When
he got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep. They came to him, and woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord! We are dying!” He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm. The men marveled, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Matthew 8:23-27
Matthew 8 [22.] But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Matthew 8 [23.] When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep. They came to him, and woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord! We are dying!”
Matthew 8 [26.] He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.
Matthew 8 [27.] The men marveled, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Matthew 8 [28.] When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way. Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them. The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.”
Meaning:
Jesus had given the order to cross the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 8:18), and he had just told would-be followers what following him would cost (Matthew 8:19-20). Now his disciples literally follow him into a boat, and the journey becomes a test of faith. In the storm they discover that the teacher who heals the sick also rules the wind and the waves.
- “Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea”
The Sea of Galilee lies about 200 meters below sea level, surrounded by hills. Cool air sweeping down through the valleys can stir up sudden, violent storms. The word Matthew uses for the storm is the word usually translated “earthquake,” describing a great shaking. Even experienced fishermen like Peter, Andrew, James and John were terrified as waves covered the boat.
- “But he was asleep”
Jesus was exhausted after a long day of healing, and he slept peacefully through the storm. His sleep shows his true humanity, and also his perfect trust in his Father: “In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety” (Psalm 4:8). The scene recalls the prophet Jonah, who “had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship… and was fast asleep” while a storm raged (Jonah 1:5). But Jonah was fleeing from God, while Jesus was resting in God.
- “Save us, Lord! We are dying!”
The disciples turned to the right person, and their cry is a short prayer. In Mark they ask, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are dying?” (Mark 4:38). Their fear was real, but it revealed that they did not yet understand who was with them.
- “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”
In Matthew, Jesus speaks to the disciples before he speaks to the storm. Their faith was small, not absent: they did come to him. But they thought the storm was stronger than their Lord. Jesus used the same words when he spoke of God clothing the lilies (Matthew 6:30) and when Peter began to sink in the waves (Matthew 14:31).
- “He got up, rebuked the wind and the sea”
Jesus spoke to the storm as one speaks to a servant, and immediately there was “a great calm.” In the Old Testament only God rules the sea. The psalmist says, “You rule the pride of the sea. When its waves rise up, you calm them” (Psalm 89:9), and of sailors in a storm, “He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still” (Psalm 107:29). Jesus does what only God can do.
- “What kind of man is this?”
The disciples were amazed. Their question is the central question of the Gospel. Jesus is truly a man, tired enough to sleep in a boat, yet he commands creation with a word. Mark records the same awe (Mark 4:41).
The Significance of Matthew 8:23-27
- Storms do not mean Jesus is absent
The disciples were in the storm because they followed Jesus. Obedience does not guarantee calm seas. But 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).
- From fear to faith
Jesus calls his followers to trust him in the storms of illness, loss or danger. Faith does not deny the wind and waves; it remembers who is in the boat. Bringing our fear to him in prayer is the first step from little faith to greater trust.
Cross-References:
Mark 4:39: "He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”" Mark’s account.
Psalm 107:29: "He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still." God calms the storm.
Psalm 89:9: "You rule the pride of the sea. When its waves rise up, you calm them." The Lord of the sea.
Isaiah 43:2: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;" God’s presence in danger.
Conclusion: In Matthew 8:23-27 the disciples follow Jesus into a boat and are caught in a violent storm while he sleeps. They cry for help, and Jesus first rebukes their little faith, then rebukes the wind and sea, bringing a great calm. The disciples ask, “What kind of man is this?” The answer is that Jesus does what only God can do. He is with his people in every storm and calls them to trust him.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible