'23 He got into a boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. 25 They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. 27 The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey (Mt. 8:23-27)?”
Compare that passage in Matthew with verses from Psalm 107; “He commanded and roused a storm wind; it tossed the waves on high. They rose up to the heavens, sank to the depths; their hearts trembled at the danger. They reeled, staggered like drunkards; their skill was of no avail. In their distress they cried to the Lord, who brought them out of their peril; He hushed the storm to silence, the waves of the sea were stilled. They rejoiced that the sea grew calm, that God brought them to the harbor they longed for (Ps. 107:25-30).”
Matthew used the Greek word seismos, which means earthquake, in v. 24 when describing the violent storm. That word was also used in Scripture to suggest the horror associated with the end-time or last days. “Lord, save us! We are perishing,” became the prayer of the Christian Church through the ages whenever it was threatened. In v. 26 Matthew used “you of little faith” but Mark and Luke said the disciples had no faith. Little faith implies that they had some faith and had been converted but their faith in Jesus was not yet strong enough to know that Jesus would not let them (or his Church) perish. Matthew had concern for the trials and persecutions of the early Church after the first of generation of Christians. Matthew apparently reinterpreted Mark’s story so that it could be used as instruction for the early Christian Church to let them understand that even though Jesus is no longer physically present his divine power is ever-present to calm and save them. Jesus calmed the disciples fears before calming the storm. The story shows Jesus’ power over nature.
Almighty God, hear our cries to save us when we are threatened physically or spiritually and speedily come to our aid. Strengthen our faith and calm our fears so we may know in our hearts that you will always provide the best outcome for us in all situations whether of our own making or caused by others. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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