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22 He immediately made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd. 23 Once this was done, he went up a mountain by himself to pray. Since evening had fallen, he was alone there. 24 The boat was already a good distance from the shore and was being tossed by the waves, for the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him doing this, they cried out in fear, for they were troubled and said that he was a ghost. 27 Jesus spoke to them at once, saying, “Take courage! It is me. Do not be afraid.” 28 Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 So he said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw how strong the wind was, he became afraid and began to sink. He cried out saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him up. He said, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 As soon as they got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Those in the boat bowed down before him saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God!”

34 When they had crossed to the other side, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35 When the men of that place recognized who Jesus was, they sent word to the whole surrounding region, and everyone brought their sick to him, 36 begging him to only let them touch the tassel of his cloak. Everyone who touched him was healed.

Comments

The theme of ch. 14-17 is the revelation of Jesus’ divine identity. In both the Feeding of Five Thousand and the Walking on Water, Jesus’ actions mirror those of God in the OT. The Feeding of Five Thousand recalls the divine banquet of Is 25.1-9. This next passage presents Jesus as being able to move on the waters (25) and to calm the turbulent sea (32). This recalls Gen 1 and Ps 74, in which God moves over the waters and brings order to the chaos of the primordial ocean. This identity is further highlighted in 27, when Jesus says “It is me.” The Greek of this passage reads ego eimi, literally I am, recalling the I AM of Ex 3.14.

These two stories are bookended by Jesus healing large numbers of people. He heals the sick in the crowd before the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, and after walking on the water he heals the sick of Gennesaret. In Jesus, God has come to his people to “wipe away the tears from all faces” (Is 25.8).