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?”
As Jesus boards the boat, His disciples follow. What seems like a peaceful crossing quickly becomes a scene of terror: “Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep” (Mt 8:24). The Sea of Galilee is notorious for sudden squalls due to its position below sea level and the surrounding hills, but this storm is more than a weather report—it is a spiritual revelation.
The disciples, some of them seasoned fishermen, are overwhelmed and cry out, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” (v. 25). Jesus' response pierces the scene: “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” (v. 26). Then He “rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm.” The storm submits not merely to a prophet’s prayer but to divine command. The language recalls Psalm 107:29: “He hushed the storm to silence; the waves of the sea were stilled.” They had not yet experienced the peace that only Christ can give—a peace that calms not only nature but the heart.
This moment unveils Jesus' divine authority over creation—an authority that belongs to God alone in the Old Testament (cf. Ps 89:9; Job 38:8–11). The disciples are awestruck: “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?” (v. 27). It is not only a question of identity but a dawning realization: they are in the presence of someone greater than Moses, who parted the Red Sea (Ex 14), and greater than Jonah, who calmed the sea by sacrifice (Jon 1:4–15). Here, the storm is stilled by a word.
Matthew’s account emphasizes the contrast between Jesus’ serene sleep and the disciples’ panic. His sleep is not indifference, but confidence in the Father’s will. The storm outside mirrors the storm within the disciples. Their fear is not just circumstantial—it reveals a lack of total faith, a hesitancy to fully trust the One they are following. The Fathers of the Church, such as St. Augustine, saw in this boat a figure of the Church, battered by trials yet never abandoned by Christ, who may seem silent but is always present.
This scene also points forward to the greater salvation Jesus brings. The cry “Lord, save us!” becomes, in the language of the early Church, a prayer not only for safety but for eternal deliverance. His calming of the sea is a sign of the peace He brings to a disordered world—a foretaste of the new creation where chaos and fear are banished.
The sea and wind obey without resistance, fulfilling their purpose by design. All creation participates in God’s eternal law, what we call natural law. But human beings, made in God’s image, are given reason and free will. We participate in the natural law in a higher way—not just by being, but by choosing. And that is why we are held accountable. Yet because of original sin, our ability to recognize and respond to that law is impaired. The sea is obedient by nature. Both nature and humanity are called to obey God, but human beings are called to obey through love.
For Christians, the message is clear: storms will come, but Christ remains. Faith is not the absence of danger—it is trust in the presence of the Savior.
Lord Jesus, when the storms of life rise around me, help me to trust that You are near—even when You seem silent. Calm my fears, deepen my faith, and remind me that nothing is beyond Your power. Amen!
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Orchard et al. (1953).
- The Navarre Bible: Matthew, Faculty of the University of Navarre (2008).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. Chiu et al. (2018).
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§439, 447, 268, 274, 2610.
- St. Augustine, Sermons on the New Testament, esp. Sermon 75.
- Psalm 107:23–30; Exodus 14; Jonah 1; Job 38:8–11; Psalm 89:9.
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