Bible Study series: Luke 8:22-25. The disciples were trying to figure him out.
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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: Luke 8:22:-25
22 And so it happened on one of the days, he got into a boat, and his disciples too, and he said to them, “Let’s go across to the opposite side of the lake.” And they set sail. 23 While they were sailing, he fell asleep. And a fierce burst of wind came down on the lake, and they were being swamped and were in danger. 24 They approached him and woke him up, saying, “Master, Master! We are dying!” He woke up and rebuked the wind and rough water, and they stopped, and it became calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid and stunned, saying to each other, “Who then is this man that commands the winds and water, and they obey him?” (Luke 8:22-25)
Comments:
22:
He promised them that they would go to the opposite side. Once a promise from God comes, he won’t go back on it, if people follow his ways. Jesus was following God and doing his will, so the promise would be fulfilled. They would reach the other side. But apparently for the disciples his words were just casual. Of course he would say that. Regular guys did. But he was no regular guy. It was his mission. Do you have a mission—God’s mission—and must get there? Nothing will stop you, except yourself.
“disciples”:
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 know? 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 (4:36), so a small “fleet” had launched out. Therefore the “Jesus boat” may indeed have been one in the small fleet. Who knows?
Garland is open to the idea that the storm could have had a demonic backing: “The sea had religious significance as the abode of demonic powers that God will ultimately destroy (Rev. 21:1). Jesus’ sleep also can have religious significance and should not attributed to physical exhaustion, to God granting ‘sleep to those he loves’ (Ps. 127:2) or to his trust on God (Pss 3:5; 4:8). Sleep is a symbol of divine rule in ancient Near Eastern literature (see Isa 51:9-10). In this context where Jesus demonstrates his power to command the sea, his sleep is a sign of divine sovereignty” (comments on 8:22-23).
23:
A man at peace can go to sleep. It would have been something to observe him so peaceful that he can sleep during the watery ride even before the storm kicked up.
Then the burst of wind came down. The Lake of Galilee sits in a bowl, and a fierce gust or storm can swoop down and put sailing people in mortal danger.
24:
One gets the impression that the boat was big, but it wasn’t. He went to one end and put his head down and went to sleep. Mark says he slept on a cushion in the stern (4:37). They approached him and woke him up. His faith was so deep and powerful that he slept during the storm and while the boat was being swamped! We don’t need fictional super-heroes when we have the real Jesus! Honestly!
“Master”: it literally means “over-stander” or “he who stands over” (think of our “overseer” or “he who watches over”). Luke alone uses this word: 5:5, 8:24 (twice), 8:45, 9:33, 9:49, 17:13. The NIV always translates it as “master.” It denotes a person of high status and leadership.
“rebuked”: the verb means, depending on the context, “rebuke, censure, warn … punish” (see Jude 9 for the last term). Here it means that Jesus rebuked the wind. How did he word the rebuke exactly? Mark says Jesus ordered the storm, “Peace! Be still!” Here Luke says that the disciples say he ordered or commanded the elements (v. 25). So the verb here iss in the command form.
25:
They ask who this man is, and that’s a good question, but in 9:20, he will ask them who they believe he is. Peter, speaking for the others, will answer correctly.
“faith”:
Remember this true acronym:
F-A-I-T-H
=
Forsaking All, I Trust Him
Word Study on Faith and Faithfulness
Stein says that Jesus was not rebuking them for having no faith at all, but for having insufficient faith (comment on v. 25). Maybe, but the rebuke seems very strong.
In any case, let’s look at the human side of the nature miracle.
When the wind and water stopped and a great calm happened, the disciples responded appropriately. They were frightened and stunned. Wouldn’t you be too, if you were there? I would.
“afraid”: There is everything right with having a reverential fear of God. Don’t let the Happy Highlight teachers on TV or elsewhere tell you otherwise.
“commands”: the verb means “order” or “command.” 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. All of his prayers and commands were done by the Father’s will.
In the 1970s, during the Charismatic Renewal, leaders on TV–brand-new channels and networks–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 word of knowledge 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 (Hurricane 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 may be 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 veers off into the Atlantic or a tornado lifts 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.
Best of all, we regular people can prepare for storms. Jesus embarked in the boat with four experienced fishermen: Peter, his brother Andrew, and the other two brothers, James and John. They were experienced authorities. 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!
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)
In light of those verses, you can certainly try to rebuke 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.
GrowApp for Luke 8:22-25
1. Have you ever seen a powerful miracle? Heard of one? How did you respond?
2. If you survived a storm in nature, tell your story.
RELATED
11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
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