Mt. 8:18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.
Mk. 4:35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
Luke 8:22a Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”
Following the declaration of the Kingdom, new miracles now follow. But again, as we mentioned, as a result of the unpardonable sin and the rejection of His Messiahship, the purpose of His miracles are no longer signs for the nation to get them to come to a decision. They had already done that. His miracles now are for the training of the twelve.
Mark’s Gospel even tells us that these events are still happening on the same day. Unfortunately, we miss things like that when we just grab a few verses, take them completely out of context, and start preaching on them. Even this event, and the ones following, are a direct result of what happened earlier and must be viewed in that context.
Mt. 8:23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.
Mk. 4:36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.
Luke 8:22b And they launched out.
There is one point that is missed in this story that none of the authors dealt with. Mark is the only one that records that other little boats accompanied the boat with Yeshua and the disciples. It doesn’t say whether they went only for a short distance (which makes the most sense), or that they tried to cross the sea with them. If they had tried to cross over with them, then they would have been in terrible danger in this storm unless there was some kind of divine protection around them.
Mt. 8:24 Then, without warning, a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep.
Mk. 4:37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.
Lk. 8:23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.
Mt. 8:25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
Mk.4:38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Lk. 8:24a And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”
Mt. 8:26b Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm.
Mk. 4:39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
Lk. 8:24b Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was calm.
Mt. 8:26a But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”
Mk. 4:40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? Who is it that you have no faith?”
Lk. 8:25a But He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
Mt. 8:27 And the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Mk. 4:41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
Lk. 8:25b And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
The purpose of this incident was not only to teach them to depend on Him, but also to show them who He really is. When they pleaded with Him to save them, we are told that Yeshua then got up and rebuked the wind. The Greek is more graphic. It says, “He got up and muzzled the wind,” as if it was a wild animal pursuing the boat, and this wild animal had to be muzzled. So tremendous were His actions that two of His disciples responded in awe, “What manner of man is this that the winds and the sea obey Him?” He had just demonstrated to them that He was not only a man, but He was, in fact, Elohim.
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