Calming of the Storm

c. AD 28 Traditional dating

Crossing the Sea of Galilee by boat, Jesus rebukes a sudden violent storm and it obeys him instantly, leaving his disciples asking, "Who then is this?"

The event

After a long day of teaching, Jesus tells his disciples to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, a lake notorious for sudden, violent squalls funneled down from the surrounding hills. Jesus himself, exhausted, is asleep on a cushion in the stern when the storm hits hard enough that experienced fishermen among the disciples fear for their lives and wake him in a panic: "Do you not care that we are perishing?"

Jesus stands, rebukes the wind, and says to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" — and the wind and waves obey instantly, leaving a great calm. He then turns the question back on his disciples: "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" Their terror shifts from the storm to Jesus himself, asking each other in awe, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?" — echoing Old Testament language where only God commands the sea, a claim about Jesus's identity that the disciples are only beginning to grasp.

Scripture references

Matthew 8:23-27
Mark 4:35-41
Luke 8:22-25

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