Jesus Walks on the Water (6:15-21)

Jesus leaves his disciples alone in their time of fear and danger. Now, of course while this statement is true, it is not the encouraging word of truth I want you to walk away with this morning. Mark does indicate in his gospel that Jesus was alone on the land and he could see that “that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them” and yet as he walks on the sea “He meant to pass by” (). I find these statements intriguing and we are going to address these realities as we work through the text, but first, we must once again place this brief incident in its’ broader context.

Brief synopsis of chapter. Last week we took a significant portion of our time to fully understand John’s intent in this whole chapter. It was only after considering the full context that we took a deeper dive into the character of Christ revealed specifically in the feeding of the multitude.

Brief synopsis of chapter. Last week we took a significant portion of our time to fully understand John’s intent in this whole chapter. It was only after considering the full context that we took a deeper dive into the character of Christ revealed specifically in the feeding of the multitude.

Brief synopsis of chapter. Last week we took a significant portion of our time to fully understand John’s intent in this whole chapter. It was only after considering the full context that we took a deeper dive into the character of Christ revealed specifically in the feeding of the multitude.

Brief synopsis of chapter. Last week we took a significant portion of our time to fully understand John’s intent in this whole chapter. It was only after considering the full context that we took a deeper dive into the character of Christ revealed specifically in the feeding of the multitude.

(1) John’s purpose throughout the entirety of the gospel is to prove the deity of Christ. In proving his deity, John intends to draw the letter’s recipient to belief in Christ, resulting in life. (2) The whole of proves the deity of Christ. (3) John mentions the Passover celebration at the beginning of the chapter. The Passover celebration reminds the Jewish people of God’s deliverance from Egyptian slavery. In that deliverance God revealed his power by delivering the people through the Red Sea, and he displayed his provision by providing manna for them to eat. (4) Christ reflects equal authority, power, and provision when he feeds the multitude with an abundance of food and not only walks on the water but calms the sea with his words. (5) In so doing, Christ reveals himself to be the divine Messiah. (6) We are intended to look to him as our Savior and in so doing have life.

In similar fashion to last week, once we’ve understood and embraced the primary purpose of the chapter, we can take an extended look at each individual section and appreciate its’ further revelation of Christ and any practical implications for our lives.

The feeding of the multitude revealed Jesus as Messiah in that he displayed his divine providence similarly to God’s providing manna in the wilderness. The brief feeding narrative as well revealed a Christ that was (1) worthy of radical pursuit (2) selflessly compassionate, (3) spiritually aware, (4) purposefully invested in others, and (5) in possession of unencumbered power.

Let’s now consider the brief, almost passing story, of Jesus walking on and calming the water.

Setting the stage. Let me offer a trite example of how excitement can spread. In our home we have a couple rather large bowls. One of them happens to be a big blue bowl. I suppose Linda has several tasks for which she uses this bowl, but there is only one that matters to the rest of us. This blue bowl is the vessel for chocolate chip cookie dough. If this bowl is ever pulled out, immediate joy and happiness fill our home. Our hearts are filled with longing and expectation for the much-desired cookie dough. It’s possible that a cookie may even come out of the whole ordeal. This scenario has always been a reality in our home. We are a bit more mature these days than we were when the kids were younger. Of course, I’ve always been able to hold in my excitement and just sit in eager anticipation shaking with excitement in my chair, but when the kids were younger the presence of the big blue bowl resulted in a rave of sorts. The big blue bowl led to an eruption of dancing, running, and bouncing around the house. We love cookie dough.

Now consider the excitement that must have settled into the hearts and minds of those sitting in groups of 50 on the mountain side of the Eastern shore of Galilee when Jesus fed them all. Their excitement would not have been primarily motivated by the fact that they just got a meal, but instead their excitement would have been prompted by what that meal indicated about Jesus. Every Jew wants the Messiah to come. Their heart yearns for the Messiah. When Jesus provided food for them all from a few pieces of poor man’s bread and pickled fish, they realized their Messiah was present.

Naturally, they began to figuratively (maybe not just figuratively) bounce off the walls. John writes, “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself” (). The crowd was excited. They had the Messiah present with them, and they wanted Him to take control.

It’s possible that even the disciples were swept away in the excitement for Jesus immediately took them to the boats and had them go away, planning to meet up with them later.

Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ()

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ()

His disciples were most likely being driven by their emotions at this point. They would have loved to see Jesus established as King at this point. Jesus senses this excitement and decides to take steps to deter it. He sends the disciples away, sends the crowd away, and goes into the mountain to pray.

Harmonization of the miracle in the gospels. The feeding of the multitude took place on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee near Bethsaida. The Gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus told the disciples to go ahead of Him to Bethsaida () while He sent the crowd away. However, John tells us that “when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum” ().

The most likely scenario is as follows.

1) Jesus senses the need to dismiss the excited crowd.

2) Jesus tells the disciples to leave by boat and meet Him in Bethsaida (; ).

3) Jesus dismisses the crowd and goes into the mountain to pray.

4) His time of prayer potentially takes longer than He was expecting and certainly was longer than His disciples were expecting, and as a result they leave Bethsaida and head towards Capernaum in their boat ().

5) Due to the storm, they end up in the middle of the lake, probably off course from Capernaum. At this point they are 3 to 3.5 miles from Bethsaida and in the middle of the lake ().

France. The disciples’ situation is not, in contrast with 4:37–38, presented as one of danger, but rather of inability to make progress, together with extreme physical effort and discomfort [1]

6) According to Mark, Jesus intends to pass by as He walks on the water, but the disciples see Him and become afraid.

7) Due to their fear, Jesus reveals himself which results in Peter walking with Him on the water.

8) The episode with Peter follows (only in Matthew) and then Jesus is eagerly welcomed into the boat.

9) On entering the boat, the storm ceased (). Jesus clearly displays his divine power and substance in the calming of the sea. Consider a couple Old Testament passages that relegate control and power over the sea to God alone.

By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy ().

You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them ().

10) John alone tells us that as soon as Jesus enters the boat, the boat is immediately at the land. While it’s possible that they “immediately” arrived at the land, it’s also possible that they arrived “at once” or “right away.” They hadn’t made any headway in the storm, but once Jesus arrived and calmed the sea, they were able to move right along and arrive at their destination. While the text could allow for either understanding, only one of them would be miraculous.[2]

11) Mark indicates in his gospel that they end up in Gennesaret ().

Jesus intends to pass by. Why would Jesus “intend to pass by them”? In reading Mark, you would likely get the impression that Jesus was taking the quickest route to the other side of the lake and just so happened to pass by the disciples. Even John offers these few verses as a simple transition to explain how Jesus went from one side of the sea to the other. John clearly emphasizes the feeding of the multitude and the Bread of Life discourse.

France. the clause is best seen not as a statement of what was in Jesus’ mind but of how his approach appeared from the disciples’ point of view: this mysterious figure on the water seemed at first to be making his way past the boat (and thus to be making better progress than they, with all their muscle power, could achieve).[3]

John Gill. That is, he made as though he would (see ). By the course he steered, by the swiftness of his motion, and his seeming negligence of them, it looked as though he intended to have gone by them, and said nothing to them, though this was far from his real design.

Matthew Henry. He would have passed by them, that is, he set his face and steered his course, as if he would have gone further, and took no notice of them; this he did, to awaken them to call to him. Note, Providence, when it is acting designedly and directly for the succour of God’s people, yet sometimes seems as if it were giving them the go-by, and regarded not their case. They thought that he would, but we may be sure that he would not, have passed by them.[4]

Did they worship him or not? How might one explain the seemingly different conclusions of Matthew and Mark? Matthew tells us that the disciples worshipped and acknowledged Jesus as God’s Son (). Mark, on the other hand, tells us that the disciples’ hearts were still hardened (). According to Mark, the disciples had not gained any insight from the feeding of the multitude and still had hard hearts. How can one gospel tell us that the disciples’ hearts were still hard while the other tells us that they worshipped and acknowledge Jesus as God’s Son?

The disciples’ understanding of the Messiah took time to develop. Up to the end of Christ’s life, Peter struggles understanding Christ’s primary purpose in coming. So then, it appears, that Matthew focuses on the disciples’ little steps of faith and Mark emphasizes their lack of knowledge. To use a modern idiom, Matthew saw the glass 1/3 of the way full and Mark saw the glass still 2/3 empty.

The focus of Matthew seems to be on the disciple’s confession of Jesus as “God’s Son.” In the Old Testament it is clearly established that God alone has the power of the sea. Matthew desired to present Jesus as King and what better way to do so than to show the Jews that Jesus accomplished what only God can do.

Mark deals with the hardness of the disciples’ hearts. Jesus miracle of feeding the multitude should have been enough proof of His deity, but neither the feeding nor the miraculous sea encounter was enough to open the disciple’s minds and hearts to the reality of His character.

Concluding exhortation. (1) We would be hard pressed to work through this text without being challenged with the need of personal and private prayer.

The celebrated Haydn was in company with some distinguished persons. The conversation turned on the best means of restoring the mental energies, when exhausted with long and difficult studies. One said he had recourse, in such a case, to a bottle of wine; another, that tie went into company. Haydn being asked what he would do, or did do, said that he retired to his closet and engaged in prayer; and that nothing exerted on his mind a more happy and efficacious influence than prayer.

If Jesus Christ found it needful and advantageous to engage in retired devotion, how much more so must it be for such weak and imperfect creatures as we are? (Biblical Illustrator, Matthew 14:23)

(2) But, with the emphasis in these few verses being on Jesus’ interaction with the disciples on the sea, I want us to pause for a moment and consider Jesus’ approach to this whole scenario.

Jesus leaves them alone in their time of fear and danger. Of the three gospels (that mention this event), Mark is the only author to inform the readers that Jesus was aware of the disciples’ dilemma and didn’t immediately solve their problem.

And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them ().

In so doing, Jesus reveals an ongoing reality. (1) He doesn’t immediately stop all our struggles and suffering. Following the Fall, all the world was left in a stage of suffering and struggling with only periodic glimpses of a coming Savior. After Jesus’ birth, the world waits for 30 years before experiencing any engagement with the Messiah. At Lazarus’ death, Jesus remains at a distance, only to come a few days later. And here, in , Jesus, although aware of the disciples’ arduous and ineffective work, leaves them on the sea to struggle without him. And, I would imagine each of you, at times, feel like either God is oblivious to your struggles or you wonder when he may choose to come and relieve you of them. (2) Just because he doesn’t come when we desire, doesn’t mean he is unaware of your struggles or neglecting your struggles. God delighted in his people long before he was present with them. His heart was with his dear friends and Lazarus prior to his arrival. He left the disciples alone for a time for some purpose, even though we may not know his purpose. And, he allows us to suffer, sometimes under the impression he is unaware. (3) No one has ever waited in vain who has waited on the Lord.[5]

The disciples forge ahead in obedience and confusion. The disciples display a great deal of confusion. As has already been mentioned, while they have a certain level of faith and worship in Christ, they still have a great deal to learn. They’ve been sent away. Jesus has done some amazing things and still doesn’t seem to embrace the role of King. So, what are they to do? (1) They kept on rowing. They did what they were told to do. They simply obeyed. It was late at night. The sea was treacherous. They were confused. But, when in doubt do what Jesus tells you to do. (2) They obeyed together. I would likely be stretching the purpose in the story to dwell too long on this point but let me pause long enough to point out their collective obedience. I speculate, but I’m pretty sure there was some interesting discussions going on prior to their deciding whether to leave or stay, when to leave or stay, if some should stay or all go, etc. As a group, they concluded to do what Jesus had said – even though I’m certain they didn’t really know what was all going on. (3) The presence of Christ delighted and refreshed them. Of course, they were afraid until they realized the “ghost” was Jesus. Once they knew Jesus was present, they rejoiced, most dramatically seen in Peter’s jumping out of the boat and briefly walking on the water.

Purpose Statement. Trust that Christ perfectly times his presence and engagement within the midst of our storm, and as his disciples, continue to walk in our shaky faith.

[1] R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2002), 271.

[2] Friberg, et al. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 178. “εὐθέως an adverb from εὐθύς (straight); at once, immediately, right away”

[2] Friberg, et al. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 178. “εὐθέως an adverb from εὐθύς (straight); at once, immediately, right away”

[3] Richard T France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2002), 272.

[3] Richard T France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2002), 272.

[4] Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume, 1791.

[4] Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume, 1791.

[5] Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator: St. John, vol. 1 (London: James Nisbet & Co., n.d.), 519. Exell offers W. Arnot’s outline in his compilation. This paragraph is in large part a rewording of Arnot.

[5] Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator: St. John, vol. 1 (London: James Nisbet & Co., n.d.), 519. Exell offers W. Arnot’s outline in his compilation. This paragraph is in large part a rewording of Arnot.