Jesus Calms the Storm

Discussion Questions: “Jesus Calms the Storm”

1.   Cross to the other side.  (Read the verses outlined in red:  Mark 4:35 and Luke 8:22).  When Jesus says, “Let us cross over to the other side,” where are they currently located?  It does not exactly state here where they are; however, Mark 4:35 states, “On the same day.” Before this passage (Mark 4:1-34), He provides His sermons from a boat on the lake of Tiberias. (Same as the Sea of Galilee, but the town probably called it the Lake of Tiberias) They were probably still in Tiberias.  Where does He want to go?  It also does not exactly state here, however if they are in Tiberias, and they wish to cross to the other side, He most likely wants to go to Gadarenes.  After this event, Matthew 8:28-34 is the miracle of sending demons into a herd of pigs.  It is stated in Matthew 8:28 when they arrived on the other side of the lake; they were in the land of Gadarenes.

2.   Before and after they embarked.  (Read the verses outlined in green: Matthew 8:23, Mark 4:36, and Luke 8:22). Who got into the boat?  Jesus and His disciples.  What does Mark mention that Matthew and Luke does not?  Luke states other little boats were with Him.  This describes a slightly different picture than just one boat. 

3.   The great windstorm.  (Read the verses in blue:  Matthew 8:24a, Mark 4:37, and Luke 8:23). What type of storm suddenly overcame the boat Jesus and the disciples were traveling?  Matthew called it a Tempest. Mark, and Luke called it a windstorm.  Why was the Sea of Galilee so dangerous to cross?  The Sea of Galilee is a fresh water lake fed underground springs, but mostly from the north, the Jordan River.  The lake is about 700 feet below sea level surrounded by mountains as high as 2,000 feet above sea level.  When the warm tropical air at the lake level rises and mixes with the cooler air from the mountains, high unstable turbulence and wind blow over the valley and the Sea of Galilee.  The fisherman knew this and would stay off the lake during such high winds.  How high could the waves get to cover the boat?  It would not be uncommon for waves to be as high as 20 feet during high winds.  Traveling from Tiberias to Gadarenes, they would be over the deepest part of the Sea.  on December 12, 2010, a storm broke out at Tiberias at the Sea of Galilee with wind gusts reported from 31-68 mph.  The Beaufort wind scale calculates the wind type by force to calculate an approximate height of waves on the sea.  31-68 mph wind speed could create wave heights from 13-41 feet.

4.   Jesus was asleep, His disciples awoke Him.  (Read the verses outlined in purple:  Matthew 8:24b-25, Mark 4:38, and Luke 8:24a). Where was Jesus sleeping on the boat?  (Mark 4:38) He was sleeping in the stern on a pillow.

5.   They were perishing. Why does Mark ask, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”  Mark 4:38 asks it as a question. Matthew and Luke do not phrase it as a question.  There are not many notes about asking Jesus, “Don’t you care?” in bibles.  However, there are a couple of paths of interpretation to take.  (1) Jesus told them to get into the boat to go to the other side.  They were in Jesus’ care.  He was not worried about anything of what was going to happen to them.  When we are in Jesus’ care, we should not worry.  He has our back.  (2) It could be that Jesus was testing the faith of our disciples. Matthew refers to Jesus as “Lord,” Mark refers to him as “Teacher,” and Luke refers to him as “Master.” All of whom are a person of authority, wisdom, and guidance.  However, there is a distinct difference between Lord, and teacher, and master. Being that the three of them have different perspectives of who Jesus is, perhaps they are all not yet at the same level of accepting who Jesus really is.

6.   Jesus calms the storm.  (Read the verses outlined in black:  Matthew 8:26b, Mark 4:39, and Luke 8:24b). What does Jesus do after they awoke Him? Three things that happen here.  (1) Jesus says to the sea, “Peace, be still.”  (2) The wind and sea ceased, and there was a great calm.  (3) Jesus asks, “Why are you afraid?  Why do you have no faith?”

7.   Where is your faith? (Read the verses outlined in gray: Matthew 8:26a, Mark 4:40, and Luke 8:25a). Why did Jesus say, “Why are you fearful?” They should have remembered that Jesus was on board with them.  Nor should they have forgotten that Jesus had the power to save them.  This is why people are afraid, and they lose faith. 

8.   Why does Jesus ask, “Do you still have no faith?”  Jesus answers the question “Why are you fearful?” with this question. The disciples have heard him preaching His parables and His Word.  They have seen miracles of water turned into wine. They have seen Jesus healing the sick. However, this would have been the first live, life, and death experience they would have had with Jesus.  And it was their own lives that were at stake.

9.   The disciples are marveled.  (Read the verses outlined in yellow:  Matthew 8:27, Mark 4:41, and Luke 8:25b). Why did the disciples say, “Who is this that even the wind and waves obey him?”  This is a paradigm shift for the disciples.  The wind and sea they fished in for generations was something that could never be tamed.  They have seen a few miracles from Jesus already, but seeing with their own eyes the wind and the sea immediately obey Jesus’ word to becoming still, must have been a revelation.  No wonder it was said the men marveled.  This event played out as part of His plan.  It was necessary for Jesus’ disciple’s lives were to be put in peril while under Jesus’ care to test their faith.  With their lack of faith, it played out exactly how He wanted it to.