TEXT [Commentary]

8. Jesus calms a storm (4:35-41; cf. Luke 8:22-25)

35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

NOTES

4:37 a fierce storm came up. The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by hills except in the southern area, where the Jordan River exits. With certain wind patterns, air can funnel up into the lake and get trapped, creating quick and violent storms. That apparently happened in this case. Key biblical scenes involving storms and seas include Exod 14:21-31; Ps 107:23-32; Jonah 1:1-16; Acts 27.

4:38 Jesus was sleeping. Jesus was probably sleeping in the stern of the boat at the helmsman’s station where there was some protection from getting wet. The cushion may have been a sandbag used for ballast (Marcus 2000:333). His sleeping may indicate his calm trust in God (Ps 4:8). Here is Mark’s first description of discipleship failure (see the Major Themes section in the introduction).

Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown? This question uses the negative particle ou [TG3756, ZG4024] and is asked in a way that makes it clear that the disciples knew that Jesus cared about their well-being despite the tone of their question. The conflict shows their panic.

4:39 he rebuked the wind and said to the waves. This language is similar to that of an exorcism (1:25). Jesus’ authority extended over creation and provoked the reflective question of 4:41. In some parts of the ancient world, the waters were associated with evil.

Be still! This command is lit. “Be muzzled” (Deut 25:4, LXX; 1 Tim 5:18), but the NLT picks up the effects of the muzzling: silence and peace (BDAG 1060; Luke 4:35).

4:40 Why are you afraid? Jesus questions their timidity; deiloi [TG1169, ZG1264] indicates cowardice or lack of courage (Deut 20:8; Judg 7:3; 1 Macc 3:56). For Mark, fear is the opposite of faith (5:15-17, 36; 6:49-52; 10:32; 11:18; 16:8). Jesus’ remark is a call to trust him.

Do you still have no faith? Jesus’ final question uses the interrogative adverb oupō [TG3768, ZG4037], which means “not yet” (BDAG 737). Jesus pressed the matter: “Do you still have no faith?”

4:41 absolutely terrified. The NLT very clearly translates the Semitic idiom retained in the Gr. “feared with great fear” (Jonah 1:10, LXX). Jesus’ great authority left them in awe.

Even the wind and waves obey him! The remark points to Ps 107:29 and Ps 89:8-9. Jesus’ actions revealed that he had divine control over creation. That such authority resided in a person left the disciples stunned. It raised the question of who Jesus was. By stopping the scene here (creating an “open ending”), Mark leaves the reader to ponder the answer to this question.

COMMENTARY [Text]

The storm must have been quite serious, since the experienced fishermen on board were terrified. Their fear of dying was much like that recorded in Jonah 1. Things were clearly beyond their control, so they asked Jesus to help. His help far exceeded their expectations; he didn’t rescue them from the storm but stilled the storm itself.

This miracle begins a sequence of four miracles (see 5:1-43) that show Jesus’ comprehensive authority. To begin with, creation is significant as a clearly divine domain. In ancient everyday life, perhaps no force was more powerful and omnipresent than nature. Coping with the elements was a factor of daily life, so Jesus’ ability to calm the storm and his exhortation to the disciples to have faith and not be afraid was a basic lesson in their discipleship. But beyond the significance of their immediate deliverance was what this act suggested about Jesus’ divine enablement. What kind of man could have power like that possessed by God? No man on his own can tame nature. The incident ends with a question about who Jesus really is. The rest of the Gospel answers that question.

In an interesting twist, 2 Maccabees 9:8 tells a story about the evil king Antiochus Epiphanes trying to calm a storm and failing. When he died, it was in part God’s retribution for his trying to do something that only God had the right to do (Marcus 2000:333-334). At Qumran, such authority was said to reside in the Messiah (4Q521 2 ii 1).