Early on in his ministry, Jesus led his disciples to cross over from one side of the Sea of Galilee to the other - from Capernaum to the region of the Decapolis (the Ten Cities). Jesus had been teaching all day and was tired, so he took the opportunity of the boat ride to take a nap. While he was sleeping, a fierce storm suddenly developed and the disciples (some of them who were professional fishermen!) started panicking. They thought they were going to drown!
They woke up Jesus (who was still sleeping!). Jesus ordered the wind and the waves to "be still!" and the storm immediately stopped. The disciples started this story by being afraid of the storm and they ended the story being afraid of the one who had power over the storm.
Where Is the Story of Jesus Calming the Storm in the Bible?
You can teach this story from any of the 3 "synoptic" gospels, but a good start is the book of Mark. You can find it in Mark 4:35-41. Mark tends to be the most concise and easiest to read for kids.
Note, this is a different story than Jesus Walks on Water, although they both happened on the Sea of Galilee.
What Happens in the Story, Step by Step
- Jesus had spent a long day teaching and wanted to move from one side of the Sea of Galilee to another.
- He told the disciples that they needed to go across the Sea of Galilee to another area, so they all got in a boat and set out across the water.
- Jesus was taking a nap on the boat.
- Suddenly, a fierce storm whipped up the wind and the waves. It was so strong, the disciples became terrified that they were going to all die in the storm.
- They woke up Jesus and asked him, "Teacher! Don’t you care if we drown?"
- Jesus ordered the storm to stop and the wind immediately calmed down.
- The disciples were terrified, asking, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
This story lends itself to having the children act out the story as you are teaching it. Recruit the following characters:
- Jesus
- Several disciples
- A boat
- A storm
Why Were the Disciples So Afraid?
Even though some of the disciples were professional fishermen, this storm was so violent that they were very afraid. The geography of the Sea of Galilee lends itself to particularly sudden and violent storms.
Here's a video of a particularly bad storm from 1992 that gives you an idea of how dangerous it would be to be in the middle of that body of water on a boat.
But after the storm, the disciples were more afraid of Jesus than they were of the storm when they came to the realization that one who has power over nature was in the boat with them.
Why Was Jesus Sleeping in the Boat?
The simple answer is that he was tired! We can see in the story leading up to this that he had spent a long day teaching. This helps us remember that Jesus was all God but also all human at the same time. This is similar to the time when Jesus learned of the death of his cousin John the Baptist and wanted to be alone to grieve, but couldn't (Matthew 14:13).
A deeper answer is that Jesus wasn't afraid of the storms, not because he knew of his power over nature, but because Jesus wasn't afraid of death. He knew that death could not get in the way of his mission.
What Jesus Calming the Storm Teaches Kids
As kids begin to experience more of the world around them, fear can set in as they learn that there are forces bigger than their parents can protect them from. Kids can be afraid of fires, "bad guys," and definitely storms!
The disciples were just like them - they got scared too! But they learned that they were following the One who has power over nature. And more than that, they learned that he cared for them enough to protect them during that storm.
