LV.
JESUS STILLS THE STORM.
(Sea of Galilee; same day as last section)
aMATT. VIII. 18-27; bMARK
IV. 35-41; cLUKE VIII. 22-25.
b35 And that day, {cone
of those days,} bwhen the even was come [about sunset],awhen
Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto
the other side. {bhe saith unto them, Let us go over unto the
other side.} [Wearied with a day of strenuous toil, Jesus sought rest
from the multitude by passing to the thinly settled on the east side of
Galilee.] a19 And there
came a scribe [Literally, one scribe. The number is emphatic; for,
so far as the record shows, Jesus had none of this class among his disciples],
and said unto him, Teacher, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes [caves, dens],
and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of [341] man
[Daniel's name for the Messiah--Dan. vii. 10-13] hath not where to lay
his head. [This scribe had heard the wonderful parables concerning
the kingdom. He, like all others, expected an earthly kingdom and sought
to have a place in it. Jesus so replied as to correct his false expectations.]
21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to
go and bury my father. [This disciple must have been one of the twelve,
for these only were required to follow Jesus (Mark iii. 14). It may have
been James or John, whose father, Zebedee, almost certainly died before
Jesus did. He may have just heard of his father's death.*]
22 But Jesus saith unto him, Follow me; and leave the dead to bury their
own dead. [Let the spiritually dead bury the naturally dead. This was
a very exceptional prohibition, intended to show not that it was ordinarily
wrong to stop for burying the dead, but wrong when in conflict with a command
from Jesus. God bids us recognize the claims of filial duty, but rightfully
insists that our duties toward him are superior to those due our parents.]
c22 Now it came to pass that he entered into a boat, himself
and his disciples; a23 And
when he was entered into a boat, his disciples followed him. cand
he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake: and
they launched forth. b36 And
leaving the multitude, they take him with them, even as he was, in the
boat. [They took Jesus without any preparation for the journey. The
crowd, doubtless, made it inconvenient to go ashore to get provisions.]
And other boats were with him. [The owners of these boats had probably
been using them to get near to Jesus as he preached. They are probably
mentioned to show that a large number witnessed the miracle when Jesus
stilled the tempest.] c23
But as they sailed he fell asleep. [knowing his labors during the day,
we can not wonder at this]: b37
And there ariseth cand there came down ba great storm
of wind, con the lake; a24
And, behold, [342] there arose a great
tempest in the sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves:
band the waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was
now filling. cand they were filling with water, and were
in jeopardy. [These storms come with great suddenness. See McGarvey's
"Lands of the Bible," page 519.] b38
And {abut} bhe himself was in the stern, asleep on
the cushion [The cushion was the seat-cover, which, as Smith remarks,
was probably "a sheepskin with the fleece, which, when rolled up, served
as a pillow." The stern was the most commodious place for passengers. The
tossing ship has been accepted in all ages as a type of the church in seasons
of peril]: a25
And they came to him, and awoke him, {bthey awake him,} and
say unto him, {asaying,} Save, Lord; we perish. cMaster,
master, we perish. bTeacher, carest thou not that we perish?
[There was a babble of confused voices, betraying the extreme agitation
of the disciples.] 39 And he awoke,
aThen he arose, and rebuked the winds, {bwind,} aand
the sea; cand the raging of the water; band said
unto the sea, Peace, be still. cand they ceased, bAnd
the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [In addressing the winds
and waves Jesus personified them to give emphasis to his authority over
them. The calm showed the perfection of the miracle, for the waves of such
a lake continue to roll long after the winds have ceased.]
c25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? bWhy
are ye yet fearful? have ye not yet faith? aO ye of little faith?
[They had little faith or they would not have been so frightened; but they
had some faith, else they would not have appealed to Jesus.]
b41 And they feared exceedingly, cAnd being afraid
they athe men marvelled, band said one to another,
csaying one to another, aWhat manner of man is this,
that even the winds and the sea obey him? cWho then is this,
that he commandeth even the winds, and the water, and they obey him?
[Jesus' complete lordship over the realm of nature made his disciples very
certain of his divinity.] [343]
* I do not
concur in this statement.--P. Y. P.
[FFG 341-343]
