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Epiphany · The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Matthew 8:23-27

Jesus Calms the Storm

February 1, 2026

Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt van Rijn
Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1633Formerly Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Rembrandt's only seascape, stolen from the Gardner Museum in 1990 and never recovered. Fourteen men are in the boat, one too many; the extra face, holding a rope and looking out, is Rembrandt.Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? The painting is still missing, which gives looking at it a second kind of loss.Rembrandt van RijnRembrandt (1606-1669) painted scripture as if it had happened in a room he had been in, and returned to the same stories across forty years, changing his mind about them in public.Formerly Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, BostonA Venetian-style palazzo in Boston, whose empty frames still hang where thieves cut the paintings out in 1990.Formerly Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Historic One-Year Lectionary
GospelMatt. 8:23-27Mt 8:23-27
EpistleRom. 8:18-23Rom 8:18-23Alt. EpistleRom. 13:8-10Rom 13:8-10
Old TestamentJonah 1:1-17Jon 1:1-17
PsalterPs. 96Ps 96

Overview & Insights

“What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:27)

Matthew continues in this passage to emphasize themes of Jesus’ authority—here over sin (9:1–8), the demonic (8:28–34), and nature (8:23–27)—and faith as the appropriate discipleship response to Jesus (9:21–22; cf. 8:26). The call to follow Jesus wholeheartedly is issued in 8:18–22, picking up the call stories of the first four disciples (4:18–22) and anticipating that of Matthew, a tax collector, in 9:9. The story of Jesus’ calming the storm shares a plot connection with 14:22–33, where Jesus (with Peter momentarily) walks on the sea. Jesus’ (messianic) identity and the disciples’ little faith are emphasized in both accounts. The story of Jesus’ claim to forgive sins (9:2, 8) evokes Matthew’s identification of Jesus as the one who “will save his people from their sins” (1:21) and foreshadows Jesus’ death, which will be “for the forgiveness of sins” (26:28).

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Commentary

Matthew 8 Commentary: Healing, Teaching, and MiraclesMt 8 Commentary: Healing, Teaching, and Miracles Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik covers the stilling of the storm within Matthew's cycle of authority miracles.

Matthew 8:23 Classic Commentaries ComparedMt 8:23 Classic Commentaries Compared BibleHub

Historic commentators set side by side on the disciples' fear and Jesus' rebuke of the sea.

Matthew 8 CommentaryMt 8 Commentary Precept Austin

Word studies and cross references on the calming of the storm and Jesus' authority over creation.

Matthew 8 (Word on Fire Bible)Mt 8 (Word on Fire Bible) Word on Fire · Bishop Barron

Bishop Barron on trusting the One who commands wind and sea rather than living controlled by fear.

Background & Word Study

Matthew 8:23 Greek InterlinearMt 8:23 Greek Interlinear BibleHub

Greek text with parsing for the storm, the great calm, and the disciples' little faith.

Matthew 8:23-27 - Jesus Stills the StormMt 8:23-27 - Jesus Stills the Storm Enter the Bible

Luther Seminary passage page reading the storm as a scene about discipleship and trust in Jesus.

Book of Matthew Summary (chapters 1-13)Book of Mt Summary (chapters 1-13) BibleProject

Animated overview of the first half of Matthew, where Jesus' authority over nature is displayed.

The Church Fathers

Matthew 8 with the Church Fathers (Catena)Mt 8 with the Church Fathers (Catena) Catena

Early and medieval comment on the storm, often read as the Church tossed on the sea of the world.

Sermons & Reflections

Matthew 8:23-27 (Sacred Space)Mt 8:23-27 (Sacred Space) Sacred Space · Irish Jesuits

Jesuit guided prayer that places the pray-er in the boat during the storm.

Art & Music

Revised Common Lectionary art and image index Vanderbilt

Searchable gallery of storm and stilling images across the Christian tradition.

Study Hub

Matthew (Textweek lectionary resources)Mt (Textweek lectionary resources) Textweek

Aggregates commentary, sermon, art, and worship links for passages throughout Matthew's Gospel.

Questions preachers ask

What does the calming of the storm reveal?

As the boat is swamped and the disciples cry out, Jesus rebukes the wind and sea into a great calm, showing a power over creation that belongs to God alone.

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