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Matthew 8:18-27

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

18. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. 19. And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 20. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay [his] head. 21. And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. 23. And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 24. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. 25. And his disciples came to [him], and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. 26. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

Matthew 8:18-27 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Matthew 8:18

Theological / Devotional

Now when. [The Storm on the Lake, Matt. 8:18, 23-27=Mark 4:35-41=Luke 8:22-25. Major comment: Matthew. See the Closing Galilean Ministry; The Ministry of Our Lord.] All three Synoptic Gospels record the stilling of the storm on the lake, the healing of the Gadarene demoniacs, the healing of the invalid woman, and the raising of Jairus’ daughter more or less as a group of miracles, in the order given. As usual, the account in Mark contains many graphic details not mentioned by either Matthew or Luke. The first of these miracles occurred the night following Christ’s Sermon by the Sea, in which He spoke the parables recorded in Matt. 13. Thus, in point of time, the stilling of the tempest recorded in ch. 8 follows the parables recorded in ch. 13. Mark and Luke, who follow a more nearly chronological order, have the miracles following the Sermon by the Sea. It was probably in the early autumn of A.D. 29 (see on Luke 7:11), during the course of the second missionary tour through Galilee, that the incident here recorded took place. Now, weary and exhausted by many days of strenuous public ministry, Jesus sought brief respite from the throngs that pressed about Him, by crossing the lake.

Great multitudes. Multitudes of people were now following Jesus wherever He went (see Matt. 4:25; Mark 3:7; 4:1), to the extent that He often had little or no time to eat (see Mark 3:20; DA 333). As Jesus, overcome with weariness and hunger, set out to cross the lake He soon fell asleep (DA 334). Ministry to the physical and spiritual needs of the people meant, even for Him, the expenditure of vital force that must be restored through rest and food. It was for this reason that the Saviour sought a few hours of release from His incessant labors.

Other side. That is, the region of Decapolis, opposite Galilee (see p. 46), to the southeast of the Lake of Galilee, was rather sparsely populated. That region was largely heathen; there is no record of the scribes and Pharisees ever having followed Jesus there.

By SdaBc