NOTES for Mat 8:23-27
The disciples were ready to follow Christ wherever He went. They followed Him into the boat in order to accompany Him. Yet even as they followed Christ, the disciples took a very long time to understand Him.
It is interesting that, when describing the disciples' reaction to Jesus calming the storm, the evangelist writes: “The men marveled, saying...” At the moment when the disciples do not understand their Teacher, they cannot be called disciples.
Christ's sleep in the midst of the stormy sea is striking not only because He displayed astonishing self-control amid the raging elements while all the disciples were alarmed. Here we might also recall God's rest at the end of creation, when the world was already developing along the course appointed for it. Even while at rest, the Lord remained the Creator and Lord of the universe in motion.
But we may also recall His coming Resurrection, when, rising from the repose of the tomb, He will once again bring the bewildered apostles to their senses.