Reel Luke

Jesus Calms a Storm

Luke 8:22–25

Intro to Reel Luke
Reel Luke Leader's Guide
More Reel Questions

Helpful Stuff to Know

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  • The lake in this story is the Sea of Galilee. It’s the lowest freshwater lake on the planet, surrounded by hills and cliffs. When winds swirl above and descend onto the lake, severe storms often result. Jesus grew up in Galilee and spent much time there. He often sailed across the lake with his disciples.
  • Some of the disciples were fishermen, so being on a lake in a storm would have been familiar for them.
  • The word translated “faith” in verse 25 means conviction, strong belief, trust, loyalty, and faithfulness. It means more than simple belief.
  • John 1 and Colossians 1 say that Jesus was present at creation, and everything was made by him and through him. Genesis 1 says God spoke the world into existence. Maybe the wind and water recognized their creator's voice in this story.

Be Sure Not to Miss

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  • The disciples were shocked when Jesus stopped the storm. Maybe they weren't expecting such an enormous miracle. ​ Maybe when they woke Jesus they just wanted another set of hands to help lash the sails, secure things in the boat, and bail water out of the boat.
  • The disciples went from being terrified of the storm to being terrified and amazed by Jesus’ power.
  • In the same story Jesus was tired enough to take a nap (he was fully flesh-and-blood human) and also strong enough to stop a storm (he was fully God).
  • Jesus didn’t laugh or make fun of the disciples for being afraid. The situation was truly terrifying, and he understood that.
  • The disciples knew Jesus better than most other humans did, but they were still learning who he truly was. We too must learn to know Jesus better and better each day.

Be Careful About

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  • This story is not a metaphorical promise that “Jesus will calm all the storms in your life.” Jesus said that anyone who follows him will face challenges and difficulties. This story is about something that really happened. The lesson in this story is not that Jesus will calm and eliminate all the hard parts of life. Instead, this story teaches that Jesus is with us in hard situations. It also shows that he has power we can't fully understand or imagine.

1. Read Luke 8:22–25

Here's a few different ways you can read and recap the story with your group.

  • Read it through one time with people just listening to you. Then read it through a second time with people following along in their own Bibles.
  • Ask a few people to act out the story while you read it.
  • Ask one or two people to retell the story after hearing it.
  • Ask two people to retell the story in the first person, as though they were actually there. One person can do the play-by-play (tell the details of what happened), and the other can offer color commentary (add details about how they felt, what surprised them, what confused them, etc.). First-person retelling can make the story feel more real. It's also a blast.

2. Reel Questions (set the scene)

  • Where did this story happen? What do you think it looked like? Smelled like? Sounded like?
  • Make a list of all the people in the story (including "crowd" if there is one), and give a one-word description of each e.g. impatient, desperate, funny, selfish, awkward, etc.
  • List everything that Jesus did and said in the story. What was your favorite scene or statement?

3. Story-Specific Questions

  • What do you think about Jesus both taking a nap and stopping a storm?
  • Why do you think Jesus said, “Where is your faith?” to the disciples? What do you think he meant?
  • Why do you think the disciples were so surprised by Jesus’ power?

4. Wrap-Up Question

  • Why do you think this story is included in the Bible? What do you think God wants us to learn from it?

5. Pray