The Old Testament quotations that follows these three miracles shows that the healing

of these diseases was part of the Lord's work as the suffering Messiah.  He was

"acquainted with grief", for He hath "carried our sorrows" as well as borne our sins.

As in the case of the woman who touched the Lord, virtue went out of Him when He

thus bore the sickness of sin stricken Israel. This will sufficiently account for the Lord's

sound sleep in the ship. Mark's account is very full here. The Lord after a strenuous

period of service said to His disciples, "Let us pass over unto the other side. And when

they (not He) had sent the multitude away, they took Him even as He was in the ship".

Oh, wondrous weakness, oh, mighty condescension. "He saved others, Himself He could

not save."

No miracle did the Lord work throughout His course to spare Himself. Thus it was

that being wearied He was fast asleep on a pillow, while the storm began to swamp the

ship. The result of the stilling of the storm upon the disciples was to make them exclaim,

"What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him".

We do not feel that it would be profitable to enter into a detailed discussion

concerning the question as to whether this miracle is different from that recorded in

Mark 4: and Luke 8: The only gospel narrative that claims to have set out the events

"in order" is that written by Luke. The other writers use what events serve their purpose

without of necessity pledging that the sequence is always historical. Such a statement,

however, as that this miracle of Matt. 8: was before the calling of the twelve: and that

the other was after that event is misleading. By the calling of the twelve in Matthew we

can only suppose Matt. 10: to be meant. Now Matt. 10: speaks of that time when the Lord

called unto Him His twelve disciples to give them power over unclean spirits, and sent

them forth to preach. This is exactly parallel with the record in Mark. 6: 7-13 and

Luke 9: 1-6, and all three passages come after the miracle of the stilling of the tempest.

The references in Mark 3: 13-19 and Luke 6: 13-16 refer to a prior nomination, and

this is moreover suggested in Matt. 10: 2, "Now these are the names." Not that this

passage (Matt. 10:) is to be taken as the same as Mark 3: Matthew does not record the

parallel for this earlier call. Then again the storm is followed in Matt. 8: by the healing

of two possessed of demons. They cry, "What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, thou Son

of God? Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?" Then follows the

remarkable request that they should be permitted to enter the herd of swine, which rush

into the sea and perish. The result was that the people besought Him to depart from their

coast. The same thing happens immediately after the miracle of the tempest in Mark 4:

Matthew calls the place, "the country of the Gergesenes", Mark "the country of the

Gadarenes", while Luke adds, "which was over against Galilee", but this is explanation

not contradiction. It seems more difficult to believe that on two separate occasions,

within a short while of each other, there arose two storms, that the disciples in both cases

was asleep, that He rebuked their little faith, that on both occasions they express their

astonishment, using similar words, and that the two separate miracles on the sea were

each followed by the healing of the demon-possessed, the demons confessing Christ, and

referring to their torment, and in each case asking to be permitted to enter a herd of