25 · Action of Jesus

Jesus Calms the Storm

Mark 4:35–41

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Jesus stands in a small boat on a stormy lake and rebukes the wind and waves while his adult disciples react with fear and amazement.

The disciples wake Jesus in a violent storm, and he calms it.

What does the storm reveal about Jesus?

Choose a perspective

There is no score – choose the perspective you find closest and discuss why.

Discuss: Why are the disciples afraid even after the storm becomes calm?

After your discussion: compare with our assessment

Our assessment

A captures the disciples' final question. Jesus' authority over wind and sea makes them ask who he is. C captures Mark's narrative movement. After the storm has become calm, strong fear remains, but it is now connected with Jesus' identity and authority.

25 · Mark 4:35–41

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Text & context

Full translation

35 When evening came that day, he said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were also with him. 37 Then a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then he got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Be silent! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

Translated from the Greek text – SBLGNT

What is happening here?
After a day of teaching, Jesus tells the disciples to take the boat to the other side. During the crossing, a powerful storm arises, waves break into the boat, and it begins to fill. Jesus is asleep in the stern. The disciples wake him with a question that concerns more than his ability: “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus rises, rebukes the wind, and commands the sea to become still. The storm ceases and a great calm follows. Jesus then asks why the disciples are afraid and whether they still have no faith. Yet the story does not end with relief. They are filled with great fear and ask, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!” The focus thus moves from the danger of the storm to the identity of Jesus.
Notice this

At first the disciples are afraid of the storm. Jesus calms the storm. Then Mark says they experience great fear. The wind and waves are no longer the center of attention. The question now is: “Who then is this?” Also notice: “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus is with them in the boat, but his apparently passive presence causes them to question his care.

Language & translation

From the Greek

οὐ μέλει σοι – ou melei soi

do you not care? The verb melō concerns something being a matter of care or concern.

λαῖλαψ μεγάλη ἀνέμου – lailaps megalē anemou

a great windstorm Mark uses megalē, “great,” for the storm.

σιώπα – siōpa

be silent An imperative of siōpaō, to be silent.

πεφίμωσο – pephimōso

be still / be silenced From phimoō, whose basic sense can include muzzling or silencing. It is a forceful command.

γαλήνη μεγάλη – galēnē megalē

a great calm After the “great” storm comes a “great” calm.

ἐφοβήθησαν φόβον μέγαν – ephobēthēsan phobon megan

they feared with great fear Mark again uses megas. The narrative moves rhetorically from a great storm to a great calm and then to great fear.

Translation note

Independent English translation from the Greek text, using SBLGNT as the primary Greek edition.

Compare for yourself

Read Mark 4:35–41 together with Matthew 8:23–27 and Luke 8:22–25. Pay particular attention to:

  • ou melei soi
  • lailaps megalē
  • siōpa
  • pephimōso
  • galēnē megalē
  • phobon megan
  • the disciples' final question about Jesus' identity

You may also read Psalm 107:23–30, where the Lord stills the storm. Compare the motif without assuming that Mark explicitly comments on the parallel.

Continue the conversation

Discuss further
  1. Why do you think Jesus sleeps while the disciples experience the situation as life-threatening?
  2. What lies behind “Do you not care?” – doubt about Jesus' power or doubt about his care?
  3. Why are the disciples afraid after the danger is over?
  4. What does the story suggest by portraying the wind and sea as obeying Jesus' words?
Parallel passages
  • Matthew 8:23–27
  • Luke 8:22–25
  • Psalm 107:23–30
  • Psalm 89:9–10
Sources
  • The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (SBLGNT), Michael W. Holmes, ed.
  • Mark 4:35–41
  • Matthew 8:23–27
  • Luke 8:22–25
  • Psalm 107:23–30
  • Standard Greek lexical resources for melō, lailaps, siōpaō, phimoō, galēnē, phobos, and megas