Jesus Calms the Storm

Matthew 8:23-27

In Matthew 8-9, Matthew shows that Jesus is the Messiah as made evident by His authority and power. He has already shown Jesus’ authority over sickness and disease as He touched and cleansed a leper, healed a centurion’s paralyzed servant with a word, and healed Peter’s mother-in-law from a debilitating fever—all in fulfillment of scripture.

In this next section, Matthew gives us three mighty acts of Jesus, demonstrating His power over nature (Matt. 8:23–27), His power over the demonic (Matt. 8:28–34), and His power over sin (Matt. 9:1–8).^[1] Today we see that Jesus calms the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Most of you are probably familiar with this miracle. In fact, you have likely heard this story taught or preached more than once since it is found not only in Matthew 8 but also in Mark 4 and Luke 8.

I have often heard the lesson from this story presented like this: If you have faith, Jesus will calm the storms in your life and get you safely to your destination.  But Matthew did not give us this story to say that God wants to calm the storms in our lives, nor do we find a promise here that Jesus will get you safely to every destination you set for yourself. Ultimately, this passage is not about you. It’s not about your storms. It’s about Jesus, His authority and power. Craig Blomberg comments,

There are implications for discipleship here, to be sure; we must turn to Jesus as the one to trust in all circumstances of life. But the focus of this passage remains squarely Christological—on who Christ is, not on what he will do for us. One who has this kind of power can be no less than God himself, worthy of worship, irrespective of when and how he chooses to use that power in our lives. Sometimes he leaves storms unstilled for good and godly ends (cf. 2 Cor 12:7–8).^[2]

The calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee is first and foremost about being confronted with the nature of Jesus Christ: truly man yet truly God.

This story teaches us three very important things about Jesus. 1) Jesus is completely unthreatened. 2) Jesus can handle disaster. 3) Jesus is fully God and fully man.[3]

First of all, this miracle teaches us that …

1. Jesus is completely unthreatened (Matt. 8:23-25)

Remember that in Matthew 8:18, Jesus “gave a command to depart to the other side” of the Sea of Galilee. In verse 23, Matthew tells us, “Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.” (Matt. 8:23). The words “disciples” and “follow” connect this passage with the dialogues Jesus had with two would-be disciples in Matthew 8:19-22. Both of those men expressed a wish to follow Jesus. One man had said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go“, but Jesus let the man know that He didn’t even have a place to lay His own head (Matt. 8:19-20). The other man offered to follow and asked to be excused first, saying, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But Jesus demanded an even greater priority in the man’s life than his own father (Matt. 8:21-22).

To be a “disciple” of Jesus means to be a “follower” of Him. It means to go where He says to go, do what He says to do, and believe as He says to believe. Not everyone, after they count the cost, is willing to accept the challenge of following Jesus. But the men who entered the boat with Jesus apparently did. When He got into the boat to cross over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, they “followed” Him. Disciples “follow” Jesus.[4]

But then, look what happened to these men who followed Jesus. The storm strikes! “And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves” (Matt. 8:24). The boat was probably a fishing boat, big enough for a dozen or more men and a good catch of fish, but not large, and without sails.^[5] The storm came up without warning. Literally in the Greek, it says, “And look!” or “And Behold!” Remember, several of these men with Jesus were experienced fishermen. These men would ordinarily have been able to tell in advance that a windstorm was coming. But this one was unexpected. And it came when the disciples were following Jesus. They were obeying the Son of God! And yet, this violent and life-threatening storm fell upon them anyway.

This is a terrifying storm on the sea. The Greek word that Matthew uses for “tempest” is seismos. It means “a shaking” or “a quaking”. Every other place this word is used in the New Testament it describes an earthquake. Luke tells us that the storm was a product of a great wind that suddenly came down upon the lake (Luke 8:23). Matthew says it was “great” and it was so threatening that we’re told that “the boat was covered by the waves“. Mark says that the boat was “already filling” (Mark 4:37). I may not be a fisherman like Peter, but I know this: boats work a lot better when the water stays on the outside. The men in the boat were certain that they were about to die; because they cried out to Jesus that they were “perishing” (Matt. 8:25).

Now, the storm may have come up without warning for the disciples, but nothing catches Jesus by surprise. From our limited standpoint, life is unpredictable and uncertain. But not Jesus. Nothing causes Him worry or distress. When the storm hit the boat, where was Jesus?

Matthew writes, “But He was asleep” (Matt. 8:24). In fact, in the original language, Matthew makes Jesus stand out in stark contrast to all the panic that’s going on around Him. Literally, he writes, “But He – He was asleep.”

How can Jesus sleep at a time like that? Well; for one very obvious reason, it was because He was tired! He was a true man. When He didn’t eat, He got hungry. When He didn’t drink, He got thirsty. When He had a long hard day of teaching and healing, He got tired and needed sleep. But tiredness alone does not explain it. Jesus could sleep in the storm because he was unafraid. He was not surprised by the storm, and he was not afraid of it when it came. He was at perfect peace in the midst of the storm because He knew that the storm was under His control at all times. He was in His Father’s will and He knew that no matter what else happened around Him, His Father’s will would still be fulfilled in Him.

The Bible tells us that God neither slumbers nor sleeps, but Jesus as man slept in the boat. Tired and trusting, Jesus slept through the storm. Nothing causes Him worry or stress.

Again, in Matthew 8:25 we see the contrast between Jesus and the disciples, “Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’” In the Greek, their prayer is just three curt words, “Lord, save! We-perish!” They are in full panic mode here. They really thought they were going to die.

By the way, that is not a bad prayer. In the word “Lord”, they recognized and admitted His authority and power. In the second word, “Save!”, we see that they knew what they needed. They needed Him to rescue them. And in the third word, translated, “We perish!”, they understood how helpless they were unless He did what they asked. If He didn’t help them, they were lost.

If I may say so, that’s a great salvation prayer! “Lord, save me! I perish!” You can’t be saved unless you admit your need, cry out to Him as “Lord”, and plead with Him to save you.

Jesus in these verses is the perfect example of trusting faith for us. We haven’t even gotten to the miracle of calming the storm yet, and we already see the miracle of Jesus sleeping in the boat in the middle of the storm. That’s the first thing we learn from Jesus’ power over nature. Jesus is completely unthreatened.

The second thing we see is that …

2. Jesus can handle the disaster (Matt. 8:26)

Look at Matthew 8:26: “But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’ Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”

Matthew tells us that Jesus awoke in response to their cry. But he tells us that, before He rebuked the wind and the waves, He rebuked His disciples. “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Matthew Henry comments, “He does not chide them for disturbing Him with their prayers, but for disturbing themselves with their fears.”

Look at what Jesus says about their condition. Jesus says that they’re “fearful“. But the Greek word that is used is not the normal word for “fear” (phobos). This particular word (deilos) means “timid” or “cowardly”. It suggests a kind of fearfulness that is unbecoming and inappropriate, sometimes even sinful. The only other occasion this word is used in the New Testament, apart from this story, is in Revelation 21:8 where we’re told that “the cowardly . . . shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone“.

“Why are you fearful?” is a valid question. After all, they did just call Jesus “Lord.” They seem to think He can save them—they just asked him to do so, in fact. And they have witnessed His power already: healing all the sick and casting out demons, with nothing more than His word.^[6]

And look at what Jesus says about the cause of their fear. He calls them, “O you of little faith“. Their real problem was their little faith in Him! If they had strong faith, there would be no panic. If they had no faith, they would not say, “Lord, save.” They mix faith and lack of faith.^[7] All that they had seen of Jesus hadn’t struck home with them yet. They didn’t yet really understand who He was and how, because of who He was, they had absolutely no reason to be afraid. Faith is incompatible with fear. You can have faith or you can be fearful, but you cannot do both at the same time. Either your faith will drive out fear, or your fear will drive out faith.

This phrase “little faith” appears four times in Matthew and every time it is used with reference to Jesus’ disciples. It first appears in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus is teaching his disciples about faith and trusting God to take care of their needs. After talking about how God takes care of the birds and the grass, He tells them: “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30)

Now they are panicking in the storm and once again Jesus says they have little faith. This is in direct contrast to the centurion in Matthew 8:10 about whom Jesus said: “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” The disciples had little faith.

Our faith should not go up and down with the size of our trials. Our faith does not depend on the circumstances we are facing but on the greatness of our Savior. If the disciples thought the boat might sink with Jesus aboard, it was because they did not understand Jesus’ identity. His power over the sea, however, forces them to grapple afresh with that question.^[8]

Matthew 8:26 continues, “Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea … ” The word “rebuked” here means to command with the implication of a threat. Jesus actually “scolded” the weather and the water. Jesus is completely unthreatened, but the storm is not safe from His command. What exactly did Jesus say to the storm? The gospel of Mark tells us the words Jesus used. “Peace, be still!” (Mark 4:39). That’s amazing. We can’t even say that to our kids and get them to obey!

The results were astounding! Matthew says, “… and there was a great calm.” Miraculously, the winds and the waves obeyed. The terrible shaking stopped, and everything became completely calm. In fact, Luke tells us that the wind and the raging of the water “ceased”. There wasn’t a mere decrease in the wind and a gradual decline in the waves. They ceased altogether and it went from “a great tempest” to “a great calm”, in a moment’s time, at the word of Jesus! It is a miracle, performed by the direct word of Jesus. It reminds us of creation when God brought order out of chaos by His word.^[9]

Jesus can handle the storm. So then, faith is incompatible with fear. The third thing we see is that …

3. Jesus is fully God and fully man (Matt. 8:27)

Look at Matthew 8:27 with me now: “So the men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’”

Imagine what it must have been like in that boat after the great calm fell upon them. I picture Jesus standing in the boat and all the disciples are sprawled out in the boat staring at Him with their mouths hanging open. “Who can this be,” they ask, “that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Literally, their question is “Of what manner of man is this? What sort of man is He?” MacArthur comments that they had no category for Him. What kind of man is this? What kind of man speaks to the winds and the waves, and the winds and the waves listen to him? As readers of this Gospel, we already know the answer. He is the virgin-born Son of God. He is the Messiah-King in fulfillment of prophecy. He is the Lord who has come to save His people from their sins. But the disciples did not yet fully understand these things. Still, the implication behind their question is that He is no mere “man”.

In the Old Testament, only God has power over the sea. For example, we read in Psalm 65: “By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation … Who established the mountains by His strength, Being clothed with power … who still the noise of the seas, The noise of their waves.” (Psalm 65:5-8). Or as we read at the beginning of our worship in Psalm 107: “Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.” (Psalm 107:28, 29). Psalm 89 says, “O LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.” (Psalm 89:8-9).

In all those passages it is only Yahweh, the LORD God, who has power over the sea. Yet here, Jesus has power over the sea. What does that say about Jesus? He is the sovereign God who is able to command even wind and sea, and they obey Him! Jesus was showing by this miracle that He was both God and man. what a revealing story! One moment Jesus is asleep in the storm, overcome with exhaustion. He is clearly a normal man. The next moment He is calming the wind and waves, which only God can do.^[10]

Matthew tells us the disciples “marveled” at Jesus. It’s a word that means to be struck with astonishment. It’s the same word Matthew used back in Matthew 18:10 when Jesus was astonished at the centurion’s faith. Here, the men are astonished at Jesus’ authority and power. Do you ever marvel at Jesus? You should. Read through the gospels, and you will find there is no one like Him in all of history. He defies all human categories. What kind of man is this? He is a man, but He is much more than a man. He is fully God and fully man.

The calming of the storm shows us that Jesus has power even over nature. The Jesus who stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee is the same Jesus who created the world, who sustains the world and who continues to intervene in the world even today. He is the Savior who delivers you from sin. One day He will bring the Kingdom of God in all its fullness, and even nature will be restored. In Romans 8, Paul writes, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Rom. 8:20-21).

We live in a creation that has been corrupted by sin. Disease and death still run rampant. Disasters strike with no warning. But there is no need to fear. We know the One who rules over it all. Jesus declared, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). He will one day put everything back in its proper order. Do you believe Jesus has all authority over every aspect of your life and our world? Do you live that way? Or are you overcome by fear because of your little faith?

Remember, Jesus spoke to the storm on the Sea of Galilee, and the storm stopped. Jesus is completely unthreatened. Jesus can handle disaster. Jesus is fully God and full man. He can save you. Trust in Christ today.

————————————————–

^[1] Michael Green, The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 118–119.

^[2] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 150.

[3] Ray Fowler, Power Over Nature. https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/power-over-nature/. I adapted Fowler’s outline and drew from some of his points in developing this sermon.

[4] Greg Allen, The Lord of Storms. https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2005/082805.htm

^[5] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 214.

^[6] Daniel M. Doriani, Matthew & 2, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, vol. 1, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), 348.

^[7] Daniel M. Doriani, Matthew & 2, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, vol. 1, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), 349.

^[8] Craig S. Keener, Matthew, vol. 1, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), Mt 8:27.

^[9] Daniel M. Doriani, Matthew & 2, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, vol. 1, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), 351.

^[10] James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2001), 141.

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