Jesus Calms a Storm

Crowds and followers. Great crowds were around Jesus, and He gave a command “to depart to the other side” (8:18). Many people wanted to watch Jesus. Fewer wanted to follow Him. A big promise. A scribe, a teacher of God's law, said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go” (8:19). That was a big promise to make. The cost. Jesus answered, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (8:20). Jesus did not hide the truth. Following Him would not always be comfortable. Jesus first. Another disciple wanted to bury his father first. Jesus said, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead” (8:22). Jesus wanted to be first in his life, not later. Into the boat. “Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him” (8:23). The disciples did more than talk about following. They got in the boat. Into a storm. Jesus led them out onto the lake, and a storm was coming. Following Jesus does not mean we will never face hard times. Not alone. The disciples were on the water because they followed Jesus, and Jesus was in the boat with them. God promises His people, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:2). What we learn. Following Jesus means putting Him first and going where He leads. Hard times may come, but Jesus goes with us into every one.

Watchers and followers (8:18). Great multitudes crowded around Jesus, and He gave a command to cross the lake. Before the boat left, two men spoke with Him about following. The scribe (8:19-20). A scribe was a trained teacher of the law of Moses. This one promised, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus answered with the cost: “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Son of Man was the title Jesus used most often for Himself. In Daniel 7:13-14, one like a Son of Man receives a kingdom that will never end. The King of that kingdom had no bed of His own. The disciple (8:21-22). Another disciple asked, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Caring for parents is right (Exodus 20:12). But Jesus called him to put following Him ahead of everything else: “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Many Christians see the first dead as people who are spiritually dead, who do not yet have new life from God. Followed into the boat (8:23). Jesus said, “Follow Me” (8:22), and in the next verse “His disciples followed Him” into the boat. Talking about following is easy. The disciples stepped into the boat. Obeying and still in trouble. The storm came while the disciples were obeying Jesus, not running from Him. Trouble is not always a sign that we have done something wrong. Paul could say, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed” (2 Corinthians 4:8). The promise that matters. Jesus never promised His followers calm water. He promised Himself: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Application. Jesus is looking for followers, not admirers. Count the cost, put Him first and get in the boat. The safest place in any storm is beside Him.

Lots of people liked being near Jesus. But Jesus wanted followers who would stay with Him. Following Jesus means going where He goes. It means putting Him first in everything. A teacher of the law promised to follow Jesus anywhere. Jesus told him that He had no home of His own. Jesus was honest about what following Him would cost. Another man wanted to follow Jesus later. Jesus wanted him to come now. Then Jesus' followers got into the boat with Him. Soon a big storm came. Following Jesus does not mean life will always be calm. It does mean that Jesus is with us.

Jesus said, “Follow me.” His friends followed Him into the boat. Following Jesus means going where He goes. We can follow Jesus every day.

Suddenly. “And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves” (8:24). A tempest is a wild, violent storm. There was no time to get ready. Filling with water. Waves crashed over the sides. Mark tells us the boat “was already filling” (Mark 4:37). The disciples were in real danger. Sound asleep. “But He was asleep” (8:24). Mark says Jesus “was in the stern, asleep on a pillow” (Mark 4:38). The stern is the back of the boat. Truly a man. That evening Jesus had healed many sick people (8:16). He was most likely very tired. Jesus is God the Son, and He also became a real man who got tired and slept. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Asleep in the storm. The disciples were sure they were sinking, but Jesus slept on. Many Christians see His sleep as the rest of a Son who trusted His Father. Storms in our lives. Hard times are like storms. Someone we love gets sick, friends are unkind, or a family goes through big trouble. Hard times come to people who love Jesus too. Always watching. Even while Jesus slept, the disciples were safe with Him. God never stops watching over His people: “He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). What we learn. Jesus is stronger than anything that frightens us. When you are afraid, stay close to Him.

A great shaking (8:24). The Greek word for tempest is seismos (say: SICE-moss), a shaking. It is where we get the word seismic, and it is the usual word for an earthquake. On the morning Jesus rose, Matthew uses the same two words, a great seismos, for the earthquake at the tomb (Matthew 28:2). This storm shook the whole sea. Sinking (8:24). The boat “was covered with the waves.” Mark adds that “the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling” (Mark 4:37). The disciples were in danger of sinking. Asleep (8:24). “But He was asleep.” Mark says He “was in the stern, asleep on a pillow” (Mark 4:38). That evening He had healed the sick and cast out spirits “with a word” (8:16). He was most likely worn out. Fully God and fully man. In one boat sat a man tired enough to sleep through a storm and the Lord whose voice the sea would obey. Both are true of Jesus at once. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Asleep in danger. The waves were covering the boat, and Jesus slept on. Many Christians see His sleep as the rest of a Son who trusted His Father. The disciples were never unguarded: “He who keeps you will not slumber” (Psalm 121:3). Real storms. Christians are not promised a life without storms. Sickness, loss, fear and conflict come to believers too. The question is not whether storms will come but whom we will trust when they do. Application. Fear grows when we stare at the waves. Peace grows when we look at the One in the boat. David's prayer fits that moment: “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Psalm 56:3).

The storm came very fast. The wind roared, and waves covered the boat. Jesus' followers were afraid they would sink. But Jesus was sound asleep! Jesus had healed many sick people that evening. He was most likely very tired. Jesus is God's Son, and He also became a real man. Real people get tired, and Jesus needed sleep too. The storm was big and loud. But it could not hurt the One who made the sea. Storms can come into our lives too. Someone gets sick, or a family has a hard time. Jesus is stronger than any storm, and He is always near. God never stops watching over His children.

A big storm shook the boat. But Jesus was fast asleep. The storm was big, but Jesus is bigger. Jesus is bigger than any storm.

They came to Jesus. “Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’” (8:25). Perishing means dying. They believed they were about to drown. The right place to go. In their fear the disciples went straight to Jesus. That is where every frightened person can go. A short prayer. “Lord, save us!” is only three words, but it is a real prayer. God hears short prayers. You can pray it too. Do You care? Mark tells us they also asked, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38). Fear made them wonder if Jesus cared. He cared far more than they knew. Hearts first. “But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’” (8:26). Jesus spoke to their fear before He spoke to the storm. Little faith. Little faith is not the same as no faith. Their faith was real, because it brought them to Jesus. But it was small, and their fear was bigger than their trust. How faith grows. Faith grows as we get to know Jesus. That night the disciples were about to learn something new about who He is. What we learn. When you are afraid, go to Jesus and tell Him. He cares about you, and He can make your trust grow bigger than your fear.

“Lord” (8:25). The disciples cried, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” The Greek word kyrios (say: KOO-ree-os) means Lord or master. It is also the word the Greek Old Testament uses for the name of God. Before the night was over, the disciples would begin to see how true that word was. “Save” (8:25). Their cry uses the same verb as the angel's words about Jesus' name: “He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). They asked to be saved from drowning, but they were calling on the only Savior there is. “Do You not care?” Mark tells us they also asked, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38). Fear often whispers that God does not care. The cross answers that whisper: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). Little faith (8:26). Jesus called them oligopistos (say: oh-lig-OP-iss-toss), people of little faith. He used the same word for disciples who worried about food and clothes (Matthew 6:30). It describes real believers whose trust shrinks when trouble grows. Hearts before weather. Jesus spoke to the disciples before He spoke to the wind. He dealt with their hearts first. Why ask? “Why are you fearful?” was not a request for information. Jesus was asking them to think: with Me in the boat, what is there to fear? God had long ago promised, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:2). Application. Small faith in a great Savior still brings us to Him. The answer to little faith is not to try harder to feel brave. It is to look more closely at Jesus.

Jesus' followers did the right thing. They went to Jesus for help. They cried, “Lord, save us!” That is a good prayer for anyone. Jesus spoke to His followers before He spoke to the storm. He asked, “Why are you afraid?” Jesus said they did not have enough faith. Their faith was small, but it was real. It brought them to Jesus! Everyone feels afraid sometimes. Jesus wants our trust to grow bigger than our fear. Trust grows as we get to know Jesus better. You can tell Jesus when you are scared.

Jesus' friends were scared. They woke Jesus and said, “Lord, save us!” Jesus hears us when we call to Him.

He arose. “Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm” (8:26). To rebuke is to give a strong command to stop. A great calm. After a storm, waves usually keep rolling for a long time. This time the wind stopped and the water went still at once. The storm was great, and the calm was great too. Peace, be still. Mark tells us the words Jesus used: “Peace, be still!” (Mark 4:39). He spoke to the sea the way a master speaks to a servant. The men marveled. “So the men marveled” (8:27). Marveled means they were filled with wonder. Mark says “they feared exceedingly” (Mark 4:41). Their fear of the storm turned into awe of Jesus. Awe is a deep, holy wonder. The big question. “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (8:27). The wind and the waves obey only the One who made them. The One who had been asleep on the pillow is the Lord God. Worship. The right answer to Jesus' power is to worship Him. One day “every knee should bow” to Jesus (Philippians 2:10). What we learn. Jesus is Lord over every storm. Not every storm in our lives stops right away, but Jesus is always in charge and always with His people.

Rebuked (8:26). Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea as a master corrects an unruly servant. Mark uses the same word when Jesus rebuked an evil spirit: “Be quiet, and come out of him!” (Mark 1:25). A great calm (8:26). The Greek words are galene megale (say: gah-LAY-nay meg-ah-LAY), a great calm. A great shaking had come, and a great calm replaced it. Normally the sea keeps heaving long after the wind dies down. Here the wind and the water stopped together. “Peace, be still!” (Mark 4:39). One short command, and creation obeyed at once. Jesus needed no prayer, ritual or wait. The men marveled (8:27). Fear of the storm became awe of the One in the boat. Mark says, “they feared exceedingly” (Mark 4:41). The fear of the Lord is not terror; it is wonder that leads to worship: “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!” (Psalm 34:9). The question (8:27). “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” In Israel's Scriptures, ruling the sea belongs to the Lord alone. The disciples had just watched Jesus do what only God does. The answer. Later Thomas saw the risen Jesus and called Him his Lord and his God (John 20:28). The question in the boat finds its answer at the empty tomb. Application. Jesus does not always calm the storm around us right away. Sometimes He calms the storm inside us first. “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

Jesus stood up in the boat. He spoke to the wind and the waves. Right away the wind stopped. The lake became smooth and still. Even the big waves stopped rolling! The men were amazed. They asked each other who Jesus could be. People cannot tell a storm what to do. Only God made the wind and the sea. Only God can tell them to stop. So Jesus is God the Son! He is stronger than anything that scares you. Some storms do not stop right away. But Jesus is always in charge.

Jesus told the wind to stop. The sea became calm. Only God can do that. Jesus is God's Son!