Walking on the Water

Setting and Overview
Like the preceding account of Jesus feeding the five thousand, the account of Jesus walking on the water is one of the best-known narratives from the Gospels. Surprisingly, unlike the preceding account, it is not all four Gospels (Luke does not include it.) Also surprising is that Matthew gives us the longest account, a reversal from what we usually see. The length of Matthew’s account, however, does help to underscore its importance, not only because it dramatically demonstrates Jesus’ power and authority, but also because it provides a vivid account of bold faith, but also of the struggle to maintain faith in the midst of literal and figurative storms.

Exposition
Verse 22 connects this passage with the preceding one. Likely because the crowd intended to make Jesus king (John 6:14), Jesus sends the disciples off quickly, disperses the crowd, and then goes off to pray. He is apparently praying for some time, because by the time he finishes, everyone has left and the disciples are on the boat in the middle of the lake. Matthew sets the dramatic scene of Jesus alone and his disciples far away and seemingly in physical danger from a storm on the lake. Matthew then jumps ahead later in the night and rather matter-of-factly, records Jesus walking to them on the water. The disciples, likely tired and stressed, believe it first to be an apparition. Jesus speaks to them to calm their fears and assure them that it is him.
Matthew alone records what happens next. In a surprising act of boldness, Peter asks Jesus to command him to come to Jesus on the water. He does not specify to “walk” on the water, perhaps to demonstrate his submission, reflected as well in the fact that he knows that he can only come on the water if Jesus equips him to obey a command. At Jesus’ command, Peter does indeed get out of the boat and initially walks on the water as well. We don’t know for sure how far he got, but it seems to be far enough to come close to Jesus. At that point, however, his attention is drawn away from Jesus to the still blowing storm. In his fear he cries out for help and Jesus reaches out to grab him by the hand. Jesus admonishes him for his little faith (Matthew 6:30, 8:26) and for doubting. They then go to the boat, and when they reach it, the storm miraculously ceases, reflecting the authority over nature that Jesus has previously demonstrated (Matthew 8:26-27.) Those in the boat respond with worship (Matt 2:2, 4:9-10, 8:2, 9:18), but as we can see from the parallel account in Mark (Mark 6:51-52) their understanding is still limited.
Matthew gives us the aftermath of the incident as well, which will set the stage for the following chapters. They land in the area of Gennesaret, a fertile region south of Capernaum. Jesus is already known there as a healer, and his arrival draws many people to be healed. Those people seek to touch the edge of his cloak (Matthew 9:20), to which he evidently agrees and they are all healed. This helps demonstrate his popularity, the far reach and effectiveness of his healing ministry, and his willingness to mingle among unclean crowds, setting up conflict with the Jewish authorities in the coming chapter.

Examination and Application
While this story is dramatic, uplifting, and triumphant (especially the points on which Matthew focuses), it is also convicting and instructional. While we may look for parallels in our lives for where we should “get out of the boat,” far more clear and relevant parallels should be drawn. Peter only gets out of the boat at the explicit command of Jesus, and the command is for Peter to come to Jesus, something that is always in his will for us (James 4:7-8.) We further see that Jesus’ few words in the narrative are all critical: “Have courage! It is I./Do not be afraid/Come/You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Jesus is calling us to recognize who he is, to see difficulties in light of that, and to obey him in unwavering faith. We struggle with that when we take our eyes off of him. Therefore this passage challenges us to grow in faith and maturity to obedience (Colossians 1:10-12) so that we may carry out the work that is before us (Romans 10:14, Ephesians 4:15-16, Hebrews 13:16, Romans 12:9-21 – among many others.) To do that, we must cast off sin and distractions, focusing only on Jesus as our Lord and also as the perfect example of faith (Hebrews 12:1-3.)