Chapter XXIV.—Of the Lord’s Crossing the Lake on that Occasion on Which He Slept
in the Vessel, and of the Casting Out of Those Devils Whom He Suffered to Go into the
Swine; And of the Consistency of the Accounts Given by Matthew, Mark, and Luke of All
that Was Done and Said on These Occasions.
55. “And when He was entered into a ship, His disciples followed Him. And, behold,
there arose a great tempest in the sea.” And so the story goes on, until we come to the words,
“And He came into His own city.”892 Those two narratives which are told by Matthew in
continuous succession,—namely, that regarding the calm upon the sea after Jesus was roused
from His sleep and had commanded the winds, and that concerning the persons who were
possessed with the fierce devil, and who brake their bands and were driven into the wilder-
ness,—are given also in like manner by Mark and Luke.893 Some parts of these stories are
expressed, indeed, in different terms by the different writers, but the sense remains the same.
This is the case, for example, when Matthew represents the Lord to have said, “Why are ye
fearful, O ye of little faith?”894 while Mark’s version is, “Why are ye fearful? Is it that ye have
no faith?”895 For Mark’s word refers to that perfect faith which is like a grain of mustard
seed; and so he, too, speaks in effect of the “little faith.” Luke, again, puts it thus: “Where is
your faith?”896 Accordingly, the whole utterance may perhaps have gone thus: “Why are ye
fearful? Where is your faith, O ye of little faith?” And so one of them records one part, and
another another part, of the entire saying. The same may be the case with the words spoken
by the disciples when they awoke Him. Matthew gives us: “Lord, save us: we perish.”897
Mark has: “Master, carest Thou not that we perish?”898 And Luke says simply, “Master, we
perish.”899 These different expressions, however, convey one and the same meaning on the
part of those who were awaking the Lord, and who were wishful to secure their safety.
Neither need we inquire which of these several forms is to be preferred as the one actually
addressed to Christ. For whether they really used the one or the other of these three phras-
eologies, or expressed themselves in different words, which are unrecorded by any one of
the evangelists, but which were equally well adapted to give the like representation of what
was meant, what difference does it make in the fact itself? At the same time, it may also
892 Matt. viii. 23-ix. 1.
893 Mark iv. 36; Luke viii. 22–37.
894 Matt. viii. 16.
895 Mark iv. 40. [The variations in the Greek text are numerous. Augustin gives necdum, which represents
the rending followed in the Revised Version.—R.]
896 Luke viii. 25.
897 Matt. viii. 25.
898 Mark iv. 38.
899 Luke viii. 24.
Of the Lord’s Crossing the Lake on that Occasion on Which He Slept in the Vessel, and of the Casting Out of Those Devils Whom He Suffered to Go into the Swine; And of the Consistency of the Accounts Given by Matthew, Mark, and Luke of All that Was Done and Said on These Occasions.
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Of the Lord’s Crossing the Lake on that Occasion on Which He Slept in the…