Jesus Walks on the Sea

Matthew 14:22–36

From Exegetical Commentary on Matthew, AMG Publishers, 2006

Before we move on to the miraculous event of walking on water, we need to interject a comment found in John 6:15, “Jesus, therefore, having known (gnoús, the aorist participle of ginōskō [1097], to know by experience) that they would come and take Him by force (harpázein, the present infinitive of harpázō [726], to suddenly and forcefully take away) to make Him a king, departed again into a mountain by Himself " (a.t.).

This event followed the feeding of the five thousand, but it did not hinder Jesus from continuing to perform miracles, confident as He was that “His hour” was “not yet” (John 7:30; 8:20). This would occur only at the parousía (3952), His return and subsequent personal presence in glory.

Nevertheless, the crowds in Bethsaida were feverish enough now to “snatch away” (harpázein) Jesus in order to make Him king. The aorist tense of poiéō ([4160], to make) underscores their determination to do this once for all. The verb is used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 to describe the unrestrained catching away of the church at Jesus’ Second Coming.

[22] The text does not tell us how Jesus “constrained (ēnágkasen, the aorist tense of anagkázō [315], to compel) His disciples to get into a ship,” but it apparently was a countermeasure against the crowd’s attempt to snatch Him away. It makes sense that the disciples, of all people, would be sympathetic with the crowd’s attempt to force Christ’s kingdom prematurely.

Both Matthew’s and Mark’s narratives say “a” ship, but the Greek text has the definite article (tó, the) for no apparent reason. Nothing had been said about a particular boat. To take all the disciples, however, it must have been fairly large. Jesus planned to have all of them witness His suspension of one of His laws—gravity. In the meantime, His purpose in sending the disciples ahead “unto the other side” seemed to be His need to be alone with the Father.

[23] Jesus’ intention “to pray (proseúxasthai, the aorist middle deponent infinitive of proseúchomai [4336] from prós [4314], toward; and eúchomai [2172], to express a wish) in [His] own private place” (a.t.) was realized after He ascended the mountain. He was now “alone”, and evening “was come”. The imperfect verb ēn (from eimí [1510], to be) implies He had been there for a while.

Regretfully, we do not know the content of this prayer, but we do know that Jesus frequently thanked His Father (Matt. 11:25; Luke 10:21; John 11:41) and requested certain things from Him.

[24] By the time Jesus had descended the mountain from His private place, we read, “The ship was (ēn) now (ēdē [2235], also translated “already”) in the midst of the sea, tossed (basanizómenon, the present participle of basanízō [928], to buffet, toss, torment) with waves: for the wind was contrary (enantíos [1727] from en [1722], in, and antíos [n.f.], set against). What follows is a classic test of faith for the disciples. Already having commanded them to the other side, Jesus would surely secure their safe arrival. Yet the disciples’ faith collapsed under the weight of wind and tide.

[25] Jesus appeared to the disciples during the fourth “watch” (phulakē [5438], guard, implying the normal dangers on the waters). The first watch was probably 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.; the second, 9 p.m. – midnight; the third, midnight – 3 a.m.; and the fourth, 3 a.m. – dawn. In addition to surging seas and violent winds, the disciples had to contend with darkness.

While the text does not say, Jesus probably had been praying from late afternoon through the night up to this appearance of “walking (peripatōn, the present participle of peripatéō [4043], to walk, to come) on the sea.”

[26] This was an unprecedented sight; no prophet in the history of Israel had ever walked on water. When the disciples saw this, “they were troubled (etaráchthēsan, the aorist passive tense of tarássō [5015], to disturb, agitate, trouble), saying, It is a spirit (phántasma [5326] from phantázō [5324], to make appear; an apparition, specter, phantom); and they cried out for fear.” This was their best guess; surely, no man could walk on water. Mark adds (6:49) that they “supposed” (édoxan, the aorist of dokéō [1380], to assume, conjecture) they were looking at a spiritual essence as opposed to a weighty object.

[27] But Jesus gave them a good reason to be brave—His presence: “But straightway (euthús [2112], immediately) Jesus spake unto them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer (tharseíte, the present active imperative of tharséō [2293], to take courage, embolden) it is I; be not afraid (phobeísthe, the present middle/passive imperative of phobéomai [5399], to fear).’” In sovereign grace, the Lord cuts off false thinking “immediately.” When we are driven by storms into the abyss of fear, He quickly speaks to our hearts, “Be not afraid.”

[28] Peter certainly became emboldened rather quickly. “Lord, if (ei [1487], the “if” of supposition) it is You, command me to come toward (prós) You on the water”(a.t.). We cannot infer from this statement the content of Peter’s doubt. If we stop with the clause, “if it is You,” then clearly he doubted the presence of the Lord. On the other hand, if we assign the entire supposition/conclusion—“if . . . then”—to conjecture, Peter may be doubting the morality of his demand. After all, even if it were the Lord, why should He honor such a request?

[29] Yet the gracious Jesus, under no necessity as God or man, immediately responds, “Come” (elthé, the aorist imperative of érchomai [2064], to come). The aorist tense foretells the impending crisis. The Lord decreed an event that would fail in contrast with His own “walking on the sea” (the present participle) in verse 25. Accordingly, for a moment Peter “walked on (epí [1909], on the surface of) the water and came toward Jesus” (nasb).

[30] The moment was short-lived. Though to his credit, Peter got within an arm’s length of Jesus (see v. 31), the “strength” (ischurón [2478]) of the wind distracted him from the One known as “the Strength” (Ho Ischurós; LXX Neh. 1:5; 9:32). Peter initially obeyed the Lord’s decree to “be not afraid,” but when he was caught up in the midst of danger, he, “became afraid and, beginning to sink (katapontízesthai, the present passive infinitive of katapontízomai [2670] from katá [2596], down; and pontízomai [n.f.], to sink, no doubt related to póntos [4195], the sea), he cried, ‘Lord  (Kúrie [2962], master, sovereign), save (sōsōn, the aorist imperative of sōzō [4982], to save) me’”(a.t.).

This is what happens when we move our spiritual eyes from the Lord to the storm, from the Creator to the creation. Despite his lapse of faith, Peter still believed enough in the power of the Lord to call upon Him. The verb sōzō here is contextually restricted to physical rescue. Jesus physically helped him back into the boat.

The Lord is free to respond or not respond to an imperative, such as the one Peter blurted out when he was afraid. We should never presumptuously assume that the Lord is mechanically moved by meritorious faith or prayer, a notion consistently denied by Scripture: “Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings” (Mic. 3:4; see Prov. 1:28, 29; Isa. 59:2). If the Lord chooses to save the desperate, He does so out of a pure grace that spites self-centeredness.

[31] We do not know how far Jesus was from the boat, but we can deduce that Peter “walked” to within His reach because the Lord, “ having stretched out His hand, caught (epelábeto, the aorist middle deponent indicative of epilambánō [1949], to take hold of) him, and said to him, O you of little faith (oligópiste, the vocative of the adjective oligópistos [3640] from olígos [3641], little; and pístis [4102], trust), why did you doubt?” (a.t.). Jesus is not speaking of saving faith in His atonement here but rather faith in His power to rescue from a specific threat, namely drowning. The Lord did not dismiss Peter as wholly ápistos ([571], without faith).

Then Jesus asked, “Wherefore (eis [1519], unto; tí [5101], what; therefore, ‘unto what end,’ ‘for what purpose,’ ‘why’) didst thou doubt (edístasas, the aorist tense of distázō [1365], to hesitate)?” As Peter was walking toward Jesus, fear overcame him, and he hesitated to continue on. Since he had no real need to walk on water, his request was unnecessary and foolish. We, too, should carefully consider our requests of God. As the only wise God (Rom. 16:27), the Lord knows what is best. When we ask God to do foolish things, we test Him (James 1:13) and become offensive (Matt. 4:6).

Jesus knew why Peter hesitated; but occasionally, He asked His followers questions, not to get information of which He was ignorant but to make them understand the consequences of unbelief. From Peter’s experience, we learn that it is not enough to trust God’s sovereignty in general. We must trust the Lord’s sovereignty over the details of life, always reminding ourselves that He has numbered our hairs and not a single sparrow falls to the ground without His sovereign will (Matt. 10:29, 30).

[32] “When they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.” This event is also found in the synoptic Gospel of Mark (6:45–52). Yet in an earlier event (Matt. 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–41), the Lord rebuked the wind and the waves, prompting the viewers to ask, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41). Here in Matthew 14:32, however, the Lord didn’t even bother with a verbal rebuke; we read, “When they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.” This time, the disciples’ response was not a quizzical, “What manner of man is this?” but a confessional: “Thou art the Son of God.”

[33] The response to this miracle was worship: “Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped (prosekúnēsan, the aorist tense of proskunéō [4352], to bow and kiss towards) Him, saying, ‘Of a truth (alēthōs [230], the adverb of the adjective alēthēs [227], truthful; from alētheia [225], truth) thou art the Son of God.”

The next section gives us an idea of what common people thought of Jesus after He fed the five thousand and walked on water.

[34] How the disciples and others came across the lake is discussed in John 6:22–25. Once in the land of “Gennesaret” and possibly in the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus preached His sermon on the Bread of Life (John 6:32–59).

The Sea of Galilee is also called the Lake of Gennesaret, and the small crescent-shaped strip of country on the northwest side of the Sea is called the land or region of Gennesaret (Matt. 14:34; Mark 6:53). It extends along the lake for three or four miles and inland a mile or more where it is shut in by the hills. The plain was formerly rich and fruitful, possibly the scene portrayed in the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:1–8). Three important cities in this region are Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin. The feeding of the five thousand occurred in Bethsaida.

[35, 36] When the men of this region, “learned (epignóntes, the aorist active participle of epiginōskō [1921], to experientially know) about Jesus, they brought to Him all (pántas, the plural of pás [3756], all) having (échontes, the present participle of échō [2192], to have) it badly (kakōs [2560], bad; the full range of spiritual and bodily weaknesses and diseases)” (a.t.).

Interestingly, their faith in the Person of Jesus Christ was so complete that it extended to touching His clothing. Our Lord honored this faith. The pure holiness of the Son of God sanctified even “the hem of His garment,” for, “as many as touched (hápsontai, the aorist middle subjunctive of háptomai [680], to touch) were made perfectly whole (diesōthēsan, the aorist passive of diasōzō [1295] from diá [1223], through, thoroughly; and sōzō).”

In a similar incident, Mark records that when a woman merely touched Jesus’ clothes and was healed, the Lord “knew in Himself that power had gone out of Him” (Mark 5:30; a.t.).

The Greek word translated “as many” (hósoi, the masculine pronoun of hósos [3745]) restricts the number who touched Him but not the number healed. Everyone who touched was healed, but the text does not say that everyone touched Him. Those who touched had faith in His power to save, and “they were saved through and through” (diesōthēsan).

Dr. Spiros Zodhiates (1922-2009) served as president of AMG International in Chattanooga, Tenn. for over 30 years, was the founding editor of Pulpit Helps Magazine, and authored dozens of exegetical books.