So much has been written about Jesus walking on the water! Matthew and Mark also record Peter’s response to Jesus, which is often the part we focus on. This gospel story includes a storm, which is relatable on more than one level.
Read John 6:16-19.
- After Jesus fed the multitude, more than five thousand people, he withdrew into the hills by himself.
- While Jesus was away, in the evening the disciples set off across the Sea of Galilee for Capernaum.
- John wrote that Jesus had not yet joined the disciples. He didn’t specify if the disciples expected Jesus before they set sail in a small fishing vessel.
- A squall arose on the lake with strong winds and rough water.
- The disciples had rowed more than three miles, placing them roughly in the middle of the Sea of Galilee.1
- The disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, and they were frightened and terrified.
- A Harmony of the Gospels sheds light on the timing:
- Jesus left the disciples about 6 p.m., and the disciples saw him between 3 am and 6 am the next morning.2
“He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake” (Mark 6:48).
- For 9-12 hours, the disciples battled a storm, and Jesus prayed.2
*Why might the disciples have left without Jesus, to row across the sea in the night?
*Why do you think the disciples reacted with fear?
Read John 16:20-21.
- Jesus told them not to be afraid.
- Then they were willing, glad, to accept him into the boat.3
- Perhaps at first they didn’t recognize him.
- Perhaps they thought he was a spirit.
- Jesus’ joining them resulted in two miracles.2
- Not only did the wind immediately cease, but they also immediately arrived on shore.
“Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down” (Mark 6:51).
- When they willingly received Jesus, he brought them to safety.
- Matthew recorded the disciples’ response.
“Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33).
*How would you respond if you were in the boat with the disciples when Jesus joined them?
*When have you experienced a time when receiving Jesus’ peace brought you to a place of peace and safety, out of the storm?
Read John 6:22-24.
- John recorded the crowd’s interesting reaction.
- They realized only one boat had been there.
- Somehow they knew Jesus hadn’t gotten in the boat with his disciples.
- Zodhiates interpreted John’s remark about the boats from Tiberius as a parenthetical comment.
- The boats landed near the crowd Jesus had fed.
- The crowd realized not only had the disciples left, but Jesus also was no longer there.
- So they all got into the boats from Tiberius and sailed to Capernaum to search for Jesus.
This last part reads like a children’s story, and we don’t know which details might have relevance beyond our perspective.
As I typed in tags for this post, they implied a natural progression: fear, pray, receive, respond, worship.
John seemed to portray the people truly as lost sheep, in search of their shepherd.
A preview, perhaps, of his focus in later chapters on Jesus’ role as our Great Shepherd.
*What would you think if you found yourself on the shore with the crowd the next morning?
*How have you experienced Jesus as your shepherd?
- HolyLandSite.com Ministries. “Jesus Walks on Water, Calms the Sea.” (Salem, OR).
https://www.holylandsite.com/sea-of-galilee-jesus-walks-on-water
- Robert L. Thomas and Stanley N. Gundry. A Harmony of the Gospels. New American Standard. (Moody Press, 1978), 104-105.
- Spiros Zodhiates Th.D., The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament (AMG Publishers, 1992), 727, 908