Matthew 8:27 KJV
But the men¹ marvelled², saying³,
What manner of man⁴ is⁵ this⁶,
that even⁷ the⁸ winds⁹ and⁷ the¹⁰ sea¹¹ obey¹² him¹³!
¹) [The] men — ἄνθρωποι (anthrōpoi) — Noun – Nominative Masculine Plural — A man, one of the human race. From aner and ops; man-faced, i.e. A human being.
²) Were amazed — ἐθαύμασαν (ethaumasan) — Verb – Aorist Indicative Active – 3rd Person Plural — (a) intrans: I wonder, marvel, (b) trans: I wonder at, admire. From thauma; to wonder; by implication, to admire.
³) [and] Asked, — λέγοντες (legontes) — Verb – Present Participle Active – Nominative Masculine Plural — (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.
⁴) What kind [of man] — Ποταπός (Potapos) — Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun – Nominative Masculine Singular — Of what kind, of what manner. Apparently from pote and the base of pou; interrogatively, whatever, i.e. Of what possible sort.
⁵) Is — ἐστιν (estin) — Verb – Present Indicative Active – 3rd Person Singular — I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.
⁶) This — οὗτος (houtos) — Demonstrative Pronoun – Nominative Masculine Singular — This; he, she, it.
⁷) Even — καὶ (kai) — Conjunction — And, even, also, namely.
⁸) The — οἱ (hoi) — Article – Nominative Masculine Plural — The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.
⁹) Winds — ἄνεμοι (anemoi) — Noun – Nominative Masculine Plural — The wind; fig: applied to empty doctrines. From the base of aer; wind; by implication, quarters.
¹⁰) The — ἡ (hē) — Article – Nominative Feminine Singular — The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.
¹¹) Sea — θάλασσα (thalassa) — Noun – Nominative Feminine Singular — Probably prolonged from hals; the sea.
¹²) Obey — ὑπακούουσιν (hypakouousin) — Verb – Present Indicative Active – 3rd Person Plural — From hupo and akouo; to hear under, i.e. To listen attentively; by implication, to heed or conform to a command or authority.
¹³) Him — αὐτῷ (autō) — Personal / Possessive Pronoun – Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular — He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.
Other translations
Berean Literal Bible
And [the] men marveled, saying, “What kind [of man] is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
New King James Version
So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
New American Standard Bible
The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Young’s Literal Translation
and the men wondered, saying, ‘What kind — is this, that even the wind and the sea do obey him?’
Study
But (Revised Version, and) the men.
Perhaps the disciples, but probably those to whom the boat belonged, the crew.
It seems very far-fetched to explain it of all men who heard of the miracle.
Marvelled.
Marvelled as the multitudes (Matthew 9:33; but contrast Matthew 14:33).
Saying, What manner of man is this?
Parallel passages, “Who then?”.
The term indicates the slightness of their knowledge of His character.
They seem, with Nicodemus, to have recognized that holiness was an essential condition of performing miracles (John 3:2), but not to have realized that this condition was satisfied in Jesus.
The miracle has been seen to be a parable of the security of the ship of the Church since at least the days of Tertullian. (For the comparison generally of the Church to a ship, compare especially Bishop Lightfoot on Ignatius).
It is a comfort to those who go down to the sea in ships, and are often in perils there, to reflect that they have a Saviour to trust in and pray to, who knows what it is to be on the water, and to be in storms there.
Those who are passing with Christ over the ocean of this world, must expect storms.
His human nature, like to ours in every thing but sin, was wearied, and he slept at this time to try the faith of his disciples.
They, in their fear, came to their Master.
Thus is it in a soul; when lusts and temptations are swelling and raging, and God is, as it were, asleep to it, this brings it to the brink of despair.
Then it cries for a word from his mouth, Lord Jesus, keep not silence to me, or I am undone.
Many that have true faith, are weak in it.
Christ’s disciples are apt to be disquieted with fears in a stormy day; to torment themselves that things are bad with them, and with dismal thoughts that they will be worse.
Great storms of doubt and fear in the soul, under the power of the spirit of bondage, sometimes end in a wonderful calm, created and spoken by the Spirit of adoption.
They were astonished.
They never saw a storm so turned at once into a perfect calm.
He that can do this, can do anything, which encourages confidence and comfort in Him, in the most stormy day, within or without.
Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the Lord forever,
For in God the Lord,
we have an everlasting Rock.
Devotional
A raging storm and a sleeping Jesus.
Perhaps that is a situation you recognize.
What terrible storms can come over us in our lives!
And how it can seem as if He isn’t there, as if He doesn’t care!
Can we perish with Jesus on board?
No, that’s impossible.
But there may be circumstances where we no longer see that.
How does that happen?
He calls the child by name: little faith.
For before He rebukes the winds and the sea, He calls His disciples to order: why are you fearful, you of little faith?
Then we can only bow our heads in shame.
How little faith we have in Him.
And at the same time we marvel at His omnipotence and His greatness.
For He is the only One Who can calm the storm, even in our lives.
What manner of a man is this? – by Mahalia Jackson
https://youtu.be/McEOwye7j-E
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