Monday, 22 June 2026

Just What Did The Apostles Think Was Going To Happen?

There are moments in the Gospels where everything feels unsteady, where even faith seems to sit quietly in the background while fear takes the front seat.  

One of those moments is the storm at sea, where the apostles find themselves tossed about in a boat with Jesus asleep nearby. 

It is a scene that raises unsettling questions about what they believed would happen next, and even more importantly, what they believed about the One who was with them.

When we read the account of the storm on the sea, we are not just observing a weather event. We are watching the human heart under pressure. The apostles are seasoned fishermen among them, men who knew the Sea of Galilee well. Storms were not unfamiliar. And yet this one unsettles them so deeply that fear begins to take over reason.

The Gospel tells us that a great windstorm arose, the waves were breaking into the boat, and it was already filling with water. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. And the disciples wake Him with a question that carries both fear and accusation: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38, ESV - CE).

That question alone opens a window into their minds. What did they think was going to happen? Did they truly believe they were about to drown?

It seems likely that, yes, at least some of them did. Not as a calm prediction, but as a rising panic. These were men who had probably faced rough waters before, but something about this storm feels final. The boat is filling. Control is slipping. Experience is no longer enough. And in that moment, fear often speaks louder than memory.

Yet the deeper question is not only whether they thought they would drown, but what they thought about Jesus while all of this was happening.

Did they think He would drown with them?

Or did they, perhaps more fearfully, wonder whether He would not?

There is a strange tension in their reaction. On one hand, they wake Him as if He can help. On the other, their words carry a note of frustration, almost as if they suspect He is indifferent. “Do you not care?” suggests not only fear of death, but confusion about His presence. If He truly cares, why is He asleep? If He has power, why is nothing changing?

At this stage in their journey, the apostles do not yet fully grasp who is in the boat with them. They have seen miracles, yes. They have heard His teaching. They have followed Him. But understanding grows slowly in human hearts, especially when fear is loud.

It is possible that they expected one of several outcomes, none of them fully shaped by faith in His divine authority.

Some may have thought, “We are going to drown, and He is simply resting until it happens.” That would reflect despair mixed with confusion.

Others may have thought, “We are going to drown, and He will drown with us,” seeing Jesus as a companion but not yet recognising His lordship over creation itself.

And perhaps there is another possibility, quieter and more complex: “We are going to drown, but surely He will do something before that happens.” A hope without clarity, a belief that He is significant, but not yet understood as sovereign over wind and sea.

What none of them seem to expect is what actually happens.

Jesus rises. He rebukes the wind. He speaks to the sea: “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceases, and there is a great calm (Mark 4:39, ESV - CE).

Then comes the question that reveals everything: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40, ESV - CE).

This is not a rebuke of ignorance alone. It is an invitation into deeper sight. Because the real issue is not the storm outside the boat, but the uncertainty inside their understanding of who Jesus is. 

Scriptural Reflection and Meditative Reading

The apostles are not portrayed as foolish, but as unfinished. Their fear is understandable. Storms are overwhelming. Water does not negotiate. Boats do not argue their way back to safety.

Yet the presence of Jesus changes the meaning of the storm entirely, even before it changes the storm itself.

Psalm 107 speaks of those who “went down to the sea in ships” and were “at their wits’ end,” and yet cried out to the Lord, who “made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed” (Psalm 107:28 - 29, ESV - CE). The apostles are living inside that very psalm, though they do not yet realise it.

We might wonder if part of their fear came from not knowing how Jesus would act. Would He save them? Would He delay? Would He suffer with them? Or was He simply another man caught in the same fate?

But the miracle reveals something deeper than rescue. It reveals identity. Only God commands creation with such authority. Only God speaks and nature obeys without resistance. 

Saintly Reflection

Saint John Chrysostom once reflected on the disciples’ fear as a form of spiritual immaturity, not because they lacked sincerity, but because they had not yet fully learned to rest in Christ’s power.

Saint Augustine, in his meditations on the Psalms, often compared storms to the inner turbulence of the soul, noting that Christ’s presence does not always prevent waves, but always determines their final authority.

A lesser known figure, Saint Theophylact of Ohrid, commented that Christ sleeping was not absence, but intentional instruction, allowing the disciples’ fear to reveal their need for deeper trust.

Together, these reflections help us see that the apostles were not abandoned in the storm. They were being formed within it. 

Practical Guidance

In our own lives, we often sit in similar boats.

We face situations where circumstances feel like they are filling faster than we can manage. Financial strain, illness, uncertainty, relational tension, or spiritual dryness can feel like waves that threaten stability.

And like the apostles, we may find ourselves asking whether God notices, whether He cares, or whether He is simply silent.

One simple practice is to pause in moments of anxiety and ask:

  • What do we believe is going to happen right now?

  • What do we believe about Christ in this moment?

Another practice is to pray slowly the words of the apostles, not as accusation, but as honesty:
“Lord, do You not care that we are perishing?”

Then wait. Not for immediate answers, but for awareness that He is already present in the boat with us. 

A Prayer for all who read this blog post and all who never will

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, in the storms of our lives we often lose sight of Your presence and Your power. Calm the waves within us when fear rises higher than faith, and remind us that we are never alone, even when silence surrounds us. May Your mercy reach those who feel overwhelmed, those who doubt, and those who struggle to trust that You care. Bring peace to every anxious heart, whether near to You or far away, and lead us always back to hope in Your name. Amen. 

Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, we come before thee as those who often find ourselves in the midst of storms both seen and unseen. Thou who didst trust God completely even when the path was hidden, teach us to trust thy Son when fear clouds our vision and when uncertainty fills our hearts.

Our Lady of Lourdes, intercede for us in our daily lives. When we feel as though we are overwhelmed by the waves of life, remind us that Jesus is never absent, even when He seems silent. When we struggle to understand His ways, help us to rest in His wisdom. When fear rises within us, guide us back to faith that does not depend on feelings but on truth.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother, that we may recognise Christ in every storm and learn to trust Him even when we do not yet understand what He is doing.

Amen. 

Parish Invitation

We are invited to grow together in faith, to gather around the Eucharist, and to support one another as we learn to trust Christ more deeply in every storm of life. You are warmly encouraged to join our parish community, come to Mass regularly, receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, take part in our parish activities, join our Living Rosary Group, and read our latest newsletter.

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20, ESV - CE)

Let us not face the storms alone, but together in Christ, who still speaks peace over every troubled sea.

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