Walking On Water

Matthew 14:22-33 | Mark 6:45-52 | John 16:15-19

Matthew 14:22–33 “22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”

The Scene

Jesus has just finished performing many healings and the miracle of the loaves and fish.

Matthew 14:22 “22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.”

This verbiage gives a sense of immediacy and urgency in Jesus’s instructions to his disciples.

Their paths diverge:

Matthew 14:23–24 “23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.”

Jesus is in the up in the mountains praying and the disciples are rowing against the wind.

Keep in mind that the sea of Galilee is roughly 7-8 miles across and the disciples are somewhere in the middle of it at least 3 miles from shore.

This is where they remain for quite some time

Reunion on the Sea

Matthew 14:25–26 “25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.”

Job 9:8 “8 Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, And treadeth upon the waves of the sea.”

Jesus is doing what God alone does.

Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament Jesus Walks on the Sea (14:22–26)

The fourth watch is from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., the middle of the night

It can reasonably be supposed that the miracle of the loaves and fishes happened either just before or just after the first watch began (6 p.m. to 9 p.m.). Matthew 14:15 “15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past;”

Jesus immediately sent them away meaning they have been in the boat and fighting the wind for likely around 6 - 10 hours.

The Gospel of John tells us that this happened near the time of Passover.

That matters because of what I want us to look at next. Up front, this is my own speculation, but I think very interesting to consider.

At this point Jesus has sent the disciples away to go ahead of him by boat across the sea. They set off probably around 6-7 p.m. which in Galilee during the season of passover is around sunset/twilight. They begin to row as twilight fades into darkness. The wind picks up and is against them. They find themself in utter darkness and fighting against the wind. *If anyone has been on the water in the dark you know it is pitch black - you can’t see anything.* This is where they remain fighting the wind and the waves for hours.

For those in Men’s Bible Study this is what I imagine a picture of vanity and vexation of spirit looks like. Toiling to no end fighting against wind and gaining no ground.

Here’s the cool part, though. Scripture tells us that Jesus came walking on the sea in the forth watch. We also know he is coming from the East side of the sea. Right in the middle of the forth watch - 4:30 a.m. the horizon would’ve started to become visible to the East from the sea.

After a long night in utter darkness, fighting the wind, the Son approaches on the water just as the sun begins to light the sky.

The disciples are initially afraid and think it is a ghost, but Jesus comforts them.

Matthew 14:27 “27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”

Notice the repeated word here “straightway” from verse 22. This word appears three times in our passage, we will see it again shortly, translated as “immediately.” The word is εὐθέως. It is applied only to Jesus’s actions and seems to specially indicate a deliberateness in what Jesus is doing.

Look at what Jesus says to them:

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition Chapter 14

Θαρσεῖτε, ἐγώ εἰμι· μὴ φοβεῖσθε.

Have courage, I am; don’t be afraid.

Here’s Peter

Matthew 14:28–31 “28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

Peter has an odd way of testing if it is Jesus. “If it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

At the same time, look at the contrast in Peter’s confidence to before. Without Jesus he couldn’t gain an inch against the wind all night, but if Jesus is with him he is confident in being able to walk on water at Jesus’s command.

Jesus then tells him to come and Peter begins to walk on the water towards Jesus. He doesn’t make it. Peter sees the wind driving the waves and becomes fearful.

He looks away from Jesus and begins to sink

I don’t know about all of you, but for some reason when I read this I get an almost slow motion picture of Peter’s sinking as if his rate of sinking corresponds to a wearing off of his water walking.

There are two problems with that picture though.

Peter didn’t have a water walking ability. He was walking on water because Jesus commanded him to and was holding him up.

This word translated sinking appears one other place in the New Testament where it refers to people drowning in the depths of the sea with a millstone around their neck pulling them down.

Peter began to sink, but it was sudden and rapid.

I also want us to consider for a moment that Jesus let him sink. Remember that Jesus is being depicted as very deliberate here, sending them out, responding to their fear, and as we’re about to see rescuing Peter.

Peter becomes fearful at the sight of the waves, goes under, and as he is essentially floundering cries out “Lord, save me.”

And then what? Matthew 14:31 “31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

Peter didn’t make it to Jesus. The only way Jesus could IMMEDIATELY reach out and grab him is if he had himself closed the gap. He also doesn’t save Peter before he cries out.

Jesus’s question is meant to redirect Peter back to faith and confidence in Jesus. This entire situation is meant to build their faith and deepen their knowledge of who Jesus is. Watch how the passage closes.

Matthew 14:32–33 “32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”

Jesus could’ve stopped the wind at any time, but chose to wait until they came back into the ship.

Application

As we reflect on this story there are several things we should realize

Just like feeding the five thousand, Jesus will take us beyond ourselves at times to strengthen our faith and reliance on him.

A strong part of this is realizing our own inability without him.

Without Jesus, the disciples couldn’t feed the five thousand, out row the wind, and Peter couldn’t walk on the water.

We need to focus on Jesus, rather than our difficult or frightening circumstances.

Remember, he reached out and caught Peter immediately after he called out to be saved.

Bridge to Gospel Presentation

For those that may not know Jesus as Lord, there is hope for you.

Romans 10:13 “13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”