… Jesus went to them walking on the sea. Mathew 14:25

In  Matthew’s account of Jesus walking  on the sea, the emphasis seems to be on Peter who wants to go to Jesus on the water, but sinks into the waves. Jesus saves Peter but rebukes him for lacking faith. It seems curious that the Gospel writer includes two separate incidents of a storm on the Sea of Galilee threatening the disciples. Since nothing in the Bible is contradictory or superfluous through  the Holy Spirits’ inspiration and guidance, there must be more to the story.

The Lord had had another exhausting day with the multitude who followed Him from the cities. They were tired and so was He, but nevertheless,

He was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick.

 Taking great pity on the gathered crowd, Jesus then performed one of his greatest miracles, feeding  the  five thousand men, (not counting their wives and children) with five loaves of bread and  two fish. When all the people were  filled, 12 baskets were left  over. By nighttime Jesus was exhausted. He commanded the disciples to go before Him to the other side of the sea. He spent the rest of the night in prayer – until the fourth watch, which is around 3:00  a.m.

Meanwhile, the disciples were struggling to get across the Sea of Galilee. Because of an unforeseen storm which tossed their boats with contrary winds, they’d only gone about half way across the sea, just a few miles.  Despite their expertise as fishermen and experience on  the sea, they were in peril. So far the story has many similarities to Matthew 8:23-27, except in this incident Jesus is not asleep in the boat.  Jesus goes out to them,  walking on the water.

The  scene  is not how it’s often portrayed by artists –  Jesus  walks on shallow waves, the water like blue glass, His feet barely skimming the surface. He is almost removed from the brute physicality of it.  The reality, according to Matthew is that there was a violent storm going on, like a tsunami being birthed. The waves were cresting, frothing and falling several feet high over the boat. As the wind howled, the water rushed over the gunwales of the boat, soaking and swamping seaworthy men who were terrified. Disaster movies such as “The Perfect Storm”,  “The Finest Hour” and “The Guardian” give insights into what   this Galilean storm might have been like. There’s a harrowing scene in “The Guardian” where one of the rescue swimmers  hangs from a helicopter line over  raging waters, trying to locate a person in the darkness below. The only light is from the helicopter’s moving spotlights. Sky and water are pitch black.  The waters swallow up the night. Suddenly, the rescue swimmer lets go and drops into open water as if into the  maw of an angry beast and begins his rescue.

 It is on such a sea that Jesus walked out to the disciples. There’s nothing placid or serene  in the text.  As they saw Him approach He must have risen high with the waves and then fallen from sight into the churning troughs – only to reappear in the next swell.  Fearfully, they believed He was a ghost. Who was this man Jesus?  This Jesus came to them after an intense night of prayer with the Father. This Jesus is  the Lord of the Sea walking  toward them, untouched by  elements.  He is mystery, divine  power and authority. They were catching a glimpse of the Jesus of Revelation.  However, this Jesus is also the Son of God who  identifies Himself to his  frightened friends out of compassion.   “Be of good cheer. It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

We know the rest of the story,  how Peter  went out of the boat to Jesus but sank when he saw the waves. We shouldn’t  be too  hard on impetuous  Peter. After all, he stepped into the watery maelstrom, toward the One he loved with all his heart, onto huge waves that crested and fell and pulled him downward into the depths. That took great courage. It must have been pitch dark at that 4^th watch hour with no light on the water. When he saw the wind was too strong and that he lost sight of the Lord, his human courage failed him.  Scripture says that Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Peter.  Psalm 18 declares of God:  

He reached from on high and took hold of me; He took me out of deep waters.

The stormy waters of 2020 have been  some of the worst in my lifetime. This years’ waves and winds are named: pandemics, lockdowns, political chaos, violence, persecution, government over reaches, reopening schools or not, uncertainty of the future after the election, etc., etc.  The list grows crazier every day.  They’ve caused  fear, anxiety and  turbulent emotions in even the bravest, most  faithful Christian hearts. One moment  we ride the crests and see the face of Christ; the next we get sucked downward, as Peter did, can’t seem to find Him anywhere and panic. Save me, Lord!  But, Hallelujah! We serve a God who always hears us no matter how weakly  we whisper prayers for  help. For Psalm 18 continues,

He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.…17

There was no storm powerful enough to stop Jesus from walking out to his disciples. So too, He still comes to rescue us from every foe. If I could paint Matthew 14: 26-32, it would not be an idealized Biblical seascape at all but one which captures this incident’s harrowing intensity. If I were an artist, I’d depict Jesus as Lord of the Seas, almighty yet tender, omnipresent but as close as a rescue swimmer; omniscient yet always understanding our frailty. If I could, I’d portray Him as the shining Light of John’s Gospel and would not fear.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:5