Text Used to Create the Splice “Jesus Calms the Storm on the Sea of Galilee”
- Matthew 8:23-27 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Matthew 8:23)
- Mark 4:35-41 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Mark 4:35)
- Luke 8:22-25 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Luke 8:22)
Psalm 107:29
He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
THE SPLICE
1 On that day, now, during one of the days when Jesus had been teaching, when evening came, 2 Jesus got into the boat, and His disciples, following Him, got into the boat as well, and He said to them, 3 “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out, leaving the crowd, and they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and 4 other boats were with Him. But as they were sailing along, Jesus fell asleep and He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And behold, there arose a great storm on 5 the sea; a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and the waves were breaking over the boat, covering the boat with waves, so that the boat was already filling up with water. They began to be 6 swamped and to be in danger. The disciples came to Jesus, and woke Him up and 7 said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing? Save us, Lord; Master, Master, we are perishing!” He said to them, 8 “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the surging waves of the sea, saying “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down, and the waves stopped, and it became perfectly calm. And He said to the disciples, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith? Where is your faith?” And the disciples were very much afraid/fearful, as well as amazed, and were saying to one another, “Who then is this, what kind of a man is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
“A Drop of the Sea”
COMMENTS
1 On that day: Due to the nature of the English language, we would consider this phrase (as used in Mark 4:35), “On that day” to mean “on the day of the events that were just being discussed“. This Greek sentence simply means that “on the day of the sailing”. It is most probable that Jesus was teaching the crowds and using the parables in Mark 4 (and possibly those in Luke 8) over several days’ time, there on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. See Mark 4:1-34 and Luke 8:4-18. (Back)
2 Jesus got into the boat: Matthew 8:18 tells us that Jesus ordered the departure to the other side of the Sea of Galilee due to the crowd that was surrounding Him, most likely due to its size (see Matthew 4:25, 8:1; Mark 4:1, 5:21, 24; Luke 8:4). Before He got into the boat and left, a scribe in the audience expressed a desire to go with Him and one of His disciples said that he wished to stay behind. To see Jesus’s answers to both of these people, see Matthew 8:19-22. (Back)
3 “Let us go over…”: Jesus and His disciples were sailing to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, but we are unsure of His departure point, but it could be Capernaum or Bethsaida due to Matthew 8:14-17 and Matthew 9:1. It is likely that they had been traveling all along the coast of the sea (see Mark 4:1). Because of Matthew 8:28 and Mark 5:1, we do know that they are traveling to the region of the Gadarenes/Gerasenes. Luke is a little clearer on the location, as he states that they sailed to the country(side) of the Gerasenes, opposite of the region of Galilee (Luke 8:26). The land mass was probably known as both the Gadarenes region and the Gerasenes region, just like how today different people/cultures refer to the same places using different names. (Back)
4 other boats: We are not told who is in the other boats, but it makes sense that there were many people with Jesus and the Twelve, including women and (probably) children (see Matthew 18:2, 27:55; John 6:9). Luke 10:1 says that there were at least 72 disciples walking with Jesus at one point, although most of them fall away (see John 6:66) . (Back)
5 the sea: The Sea of Galilee. It is also known as Lake Tiberias (John 6:1), as well as the lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1). For some interesting facts about the Sea of Galilee, click here. And click here to read about the fascinating find of a 2,000 year old boat at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee, during an archaeological excavation in 1986. You can find the boat mentioned on page 6 of the newsletter. (Back)
6 swamped: Many English Bible translations use the word swamped for Luke 8:23. The Greek word used here is sumpléroó which means “to fill up completely or to complete; fulfill; accomplish”. (Back)
7 said to Him: The disciples were probably panicking and yelling, especially over the sound of the stormy gales of wind. The Greek word used for said in Matthew 8:25, Mark 4:38 and Luke 8:24 is the generic word legó, meaning “to say”. This word only indicates that speech is in progress, and does not provide an emotional state for the speaker. (Back)
8 “Why are you afraid…”: We never need to fear, not even death, when we have been called by God to be His own and He has given us that God-gifted faith in Christ. God promises that He works all things for the good of those who belong to Him and love Him (Romans 8:28). Please understand that God is most concerned with the good that affects our eternal state, and not necessarily the comfort of our temporal abode on this earth (see the horrors inflicted on Paul and others throughout the book of Acts). (Back)