Jesus’ Storm Miracle

Monday, December 20, 2021

23-25 Then he got in the boat, his disciples with him. The next thing they knew, they were in a severe storm. Waves were crashing into the boat—and he was sound asleep! They roused him, pleading, “Master, save us! We’re going down!”

26 Jesus reprimanded them. “Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?” Then he stood up and told the wind to be silent, the sea to quiet down: “Silence!” The sea became smooth as glass.

27 The men rubbed their eyes, astonished. “What’s going on here? Wind and sea stand up and take notice at his command!”

-Matthew 8:23-27 The Message

Jesus Calms the Storm

Verse 23: When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.

Verse 23 study: Jesus’ disciples were fishermen; they were fishing boats. Josephus is an ancient historian. He wrote that there were more than 300 fishing boats on the sea of Galilee at one point. These boats were large enough to hold the 12 disciples and Jesus and were powered by oars and sails. The sails were taken down due to the storm to prevent ripping, and it allows the boat to be controlled easily.

Verse 24: And behold, a violent storm developed on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.

Verse 24 study: The Sea of Galilee is small, 13 miles long, 7 miles wide, and an unusual body of water. It’s also 150 feet deep, and the shoreline is 680 feet below sea level. Sudden storms can appear over the surrounding mountains with little warning, causing violent 20-foot waves. The disciples didn’t go to the sea foolishly, they were caught off guard, and their danger was legit.

Verse 25: And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”

Verse 26: He *said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.

Verse 27: The men were amazed and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Verse 25 study: The disciple witnessed many miracles, but they panicked in this storm. With the experience they had as sailors, they knew its dangers. They didn’t realize that Christ could control the forces of nature. There may be a stormy area where you believe God can’t work or won’t. When you understand God, I mean really understand God; we will realize he controls the storms of nature and the storms of troubled hearts. Jesus’ power that calmed the storms can help us deal with the problems we face. Jesus will help if we call him to. We should never discount his power even in trouble trials.

Cross References

8:22

Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 9:59, 60 John 1:43; 21:19

8:25

Matthew 8:2; 9:18

8:26

Matthew 6:30, 14:31; 16:8; 17:20

Storms of nature, storms of life. Father, I pray that we can take the time to understand you. It is challenging to not believe you can do the impossible. That is the purpose of Bible study, to stay in the word, to stay faithful to you, to continue to learn in repetitions that you can heal all wounds; we just have to trust you. Let us open our minds to trust you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.