Jesus Walks on Water / Matthew 14:22-33
Introduction: Insufficiency and the Savior
Well, it is good to see you all this week. If you are a guest with us, as we say just about every week, welcome to The Well. We are so glad that you are here with us. If you have your Bibles, you are going to need them. We are in Matthew 14, starting in verse 22.
If you happen to be new and checking this place out, just so you know what you are getting into, every single week by and large we are going to open the Word and try to ask and answer two very important questions: First, what did this text mean in its original context? And second, what difference does that make for our lives here today?
We are continuing in our series through a twenty-eight-chapter book, the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector from the city of Capernaum whom Jesus called out of his career. He followed Jesus and then penned a gospel, speaking primarily to his Jewish countrymen who were trying to understand if Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
We find ourselves in chapter 14 on the heels of a very familiar text: the feeding of the five thousand. As we saw last week, although the text records that five thousand men were fed, there were most likely fifteen to twenty thousand people present. The crowds had assembled, and the disciples were looking around wondering where these people were going to get enough food. They encouraged Jesus to send them away. Then Jesus made one of the most terrifying statements they had probably ever heard. He said, “No, you give them something to eat.”
Matthew 14:16 (NASB)
But Jesus said to them, ‘They do not need to go away; you give them [something] to eat!’
Previously, in chapter 10, Jesus had sent them out to perform miracles and preach the gospel, but this was unique. This was a pivot point in their ministry. Instead of simply watching Jesus do what Jesus does, they were going to be the ones doing the work while Jesus supported them. No doubt that stirred up insecurity, fear, and a deep sense of insufficiency.
That is where the connection comes to our lives today. I do not know about you, but I do not feel sufficient for what God is calling me to do—and we each have a calling on our lives. I do not feel adequate, and I would venture to guess that if you are gut-level honest, you do not either. Yet it is in that insufficiency, in that inadequacy, in that confession of our inability that we bring whatever we have to Him.
In that passage, the disciples brought their little sack lunch—a couple of loaves and a couple of sardines. They brought those to Jesus, and Jesus multiplied them to feed the people with not just an all-you-can-eat miracle, but an all-you-can-eat miracle with leftovers. If we will take what little we have and in humility come to the Lord with our best—which is not very good, but we bring it all and say, “Lord, I am a C-level person, but here is all of me”—God will use that, multiply it for His glory, and do an incredible thing through us.
The Test on the Sea
It is on the heels of that message—the insufficiency of the disciples bringing what they had to Jesus, and Jesus multiplying it to feed the multitudes—that we arrive at verse 22. Matthew, Mark, and John all include this account immediately following the feeding of the five thousand, which is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. Immediately following that interaction, Jesus gives them a teachable moment. He is asking and answering the question: You had a front-row seat, but did you get it?
In order to test them and see how they would do, we find this scene in verses 22 and following:
Matthew 14:22-33 (NASB)
Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’
Here is the challenge with familiar passages. For some of you who are new to the things of God, you are going to love this text. It is an incredible story with profound life lessons for us today. But for others, this is such a familiar passage that you might tend to glance over it: Yeah, yeah, Peter on the water, keep moving.
If we do that, we miss the fact that this Word is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. When we lean into the Scriptures, what we find is that on the hundredth time reading a passage, the Lord opens up an observation in the text and you think, How did I read that ninety-nine times and never see it?
Whether this text is brand new to you or deeply familiar, let us see what the Lord has for us, starting in verse 22.
Solitude and Communion with the Father
Matthew writes that immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side while He sent the crowds away. There is something unique happening here in the broader context. Matthew does not mention it, but John does. In John chapter 6, after the feeding of the five thousand, the people saw the sign Jesus performed and said, “This is truly the Prophet who was to come into the world.” Perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.
John 6:14-15 (NASB)
Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, ‘This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.
When Jesus fed those twenty thousand people, the crowd thought, This guy is awesome. He needs to be our king right now. They wanted to exalt Jesus to kingship without the cross. But the cross was always the plan. Jesus will indeed reign as King—read Revelation 19; that day of His return will come—but in the gospel account, He had a redemptive work to accomplish on the cross.
Revelation 19:11-16 (NASB)
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it [is] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes [are] a flame of fire, and on His head [are] many diadems; and He has a name written [on Him] which no one knows except Himself. [He is] clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white [and] clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’
There are three reasons why Jesus sent the disciples away. First, it separated them from the temptation of joining the mob trying to crown Him king without the cross. He scurried them away so He could deal with the crowd.
Second, it gave the disciples an opportunity to process what had just occurred. Have you ever had something awesome happen, and then something else happens immediately after, and you completely forget about the first awesome thing? Jesus was saying, “I want you to think about this. What just took place was significant. Get out on the boat where your cell phones will not work, where there is no satellite radio or cable news, and just think about what happened to see if you really got it.”
Third, this was the longest recorded day of ministry in the gospels. Jesus went from crowd to crowd, healing and feeding, healing and feeding. Truthfully, He was exhausted. He needed them to leave so He could be alone.
Verse 23 tells us that after He sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray, and when evening came, He was there alone.
Matthew 14:23 (NASB)
After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
The text stresses this redundancy: He went up by Himself to pray alone. There are no actual mountains in this region, only foothills. He slipped away into the hills to pray, to process, to recover, and to be quiet. Remember, He had just received word that His cousin, John the Baptist, had been beheaded. He was grieving and exhausted from ministry.
We get a few timestamps that frame the scene. Verse 23 says He was there alone when evening came. In Jewish reckoning, “evening” was between mid-afternoon (around 3:00 PM) and sunset. But if you look ahead to verse 25, Jesus does not go out to the disciples until the “fourth watch of the night,” which is between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM.
That begs the question: What was Jesus doing for roughly seven hours alone on the hillside? The text tells us He was praying. We see Jesus pull away to pray repeatedly throughout the Gospels—before choosing the twelve, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and here on the mountain. Perhaps He was praying; perhaps He was sleeping. There is no shame in a good nap—God is glorified in rest. My wife calls it “preapping”—praying and napping together. You pray until you fall asleep.
Whatever the exact breakdown, Jesus was modeling for us what it means to enjoy communion with the Father. God is not glorified in endless, non-stop activity to the detriment of relationship. That is hard for us to grasp because we live in an “all gas, no brakes” culture. Yet here is Jesus saying, “It has been a full day. You all go ahead; I am going to sit on this hillside, enjoy the cool evening breeze, and cultivate intimacy with My Father.”
Jesus practiced what He preached. He consistently withdrew to rest before the Lord. In our hyper-connected world, how many opportunities do you actually have for silence? It almost feels awkward because we are so unused to it. We have earbuds in, podcasts playing, music on in the car, screens everywhere. Very rarely do we simply sit still before the Lord.
Straining at the Oars
Meanwhile, verse 24 tells us what was happening out on the water. The boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves because the wind was against them.
Matthew 14:24 (NASB)
But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.
According to Luke 9, the feeding of the five thousand took place near the fishing village of Bethsaida. John 6 tells us they were heading across to Capernaum. As the crow flies, that is only about three miles. It was a trip these seasoned fishermen had made hundreds of times—like driving from your house to a friend’s house down the street.
Fishing in that culture was not deep-sea fishing. They stayed in shallow water near the shore where their nets could reach the fish. They were uncomfortable in deep water. Yet verse 24 says they were a long distance from the land. John 6:18–19 tells us that a strong wind was blowing and they had rowed about three to four miles.
John 6:18-19 (NASB)
The sea [began] to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened.
A storm had swept in from the north, blowing them straight into the middle of the Sea of Galilee. If you have ever been on a lake in a float tube, closed your eyes for a minute, and woke up near the dam wondering how you drifted so far, you know the feeling. They were far from where they wanted to be.
A few years ago, we were leading a biblical study tour on the Sea of Galilee. Every time I go, I secretly pray for a storm so we can experience what the disciples experienced. For years, nothing happened. Then one year, it was epic. We were out on the water having a great time, and suddenly the boat operators started acting nervous. They were chattering rapidly in Hebrew over the radio. Within minutes, the wind began to howl, and rolling whitecaps formed across the sea. They were literally battening down the hatches, dropping plastic rain curtains, and our group was getting tossed around and seasick. That is how quickly storms generate on the Galilee due to the surrounding geography.
The disciples were in that exact situation, exhausted and uncomfortable. We know from Luke 8 that Jesus has the power to command the winds and the waves to be still. Yet He did not show up until the fourth watch of the night—roughly seven hours after sending them out.
Luke 8:24-25 (NASB)
They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, ‘Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?’
Jesus is sovereign over the storm. He knew what they would encounter, yet He allowed them to strain at the oars for hours, rowing against the wind just to stay in place. I envision Jesus up on the hillside, watching them struggle.
As a parent, whenever I see my children begin to struggle or encounter difficulty, my default instinct is to swoop in and play superhero: Let me rescue you! But often, the best thing a parent can do is allow their child to struggle. Struggle produces growth. Struggle teaches them to trust God. Struggle reveals their boundaries and capacities. In our culture, we crave comfort, ease, and security, and at the first sign of difficulty, we want rescue. Jesus does not work that way.
Walking on the Water
In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.
Matthew 14:25-26 (NASB)
And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear.
When the disciples saw Him walking on the water, they were terrified. They screamed, “It is a ghost!” and cried out in fear.
Mark’s gospel adds a fascinating detail: Mark 6:48 says that seeing them straining at the oars, He came toward them walking on the sea, and He intended to pass by them.
Mark 6:48 (NASB)
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.
I do not think He was initially walking out to rescue them; He was walking across to Capernaum as if to say, “I will meet you guys on the other side.”
These men had just witnessed an incredible miracle of divine provision hours earlier. Did they learn that Jesus was sufficient? Yes. Did they learn that they were insufficient? Yes. Yet hours later, they were still relying entirely on their own strength, exhausted and terrified. When they saw Jesus walking on the water, they cried out. The Greek word used here for “crying out” implies a loud, harsh, unpleasant shriek. This was not a dignified shout; this was grown men ugly-crying in sheer panic.
Immediately, Jesus spoke to them in their fear:
Matthew 14:27 (NASB)
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’
“Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” Instant reassurance, peace, and hope.
Then our boy Peter—who is “ready, fire, aim” all day long—responds in verse 28: “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
Matthew 14:28 (NASB)
Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’
This is the same Peter who, a few chapters later on the Mount of Transfiguration, will see Jesus glorified alongside Moses and Elijah and say, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; let us build three tents!” Peter often spoke before thinking. But remember, in Matthew 10, the disciples had been empowered to heal the sick and cast out demons. Peter had seen the power of Christ firsthand.
So Jesus gives him a one-word invitation: “Come.”
Matthew 14:29 (NASB)
And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
Peter stepped over the edge of the boat, put his feet on the water, and began walking toward Jesus. Can you imagine that moment?
Then we read verse 30, which begins with that dreaded word: but.
Matthew 14:30 (NASB)
But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’
“But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’”
You cannot physically see the wind; you only see its effects. Peter became completely distracted by his surroundings. As long as his eyes were locked on Jesus, he was doing the impossible. The moment he shifted his gaze to the waves and the wind, gravity took over and he began to sink. His prayer was short and desperate: “Lord, save me—and do it now!”
Verse 31 tells us that immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of him.
Matthew 14:31 (NASB)
Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’
Jesus did not say, “Great job trying, Peter! I am so proud of you for getting out of the boat!” Instead, He offered a gentle rebuke: “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Peter had stepped out, focused on Christ, and walked on water. But then he looked at the waves, or perhaps looked down at his own feet and thought, Look at what I am doing! The moment self or circumstance replaced Jesus as the object of his focus, he sank. Jesus asked, “Why did you doubt? I am sufficient.”
When Jesus and Peter climbed into the boat, the wind ceased instantly.
Matthew 14:32-33 (NASB)
When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’
Jesus is not merely a moral teacher dispensing good advice; He is the Lord of creation. The disciples worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
The Slow Work of Discipleship
Did they fully grasp who He was in that moment? Mark’s gospel gives us an honest assessment:
Mark 6:51-52 (NASB)
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.
Mark writes that they were utterly astonished because they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
Even after confessing Him with their mouths, their hearts had not fully caught up. They still did not understand the lesson from seven hours earlier: that their insufficiency brought to His absolute sufficiency is always enough.
Discipleship is a long, arduous, messy process. It is full of one step forward and two steps back. Discipleship is walking alongside broken people and learning that in the storms of life, it is hard to keep our eyes on Jesus. When we take our eyes off Him, we sink. Growth requires patience with one another as we learn to trust Him.
Three Lessons from the Storm
As we reflect on this passage, there are three enduring truths to anchor our lives.
1. God is Sovereign Over the Storms
Some storms in life are caused by our own sin, some by the sins of others against us, and some simply by the brokenness of this world. In those moments, it is easy to assume that God is absent or that our circumstances are bigger than He is. But God is sovereign even over the storm.
Often, God allows storms into our lives to accomplish something in us that peace and tranquility never could. My daughters play volleyball. I do not care much about volleyball itself, but I love that it puts them in high-pressure situations. When the game is on the line, the score is tied, and the ball is in your hand to serve—pressure is a privilege. Learning to handle that pressure prepares them for life. They will face major tests, job decisions, marriage challenges, and parenting struggles. God uses the pressure of storms to build our spiritual resilience.
2. Every Storm Has a Purpose
Scripture teaches us that our trials are not meaningless.
James 1:2-4 (NASB)
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have [its] perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James tells us to consider it joy when we face various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance. Paul writes that our momentary, light afflictions are producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NASB)
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
As I was leaving my house this morning, a dear woman from our church pulled up in my driveway in tears over a painful family situation. As I prayed with her, I was reminded: every storm has a purpose. Cancer has a purpose. Job loss has a purpose. Marital conflict, wayward children, financial strain, and battles with addiction—God can use all of them to strip away our self-reliance and teach us to depend on Him.
My concern for the modern church is that we have become too soft. We panic at the slightest cultural pushback. God allows storms to build spiritual endurance in His people.
3. Fix Your Eyes on Jesus
When the storm hits, we typically drift toward one of two traps. First, we focus entirely on the wind: Look how terrible this is, look at what they did, look at the diagnosis. We magnify the storm and minimize our Savior. The moment Peter looked at the wind, he sank.
Second, we focus on ourselves: I am handling this really well. I am strong. I have this under control. The moment you think you are standing firm on your own strength, Scripture gives a warning:
1 Corinthians 10:12 (NASB)
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.
“Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” When we look at ourselves, we become proud; when we look at the wind, we become fearful. Both lead to sinking.
The only solution is to fix our eyes on Jesus. He is the Lord over the waves. He is sovereign over the storm, every storm has a redemptive purpose, and He alone is able to hold us fast.
Closing Prayer
Let us pray.
Father, we thank You for Your Word that encourages and challenges us. You never promised a life without storms; in fact, storms are inevitable. Yet You use them to strengthen our faith and produce in us what ease never could.
Lord, remind us that You are sovereign over every storm. Give us the grace to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
Hebrews 12:2 (NASB)
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
May we be men and women who, in the middle of the wind and the waves, look to Christ and worship Him as the Son of God. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.