Bible Study series: Matthew 8:23-27. It’s time to trust, when Jesus is with you.
A warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together. I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Matthew 8:23-27
23 When he got in a boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And look! A strong storm arose on the lake, to the point that the boat was hidden by the waves! But Jesus was sleeping. 25 They approached and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26 Then he told them, “Why are you so cowardly, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the lake. There was a great calm. 27 The men were amazed, saying, “What kind of man is this? Because even the winds and the lake obey him!” (Matt. 8:23-27)
Comments:
Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25 also have this story.
Mark says they got in the boat during the evening. By the time they got out to the middle of the lake, it was dark. So the darkness adds to the tension of the narrative, but as usual Matthew trims these smaller elements. That’s why I nickname him “Matthew the Trimmer” (though he does not trim every detail, like the pair of demoniacs [see below] the two blind men in 20:29-34)
Why does Jesus feel called to go to the other side? Probably because the Father by the Spirit informed him that two men really needed help. See the next pericope.
Once God calls you, nothing will stop you, except yourself. Always be obedient. There’s a blessing on the other side of the lake. The goal achieved will bless others by God’s love and grace.
23:
You can google the so-called “Jesus boat” which was found recently. It was active around the time that Jesus was alive. It is impressive to see, for it gives a good idea what boats were like back then. However, this boat on which Jesus boarded seems to be bigger than that one. But who knows? When he taught, he sometimes launched out on to a boat just offshore, and he could have used that very boat.
Mark says other boats were with him (Mark4:36), so a small “fleet” had launched out. Therefore the “Jesus boat” may indeed have been one in the small fleet.
24:
“look!” it is a modern translation of “behold!” It means something exciting (positive or negative) or unexpectant is coming. “Pay attention!” “Observe carefully!” “Watch!” Maybe in some contexts we could translate it as follows: “Oh no!” Or “Wow!”
“lake”: it is most often translated as “sea,” because of the Greek word, but the Shorter Lexicon offers the option of “lake.” And since the body of water in Galilee is a lake, I chose this term. The old traditional title, “The Sea of Galilee,” to modern readers, makes no sense when they see it on an online map; the term is inaccurate.
The Lake of Galilee sits in a bowl, with high hills around it. Historians teach us that rushing winds would sometimes sweep down and hit the water, creating high waves. And so it is happening here.
“hidden”: that is a literal translation, but “swamped” works too. It may even be better, because it is a more powerful image. But I like to keep this translation more on the literal side. The waves were so high that they hid the boat.
Blomberg is open to the idea that the sudden storm was a satanic attack, as it may have happened in 14:24:
Matthew, however, calls the storm a seismos (literally, earthquake), a term used for apocalyptic upheavals (cf. 24:7; 27:54; 28:2), often with preternatural overtones. This seems to be no ordinary storm but one in which Satan is attacking. The boat is in danger of being swamped, and lives are at risk. Amazingly, Jesus remains so calm that he continues to sleep. The disciples rouse him and beg for help. “Save” and perish (“drown”) refer first of all to the disciples’ physical lives, but by Matthew’s time they have become the standard terms for spiritual salvation and destruction. Matthew may well intend a double entendre here. (comment on 8:23-25)
Jesus was sleeping. It is truly amazing that he was sleeping during the storm. I heard a younger TV teacher say something like: “If you can’t sleep through your storm, then you don’t really trust God.” She added that Jesus had just said they were to go to the other side of the lake. Therefore, they were going to get there, regardless of the storm. Her idea was clever. In this case, Jesus literally slept. “In the OT sleep in difficult situations symbolized a deep trust in God (Job 11:18-19; Ps 3:5-6; Prov 3:24-26)” (Osborne, comment on 8:24).
In our case, we need to be as calm as the water, after Jesus rebuked the storm. “A great calm occurred.” Our rest and calm needs to be in our heart and soul. The circumstances may look stormy—may be stormy—but our hearts and soul can remain calm and carry on.
25:
Are you sleeping during the time of our greatest need? We are perishing right now! Wake up! Don’t you care? Save us! They didn’t know that he could calm the storm, when they used the word “save.” It could also be translated as “rescue!” “The “us” had to be inserted.
The verb for save is sōzō: Since the theology of salvation (soteriology) is so critical for our lives, let’s look more closely at the noun salvation, which is sōtēria (pronounced soh-tay-ree-ah and used 46 times) and at the verb sōzō (pronounced soh-zoh and used 106 times)
As noted throughout this commentary, the noun salvation and the verb save go a lot farther than just preparing the soul to go on to heaven. Together, they have additional benefits: keeping and preserving and rescuing from harm and dangers; saving or freeing from diseases and demonic oppression; and saving or rescuing from sin dominating us; ushering into heaven and rescuing us from final judgment. What is our response to the gift of salvation? You are grateful and then you are moved to act. When you help or rescue one man from homelessness or an orphan from his oppression, you have moved one giant step towards salvation of his soul. Sometimes feeding a hungry man and giving clothes to the naked or taking him to a medical clinic come before saving his soul.
All of it is a package called salvation and saved.
“perish”: In this verse a freer translation could be “drown.” But in our modern world we still retain the phrase “perish at sea.” So I went with “perish.”
26:
“lake”: see comments on v. 24.
“cowardly”: Wow! That term is a lot stronger than “afraid” in this context. Jesus rebuked them as well. Mark also has cowardly in Greek (4:40). Luke softens the Greek to “afraid” (8:25).
“commands”: Notice how Jesus did not pray a flowery prayer. “O thou great God, if it be thy will, I prithee to still this storm!” No, he commanded.
The Father and the Spirit cooperated with his divine nature, so the first and third persons of the Trinity is working together in the Son of God. His entire ministry was about doing what the Father did and in a similar manner.
19 “Jesus then replied and said to them, “I tell you the firm truth: The Son is unable to do anything on his own, unless it is something he sees the Father doing, for the things that he does—the Son also does those things in like manner. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows to him everything that he himself is doing” … (John 5:19-20).
“Unable” should not be over-interpreted, but simply means that in his ministry, the Father empowers him. So in those two verses, the Father and Son cooperate to do the works–the miracles. And the Father anointed the Son with the Spirit. Thus, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit performed the works or miracles in the Gospels. It is the Trinity working together who inaugurated the kingdom of God and confirmed it by the signs and wonders. We too, by the Father’s will, and in the name of Jesus, through the power of the Spirit can do the works of God.
So all of his prayers and commands were done by the Father’s will.
In the 1970s, during the height of the Charismatic Renewal, leaders on TV were either very brave and faith-filled or very foolish. They prayed against storms.
Should we pray for a nature miracle, against hurricanes and tornados? Of course. Pray for your need. However, before anyone starts proclaiming a nature miracle or rebuking a storm before it happens, he better be clear that he got a prophetic word that God wants to answer his prayer. The man who prays may be listening to his own “mighty thoughts of faith” which do not always equal God’s thoughts. And so if he prays “a prayer of faith” and broadcasts the nature miracle on TV before it happens, it might not come to pass, and so he will subject the church to mockery. One may object that a man of faith prayed against a hurricane coming to shore, and it did not come to shore. But the problem is that hurricanes often veer off from the shore and go due north (Hurricane Dorian), while others slam into cities and wreak damage despite the prayers (Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina). Be careful, Renewalists of the fiery and showy variety! Don’t be presumptuous and put the Lord to the test. We learned the opposite from Jesus, who said he would not jump off a building and force God’s hand (Matt. 4:5-7). Truly hear from God before you strut around in your own strength.
Remember, it was Jesus’s mission to go over to the opposite side of the lake. He was a perfect follower of his Father. You or I may not be such a perfect follower. We are imperfect. And we may be speaking presumptuously, from our own thoughts, not God’s thoughts.
Now for those of us who are not fiery revivalists, yes, you can certainly pray that God will enable you to survive during a natural disaster. And you can even pray that a hurricane veer off into the Atlantic or a tornado lifts off the ground before it hits your house. But God answers this prayer; don’t be so self-centered that you believe you had anything to do with it.
Is ‘Decreeing’ Biblical for Christians?
Best of all, we regular people can prepare for storms. We should listen to the authorities when they tell us to evacuate before a hurricane hits or build an underground storm shelter in the backyard if tornadoes might come your way. Even a hole in the ground with proper support and storm doors can save your life. In California, authorities are retrofitting key buildings and other structures to prepare for earthquakes. That’s the right idea.
Don’t be caught off guard. Prepare and pray and run, if you have to!
Does God Cause Natural Disasters to Punish People Today?
Here are Scriptures about God rebuking the sea (all from the ESV):
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. (Ps. 18:15)
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight. (Ps. 104:6-7)
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
and he led them through the deep as through a desert. (Ps. 106:9)
Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a desert (Is. 50:2)
He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers (Nah. 1:4)
Bottom line: In light of those verses, you can certainly try to rebuke violent nature in Jesus’s name, but depend on the Father. It is by his will that this must be done. Be careful about arrogating too much power to yourself. And just because you string word together (“I give glory to God; this is his work”) does not mean you are not concentrating too much power in yourself. In any case, when Jesus rebuked the winds and the lake of Galilee, he did so in his own authority. Jesus’s followers have to do so in his name. And he controls how his name is used and which prayers to answer.
One other theological point: If Jesus rebuked the storm by his divine nature, then this is one more indication that he was God in the flesh because in those OT verses, only God could rebuke storms.
Similar to what we saw in Blomberg’s comments, Osborne is open to the idea that there was a cosmic battle embedded in the story, a satanic attack. “It is best to say there may be an echo of a cosmic conflict here, but the main thrust is Jesus’ power over nature. Jesus was the agent of creation behind this world (John 1:3; 1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:16; Heb 1:2) and so controls the forces of nature” (comment on 8:26).
27:
The disciples’ reaction was appropriate. Truly, what kind of man was this? You and I would have been equally stunned.
“lake”: see v. 24 for more comments.
GrowApp for Matt. 8:23-27
1. When you face a stormy circumstance, are you cowardly and have little faith?
2. Or do you stand strong in faith, believing that if God does not instantly calm your storm, he will see you through it?
RELATED
9. Authoritative Testimony in Matthew’s Gospel
1. Church Fathers and Matthew’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
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