Context

This post will be focusing on the story of Jesus walking on water, found in Matthew 14:22-33 (this event is also described in Mark 6:45-52, and John 6:15-21). Whenever we interpret a text, context is our best friend. In this case, Matthew 14:13-21 describes what took place immediately before our key study passage. Before we read about Jesus walking on water, we read about Jesus feeding the five thousand.

Jesus feeding the five thousand

The account of Jesus feeding the five thousand is found in all the gospels (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14) highlighting the importance of this event. I like what Craig Bloomberg has to say regarding this event.

Rather, feeding the five thousand—providing bread for Israel in the wilderness—almost certainly was meant to call to people’s minds God’s supernatural feeding of the Israelites with manna in their wilderness wanderings in Moses’ day. Jewish tradition had come to believe that the Messiah would repeat this miracle of abundant provision of food on an even grander scale. The promise of Ps 132:15 and the somewhat similar miracles of 1 Kgs 17:9–16 and 2 Kgs 4:42–44 also provide important background. The collection of twelve baskets (one per apostle?) may well have been intended to call to mind the twelve tribes of Israel. Again we see evidence that Jesus is creating a new Israel out of those who will follow him and foreshadowing the messianic banquet (as also in 22:1–13; 26:29). He must therefore be the Messiah. Applications of this passage must focus on Christology and spiritual sustenance rather than making vague and sometimes false promises about God meeting all our physical needs. John develops precisely this spiritual import of the miracle by placing Jesus’ “Bread of Life” discourse, given in the Capernaum synagogue, shortly after his account of the feeding miracle (John 6:26–59).

- Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 233.

John 6:14-15 also provides us with key information for properly understanding the events that followed the feeding of the five thousand.

Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
- John 6:14-15 NKJV

This context is important because it helps us understand why Matthew 14:22 begins with Jesus immediately making His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side. Jesus was preventing the crowd from making Him king by force. This is something His disciples would also have been interested in and I believe this gives us important context for this study.

Dismissing the multitudes

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.
- Matthew 14:22 NKJV

Jesus is in a hurry to get His disciples on a boat and out of there, then He goes to send the multitudes away. As I mentioned earlier, John 6:14-15 adds some context to this. Jesus noticed the crowd was planning to make Jesus king by force. I imagine the disciples were very excited about this, wouldn’t it be great if Jesus lead the revolution against the Romans? He can heal the sick, He can provide food for everyone… Clearly, Jesus is the Messiah, what better time than now to begin a revolution? But instead of seizing the opportunity and building momentum Jesus made His disciples get into a boat and sent the multitudes away.

Alone time in prayer

And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.
- Matthew 14:23 NKJV

When was the last time you deliberately spent alone time in prayer?

Have you ever chosen to be by yourself so that you could spend time in prayer without any distractions?

Jesus was very intentional about spending time alone in prayer. The timing here however causes me to wonder about several things. I tend to spend time in prayer when I need something, but here Jesus is prioritizing alone time in prayer after a great victory! He had just fed 5,000 men (not counting the women and children who were also fed [Matthew 14:21]). According to John 6:14-15, the men wanted to make Him king! This sounds like a victory to me. So why would Jesus want to spend alone time in payer after a great victory?

I Jesus aware of something that we are not?

Reflecting upon this I am reminded of the story of Elijah (I have a whole post on The Depressed Prophet) and how after his great mountaintop victory, where he prayed and fire came down from heaven (read my post here). Elijah flees and asks to die. It seems that after a great victory, Elijah was very much susceptible to an attack from the enemy.

Could it be that after we experience a spiritual high, a victory that clearly came from God, we become a little careless and therefore more susceptible to temptations?

I cannot say for sure, but I believe there might be something to this. I wonder if it is connected to a temptation to believe that because I have achieved victory, and because this great thing happened, I have already arrived at my desired state and therefore no longer need a deep connection with God. Or perhaps I take that connection for granted and neglect my prayer and devotional time.

Though the reason is not given, the biblical text is clear that Jesus chose to send everyone away and spend quiet time in prayer on the mountain by Himself. This prayer time is so significant that Matthew and Mark refer to Jesus at prayer only here and in Gethsemane—cf. Matt 26:36–46). (Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 234.)

Meanwhile, at the boat…

“But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.”
- Matthew 14:24 NKJV

Mark 6:48 describes the wind as being against the disciples and their boat, and John 6:18 says the sea arose because of the great wind. This contrary wind or storm reminds us of Matthew 8:23-27. Also, the word translated in the New King James Version as “tossed” is βασανίζω (basanizō) literally means torture, torment (Mt 8:6, 29; 14:24; Mk 5:7; 6:48; Lk 8:28; Rev 9:5; 11:10; 12:2; 14:10; 20:10+); (James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997). This same word is used in passages like Matthew 8:6 and Revelation 9:5 referring to demonic hostility against people. It is possible that there is an occult element at work here because the disciples could have easily completed this lake crossing since the lake was approximately four to five miles wide. (Craig Blomberg, 234.)

Let’s recap all that is going on.

Jesus just fed five thousand men, possibly ten to fifteen thousand people altogether. The men are so impressed they want to make Him king by force. Jesus then made His disciples get into the boat and go to the other side while he send the multitudes away. Jesus then goes up the mountain by Himself to pray and stays there until evening. Meanwhile, the disciples are being tormented by a storm.

Imagine the emotional rollercoaster the disciples must have been experiencing. The amazement and excitement of witnessing Jesus feeding a multitude by multiplying five loaves and two fish. The disappointment of being sent away at what seemed like a key opportunity to seize power and public support. Now the disciples are facing a storm. They are probably scared, tired, frustrated, and perhaps angry. While Jesus is praying His disciples are being tormented by the storm, but it is worth highlighting that their boat does not sink, they are not destroyed and no one dies because of the storm, though I bet they experience a lot of stress and anxiety because of the storm.

Jesus goes to His disciples

Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
- Matthew 14:25-26 NKJV

Fourth watch, here’s a brief explanation I found helpful:

The ancient Hebrew world divided the night from sunset to sunrise into three watches (Judg 7:19; Lam 2:19), but the Romans used four (Mt 14:25); and their influence prevailed in the evangelists’ chronologies. Jesus’ approach to the boat therefore occurred between 3:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M.
- D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 344.

Since Jesus finished praying and went to the disciples sometime between 3 and 6 in the morning we know He spend considerable time in prayer. Now He is ready to go to His disciples, however, He does not do so in the way they expect and by approaching His followers in an unexpected way Jesus caused not only surprise but also fear.

“It is a ghost!” The disciples cry out in fear. Like the disciples, we are not very good at discerning what God is doing. We become scared, confused, and unsure of what is from God and what is from the enemy. Here is Jesus coming to them and they are afraid of Him, confusing Him for a ghost.

Do not be afraid

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
- Matthew 14:27 NKJV

Jesus calms the fears of His disciples with three statements.

1 - “Be of good cheer” Θαρσεῖτε tharseite from θαρσέω meaning to have courage. For other places it is used see Matt 9:2, 22; 14:27; Mk 6:50; 10:49; Jn 16:33; Ac 23:11 (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament (Logos Bible Software, 2011).

In Greek, the expression is a single word and another place it is used is John 16:33 where Jesus says,

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
- John 16:33 NKJV

Jesus tells us to be of good cheer not because life is easy, but because we have Him by our side to protect and strengthen us.

2 - Jesus also said to the disciples “It is I.” The original Greek is awkward and clumsy, εἰμι ἐγώ (eimi egō) a literal translation would be “I am.” (Actually it would be “to be” or “to exist”, “I” but that is even more awkward) Now you catch a small glimpse of the struggle of the Bible translators. They can translate “take courage, I am” and it might sound like Jesus is a little sleep deprived and struggling with His sentence structure. So they smooth out the translation by having Jesus say “Take courage, it is I.”

The issue is that when you translate what Jesus said as “It is I” instead of “I am” you miss something that I am sure the disciples caught. Jesus was making a reference to Exodus 3:14 (see also Isa 43:10; 51:12) where Moses asks God for His name and God replies “I am.” The Greek sentence structure is odd because it is a Hebrew phrase spoken in Greek, it is not simply Jesus saying “It is I,” This is Jesus saying I am God! Jesus is claiming He is God, the God who spoke to Moses from the burning bush, the God who delivered Israel from Egypt is not there to deliver them from that storm and not only that, He came to deliver us from our sins.

3 - Finally Jesus said to them “do not be afraid.” I love what C. E. B. Cranfield, wrote regarding this.

“If it is a result of obedience to Christ’s command that the church or the individual Christian is in a situation of danger or distress, then there is no need to fear.”
- C. E. B. Cranfield, The Gospel according to St. Mark, 3rd ed., CGTC (Cambridge: University Press, 1977), 228.

Jesus told His disciples to get into the boat and go to the other side therefore the disciples do not have to be afraid, they just need to trust that the same Jesus to told them to go will make sure they arrive safely at their destination. When we are doing what Jesus commanded us to do, we have nothing to fear.

Another quote I really like comes from the book Christ’s Object Lessons.

As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings.
– Christ’s Object Lessons p333

Command me to come to you

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
- Mathew 14:28-29NKJV

Peter replies to Jesus with a unique and unexpected request. Peter asks Jesus to command him to come to Jesus in the water. Why would Peter ask for this?

This question from Peter has been bouncing around in my mind for a while. For me, this request emphasizes the idea that Jesus enables us to do that which He commands us to do.

The Bible names 12 disciples (Matthew 10:2-4,Mark 3:13-19,Luke 6:12-19) but only Peter walked on water. It is not that Peter was better than the others, it was just that Peter was the only one interested in doing something extraordinary at God’s command. While everyone simply wanted the storm to end, Peter wanted to walk on water with Jesus. While everyone was afraid Peter was asking Jesus to command him to do something extraordinary.

Does our fear and lack of faith keep us from doing what God is commanding us to do?

Is it my fear that keeps me from being honest?

Is it my fear and anxiety that keep me bound to my addiction?

Is it my fear that keeps me from being humble?

Is it my fear that keeps me from loving others? From caring and helping those who are in need?

Does my fear keep me as a mere spectator, when God is calling me to be actively involved in blessing those around me?

What happens when we begin to think about what God calls us to do, as things that God enables us to do?

I get to rest on the Sabbath day.

I get to be honest.

I get to be faithful to my spouse.

I get to forgive and even love my enemies.

I get to not steal.

Peter wanted Jesus to command him to come because Peter knew that with the command Jesus would also provide the power to achieve it.

Our faith walk with God is not about our abilities, it is about God’s abilities. It is not about our power, it is about God’s power.

Remember the words of 2 Corinthians 12:9a

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Keep your eyes on Jesus

But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
- Matthew 14:30 NKJV

We can never forget that we are only able to do what God commands us to do because He enables us.

 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
- Philippians 2:13 NKJV

We must never think we can do it on our own by our own strength and personal discipline. Because if it is up to us, we will always fall short. Also whenever our focus is taken away from Jesus we are in danger of sinking. Peter becomes distracted, worried, and overwhelmed by the strong winds and waves. When his focus shifted from Jesus to the situation around him he began to sink. But Peter was quick to ask Jesus for help.

Jesus spent many hours in prayer earlier, and it is crucial to spend time in prayer. However, in times of great need, quick prayers make all the difference in the world.

Just be careful about the entirety of your prayer life being made up of short desperate prayers.

Why do you doubt?

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
- Matthew 14:31-32 NKJV

Why do we doubt?

Why did Peter doubt?

He saw Jesus walking on the sea. Peter walked on the sea himself. Why did he doubt if he was doing what God called him to do?

Peter doubted because his focus shifted from Jesus and what Jesus commanded him to do and what he was doing by Jesus’ power to the boisterous winds of the storm raging about him.

When we allow the worries of the world around us to fill our minds, and when we spend more time concerned about politics and other things that are beyond our control instead of looking to Jesus and considering what He is asking us to do we can find ourselves sinking. I am not saying you need to stop watching the news and get off social media, but just be honest with yourself and consider the dosage and the effects.

How much time do you spend considering spiritual and eternal truths compared to the time and effort you spend looking at the boisterous winds blowing all around you?

I am not saying it is easy. I am not even saying I always have the proper balance, but I do believe it is important to understand this truth. What we choose to focus on, what we watch, read, and listen to, shapes our reality, hijacks our focus, and molds our thoughts.

When you choose what to watch, what music to listen to, and who to follow on social media, you are choosing your future thoughts. I am not here to tell you what to consume, but I do want to make you aware of the impact it has on your life and on your destiny. God enables you to do what He calls you to do. But you can only do it in Jesus, and never on your own.

The Son of God

Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
- Matthew 14:33 NKJV

In case you didn’t know this, Jesus is the Son of God. There is no room for doubt regarding this in the Bible. It is up to you whether or not you wish to believe this. But if you wish to walk on water regardless of the storm raging around you, I invite you to belive in Jesus, not only that but for you to give your life to Him, and take His invitation to walk with Him. Focus on Him and everything will be okay. I am not saying it will be easy, I am saying it will work out in the end. Not because of your efforts and abilities, but because Jesus is our Lord and Savior and He enables us to do that which He commands us to do.

For additional reading, I recommend The Desire of Ages chapter 40 - A Night on the Lake