Luke 8:25

When the tempest was quelled at the command of Christ, the disciples in astonishment whispered one to the other, as it follows, And they being afraid wondered, &c. Now the disciples said not this as ignorant of Him, for they knew that He was God, and Jesus the Son of God. But they marvel at the exceeding vastness of His natural power, and the glory of His divinity, although He was like to us, and visible in the flesh. Hence they say, Who is this? that is, of what manner of man? how great, and with what great power and majesty? for it is a mighty work, a lordly command, no abject petition.

We are also sailing on a voyage, not from one land to another but from earth to heaven. Let us prepare our power of reasoning as a pilot able to conduct us on high, and let us gather a crew obedient to it. Let us prepare a strong ship, the kind that the buffeting and discouragements of this life will not submerge, or the wind of false pretense raise up, but will be sleek and swift. If we prepare the ship, pilot and the crew in this way, we will sail with a favoring wind and draw to ourselves the Son of God, the true Pilot. He will not permit our ship to be overwhelmed, even if countless winds blow. He will rebuke the winds and the sea and will bring about a great calm in place of the tempest.

But he said to them: Where is your faith? They are rightly reproved who feared with Christ present, since indeed he who clings to him cannot perish. Similar to this is that after the sleep of death, appearing to the disciples, he reproached their unbelief …

Or, it was not His disciples, but the sailors and others in the ship who wondered. But allegorically, the sea or lake is the dark and bitter tide of the world, the ship is the wood of the cross, by help of which the faithful, having passed the waves of this world, reach the shore of a heavenly country. His disciples also, when summoned, enter in with Him. Hence He says, If any one will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Mat. 16:24.) While His disciples are sailing, that is, the faithful passing through this world, and meditating in their minds the rest of the world to come, and by the breath of the Holy Spirit, or also their own exertions, eagerly leaving behind them the unbelieving pride of the world, suddenly our Lord fell asleep, that is, the time of our Lord's passion was come, and the storm descended. For when our Lord entered the sleep of death upon the cross, the waves of persecution rose, stirred up by the breath of the devil, but while the patience of the Lord is not disturbed by the waves, the faint hearts of the disciples are shaken and tremble. They awoke our Lord lest they should perish while He slept, because having seen His death they wish for His resurrection, for if that were delayed they would perish for ever. He rises therefore and rebukes the wind, since by His sudden rising again He put down the pride of the devil who had the power of death. (Heb. 2:14.) But He makes the tempest of nature to cease, since by His resurrection He baffled the rage of the Jews, who plotted His death. In like manner, when He appeared after His death to His disciples, He upbraided them with their unbelief, (Mark 16:14.) and thus having calmed the swelling waves, He made plain to all the power of His divinity.

Those who feared were amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey him?" Matthew writes thus: "But the men were amazed, saying, 'What sort of man is this?' etc." Therefore, it was …

And he said to them, etc. Here fourthly is determined the progress of our belief, in two ways, namely as regards knowledge in the heart and as regards confession in the mouth: — First therefore, as regards knowledge of the heart proceeding from the hesitation …

Spiritually, however, there is expressed here the liberation of the penitent soul from the temptation of the devil through the grace of Christ. Whence three things are to be spiritually noted here: the first is the conversion of the soul, which is signified by the …

And he said unto them, where is your faith?.... That is, he said so to his disciples, who had professed faith in him, but now discovered very little: and they being afraid, wondered; being filled with awful sense of his majesty, were amazed at his power and authority, in rebuking the wind and sea, which at once obeyed him, and were still: saying one another; among themselves, privately: what manner of man is this? for he commandeth even the winds and water; or the sea, as the Vulgate Latin.

A little thing disheartens them; and where is their faith then? (2.) They give him the glory of his power: They, being afraid, wondered. Those that had feared the storm, now that the danger was over with good reason feared him that had stilled it, and said one to another, What manner of man is this!

Where is your faith? - Ye have a power to believe, and yet do not exercise it! Depend on God. Ye have little faith, (Mat 8:26), because you do not use the grace which I have already given you. Many are looking for more faith without using that which they have. It is as possible to hide this talent as any other.

The event in our Lord's life described in these verses is related three times in the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke — were all inspired to record it. This circumstance should teach us the importance of the event, and should make us "give the more heed" to the lessons it contains. We see, firstly, in these verses — that our Lord Jesus Christ was really man as well as God. We read that as he sailed over the Lake of Gennesaret in a ship with his disciples, "he fell asleep."

The event in our Lord's life described in these verses is related three times in the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke — were all inspired to record it. This circumstance should teach us the importance of the event, and should make us "give the more heed" to the lessons it contains. We see, firstly, in these verses — that our Lord Jesus Christ was really man as well as God. We read that as he sailed over the Lake of Gennesaret in a ship with his disciples, "he fell asleep." Sleep, we must be all aware, is one of the conditions of our natural constitution as human beings. Angels and demons require neither food nor refreshment. But flesh and blood, to keep up a healthy existence — must eat, and drink, and sleep. If the Lord Jesus could be weary, and need rest — then He must have had two natures in one person — a human nature as well as a divine nature. The truth now before us is full of deep consolation and encouragement for all true Christians. The one Mediator, in whom we are bid to trust — has Himself been "partaker of flesh and blood." The mighty High Priest, who is living for us at God's right hand — has had personal experience of all the sinless infirmities of the body. He has himself hungered, and thirsted, and suffered pain. He has himself endured weariness, and sought rest in sleep. Let us pour out our hearts before him with freedom — and tell Him our least troubles without reserve. He who made atonement for us on the cross — is one who "can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities." (Hebrews 4:15.) To be weary of working for God is sinful, but to be wearied and worn in doing God's work is no sin at all. Jesus himself was weary, and Jesus slept. We see, secondly, in these verses — what fears and anxiety may assault the hearts of true disciples of Christ.