Calming the Storm

72 – Calming the Storm; Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25

Matthew 8:23 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And behold, a [a]violent storm developed on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. 25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” 26 He *said to them, “Why are you [b]afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and [c]it became perfectly calm. 27 The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Mark 4:35 On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” 36 After dismissing the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. 37 And a fierce gale of wind *developed, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling with water. 38 And yet Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and [a]it became perfectly calm. 40 And He said to them, “Why are you [b]afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Luke 8:22 Now on one of those days [a]Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. 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. 24 They came up to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging [b]waves, and they stopped, and [c]it became calm. 25 And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” But they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

Footnotes (Matthew)

a. Matthew 8:24 Lit great

b. Matthew 8:26 Or cowardly

c. Matthew 8:26 Lit a great calm occurred

Footnotes (Mark)

a. Mark 4:39 Lit a great calm occurred

b. Mark 4:40 Lit cowardly

Footnotes (Luke)

a. Luke 8:22 Lit He

b. Luke 8:24 Lit waves of water

c. Luke 8:24 Lit a calm occurred

Commentary

One thing I never noticed about this passage before is that there were other boats with them (see Mark 4:36). We aren’t told who was in them, but these people would have experienced the same storm and subsequent calm. They may not have witnessed the miracle of Jesus speaking to the elements because they would have been in a loud, dark, frightening place in their own boats, but they certainly would have experienced the wonder and relief of the sudden peace.

The disciples would have been familiar with storms, since many were fishermen. However, this storm must have been especially severe to cause them to think they were going to die. The Sea of Galilee has tremendous storms to this day. “Storms rapidly form over the Sea of Galilee when air masses from the surrounding higher plains and mountains are funneled through deep river ravines to meet the warm shore air rising off the lake” (The Word in Life Study Bible, pg. 1798). “The lake is 700 feet below sea level, and is fed by rivers that have cut deep ravines surrounded by flat plains that are in turn hedged in by mountains. The ravines act like wind siphons or tunnels, gathering cooler air from the mountains as it crosses the plains. Then the air mass runs into the hot lake shore, violent storms are whipped up with no warning” (The Word in Life Study Bible, pg. 1798).

Jesus’s ability to sleep through the storm indicates not only peace and confidence in God’s plan for Him, but also complete exhaustion. The boat was obviously tossing and lurching in the waves, and Jesus remained asleep, despite significant physical obstacles to peaceful rest. Consider how tirelessly He gave of Himself to teach, pray, heal, and spread the message of the kingdom of God. He had to take every opportunity possible to rest, and when He did get to sleep, He slept hard.

As I said, however, a factor that had significant bearing on His peace was His confidence in His purpose and of course His knowledge that He had ultimate power over the wind and waves. “Jesus rebuked their little faith in light of the fact that He had commanded the trip across the Sea of Galilee” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1192). The disciples started out being afraid of the storm, but they end up being afraid of Jesus. They almost can’t admit to each other that they believe He is God. There are several scripture references from the Old Testament that indicate God controls the wind and waves. (See in the scripture references below Psalm 65:7; Psalm 89:9; Psalm 107:29; Nahum 1:4.) This was a very important miracle Jesus performed because it showed evidence of His deity. “Although they had seen demons cast out and diseases cured, the apostles perceived Christ as a prophet only. Witnessing His sovereignty over nature, they respond among themselves in fear… What emotions must have flowed as they pondered if their Master indeed was God Himself!” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1243).

The implications for us today are similar to those in the story. It doesn’t matter what rages around us, but Who is with us. If we are going in the same direction, for the same purpose, in the name of Jesus, we can be confident in the end result. (To be clear, though, many people think they are going in the same direction, for the same purpose, when they may not be – this is a matter for much prayer and fasting.) This sermon offers a nice, clear depiction of the circumstances of this miracle and the implications. https://vimeo.com/351920582

Findn the next post here https://wordpress.com/post/onthepath.online/741

Scripture References

Matthew 8:24

Habakkuk 3:10 The mountains saw You and quaked; torrents of water swept by. The deep roared with its voice and lifted its hands on high.

Matthew 8:25

Matthew 8:2 Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Matthew 9:18 While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.”

Matthew 8:26

Psalm 65:7 You stilled the roaring of the seas, the pounding of their waves, and the tumult of the nations.

Psalm 107:29 He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

Nahum 1:4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.

Matthew 6:30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Matthew 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

Matthew 16:8 Aware of their conversation, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you debating among yourselves about having no bread?

Matthew 17:20 “Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Luke 4:35 But Jesus rebuked the demon. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without harming him.

Matthew 8:27

Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

Mark 4:35

Matthew 8:18 When Jesus saw a large crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the sea.

Mark 4:36

Mark 3:9 Jesus asked His disciples to have a boat ready for Him so that the crowd would not crush Him.

Mark 4:1 Once again, Jesus began to teach beside the sea, and such a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people crowded along the shore.

Mark 5:2 As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, He was met by a man with an unclean spirit, who was coming from the tombs.

Mark 5:21 When Jesus had again crossed by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him beside the sea.

Mark 6:32 So they went away in a boat by themselves to a solitary place.

Mark 4:37

Acts 27:14 But it was not long before a cyclone called the Northeaster swept down across the island.

Mark 4:38

Matthew 22:16 They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You defer to no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.

Mark 4:39

Psalm 65:7 You stilled the roaring of the seas, the pounding of their waves, and the tumult of the nations.

Psalm 89:9 You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them.

Psalm 107:29 He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

Luke 4:35 But Jesus rebuked the demon. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without harming him.

Mark 4:40

Matthew 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

Mark 4:41

Mark 5:1 On the other side of the sea, they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes.

Luke 8:22

Matthew 8:18 When Jesus saw a large crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the sea.

Luke 5:1 On one occasion, while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God,

Luke 8:33 Then the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

Acts 27:2 We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

Luke 8:23

Luke 5:1 On one occasion, while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God,

Acts 27:2 We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

1 Corinthians 15:30 And why do we endanger ourselves every hour?

Luke 8:24

Psalm 107:29 He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

Luke 4:35 But Jesus rebuked the demon. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without harming him.

Luke 4:39 and He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and began to serve them.

Luke 5:5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we have worked through the night without catching anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”

Luke 8:25

Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

Luke 8:26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee.