What Jesus Calming the Storm Reveals About Who He Really Is
by Rev. Mark Creech
RevMarkCreech.org
There is a remarkable moment in the Gospels when Jesus and His disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee. A violent storm arose, waves crashed over the boat, and seasoned fishermen feared they were about to perish. Meanwhile, Jesus was asleep in the stern. In desperation, the disciples woke Him, crying, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?”
The Gospel of Mark records what happened next:
“And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39).
The sudden stillness was astonishing. Only moments earlier the disciples believed they were facing death. Now the sea lay quiet as glass. But what truly shook them was not merely the miracle itself; it was what the miracle revealed.
They asked one another in awe:
“What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41).
To modern readers, the question may seem like simple amazement. But to a Jewish audience steeped in the Old Testament Scriptures, it carried profound theological weight. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the power to command the sea belongs to God alone.
Consider the language of the Psalms. In Psalm 89:9 the psalmist declares, “Thou rulest the raging of the sea.” Psalm 107:29 says of the Lord, “He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.” Even in Job 38:11, God Himself speaks to the sea, saying, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further.”
Throughout the Old Testament, the sea often represents untamable power and chaos. Yet Scripture consistently teaches that only the Lord is sovereign over it.
This truth becomes especially vivid in Psalm 114.
Psalm 114 celebrates the great acts of God during the Exodus, when the Lord delivered Israel from Egypt and established them as His covenant people. The psalmist recounts those events in striking poetic imagery:
“The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.
The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs” (Psalm 114:3–4).
Here the Red Sea is described as fleeing (parting) before the Lord when Israel escaped the army of Pharaoh. The Jordan River is said to have turned back when Israel, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, entered the Promised Land under Joshua. Even the mountains appear to leap like frightened animals in the presence of God.
The psalmist then explains the reason for these extraordinary events:
“Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob” (Psalm 114:7).
The message is unmistakable: when the Creator Himself is present among His people, creation responds.
The sea flees.
The rivers stop.
The mountains tremble.
Now consider the scene on the Sea of Galilee again.
A storm is raging. The wind howls. Waves crash into the small fishing boat. Yet when Jesus stands and simply speaks, “Peace, be still,” the wind stops, and the sea immediately becomes calm.
This moment echoes the very truth proclaimed in Psalm 114. Nature responds instantly to the presence of its Creator.
The disciples sensed this, even if they did not yet fully understand it. Their question – “What manner of man is this?” – reveals their growing realization that they were witnessing something far greater than a miracle. They were seeing the authority of God Himself demonstrated in the person of Jesus.
The New Testament later states this truth clearly. The Gospel of John declares:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
The One who calmed the sea is the same Lord who once parted the Red Sea, halted the Jordan River, and caused mountains to tremble.
The Creator had stepped into His own creation.
For those who trust their lives and circumstances to Christ, this truth carries a deeply encouraging message.
When the storm struck the Sea of Galilee, the disciples feared they were about to die. Yet their safety did not depend on the strength of their boat or the skill of their rowing. Their safety depended on who was with them in the boat.
The Lord of creation was with them in that little boat.
Psalm 114 reminds us that seas flee and rivers turn back at the presence of the Lord. The Gospel accounts reveal that this same authority belongs to Jesus Christ.
That means the One who commands the wind and the waves is also the One who walks with His people through every storm of life.
The circumstances around us may sometimes appear overwhelming. Winds may rage, and waves may threaten to sink the vessel. But the believer can take heart in this unchanging truth:
The One who calmed the sea is still present with His people today.
When the Creator is in the boat, no storm has the final word.
Is He in your boat?
