A Vicious Storm Arises

When the boat was in the middle of the lake, there suddenly arose one of the vicious storms for which Galilee is famous. The wind blew a howling gale, whipped up the water, and great waves began breaking over the side of the ship. It was impossible to row against the wind and, in spite of desperate bailing by all hands, the boat began to fill with water and threatened to founder. We read from the account:

“And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow.” Mark 4:37,38

Although as we have seen storms of Galilee are a common natural phenomenon, I am sure this particular storm was whipped up by Satan. He was an implacable enemy of Jesus and always sought to destroy him because he knew that Jesus was the Seed of Promise who would eventually deal him a mortal blow. God had told the serpent in Eden:

“I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15

The creation of such a storm was entirely within Satan’s capability. He is designated “the prince of the power of the air.” (Ephesians 2:2) He had the power to manipulate atmospheric conditions to bring vicious winds down upon Galilee.

He had done this sort of thing before. He had wreaked his wrath upon Job by killing his children with a hurricane. As the messenger said to Job:

“Behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead.” Job 1:19

That storm was pretty selective. It hit only the house where Job’s children gathered. Do you see Satan’s power to maneuver and manipulate the air?

So when he saw Jesus exhausted and fast asleep in that small boat in the middle of the lake, he seized his opportunity and made a brazen attempt to quickly destroy him. It would be all over in a few minutes and Jesus would be dead, or so he thought. How foolish Satan was! He forgot that this was the one who could walk on water if he wanted to.

As the storm raged, Jesus still slept. At first the disciples did not want to awaken him. But when their best efforts failed, they ran to him. They shook him awake and shouted above the roar of the wind. I will read what they said from each of the three accounts, because they vary somewhat:

“And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us; we perish!” Matthew 8:25

“And they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Mark 4:38

“And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we perish!” Luke 8:24

Which one of these accounts is true? I think each one is. Some said one thing and some another. They reacted differently to the situation. Although there is no contradiction here, the differences do have significance as we shall see.

Then Jesus performed one of his most magnificent miracles. We read:

“And he arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, PEACE BE STILL! And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Mark 4:39

Jesus Calms the Sea

Do you know what the greatest part of this miracle was? It was not so much the stopping of the wind. Wind can stop almost instantly as it sometimes does under natural conditions. The most astonishing part of the miracle was the instant calming of the sea. This could not be a natural thing. Waters which have been lashed to fury by gale winds do not quickly subside. Waves normally persist for days after a hurricane at sea. This quick calming of the sea demonstrated a tremendous supernatural power. When Jesus “said unto the sea, Peace be still!” and immediately there was a great calm, his fishermen disciples who knew the ways of the sea were astonished beyond measure. One moment they were reeling and staggering around on a flooded, pitching deck, holding on for dear life, their shouting voices drowned out by the shrieking of the storm; the next moment Jesus raised his hand, spoke a few words, and everything changed! They found themselves gliding along, in peaceful silence, on an even keel, on a glassy smooth sea! No wonder we read:

“And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:41

When the disciples awakened Jesus, and expressed their fear, Jesus spoke to them before he performed this miracle. Combining the reports of Matthew, Mark and Luke, he said to them: “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? How is it that ye have no faith? Where is your faith?” They had been with Jesus for two years. They knew he was the Son of God. They had witnessed his mighty miracles. They should have known that he could handle this situation also. By this time they should have developed an implicit faith in him. They should have felt safe with him in the boat, realizing the Heavenly Father’s protecting care over him. So it was with sorrow and disappointment that Jesus asked: “How is it, that ye have no faith?”