “we are perishing!” However, Mark 4:38 records a less respectful outcry: “Do You not care that we are perishing?” Obviously, they believed they were in dire straits, that this was an impending catastrophe. Lenski rightly observes an astounding fact that “these are experienced sailors who now turn their prospect of survival on a former carpenter.”3 And having been witnesses of the divine power of Jesus Christ, they now recognize that at this moment He is their only hope.
Our Lord immediately got up and rebuked the storm and calm was restored. His rebuke was a spoken command recorded only by Mark (4:39): “Hush, be still.” It is not difficult to perceive how this is reminiscent of the historical account in Genesis 1, when God spoke and called forth into creation light, water, earth, vegetation, heavenly orbs, sea creatures, animals and mankind. By the rebuking of the violent storm, our Lord demonstrated His deity, having authority over all of creation.
To Be Continued...
What will be examined in the next post is the reason our Lord’s disciples became frightened and panicked despite the fact they were in the presence of the One who controls the universe. For the apostle Paul precisely proclaimed this about our Lord when he wrote that “all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things,4 and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17-18).
This demonstration of Our Lord’s mastery over the storm is not simply a nice Sunday school story, but instead it is an actual event that took place in history and included in Scripture for our instruction. We will do well to examine all the aspects of this lesson and its implication for our advance in our life of faith in Jesus Christ.
[1] Liddell, H. G. (1996). In A Lexicon: Abridged from Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc, 462.
[2] Bruce, A.B. (1990). In The Expositor’s Greek Testament (Nicoll, W. Robertson, Ed.), Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1.143.
[3] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 3.464.
[4] “Before all things” refers to His eternal existence (John 1:1; 1 John 1:1).
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