When Jesus Walked on the Water
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During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:25-27).
The story of Jesus walking on the water is told in three of the Gospels. Matthew 14, Mark 6, and John 6. Jesus did walk on the water, much to the surprise of his disciples, but this fact is perhaps the least significant part of the events that happened around this time.
The story begins just after Jesus had finished dividing five loaves of bread and two fishes into more than enough food for five thousand people to eat and be filled. After this, “Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray” (Matthew 14:22-23).
Jesus specifically ‘made’ the disciples get into the boat and travel ahead of him, while he stayed behind, seemingly to dismiss the crowd. The disciples were sent out from Jesus’s physical presence, told to go ahead of him to the other shore in a boat which he had put them in, effectively sending them into the soon to be tempestuous seas without him.
If we turn to the author of Mark’s account at this point we read the following, “When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them” (Mark 6:47-49).
The wind was really getting up now and as a result the disciples were struggling to keep the boat going where it was supposed to go. What is really interesting here though is that the book of Mark tells us not just that they are struggling, but that Jesus sees them struggling. This means that Jesus has not just sent them out into a developing storm on their own, without him physically present, he has also kept an eye on them – now that is encouraging!
Just as in the book of Matthew’s account, the author of Mark now tells us about Jesus walking out onto the water near the disciple’s boat. “About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them…” (Mark 6:48).
It may be subjective but Mark’s account reads like there is no hurry between Jesus seeing the disciples in difficulty and his walking out to where they are, in fact the way the passage reads it could almost imply that there was a deliberate delay between Jesus seeing the disciple’s struggling and Jesus walking out toward them. I say this because the author of Mark doesn’t really link the two events together as much as simply note that at some stage before going out on the lake Jesus had seen the disciples struggling at the oars.
The author of Mark, again like that of Matthew, tells us that Jesus went out to the disciples, so it seems safe to assume that they are the reason he went out on the water, however, the book of Mark tells us something more; that Jesus was about to walk past them! Jesus did not seem to have any intention of stopping and getting into the boat, at least not in the mind of the author of Mark when they were authoring this passage. The reason for this is not specifically stated, but could it be that Jesus expected the sight of him would be enough to encourage the disciples? This would seem to me to be a reasonable assumption, especially when considering that the disciples had just seen a great miracle of provision performed by Christ when he fed the five thousand (this divine provision of food happened immediately before they got into the boat). Then to see Jesus walking on the water performing another miracle, would that not stir their faith to believe he was capable of calming the storm or at least be able to protect them as they sailed through it?
However, instead… “when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified” (Mark 49-50). This reaction by the disciples seems somewhat astounding when one considers the timing and context of the event. We have already mentioned that the author of Mark records Jesus walking out on the water as following the feeding of the five thousand, but this former miraculous event itself had almost directly followed the disciple’s own return from their successful mission to exercise authority over demonic powers!
What the book of Mark is actually telling us here then is that very shortly after having profound firsthand personal experiences of the power of God in their lives, the disciples were filled with fear at the prospect of seeing the very same demonic powers they had recently had victory over!
The tiredness of rowing and the apparent desperateness of the situation seems to have completely changed their perspective. The Son of God himself was walking near them but their fear, induced by the immediate difficulties they were facing, caused them to mistake their merciful Lord for a malevolent spirit. So we see here how easy it is to mistake God’s presence in our lives for something altogether different, and how easy it is to forget the power that is available to us through our relationship with Christ the Son of God when we let fear overwhelm us.
The account of this incident in the book of John is more varied than that found in the pages of Matthew and Mark, “When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading” (John 6:16-21).
This passage in John reveals that the ultimate destination of the disciples was Capernaum. Like the authors of Matthew and Mark, the author of John records the unfavourable weather but he adds to it an estimation of how far the boat was from the shore. If indeed the author of John is the beloved disciple, the fact that the only gospel author who is a fisherman, and is therefore used to traveling on the water, gives his estimation of distance as three to four miles out from the shore lends strength to the observation that Jesus was walking on top of the water, not wading in the shallows.
Jesus, exhortation to the disciples: “It is I; don’t be afraid” (John 6:20), is present in all three of the Gospel accounts we have read so far, a reminder that when we are close to our Lord we need not be afraid. In the books of Matthew and Mark, Jesus is also recorded as saying, “Take courage” (Mark 6:50). This reminds us that exercising faith in Christ sometimes requires us to be courageous in difficult situations. Peter is certainly courageous as he heads out onto the water in response to Christ’s call.
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:28-31).
Of the three Gospels only the book of Matthew relates Peter’s experience of walking on the water, albeit for a short period of time. Peter upon hearing that it is Jesus responds by asking Jesus to call Peter to him. It may sound likes there is some doubt in Peter’s question, but more importantly there is some hope! Peter may not be sure that it is Jesus, but he does know that if it is Jesus, he can bring Peter to him safely, across the tempestuous waters. Jesus responds and Peter obeys, at first walking on the water.
Unfortunately Peter becomes distracted, from the hope of his Lord Jesus. He is distracted by the blowing of the wind, and the choppiness of the waves. Disorientated by the dangers around him, Peter begins to sink in the water. Jesus reaches out his hand and rescues Peter while chastising him for allowing doubt to overcome him. This incident highlights the intrinsic relationship between faith and the miraculous, but it also highlights the inverse, how fear can negate the miraculous.
The books of Matthew and Mark tell us that Jesus then climbed into the boat and the storm abated immediately. The author of John provides some extra detail here by stating that the disciples were ‘willing’ to take Jesus into the boat, illustrating that the disciples had to choose to let Jesus come in, before the situation was resolved. Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading (John 6:21). While the passages in Matthew and Mark tell of the storm abating, the recount of these events in John tells us the boat immediately reached the other shore. After all the disciples own hard work to get to their destination they were still stuck in the middle of the stormy sea, Jesus however, brought them to land instantly, with little more than their acceptance of the presence of the Son of God.
The author of Mark elaborates on the disciples reaction to Jesus being able to calm the storm so easily when he says that the disciples, “were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:51-52).
What had they not understood? Well it seems firstly that they had not understood the power of Jesus and secondly the power that Jesus had given them as his disciples. The author of Matthew clarifies this further by telling us how the people in the boat (the disciples) started to worship Jesus and declare that he ‘truly’ was the Son of God. It is as if even the disciples did not really understand until that moment that this was not just a powerful prophet, but the Son of God himself come into their presence.
Interestingly the place Jesus took them to was not the disciples intended destination, but Gennesaret, which was even further round the North Western shore of the Sea of Galilee than Capernaum. The miracles just keep flowing in this story. We find out next that this miraculous method of travel brought Jesus and his disciples to a place where people both needed and welcomed the Son of God’s healing power into their midst.
When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognised Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went – into villages, towns or countryside – they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed (Mark 6:53-56).
Here the author of Mark, like that of Matthew, tells of what happened at the traveller’s destination. How the people in Gennesaret recognised Jesus and in response brought their sick to him for him to heal them. Mark tells us that Jesus went about the place into villages, towns, and the countryside and on the way people were brought to him and he healed them. Interestingly these two accounts do not talk of Jesus reaching out, so much as people reaching out to him. Jesus did go to the places, but rather than Jesus initiating the contact that led to healing, the people in those places initiated it. The sick reached out to Jesus and touched him, and in this instance all who touched him were healed, even those who only touched the edge of his cloak!
The author of John gives us a different perspective as he focuses, not on the people who were where Jesus went, but on the people who were left in the location from which Jesus and the disciples had departed. “The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realised that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realised that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus” (John 6:22-24).
This passage in John tells us how the people on the side of the lake where the story started had stayed in place. It seems they were waiting for Jesus to return from praying, but when morning came they discovered he was not there. These people had seen that Jesus did not get into the boat with the disciples and they also knew that there was only one boat on the shore the previous evening. So they were puzzled, but they thought they knew where Jesus might have slipped away to. When some boats arrived from Tiberias, the people got into the boats and went in search of Jesus. They went to Capernaum, possibly because they knew that Jesus spent a lot of time ministering in Capernaum, or possibly, because they had overheard where the disciples were going and planned to ask them where Jesus was. However, they soon discovered that Jesus was not in Capernaum and neither were his disciples.
To fully understand what was happening for the people left behind we must look back to what happened immediately following the feeding of the five thousand. The book of John records that, “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself (John 6:15).”
The people who Jesus miraculously fed thought they would make him their king by force. They probably believed that they had found a person who could restore the authority and independence of the nation state of Israel, freeing them from the overlordship of the Roman Empire. Jesus however withdrew from them and went up the mountain to be alone. This information, recorded in John, allows another possible reason for Jesus placing the disciples in the boat: by ensuring the disciples got into the boat and left, Jesus may have been removing them from a dangerous situation. The strong winds, and any consequent fierce seas, encountered were probably much smaller threats than an angry crowd. A crowd who may have blamed the disciples for whisking away their prize figure head.
For the people who were fed, and from whom Jesus slipped away, the story of Jesus walking on water was a tale of loss. They were fed by the Son of God, but they lost their chance to have real communion with him by trying to impose their own collective will and desires on him. Jesus had something greater to offer them than the provision of food, it was even greater than their national freedom, but they missed it because they were so focused on using Jesus’ gifts to get them out of their current situation. The people of Gennesaret on the other hand had their lives transformed, because they didn’t want to change Jesus’ course. These people simply wanted the Son of God to touch their lives and make them whole.
The people of Gennesaret saw the transforming power of God in their own lives and in their time of need because they believed in the one God sent to them. Jesus confirmed this when the people who had been to Capernaum looking for him finally caught up with him, and wanted to know how they could do the work of God. To them… Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29).
A school leader and founder of Faith With Wisdom, Daniel lives in New Zealand and studied at the Bethlehem Institute, Sydney College of Divinities, and Alphacrucis Australia. He enjoys spending time with family, building models, reading, and outdoor activities, especially walking on the beach.