Matthew 14:24

But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, distressed by the waves; for the wind was contrary.

It will appear a little later that Satan was the instigator of that storm. Failing to induce Christ to accept the mantle of material kingship, the devil was of a mind to drown all his apostles in the sea! The contrary winds had prevented their successful crossing; and as late as the fourth watch of the night, they were still tossed by the angry seas about the point of no return, some three miles from land in either direction.

There appears to be a progressive design in our Lord's schooling of the Twelve. In Matthew 8, it was recorded that he was asleep in the stern of the ship during a storm; but in this instance the disciples were alone. In that case, they had him on board and could arouse him in an emergency; but in this, Jesus was out of sight, and they were learning the hard way what it means to walk by faith and not by sight.