The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for the Second Sunday before Lent in Year C is Luke 8.22–25, the concise account by Luke of Jesus stilling the storm. (It is worth noting that the ecumenical lectionary has a different set of readings; apparently for the Church of England it was thought that there was not enough focus on Creation, so the readings for Sexagesima were restored, though without using that name.) The epistle is Revelation 4, and you can find commentary on that here, and the video discussion about the passage here.
The place of the story in Luke largely follows its place in Mark 4.35–41; in both it follows Jesus’ parable about parables, the parable of the sower scattering the seed on four different kinds of ground, together with its interpretation, and in both it is followed by the deliverance of the man possessed by ‘Legion’, and the healing of the woman with the issue of blood with the raising of Jairus’ daughter. The discussion of Jesus’ true relatives came before the parable of the sower in Mark 3.31–35, but Luke locates it, in shortened form, immediately before the storm.
The parallel in Matt 8.24–27 is located in Matthew’s section of ministry and discipleship stories in chapters 8 to 9, so is followed by the deliverance in the Gadarenes, but the parable of the sower is now found in Matthew’s ‘kingdom parables’ in chapter 13. The question about Jesus’ true relatives comes in chapter 12.
As usual, it is a good exercise to put the three Synoptic accounts together, so that we can see the differences in wording and emphasis.
| Matt 8.23–27 | Mark 4.35–41 | Luke 8.22–25 |
| On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” | One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” | |
| And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. | And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. | So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. |
| And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. | And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. | And a storm of wind came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in danger. |
| And they went and woke him, saying, “Save, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?” | But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” | And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” |
| Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. | And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. | And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; and they ceased, and there was a calm. |
| He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” | He said to them, “Where is your faith?” | |
| And the men marvelled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” | And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?” | And they were afraid, and they marvelled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even wind and water, and they obey him?” |
We can see straight away that Matthew’s account is quite abbreviated; he has removed the introductory context-setting in order to put it into his sequence of stories; and he has changed the order of events, so that Jesus’ rebuke comes before the calming of the storm, where in Mark and Luke it comes after.
- Luke’s account is much closer to Mark’s, retaining the key elements of the shape, though simplifying and ‘streamlining’ the story at every point.
- Where Mark ties this story to Jesus’ parable teaching (‘on that day’), Luke makes the time reference quite general.
- Mark tells us the time of day, evening, which heightens the drama, something that Luke omits.
- ‘The other side’ has an important function in Mark, since Jesus ministers in both Jewish and Gentile territory. For Luke, this becomes a merely geographic reference, and he consistently describes the body of water as a ‘lake’ not a ‘sea’.
- Luke omits all Mark’s detail about the crowd, Jesus’ apparel, and the other boats.
- Mark postpones the detail that Jesus is asleep, creating narrative tension and drama, but Luke brings this detail forward.
- The storm in Luke is not described as ‘great’, and there is no mention of waves beating; instead, ‘danger’ is specified. This is slightly more ‘tell’ than ‘show’.
- Luke makes no mention of Jesus being in the stern, or the cushion, and we already know he is asleep.
- The most striking difference is the repeated term of address by the disciples—’Master’ ἐπιστάτης—which only occurs in Luke, but reminds us of Peter’s response to the miraculous catch of fish.
- In Mark, the disciples have ‘no faith’; in Matthew ‘little faith’; in Luke, they seem to have mislaid what faith they had!
- The response of the disciples is much more developed; they are full of fear and wonder, and reflect on his command as well as the obedience of the ‘wind and water’, again avoiding the mention of ‘sea’.
All this might make us feel we are short-changed, in that Mark offers us some compelling narrative detail. But the effect in Luke is to focus less on the details of the incident, and more on its wider application—not least shifting the emphasis onto the response of the disciples.
Despite Luke’s characteristic brevity in describing the events, he actually brings out a number of things of significance in telling the story.
First, at every point he emphasises the seriousness of the storm and the seriousness of the situation of the disciples. Rather than simply describing the danger, he names it, and almost gives a sense of the intent of the storm in destroying the boat by mentioning the ‘raging waves’ in v 24. (Interestingly, the term is used in James 1.6 as a metaphor for doubts that assail and undermine faith…) In Mark, the disciples complain to Jesus about his apparent lack of concern that they might perish; in Luke (with Matthew following), they are perishing!
Secondly, Luke depicts not merely a storm on the lake, but a malevolent attack on Jesus and the disciples. The whirlwind (λαῖλαψ) does not merely ‘arise’ but ‘comes down’ on them; it is just such a whirlwind that, in the sovereignty of God, brings disaster on the nations (Jer 32.32), but it is also ‘out of the whirlwind’ that God speaks to Job (Job 38.1). Jesus not only ‘rebukes’ the wind, but in the recollection of the disciples he ‘commands’ them as though they were personal agencies.
Joel Green (NICNT, p 331) highlights the connections between this story in Luke and the one that follows—the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac:
- The opening reference to crossing the lake;
- Dramatic detail of the calamity that Jesus must face;
- Jesus issues commands to the forces of chaos;
- The sense of serenity that arises from Jesus’ intervention.
Depicting the raging sea as a metaphor for the forces of evil and chaos arising at three important points of the OT narrative. Firstly, it is over the dark and chaotic deep that the Spirit of God hovers and brings order and light out of chaos and darkness. Secondly, this idea is revisited within the narrative, sometimes in reference to God’s continuing acts in history as he rescues and protects his people (see for example Ps 74.12–18 and Ps 89.8–10 ‘Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You rule over the surging sea; when its wave mount up, you still them…’). Thirdly, in apocalyptic texts, the raging nations are depicted as stormy seas, out of which arise the beasts who defy the power of God (see Daniel 7). God’s coming in eschatological judgement involves calming of those seas, and ultimately eliminating them (Rev 21.1) so that, not only is evil dealt with, but the possibility of evil is itself done away with.
Jesus’ calming of the sea is a demonstration of his divine power and a foreshadowing of the world to come (Mikeal Parsons, Paideia, p 138).
Thirdly, then, Jesus’ calming of the storm becomes both a Christological and eschatological demonstration of his authority and power. (Although the term ‘power’ is not mentioned in this narrative, it is a particular interest of Luke’s in other places.) Where Mark postpones mention of Jesus being asleep till later in his account, in order to create a sense of narrative tension, Luke mentions this up front to create a contrast between Jesus and the forces of chaos.
The detail of Jesus asleep in the boat is an important element in Luke’s portrayal of Jesus exercising his divine sovereignty over the forces of evil and chaos (Parsons, loc cit).
Jesus is appealed to as ‘Master’, ἐπιστάτης, by the disciples, a person of high status who is leader or commander over an organisation or one who leads and teaches others. Unique to Luke, it is the title given to Jesus by the disciples (Luke 5.5, 8.24, 45, 9.33, 49, 17.13) but has a particular poignancy here. Jesus is not only the true commander of the boat, but the commander over the forces that threaten it. It is his word of rebuke and command that brings peace and order to the chaos and threat.
Jesus is not a simply manipulating the elements into a more favourable weather pattern; he is engaging demonic powers and demonstrating his authority over them (Parsons, loc cit).
The final theme, which Luke emphasises, is the response of the disciples. The setting and language here create a parallel with the earlier call narrative in Luke with the miraculous catch of fish (Green, NICNT p 332). Once again the disciples are with Jesus in a boat on a lake; once again the disciples are unable to do what is required; once again Jesus demonstrates his power; once again his addressed as ‘Master’; and once again the disciples are overcome with awe. It is striking that, though the disciples have woken him, Jesus more or less ignores their pleas and instead deals with the causes of their distress rather than their complaint itself. Once they see his authority, their response changes.
Jesus’ companions in the boat react as they would to a theophany, with fear; but their amazement, followed by their uncertainty about Jesus’s identity, indicates that they do not yet fathom what they have seen. They have had their first test (Luke 8.13) and have not performed well (Green, p 334)
Those who have been called to be his disciples are now revealed to be clueless regarding the true identity of Jesus. He is sovereign over wind and sea; he is Lord over evil and chaos (Parsons loc cit).
The disciples’ journey of faith started well enough, with a decisive break and a commitment to follow Jesus. But this episode tells us that the journey has a long way to go…
You can find conversation about and reflection on this post in our discussion video here, as well as the video discussion of the epistle which is Revelation 4, which also focusses on the nature of worship:
“Secondly, Luke depicts not merely a storm on the lake, but a malevolent attack on Jesus and the disciples … it is just such a whirlwind that, in the sovereignty of God, brings disaster on the nations … Jesus not only ‘rebukes’ the wind, but in the recollection of the disciples he ‘commands’ them as though they were personal agencies.”
So Jesus is rebuking the storm that God sent?
This is a perfect example of the twist we get into when we deny an independent ontological evil — “personal agencies” — i.e. an evil with agency and volition — that many see is central to the dualism of the Scripture narrative from Genesis to Revelation.
Colin
Ian later quotes: ‘Jesus is not a simply manipulating the elements into a more favourable weather pattern; he is engaging demonic powers and demonstrating his authority over them (Parsons, loc cit).’
He clearly thinks the satan is behind this storm. I suspect when he says ‘in the sovereignty of God’, he simply means in this case that God the Father allows it, fully knowing the Son has his own authority to deal with such an attack.
In the final analysis, this experience reveals more about Jesus, and increases the faith of the disciples.
Colin, it’s not “dualism,” if by that you mean that the universe is the result of two opposing, independent, principles/beings – e.g., good and evil, or light and darkness.
Satan is not an independent entity, but a fallen, created, invisible, being who rebelled against God and is now a creature of evil. He does not have his own independent power outside of God’s created order, or outside of His permissive will. Evil itself is perhaps best understood as the absence of good, originating from God’s creation, by His permission, not as a separate being or force.
While I don’t have books to hand, some see the storm as denomonic opposition to Jesus which Jesus ‘rebukes’.
But it is not necessary to draw Colin’s conclusion of ‘dualism’. Jesus, as God incarnate, is sovereign.
If the term ‘dualism’ implies a degree of parity between Good and Evil, then that is not Christian. As you say, God is sovereign. In a way, this is a harder position. It raises The Question of Theodicy.
Again, as you say, Jesus rebukes the storm. Someone described the tone as like telling a dog to be quiet. The imperatives Mark records mean ‘be quiet’ and ‘be muzzled’. The picture which comes to my mind is of a teacher entering an unruly classroom and bringing it to order – perhaps because it reminds of such an incident when I was at school., for which I and others were punished.
Yes David and I await a definition of “an independent ontological evil”. A manifestation here perhaps of a neo- Manichaeism? Or maybe the resurrection of Augustine of Hippo’s inability to rid himself entirely of the historic phenomenon? Or is it reassertion of his (Augustine’s) devotion to “spiritual” philosophy?
you dont think satan or demons exist?
I didn’t understand your point about parallelomania and would like to learn more about the difference between reasonable and unreasonable links between passages and interpretations. I notice that you didn’t say anything about Jesus leading his disciples into danger or about him appearing to be inaccessible in sleep when they needed help. Was this because such reflections are unjustifiable for some reason, or did you just not go there?
Thanks. Interesting questions! I think I just did not go there. To be a fisherman on Galilee meant facing danger.
I am not sure there is a simple, cut and dried method for avoiding parallelomania. The question is: does the text of the passage give reasonable cause to think there is a parallel here? Would an informed reader be expected to see this?
Peter Bates, perhaps Jesus ‘sleeping’ just means He is always present even if not physically or in a ways we are consciously of (He is God after all). There are times we just have to trust Him – especially during times some call “the dark night of the soul.”
Perhaps like the people the disciples liked what they heard of
Jesus and that he was indeed God’s Messiah. Strange that they thought he might be lost along with them due to an everyday storm !
Sadly today many clergy and laity do not believe or act as though He is master of the Storm[s] nor that He is the Resurrection and the Life 2 COR. 1 VS 8 – 10
Febrile clerics and laity get into quite a lather in times of upheavals and chaos, often due to their own carnal behaviours, all sense of direction is lost. All learnings swamped, each one looking to his own devices.
No one “commanding” his soul. No one resting in/with God.(2 Cor 1 v 9.)
No one really believing that God is in Control.
Where are the “Royal priesthood” the “Overcomers”
[I am anticipating a blizzard of responses]
I mentioned in a previous post and I think bears repeating that St. Peter
describes such, and recommended for edification: –
bibletruthpublishers.com/our-holy-and-royal-priesthood/walter-thomas-prideaux-wolston/simon-peter-his-life-and-letters/w-t-p-wolston/la61343
and
bibletruthpublishers.com/the-christian-priesthood/girdle-of-truth-volume-8/la62110, Shalom.
A few years ago our church was engaged in evening worship.
(remember those days when we had two services on Sundays?)
A a passing drunk wandered in and started a drunken monologue;
He walked to the pulpit/lectern to lecture us, you can imagine the fear,consternation and chaos amongst us,he was quite a big man, he was unstoppable;
I pointed to him and said “Be still”/muzzled .
He fell silent and quietly walked out of the church.
Dan 11:32
Shalom.
This Gospel account is a reminder to us all in our ever so theologically and scientifically ‘advanced’ and sophisticated era that evil is real and brings with it storms and chaos. A chaos directed at the Church herself, at the successors of the Apostles, and at us all.
Read alongside Matthew 14:22-33, John 6:16-21, and Mark 6:45-52, it is a message for the pilgrim Church in all times.
Who can forget St Pope John Paul’s magnificent message to the world and Church in his inaugural homily as the newly elected Pope in St Peter’s Square in October 1978?
At the time, I was in my ‘wilderness years.’ Watching it on TV, I wanted to sneer and dismiss it. In truth, it fanned the dying flame of my dying faith.
This was the ‘hook’ for me personally:
And for his separated brothers and sisters, he said:
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1978/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19781022_inizio-pontificato.html
St John Paul, pray for us all.
There is only One risen and enthroned intercessor who never sleeps.
And the perspicuity, clarity, of scripture is sufficient to reveal the substantial error.