Luke 8:22

Now it came to pass on one of those days, that he entered into a boat, himself and his disciples; and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake: and they launched forth. But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And being afraid they marvelled, saying one to another, Who then is this, that he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him?

STILLING THE TEMPEST

The purpose of the Gospel authors in relating this wonder is apparent from the manner in which they closed the narrative (see also Matthew 8:27; Mark 4:41). It was their purpose to demonstrate the ground upon which the holy apostles hailed Jesus as a supernatural person.

The parallel accounts add significant information to what is written here. Matthew placed some of the words attributed to Jesus BEFORE he rebuked the winds and waves, indicating that a great deal more might have been said by both Christ and the apostles, in addition to the few key words given here. Mark indicated clearly that there were a number of other boats which attempted the late crossing to the east shore, thus providing additional witnesses to this wonder, and also stressing the fact that the Lord here saved not only the apostles but a great many other people as well.

This miracle proved the authority of Jesus over the forces of nature; and, for Christians who believe that Jesus of Nazareth was (is) the incarnation of Almighty God himself, the attempts to rationalize it are far more unbelievable than the wonder itself.

Rebuked the wind ... This action on Jesus' part showed that in at least some natural disorders Satan must be recognized as able to work in such things. As Geldenhuys said:

He actually rebuked the powers of Satan which at that moment were active in the elements. The earth "and the fullness thereof" belong to the Lord, and he guides the courses of wind and weather. But nevertheless, God sometimes permits the evil one to exercise power over the forces of nature within certain limits.[11]

Trench and many others have pointed out the same thing. See parallel passages in Mark and Matthew with their comments in this series of commentaries.

Where is thy faith ...? Of course, a composite of the three Gospel accounts shows the following words were spoken by Jesus:

"Why are you afraid; O men of little faith" (Matthew 8:26). "Why are you afraid; have you no faith?" (Mark 4:40). "Where is your faith?" (Luke 8:25).

All of the clucking over which Gospel author correctly quoted what Jesus said is laughable. Of course, he said all of these things, a total of some twenty-one words; and even these must be viewed as a most abbreviated report of all that occurred and all that was said during the savage onset of the storm that threatened the lives of the sacred group.

Master, master, we perish ... Exactly the same is true here. Each of the Gospels gives a different word in reporting the address to Jesus by the apostles. Matthew, Mark and Luke have "Lord," "Teacher" and "Master," respectively; but what is so strange about twelve terribly frightened men in the emergency of a violent storm using different words of address in their spontaneous and disorganized cries for help? And what is so strange that some would have remembered and reported one term, and another a different term? There is plenty of evidence that the apostles freely used all three of these terms of address to Jesus. It is only an ignorant, captious question which suggests that one, and only one, of these words, was addressed to Jesus on such an occasion as this.

But why did Jesus rebuke the apostles for lack of faith? In their fear of death they failed to demonstrate confidence that Christ was fully able to take care of them. It was impossible for that ship with the Redeemer of the world on board to founder, no matter what happened; and the Lord's followers today need to take account of a similar truth.

It is equally impossible for the church of Christ, the body of which he himself is the Head and Preserver, ever to be destroyed, notwithstanding all the forces of hell that continually assail it.[12]

Let the holy church make sure that Christ the true Head is aboard; and if so, no matter what storms may rage against it the institution and all on board are assured of safety.

Before leaving the account of this miracle, it should again be observed that a composite of all that is written in the New Testament is the only source of fully understanding what happened. Jesus himself thus used the sacred Scriptures; for it will be remembered that during his temptation in the wilderness, Satan quoted certain Scriptures; but Jesus said, "Again it is written" (Matthew 4:1-4). This set the pattern for all who would truly interpret the Holy Scriptures. Unlearned preachers were once criticized for their reliance upon isolated texts; but Satan has achieved a breakthrough by his instigating exactly the same method among the disbelieving scholars of certain intellectual communities who have been duped into using a "proof Gospel" (Mark); and their conclusions based upon such a monstrous error are just as unscientific and unreliable as the postulations of some unlettered frontier preacher with his proof text. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

[11] Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1951), p. 252.

[12] Ibid.