Saturday 8 March 2025
“What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” (v. 27)
Background
When we think about the miracles of Jesus, our first thoughts are often of the healing miracles. But today it is the winds and the sea that are ‘healed’. The authority of Christ extends beyond his teaching and healing people. Even the forces of nature are subject to his commands.
The Jewish people had a fear and a respect for the power of the waves. In today’s psalm the writer, struggling to convey the amazing majesty of God, can think of no more effective comparison than to say it is greater than the thunders of mighty waters and the majestic waves of the sea (Psalm 93:3-4).
The sea was often a place of great danger. The disciples whose daily work was fishing were well aware of the dangers. So too are the fishermen of today. We remember them in the words of the hymn 'Eternal Father Strong to Save' with its line: "O hear us when we cry to thee for those in peril on the sea."
The Old Testament has a number of references to evil spirits thought to be responsible for the terrors which made travel across water so dangerous. When the disciples woke Jesus and begged him to save them, it was these evil spirits that he ‘rebuked’. The word literally means ‘be muzzled’, as if the raging waves were to be dealt with as you would treat a rabid dog.
The disciples were amazed at what Jesus had done. They were familiar with the psalm that spoke of those who "went down to the sea in ships… they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep… he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed." (Psalm 107:23-29)
The disciples asked themselves, "What sort of man is this?" (v. 27) For them, for us, and for the gospel writers, there is only one conclusion: "In Jesus, Yahweh’s [God's] own power and authority had literally walked this earth in a human being." Jeffrey John The Meaning in the Miracles (Canterbury Press, 2001)
To Ponder:
- Hurricanes, floods and other ‘natural disasters’ are now often seen as the effects of climate change. What can we do to reduce our carbon footprint?
- Christ was ‘wholly human; wholly divine’. How does this apparent paradox affect our thinking about him?
Prayer
Be with us, Lord, in all that we do. Amen.
Bible notes author: Alan Sharp
Alan is a retired teacher. He lives in St Albans where he is a member of both his local Methodist church and his parish church. He has been a local preacher and a church organist and choirmaster for over 60 years and writes a monthly article on hymns for The Methodist Recorder.