Rembrandt Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galilee

Calming the storm is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels, reported in Matthewbr>8:23–27
Markbr>4:35–41
and Lukebr>8:22–25
(the

Synoptic Gospels The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...

). This episode is distinct from Jesus' walk on water, which also involves a boat on the lake and appears later in the narrative.

Biblical accounts

According to the Gospels, one evening Jesus and his disciples were crossing the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...

in a boat. Suddenly a furious storm came up, with the waves breaking over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was asleep on a cushion in the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

, and the disciples woke him and asked, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" The Gospel of Mark then states that:

Analysis

Author Michael Keene commented that the Sea of Galilee was known for its sudden and fierce storms and that the Jews were people of the land who were generally uncomfortable at sea, especially since they believed the sea to be full of frightening creatures. The '' Pulpit Commentary'' attributes these sudden storms to winds arising on the summits of

Mount Hermon Mount Hermon ( / ALA-LC: ('Mountain of the Sheikh', ), , ) is a mountain, mountain cluster constituting the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the Lebanon–Syria border, border between Syria and Lebanon a ...

, in the Anti-Lebanon mountains to the north. The Anglican clergyman John Clowes commented that by asking the question "Why are you so afraid?", Jesus was asking his disciples to explore in their own minds the cause and origin of fear, so they would realize that all fear has its roots in natural affection and thought, separate from spiritual affection and thought. And by asking "Do you still have no faith?" Jesus was manifestly pointing to a defect in their spiritual principles. Clowes further commented that by that last question Jesus was manifestly instructing his disciples, and through them all future generations of mankind, that ''fear'' is the constant result of the want of Heavenly principles in the human mind.

Justus Knecht Friedrich Justus Heinrich Knecht (7 October 1839 – 31 January 1921) was a Catholic Church in Germany, German Catholic theologian and writer who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg, Auxiliary Bishop of Freiburg from 1894 until his ...

notes that: "the object of this miracle was 1. to increase and strengthen the faith of the apostles; 2. to teach the apostles and their successors that they, as fishers of men, would be exposed to many persecutions and afflictions; but that Jesus would always be with them to hush the storm."

Artworks

File:Cristo apacigua la tempestad en el lago Tiberiades.jpg, Juan de Flandes 1490–1500 File:Brueghel, Jan I - Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee - 1596.jpg, Jan Brueghel the Elder 1596 File:Pieter Stalpaert - Christ sleeping during the storm.jpg, Pieter Stalpaert 1617 File:Simon de Vlieger - Calming the storm.jpg, Simon de Vlieger 1637 File:Cornelis de Wael - Calming the storm.jpg, Cornelis de Wael 1630s File:Backhuysen, Ludolf, I - Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee - Google Art Project.jpg, Ludolf Bakhuizen 1695 File:Eugène Delacroix - Christ on the Sea of Galilee - Google Art Project.jpg,

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...

1854 File:James Ensor (1891) Christus bedaart de storm 001.jpg,

James Ensor James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic ...

1891

References

External links

{{Authority control Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Miracles of Jesus Sea of Galilee Storm Water and Christianity

Biblical accounts

Analysis

Artworks

See also

Further reading

References

External links