Jesus calms the storm

There were always large crowds around Jesus. They followed him everywhere. They wanted to listen to him teach. They also brought sick people to him, so that he could heal them. Jesus usually spent the whole day telling them stories about God’s kingdom and healing those who were sick. This often made him very tired. Once, when Jesus was tired, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.”

They got into a boat and left. Some of the disciples were fishermen. They often went out on the lake in their boats, and they knew the lake very well. Jesus soon fell asleep.

Then a bad storm broke. The disciples had been on the lake during storms before. They knew how to keep the boat safe. But this storm was very bad. Waves crashed over the boat, and it quickly filled with water. The boat was going to sink! The disciples were very scared. They thought they were going to die. So they did the only thing they could. They went to Jesus and woke him. “Lord! Save us! We’re going to drown!” they cried. Jesus immediately got up. He looked at the storm. Then he spoke to it. He said, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind died down. The waves became calm. Everything was quiet. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Don’t you have any faith yet?”

The disciples looked at the calm water of the lake. They listened to the quietness. They knew Jesus was a man just like them. He got tired after a long day’s work and needed to rest.

But he was also all-powerful. When he spoke to the wind and the waves, they obeyed him. They knew he wasn’t an ordinary person like them. The disciples were amazed and frightened. They didn’t understand that he was the Son of God. But they did know that he was with them when they were afraid, and that he could help them when they were in danger. Matthew 8:23–27 Mark 4:35–41 Luke 8:22–25