rebuke

In this week’s reading from the Gospel According to Matthew 8:23–27 (NABRE), Jesus rebukes the winds and seas, and everything calms. Exactly what is it that Jesus did? What is it about Jesus’ rebuke that even the winds and seas would obey?

The Greek word translated as rebuke is ἐπιτιμέω (epitimeo). This word literally means “to lay a value upon” and as such also means “to raise in price” in the sense of valuing something more highly. It also was the  word used for legal punishment because punishment was seen as establishing the value of the crime committed. Finally, in the sense of rebuke or censure seen in the Gospel passage, it refers to placing negative value or disapproval on someone’s actions.

Jesus’ rebuke is his statement that he disapproves of what the weather was doing. This is strange for a few reasons. First, Jesus is of the opinion that he gets a say over what the weather does. Second and more bizarrely, the weather seems to agree.

related topics: authority; religious law

you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click here to view a sample of the first lesson.

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