Matthew 8:23-27 23And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24And behold a great storm came upon the lake so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but he himself was asleep. 25And after they came, they him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then after he rose, he rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27But the men marveled, saying, “What sort of person is this man that even the winds and the sea obey him?”
Matthew repeats the word “follow” from verse 22. The disciples were willing to follow Jesus by getting into the boat, but they did not understand well who he was. They had watched him perform miracles and heard what he preached, but their understanding was limited. Their experience as recorded in this passage tested them and revealed a significant weakness they had. Knowledge of Jesus is more than intellectual, as shown by the scribe in verse 19, or emotional curiosity.
There are two adversaries in this story. On the surface and most obvious is the raging storm that just about swamped the boat. The disciples do not understand yet Jesus’ authority, which has been an important theme in Matthew’s Gospel thus far. They interpret Jesus’ sleeping as unconcern for them. They think they will die because the boat will sink. They misunderstand that with the Messiah on board, there should be nothing to fear.
The second negative response appears in the disciples’ question in verse 27. They did not know what type of person could calm a storm. They were disciples and following Jesus, yet their fear was stronger than their faith. Fear can be crippling and cloud our vision of Jesus. Jesus brought great calm to the storm, and he could have brought great calm to the disciples’ fear if they would only put their trust in him. We must do more than “marvel” or wonder at who Jesus is. We must put our full trust in him and his authority.
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