Luke 8:22–25 By the time that Jesus was finished with all the
parables, the disciples probably felt like they had learned everything that
they could about the Kingdom of God. You can know the whole Bible, but if you
don’t trust the God of the Bible, your knowledge is useless. For the rest of
this chapter, Dr. Luke shows Jesus displaying His power over all of creation (Luke 8:22-25),
including over demons (Luke 8:26-39), over disease and death (Luke 8:40-56).
What we will study this morning
in Jesus
the God-man…01. Before the Storm
(Luke
8:22-23a); 02. During the
Storm (Luke
8:23b-24a); and 03. After the
Storm (Luke
8:24b-25).
01. Before the Storm (Luke 8:22-23a)
Mark’s account (Mark 4:35) tells us that this took
place on the evening of that same day that Jesus taught ten parables (Matthew 13:1-53; Mark 4:1-34: and Luke 8:4-18).
The ten parables are: 1. The Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:4-18); 2. The Parable of the Seed (Mark
4:26-29); 3. The Parable of the Tares
(Matthew 13:24-30); 4. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32); 5. The Parable
of the Leaven (Matthew 13:33-35;
Mark 4:33-34); 6. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13:44); 7. The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:45-46); 8. The
Parable of the Net (Matthew 13:47-50);
9. The Parable of the Householder (Matthew 13:51-53) and 10. The Parable of the Lamp (Luke 8:16-18).
On this same day, Matthew (Matthew 12:22-37) and Mark (Mark 3:19-30) both record for us the
Pharisees making the blasphemous accusation that Jesus was casting out demons
by the power of Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons, who is of course Satan. It
is on this day that Matthew also records for us the account of when the scribes
and Pharisees were asking Jesus for a sign (Matthew 12:38-45), to which Jesus
replied, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks
after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet
Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days
and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:39–40) It was on this same day that
Mary and the brothers (and possibly sisters) of Jesus wanted to come talk to
Him (Matthew 12:46-50;
Mark 3:31-35;
Luke 8:19-21).
All of this has lead some to call this day “the Busy Day”.[1]
After this long busy day, Jesus gets into a boat and tells
His disciples, “Let us cross over to the other side
of the lake.” (Luke 8:22)
This is part of Jesus going “through
every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom
of God.” (Luke 8:1)
Here in our account today, which
is recorded in all three of the Synoptic Gospels (cf. Matthew 8:23–27; Mark
4:35–41), we are reminded of the two-fold nature of Jesus, that He is both
man and God.
Luke
8:23a “But as they sailed He fell asleep.” Jesus is now seen in His
humanity, tired from His work of preaching and healing, so He tells the
disciples, “Let us cross over to the other side of
the lake.” and He fell asleep in the boat as they made their way
across the Sea of Galilee.
Mark tells us that there was
more than one boat going with Jesus across the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:36).
Mark also tells us that Jesus fell asleep in the stern, the rear of the boat on
a pillow (Mark
4:38). Again, we see an example of His humanity (Hebrews 4:15), He was tired after teaching all
day. The writer of Hebrews reminds us of the humanity of Jesus, our High Priest
in Hebrews 4:15.
The Greek verb used here that is
translated as “fell asleep” is (G879) ἀφύπνωσε
aphypnōse, the aorist, active, indicative, third person, singular
version of ἀφυπνόω
aphupnŏō to become awake and then drop
off to sleep (possibly a medical use).[2] This
account, including Matthew and Mark (Matthew
8:23–27; Mark 4:35–41) is the
only occurrence in the Bible that we read about Jesus sleeping.
02. During the Storm (Luke 8:23b-24)
Luke
8:23 “And a windstorm came down on the lake” The Sea of Galilee is
about 700 feet below the Mediterranean Sea, making it the lowest freshwater
lake on earth. The Sea of Galilee is about thirteen miles wide and seven miles
long, is fed from several sources that are located near Mt. Hermon. The Jordan
River exits the Sea of Galilee to the south and into the Dead Sea, which is
about 1,400 feet below sea level, which makes it the lowest place on the
surface of the earth. The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by the hills of the Galilee
on the west and the Golan Heights on the east, thus making the Sea of Galilee
in a deep basin. When the cooler air from the higher elevations comes down the
slopes and hits the warm air near the surface of the Sea of Galilee, mixing
with the winds that flow through the ravines and canyons all form a combination
for sudden windstorms on the water. In 1992, it was recorded that the winds
from one storm were so great that it caused ten-foot waves on the Sea of
Galilee that crashed into the city of Tiberias on the western shore, causing
significant damage.
The Greek nouns used here that
are
translated as “windstorm” is (G62) λαῖλαψ
(lailaps) (G417) ἀνέμου (anemos), and they are used to describe a powerful storm, which would include hurricane
force winds.
The Greek verb used here that is
translated as “came down”
is (G2597) κατέβη katebē, the aorist, active, indicative,
third person, singular version of καταβαίνω
katabainō means to come down all at once.
G2597 καταβαίνω katabainō is
the root word of the meteorological term “katabatic” which is used to describe
winds that are created by air flowing downhill, which is what we see here in
our account.
These sudden squalls come down
from the summit of Hermon with terrific force (σεισμὸς μέγας (seismos
megas-Matthew
8:23) [3], literally
like an earthquake on the Sea of Galilee.
Dr. Thomson in his book The
Land and the Book says: “My experience in this region enables me to
sympathize with the disciples in their long night’s contest with the wind. I
spent a night in that Wady Shukaiyif, some three miles up it, to the left of
us. The sun had scarcely set when the wind began to rush down toward the lake,
and it continued all night long with constantly increasing violence, so that
when we reached the shore next morning the face of the lake was like a huge
boiling caldron. The wind howled down every wady, from the northeast and east,
with such fury that no efforts of rowers could have brought a boat to shore at
any point along that coast. In a wind like that the disciples must have been
driven quite across to Gennesaret, as we know they were. We subsequently
pitched our tents at the shore, and remained for three days and nights exposed
to this tremendous wind…No wonder the disciples toiled and rowed hard all that
night, and how natural their amazement and terror at the sight of Jesus walking
on the waves. The whole lake, as we had it, was lashed into fury; the waves
repeatedly rolled up to our tent door, tumbling on the ropes with such violence
as to carry away the tent pins.”[4]
Luke
8:23 “and they were filling with water” The Greek verb used here that is
translated as “and they were filling with
water” (Luke 8:23)
is G4845 συνεπληροῦντο synēplerounto, the imperfect, passive,
indicative, 3rd person, plural version of συμπληρόω sumplērŏō, indicating
that the boat was filling up with so much
water that it was being swamped.[5]
So the boats that had Jesus and
the disciples were literally getting filled, swamped with water (Mark 4:37). This would have been a great
chance for the disciples of Jesus to act on God’s Word and be built on the Rock
of Jesus (Luke 6:46-49).
Luke
8:24 “And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are
perishing!”” Remember, Mark’s account tells us that Jesus was asleep
on a pillow and they said to Him, “Teacher, do
You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark
4:38) The repetition here of “Master, Master” in Luke
8:24 shows the uneasiness of the disciples.[6] This storm might have been a supernatural storm,
because the disciples, experienced fishermen, were literally freaking out, and
they had no hope to escape certain death. With
no human solution, and all hope fading, they come to the Creator of the
universe and asked Him for help.
In the Psalms we read that God
demonstrates His power and strength by calming the seas and their waves (Psalm 65:7; Psalm
89:8–9; Psalm 93:3–4; Psalm 107:23–30; Psalm
124:2–4) as well as in Jeremiah (Jeremiah
5:22).
Luke
8:24 “Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.”
The Greek verb used for “rebuked” G2008
ἐπετίμησε epitimesē and is and is the aorist, active, indicative, third person,
singular version of ἐπιτιμάω ĕpitimaō, and it means to express
strong disapproval of someone, rebuke, reprove, censure also speak seriously,
warn in order to prevent an action or bring one to an end.[7] This
is the same Greek word that was used by Jesus when He was rebuking the demons
in Luke 4:35; Luke 4:41; Luke 9:42,
which is why many think that this was not an ordinary storm, but a supernatural
one. In Mark
4:39, we read that Jesus said, “Peace, be
still!” or literally be silent! Be muzzled!
The Greek noun used here that is
translated as “raging of the water” is
(G3933)
κλύδωνι klydōni, the dative, singular, masculine version of κλύδων
kludōn which means a succession of waves,
rough water, a boisterous surge, a violent agitation. Here only in the
New Testament except for in James 1:6. [8] When Jesus
“rebuked the wind and the raging of the water”,
He was displaying to His disciples that not only was He man, but He was also
God!
Luke
8:24 “And they ceased, and there was a calm.” Immediately as soon as
Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves, the storm stopped and the water was calm.
It is possible that Satan was behind the storm, but Jesus calmed both wind and
waves by simply speaking the word (Psalm 104:7). Here again we see that Jesus was
not just a man, but that He is God, for the Sea of Galilee showed no effects of
the raging storm, for the water was calm. Matthew (Matthew 8:26) and Mark (Mark 4:39)
both add that it there was a “great (G3173 μεγαλη [megalē]) calm”.
The raging sea brings to mind similar Old Testament events, Moses
leading the children of Israel across the Red Sea on dry ground (Exodus 14:1-31);
Joshua, on dry ground, leading the children of Israel across the Jordan River
during the flood season (Joshua 3:1-17); and Jonah (Jonah 1:1-16),
trying to flee from God and of course encountered a great storm on the
Mediterranean Sea. Just as Jonah slept through the storm, so did our Lord.
Jesus will compare Himself to Jonah in Luke
11:29-32.
The Old Testament uses types and shadows pointing to Jesus.
Jesus Himself is all of Israel reduced to one Human Being, one Man; He is the
perfect representative of Israel and all of mankind. So
where Israel fails, Jesus succeeds. When you start looking for Jesus in the Old
Testament, you will understand Who this text is about. Jonah, his name
means Dove, was a type of Jesus, sent by God with a life saving message for a
people condemned to death by God’s righteous Law. Jonah ran away from the will
of God, making him the only Old Testament prophet to attempt to run from God.[9]
Jesus did the will of God. Jonah slept during a storm caused by God, and
was thrown into the sea, where he spent three days in a great fish, a sign that
Jesus would later liken to Him in the grave (Matthew 12:39–41; Matthew 16:4; Luke 11:29-32). God did great things working through man, and now
in the Gospels we see the God-man Jesus truly is the greatest prophet (Deuteronomy
18:15-19).
William MacDonald said,
Jesus was asleep when the storm broke; the
fact that He slept attests His true humanity. The storm went to sleep when
Jesus spoke; this fact attests His absolute deity.[10]
03. After the
Storm (Luke 8:25)
In Matthew 8:26 we read that Jesus said, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” The
disciples should have known that God would not allow His Son to perish in a
boat while crossing the Sea of Galilee. The words that Jesus said in Luke 8:22,
“Let us cross over to the other side of the lake”
should have encouraged the disciples, but their faith was small, for Jesus had
a Divine appointment with a demoniac (Luke
8:26-39). In Luke 8:22, Jesus didn’t say “Let us go sink the ship” but
instead He said, “Let us cross over to the other
side of the lake.” The disciples were amazed, for they
wondered how their Master, who once was sleeping through the storm like Jonah
was able to get up and immediately calm the wind and the waves.
Agur asked in Proverbs
30:4, “Who has ascended into heaven,
or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters
in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name,
and what is His Son’s name, If you know?”
We know the name of His Son! He is Jesus the Messiah, who
came “To preach the gospel to the poor…to heal the
brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the
captives And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of YHWH.” (Luke 4:18–19; cf. Isaiah 61:1-2) The lesson for
the disciples was clear, they were to trust in Jesus even in the midst of the
most life threatening circumstances. Jonah ended up in a storm because of His
disobedience, yet the disciples’ obedience put them into the storm. In both
cases God was in control and was there to save.
Paul wrote to the church at Colossae:
Colossians 1:15–18 “15 He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were
created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were
created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all
things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the
body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in
all things He may have the preeminence.”
[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Mt 13:1). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[2] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 8:23). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[3] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Mt 8:24). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[4] Thomson, W.M. The
Land and the Book [London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1890], p374-5.
[5] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 959). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[6] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 8:24). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[7] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 384). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[8] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 8:24). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[9] Hannah, J. D. (1985). Jonah. In J. F. Walvoord &
R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1460–1461).
Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[10]
MacDonald, William (1995-03-15). Believer's Bible Commentary (p. 1384). Thomas
Nelson. Kindle Edition.
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