Matthew 8:27

‘And the men marvelled, saying, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” '

Note that they did not begin exchanging reminiscences of how past storms had ceased suddenly, for they all knew that this had been different. They knew the lake and its idiosyncrasies, but never before had they seen a storm like this or an instant cessation like this. And all they could do was look at each other and marvel. Before this moment they had seen Jesus as One sent from God Whose power seemed great. But they had never expected it to be as immense as this. Other men had performed various kinds of healings, but what manner of man was this that that even the winds and waves obeyed Him, and were immediately stilled at His words? The answer, of course, was that He was the Creator, Whose bidding nature obeyed. They were learning their next lesson.

What they would finally recognise, and what Matthew wanted his readers to recognise, was that here was One Who on His own authority had commanded wind and wave, and that He did it because He was the One Who was ‘girded with might, Who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of the waves' (Psalms 65:6), Who ‘rules the raging of the sea, and when its waves rise, He stills them' (Psalms 89:9). And Biblically there was only One Who could do that. We should note also that in Psalms 65. He also stills ‘the tumult of the peoples'. The Kingly Rule of God was at work in both.

It is possible that the description ‘the men' included others who had learned of the incident from the breathless disciples after they had landed, even including some who had survived in the other boats mentioned by Mark. But it may simply be a vivid contrast of the disciples with the One Who was clearly not just a man.

We should note that in a sense their whole experience had been recorded long before in the vivid description of men in a storm in Psalms 107:23, except that here it had been heightened;

‘Those who go down to the sea in ships,

Who do business in great waters,

These see the works of the LORD,

And His wonders in the deep.

For He commands, and raises the stormy wind,

Which lifts up the waves thereof.

They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths,

Their soul melts away because of trouble.

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,

And are at their wits' end.

Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble,

And He brings them out of their distresses.

He makes the storm a calm,

So that the waves thereof are still.

Then are they glad because they are quiet,

So He brings them to the haven where they would be.'

The message behind the Psalm, which mirrors their experience, was that it was God who so controlled the waves, and quietens the storm. The question would be, therefore, how long it would be before they recognised the implications for their understanding of Him of what had happened? Certainly they would soon learn from the demons something more of His nature, when they declared, ‘You are the Son of God' (Matthew 8:29).