23

Jesus Walks on Water
(Mark 6:45–56)

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened. When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. When they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, and ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to the place they heard He was. Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured. (6:45–56)

The remarkable events recorded in this section immediately followed the miraculous creation of a meal for tens of thousands of people on the northeastern side of the Sea of Galilee (cf. Mark 6:33–44). With divine precision, Jesus created just enough food for the massive crowd to be satisfied, and the leftovers filled exactly twelve baskets, one for each of the apostles. The visible magnitude of that supernatural display dramatically demonstrated both the power and compassion of the Son of God—divine attributes that continually characterized the ministry of Jesus.

With the creation of the meal, Jesus reached the peak of His popularity. He had ministered all through Galilee for more than a year, preaching and performing countless miracles. He also extended His ministry by authorizing the twelve apostles to proclaim the gospel message and to exhibit the power He had delegated to them. As a result, the word about Him swept throughout the region, even reaching the ears of Herod Antipas who nervously feared that Jesus might be John the Baptist, whom he beheaded, back from the dead.

Herod had reason to be concerned. When Jesus miraculously created food from nothing and with no apparent effort, the crowd responded with a euphoric attempt to crown Him king (cf. John 6:14–15). They hoped He would overthrow Herod and the Romans, and usher in the millennial kingdom with power and provision like He had displayed. The people’s enthusiasm was misguided; their interests were merely material and temporal. Jesus’ message, by contrast, focused on truths that were heavenly and eternal. He insisted on a spiritual transformation, not a political revolution (cf. John 18:36). Though He will one day return to establish His kingdom on earth (cf. Rev. 20:1–6) and fulfill all that the prophets predicted about the glories of His reign, such was not the goal of His first coming (cf. Mark 10:45; Luke 19:10).

The Gospels indicate that the apostles generally shared the messianic expectations of the people. They undoubtedly expected Jesus to overthrow Israel’s enemies and establish the messianic kingdom headquartered in Jerusalem, in which they would sit to the right and left of His royal throne (cf. Matt. 19:28; Mark 10:37; Luke 22:30). Yet there was a key distinction between the apostles and the unbelieving crowds. When Jesus’ ministry did not fit their preconceptions about the Messiah, the populace rejected Him and later called for His death. Even many of His followers forsook Him (cf. John 6:66). The apostles, by contrast, continued to believe. As He watched the crowds leave and disciples defect, just a day after miraculously feeding them, “Jesus said to the twelve, ‘You do not want to go away also, do you?’ Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God’” (John 6:67–69). Clearly, unlike the crowds, they looked beyond the physical to “eternal life.”

Peter’s monumental confession raises an important question: What catalyst convinced the Twelve to believe in Jesus when so many others rejected Him? He had created bread and fish to feed thousands the day before. Yet, most of those who experienced that miracle rejected Him. Immediately after the event, even the disciples who remained with Him “had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened” (Mark 6:52). Their rapid transformation in thinking must have had a powerful cause. The apostles alone experienced the astounding incident recorded in this section (vv. 45–56), which was the catalyst by which they first acknowledged Jesus to be the Son of God (cf. Matt. 14:33). The wondrous event can be divided into three scenes: Jesus’ private intercession with the Father, His powerful intervention for the Twelve; and His personal interaction with the crowds. In each scene, the Lord Jesus Christ occupies center stage.

PRIVATE INTERCESSION WITH THE FATHER

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. (6:45–46)

Hopeful jubilation had swept over the crowd after Jesus miraculously created the meal (cf. Mark 6:33–44). Knowing that even the Twelve were susceptible to the politically charged fervor of the people, immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat. Made is from the Greek anagkazō, meaning “to force” or “to insist.” Undoubtedly, they would have wished to stay and bask in the popularity of the moment, but the Lord gave them no choice. He commanded them to depart by boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida.

Some scholars have wondered what Mark meant, since John 6:17 explains that their intended destination was Capernaum. Two proposed and reasonable solutions merit consideration. First, some have suggested that there were two different villages named Bethsaida. Because the name means “house of fish,” it is possible that more than one fishing village near the lake claimed that title. Those who hold this view differentiate between “Bethsaida Julius,” located on the northeastern side of the Sea of Galilee, and “Bethsaida of Galilee,” which they assert was located on the western side of the lake near Capernaum (cf. John 12:21). According to this view, the meal for the crowd took place near Bethsaida Julius. Upon leaving that area, the disciples sailed toward Bethsaida of Galilee and neighboring Capernaum. A second, perhaps less convincing, solution asserts that there was only one village named Bethsaida (i.e., Bethsaida Julius), based mainly on a lack of archaeological evidence for a second village by that same name. According to this view, the feeding of the five thousand took place in a remote location southeast of Bethsaida (cf. Mark 6:35). When Jesus commanded the disciples to go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, He was actually instructing them to cross the lake by traveling “toward Bethsaida,” meaning west. (The Greek proposition pros [translated as to] can mean “to,” “toward,” or “with regard to.”) As they sailed to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, they would have initially gone toward Bethsaida, eventually passing it on their way. (It may be that Jesus intended them to follow the shoreline as they traversed the lake, thereby sailing near the village. Bethsaida is part of the larger Plain of Bethsaida that stretches for about three miles along the northern edge of the Sea of Galilee.)

After instructing the disciples to depart, Jesus Himself was sending the crowd away. Dispersing tens of thousands of people, held captive by the miraculous, would not have been an easy task, humanly speaking. Yet, in the same way He sovereignly ordered them to sit in groups of fifty and one hundred (cf. vv. 39–40), the Lord exercised divine authority over the crowd and the people complied. Though they enthusiastically wanted to make Him king to suit their own ends, He dismissed them without an argument. As for the people, John 6:22–24 implies they did not travel far. Apparently spending the night in the nearby countryside, they awoke the next morning and returned to the place where Jesus had fed them, only to discover He was no longer there.

The crowd may have been clamoring for a public revolution, but Jesus longed for a time of private intercession with His heavenly Father. Thus, after bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. At the beginning of His ministry, Satan had tempted Jesus with the offer of “all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory” (Matt. 4:8–9). Perhaps, in the wake of the crowd’s enthusiasm, Jesus again faced the temptation to bypass the cross and claim an earthly throne immediately. But that was not the Father’s will—a point Jesus reiterated the next day when He again addressed the crowds in Capernaum: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38; cf. Mark 14:36; John 4:34; 5:19). With no interest in the superficial, emotional exuberance expressed by the people, the Lord retreated to a place of private prayer, as He often did (cf. Matt. 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; 22:41–44).

Jesus’ prayer that evening undoubtedly included a time of petition for His disciples. Knowing what they were about to experience, He entrusted them into the hands of His Father. Surely, as He did on other occasions (cf. Luke 22:32; John 17:6–26), Jesus asked the Father to grant them true, enduring faith. The Father answered that prayer in a mighty way, granting them faith in response to an unparalleled wonder.

POWERFUL INTERVENTION FOR THE TWELVE

When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened. (6:47–52)

The phrase when it was evening refers to the second evening of the day, between six and nine o’clock at night. Jesus had fed the multitudes earlier, during the first evening (cf. Matt. 14:15), which lasted from three to six. By now, the sun was down and dusk had turned to darkness. With each passing hour, the distance between the disciples and Jesus widened. They were in the boat, which was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. Due to the sudden eruption of a terrifying storm, what normally would have been a routine lake crossing had become a treacherous journey. Violent winds (John 6:18) propelled crushing waves that battered the boat (Matt. 14:24). (For more on the fierce storms that sometimes arose on the Sea of Galilee, see chapter 16 in this volume.) Earlier, the disciples had experienced a similar tempest, but Jesus had been with them on that occasion (cf. Mark 4:37–41). This time they were by themselves.

As noted above, Jesus had remained behind to pray, retreating to a nearby mountain to find solitude in order to commune with His Father. Though His disciples were alone by themselves and miles away, they were never outside the reach of His divine protection. In a clear demonstration of divine omniscience, Jesus saw them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them. The Lord, aware of their predicament even before it happened, remained in control of the situation at every moment. Both the tempest and the Twelve were in His hands. Though He was too far away to physically see the boat through the stormy darkness, Jesus always knew their precise location. The omniscience of God is unlimited in its scope and universal in its sight. As Proverbs 15:3 declares, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.” Job reiterated that truth when he asked, “Does He [the Lord] not see my ways and number all my steps?” (Job 31:4; cf. Jer. 16:17). Second Chronicles 16:9 states that “the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth” (cf. Zech. 4:10). And the author of Hebrews echoes that reality in these words: “There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13). Even a stormy sea cannot obscure the clarity of God’s omniscient gaze. As David famously asked the Lord, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me” (Ps. 139:7, 9–10). The omniscient Son of God had not abandoned His disciples to the storm. He knew exactly where they were and how He would deliver them.

That the disciples were straining at the oars indicates they were working feverishly to survive. At least four of the disciples (and perhaps as many as seven) were experienced fishermen on that lake, and only an extreme storm would have given them such difficulty. Due to the conditions, a trip that normally would have lasted only an hour or two had become an all-night struggle to keep themselves from drowning. Mark indicates that it was about the fourth watch of the night when Jesus finally came to help them (cf. Matt. 14:25). The Romans divided the night into four watches. The first was from six to nine; the second, from nine to midnight; the third, from midnight to three in the morning; and the fourth, from three to six. The disciples, who had left before nine o’clock the previous evening, were still on the lake in the hours just before dawn. In all of that time, probably about nine hours, they had been able to row only a few miles as they were thwarted by the strong squall (cf. John 6:19).

The situation seemed desperate, even hopeless, when Jesus sovereignly intervened. He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. Out of the darkness, in the midst of the howling winds and splashing waves, Jesus moved to the disciples walking on the sea. The Creator of the waters and the wind set foot upon the choppy surface as if it were hard as stone and smooth as glass, making His way to them in their hour of despair. The phrase He intended to pass by them can be easily misunderstood and would be better translated as “He desired to come alongside them.” The Lord knew exactly where they were and He walked on the lake until He arrived alongside their boat.

Understandably, the disciples were shocked when they saw Him walking on the sea. No doubt the night of utter exhaustion and constant struggle added to their confusion, and since they could not believe their eyes nor recognize who it was, they panicked and supposed that it was a ghost. The word ghost (in Greek phantasma), from which the English words “phantom” and “phantasm” are derived, refers to an apparition or imaginary specter. Popular first-century superstition purported that spirits of the night brought disaster, and the disciples assumed the worst. After hours of yelling at each other in the midst of the storm, they were so startled that in spite of their tired voices, they shrieked in horror. As Mark explains, they cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. The word terrified (a form of the Greek verb tarassō) means “to throw into a panic” or “to strike with dread.” They had already been afraid of the storm; seeing a figure walk toward them on the water propelled their fear to even higher levels of intensity.

In an attempt to dismiss this miracle, some unbelieving critics have alleged that Jesus was merely walking along the shore, and not on the surface of the lake. That interpretation of the text is untenable for several reasons. First, the boat was miles from the shore, making it impossible for the disciples to have seen Jesus through the stormy darkness. Matthew 14:24 literally says that they were “many stadia” from land; a stadion measured approximately an eighth of a mile. Second, the disciples would not have been gripped with fear if they had merely seen someone walking along the shoreline. No experienced fisherman would be fooled into thinking a bystander on land was actually walking on water. Third, if Jesus were standing on the shore, Peter would not have started sinking when he got out of the boat (cf. Matt. 14:30). After all, Peter stepped out in the same place that Jesus was walking (v. 31), and the water there was deep enough for a grown man to drown. As with all of His miracles, Jesus’ walking on the water demonstrated His deity. Because He is the Creator of the universe (cf. John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2), He not only controls the wind and the waves (cf. Mark 4:41), He walks upon them.

Graciously, the Lord did not allow the disciples’ terror to last. Immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” The command take courage (from the Greek verb tharseō) means “to be brave” or “to be of good cheer.” It is used by Jesus to call His people to depend on Him as the source of their confidence, even in the midst of impossible circumstances (cf. Matt. 9:2, 22; 14:27; Mark 10:49; John 16:33; Acts 23:11). In the midst of the chaos and confusion, they recognized the voice of the Lord Jesus calling to them.

The phrase it is I could literally be translated, “I AM.” Not only did that statement identify the speaker as Jesus, it also reflected the self-revelation of God found in the Old Testament (cf. Ex. 3:14). Jesus not only demonstrated His deity through His supernatural power, He also claimed to be God with the words that He spoke (cf. John 5:18; 8:58; 10:30, 33). Realizing it was Jesus, the disciples’ fear turned to relief. Matthew records that Peter, in a moment of exuberance, spoke up and said to Jesus:

Peter’s faltering faith was representative of all the disciples and exemplified the reason this miracle was necessary, to strengthen their faith. Though Jesus’ rebuke was singularly directed at Peter, it fittingly applied to the entire group. That the Lord graciously reached out His hand and rescued Peter, in spite of Peter’s doubts, is a wonderful picture of the way in which He graciously helps His own in their hour of need in spite of their weaknesses (cf. Heb. 13:6). (Scholars sometimes wonder why Mark did not include the episode about Peter in his account. It may be that, because Mark wrote his gospel under Peter’s influence, and because Peter was a humble man who wanted the focus to be on Christ and not him, Mark intentionally omitted those details. Whatever the explanation, the ultimate answer is that the Holy Spirit only inspired Matthew to include that feature.)

After rescuing Peter, the Lord got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished. The disciples had seen Jesus walking on water and instantaneously calming a fierce storm. They had even watched Peter stand on the surface of the lake. After all that, at the moment Jesus entered the boat, the fierce winds instantly vanished and the storm was gone. Having served its divinely appointed purpose, the tempest disappeared. In that same instant, Jesus miraculously propelled the boat to its destination on the western shore. As John 6:21 reports, “Immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” One moment, they were battling a raging storm in the middle of the lake; the next, the wind and waves were calm and the boat had arrived at the shore. Understandably, the disciples responded with shock. The word astonished comes from the Greek word existēmi, meaning “to be beside oneself.” The miracle they had just experienced blew their minds.

According to Matthew 14:33, the response of the disciples turned to worship: “Those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’” They recognized that they were in the presence of the Creator (cf. Job 26:14), the One who controls the winds and the waves (cf. Mark 4:41). Perhaps their minds were flooded with Old Testament passages like Psalm 77:19 (NKJV), “Your way is in the sea. Your path is in the great waters and Your footsteps were not known.” They may have remembered the words of Habakkuk 3:15, “You walked through the sea with your horses, through the great heap of waters.” Or maybe they thought about Job 9:8 (NKJV), “He treads on the waves of the sea.”

In their worship, the disciples’ astonishment transcended the mere fascination of the crowds. Many people were amazed by Jesus (Matt. 7:28; 12:23; 22:33; Mark 1:22; 9:15; Luke 2:47; 4:32; 11:14; John 7:46), but few truly worshiped Him. The disciples had begun to understand the truth His miracles had pointed to all along: that He was the Messiah, the Son of God (cf. Mark 1:1). That recognition drove them to their knees as they willingly confessed the theological reality expressed throughout the New Testament, namely, “that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:11).

Worship should have been the disciples’ response earlier, when Jesus miraculously fed the crowd of tens of thousands of people. But, instead of falling down in reverence, they apparently allowed themselves to get caught up in the enthusiasm of the crowd. This appearance of Jesus on the water was therefore necessary in order to strengthen their faith, because they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened. Due to their own spiritual dullness, the disciples had missed the true significance of that earlier display of divine creative power. Safe on the shore in the presence of their almighty Savior, they were convinced of His deity and fell on their knees in adoration and praise.

PERSONAL INTERACTION WITH THE CROWDS

When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. When they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, and ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to the place they heard He was. Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured. (6:53–56)

The account of Jesus’ walking on the water contains far more than a single miracle. First, it was preceded by the supernatural feeding of the thousands (vv. 33–44). Second, Jesus omnisciently saw the disciples in the midst of the storm (v. 48). Third, He suspended gravity by walking on the surface of the tempestuous lake (v. 48). Fourth, He enabled Peter to walk on water (cf. Matt. 14:29). Fifth, as soon as He entered the boat, the wind stopped and the storm evaporated (Mark 6:51). Sixth, the boat was immediately transported to the shore (John 6:21). And finally, after reaching land, Jesus began to heal the sick who were brought to Him (Mark 6:53–55). Overwhelmed by the wonder of it all, the disciples responded in the worshipful recognition that their Master was the Son of God.

Mark continues his account by noting that when they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. The plain of Gennesaret lay to the southwest of Capernaum. As noted earlier, John 6:17 indicates that the disciples were crossing the lake toward Capernaum; yet, they landed at Gennesaret. Critics sometimes claim that this represents a discrepancy in the gospel accounts. In reality, it does not. Though the disciples may have originally intended to go directly to Capernaum, the Lord supernaturally and instantaneously placed their boat at Gennesaret. They had undoubtedly drifted off course due to the strong winds, which explains why their boat was no longer headed toward their original destination. Storm or no storm, they landed exactly where Jesus wanted them to be. The close proximity of Capernaum and Gennesaret meant that Jesus and the disciples easily walked to Capernaum after they got out of the boat. Capernaum was their ultimate destination, and it was there, in the synagogue, that Jesus preached His sermon on the bread of life (cf. John 6:24, 59).

Once onshore, immediately the people recognized Him, and ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to the place they heard He was. As Jesus and the disciples walked from Gennesaret to Capernaum, the Lord continued to show compassion to needy people, both along the way and once He finally arrived in Capernaum. The gospel of John picks up the story at that point, filling in the details of what Jesus preached in Capernaum that day (cf. John 6:26–58). Mark’s account, however, zooms out and provides a final summary of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured. Everywhere He went, Jesus mercifully healed all the sick who were brought to Him. His healing power had no limits and His loving-kindness no boundaries. He personally and graciously cared for all who sought Him. Like the woman in Mark 5:28–29, desperate people suffering from all sorts of incurable diseases and disabilities were healed simply by touching the fringe of His cloak. The display, scope, and intent of His matchless power, from the creation of a massive meal to the calming of a violent storm to the healing of countless infirmities, was accompanied by the demonstration of His expansive divine compassion.

Though many who experienced His miracles would never come to embrace Him in genuine saving faith, true believers, like the disciples in the boat, move beyond mere amazement to the place of sincere worship. As did the apostle John on the isle of Patmos, they fall on their faces before the Son of God, paying homage to