Walking on the Water
47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 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. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
Do you notice that little phrase ‘Later that day..’? These are fast moving events and we need to look for the context. The phrase isn’t there by accident. It’s all too easy to talk about the story of ‘walking on the water’ which is, let’s be honest, pretty extraordinary, whilst missing the point that it’s part of a much wider sequence of supernatural events. We see Jesus walking on water and we’re immediately distracted by the question, did he really do that and if he did, how did he do it?
‘This,’ says William Barclay, ‘is a story which is shrouded in mystery and defies explanation (i)’
We have seen that after first sending the disciples back across the Lake by boat and then dismissing the crowd of more than 5,000 people, Jesus went up alone on the mountainside to pray. We are starting to see the pattern that at times of crisis, Peter (who was the source for Mark’s Gospel) noticed that Jesus made time to be with God. It seems that in the early hours of the morning, Jesus looked out across the Lake from that mountainside and saw the disciples, who should struggling to make headway against the wind. The direction and force of the wind was such that they could not use the sails, and so they had no choice but to row. Their oars were little more than wooden poles. With the wind against them, rowing was very hard work and progress was slow. Jesus sees their predicament and doesn’t ignore their struggle. He walks down the mountain and then, as only Jesus could, he walks straight out across the lake. It seems that his intention was to pass the disciples by (v8), but of course they see this apparition of a man walking on the sea and they are terrified. Jesus speaks to reassure them, then climbs into the boat. As if all of the above was not enough, the head wind immediately drops away. We can read that and compeletely miss that for the second time, Jesus calms a storm. (I want to point out that it is only in Matthew’s account that Peter tries to walk on the water).
Here’s the wider context. Jesus calmed the storm (Mark 4:35-41). Jesus fed 5000 men (plus perhaps the same number of women and children) (Mark 6:34-44). Each of these extraordinary miracles demonstrates Christ’s ability to override and control the laws of nature. He now once more defies our understanding of the natural laws by walking on the water, and at the same moment calm a storm. This is supernatural stuff. Even these men who have lived so closely with Jesus and been witness to so many awesome events, and have even performed miracles themselves, can’t get their head around this.
I know (because I’ve been reading the Gospels) that these twelve men, chosen to be Apostles, are in awe of Jesus, but in spite of their experience, they have still not grasped who Jesus really is. I’ve noticed that we are much the same. We can read this account and be so distracted by the ‘how did he do that’ that we overlook the obvious – this is Jesus. This is Immanuel – God with us. He is God – He can just do it!
I’ve learned that, like the disciples and all the Saints of every generation, however much we might experience God’s grace, power and influence in our lives, he can still take us by surprise. The Holy Spirit can and does still act super-naturally. He is not constrained by natural laws. These verses are a great example from which we need to learn. He can always do more – much more – than we anticipate.
In this scene, the disciples were soaked through, exhausted and at the end of their tether. They must have been utterly demoralised. Jesus, in the most astonishing and unexpected way, provided them with all that they needed and more. That’s the way he works.
Lord – take us by surprise and give us the grace and humility to notice when you do!
20 God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us.’ Ephesians 3:20
William Barclay, Daily Study Bible, Mark (Kindle Edition) Loc 3335