The Kingdom Movement

A Literary & Pastoral Study Guide to the Gospel of Matthew

The Inspiration of Matthew,

by Caravaggio

On the King's Errand

Devotional Reflections on Matthew's Gospel

Jesus Calms the Storm:  Mt.8:23 – 27

^8:23 When he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus himself was asleep. ²⁵ And they came to him and woke him, saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing!’ 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. ²⁷ The men were amazed, and said, ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’

Still Jesus slept on.  His sound sleep is quite surprising, given that he is the one who initiated this journey, and also since the wind and waves become gusty enough to capsize the boat.  The disciples are certainly surprised by Jesus’ lack of concern for the storm, and apparent lack of concern for them.  In the face of this sudden storm on the once fair waters, they panic and wake him with a statement that is half accusation, half cry of desperation:  ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing!’

What else could the disciples have done as they faced the possibility of drowning?  As overwhelming as the situation appeared, the disciples could have recalled the power of Jesus’ word as they had seen it.  By his word, Jesus healed the leper (Mt.8:1 – 4), the centurion’s servant (Mt.8:5 – 13), and Peter’s mother in law and those in her community (Mt.8:14 – 17).  So if Jesus had power there, then he could be trusted here.  If the disciples were concerned for their lives in the boat, they must remember that this Jesus who showed such compassion in these isolated cases had just as much compassion for them.  They woke Jesus up with desperation and panic rather than with calm assurance. 

Upon waking, Jesus ‘rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.’  The only sound was the quiet lapping of small waves against the boat.  He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?’  The men were amazed, and said, ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’ (Mt.8:27)  What is Jesus doing here?  He is certainly showing that he is the master of the elements and the greater natural world, not just of disease and problems localized in human bodies.  His power is cosmic.  Any first century Jewish person knew that God alone commands the winds and the waves (Gen.1:1 – 10; Ex.14; Ps.18:16; 89:9; 104:3; 107:23 – 30; 135:6 – 7; Nah.1:4).  In particular, Psalm 89 held that YHWH’s covenant faithfulness to Israel and the Davidic kings is undergirded by His power shown over the sea.  The logic runs as follows:  If God has power over the chaotic sea and can bring life out of it (creation) or allow Israel to pass right through it (exodus), then He has power over the chaotic circumstances opposing His covenant love for Israel. 

Certainly Jesus was making parallels between himself and God in the exodus parting of the Red Sea, and God again in the creational sea-parting of Genesis, mental pictures that would have been very familiar to the Jewish disciples.  No one has this type of power; only God Himself does this.  Just as God calmed the chaotic waters in Genesis 1, Jesus calmed the chaotic waters here.  Jesus leaves the awe lingering in the air that he may be…God in human form?  His word may well be the very Word of God in a way that they did not grasp before?  This is probably what causes the disciples to be ‘amazed.’  Whatever their previous concept of the Messiah was, they did not expect that he would physically embody the God of Israel. 

Most Israelites believed that the Messiah was simply human, however much strengthened by God.  Jesus could not merely take the title ‘Messiah’ to himself because many Israelites, including the disciples, have their own preconceptions and misconceptions about that role being a military one; we know about numerous quasi-military and guerilla movements in Israel where the leader was called ‘Messiah.’  Thus, Jesus is seeking to redefine that term and its deepest purpose for his disciples.  The question will reemerge in Mt.16:13 – 16 when Jesus asks the disciples, ‘Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?’ and ‘Who do you say that I am?’  Only then does he allow the disciples to explicitly call him ‘Messiah,’ but they still fail to understand the suffering he must undergo as Messiah.  The popular notions of Messiah current in Israel at that point still need to be reworked.

It’s the vital issue for the disciples.  The question is Jesus’ litmus test for the disciples’ understanding of Jesus’ nature, not simply his ability.  They have just seen a spectacular display of power unheard of in the Scriptures of Israel save for the creation and the exodus, and Jesus requires that their faith grow to match their understanding, for indeed faith is our understanding of Jesus’ very nature and the character of God revealed by him.  Their response is:  ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’  We hoped he would be the Messiah.  Is he also the physical embodiment of the God we have long worshiped?  Matthew encourages this interpretation of Jesus by telling us in 9:1 – 13 that Jesus forgives sin, something only God did at the Temple.

When we see Jesus drawing to himself others who are very different from us, we get a tangible experience of Jesus being the embodiment of the one true God of the world.  This is not head knowledge.  This is our experiential knowledge of Jesus.  When I lived in a community of struggling and vivacious Mexican immigrant families, and saw some of them interested in Jesus, that’s when I knew experientially that Jesus is Lord of the world.  That helped me trust him more and more to lead me.  Do you know him this way?