Calming the Storm

Text and Narrative

The account appears in Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, and Luke 8:22-25. In the Gospel of Mark, it takes place on the evening of the day Jesus taught the Parable of the Sower and other parables. Jesus said, "Let us pass over unto the other side," and set out in a boat with his disciples, and other boats went with them. A great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, yet Jesus was asleep on a pillow in the stern (the rear of the vessel). The disciples woke him, asking, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace, be still," and there was a great calm. He asked the disciples, "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" The disciples feared exceedingly and said one to another, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

The three Gospel accounts differ in several respects. In Matthew, the disciples cry out, "Lord, save us," and Jesus first rebukes them, saying, "O ye of little faith," before calming the wind. In Luke, Jesus asks, "Where is your faith?" All three Gospels place the healing of the Gerasene demoniac immediately after this narrative.

Background

The Sea of Galilee lies in a basin below sea level and is surrounded by hills, and it is therefore known to be prone to sudden squalls. Some of the disciples were fishermen who had worked on this sea. The word rendered "be still" in Mark 4:39 is a Greek verb meaning "to muzzle." The same word is used in Mark 1:25, where Jesus rebukes an unclean spirit, saying, "Hold thy peace, and come out of him."

Significance in the Wider Biblical Context

In the Old Testament, ruling over the sea and its storms is portrayed as the work of God, as in Psalms 89:9 and 107:29. The disciples' closing question is therefore read as a christological question about who Jesus is. The pattern of a man asleep in a boat during a storm resembles Jonah 1. A similar scene appears in Jesus Walking on Water, but the two are distinct accounts.

Interpretation and Issues

• Christological reading: Most church traditions read this event as a miracle revealing the divine authority of Jesus.
• Ecclesiological reading: The early church father Tertullian is known to have interpreted the boat as a type of the church. Since then, the boat has frequently served as a symbol of the church in the midst of trials.
• Faith and discipleship: Mark sharply exposes the disciples' lack of faith, while Matthew and Luke soften it somewhat. This difference is studied in connection with the Synoptic Problem.
• Historicity: Evangelical and conservative denominations regard this event as a miracle that actually took place. Some critical scholars understand it as a narrative expressing the early church's confession of faith.
• Readings beyond the text: Sermons often explain that Jesus fell asleep from exhaustion, or that the words "Let us pass over" were a promise of safe arrival. The text, however, does not state these things directly.