Jesus' Walk On Water

Jesus' Walk On Water

Jesus' walks on water, or Jesus walking on water, is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels. Accounts of the miracle appear in three Gospels: Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52 and John 6:16-21.

The story tells how, following the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus sent the disciples by boat to the other side of Lake Galilee while he remained behind, alone, to pray. Night fell, the wind rose, and the boat became caught in a storm. In the midst of the storm and the darkness the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea. They were frightened, thinking they were seeing a spirit, but Jesus told them not to be afraid, they were reassured. Jesus calmed the storm and entered the boat, and they went on to the shore. According to a detail found only in Matthew, Peter walked out onto the water towards Jesus, but he became afraid and began to sink, and Jesus rescued him.

Christian teachings consider the episode a miracle intended to show the importance of faith, and the control of Jesus over nature. Biblical scholars view the episode as instrumental in asserting the divinity of Jesus among early Christians. In this view, the episode's demonstration that God the Father is willing to share divine power with his son Jesus impacted the affirmation of the belief in the divinity of Jesus in the Christian ecumenical creeds.

Critical scholars do not share the traditional Christian perspective, some stating that it was not miraculous and that the disciples saw Jesus walking on the shore, but were confused by darkness. Others regard the story as an example of creative symbolism, or a pious legend. George Young considers the story as fantastic art which should be analyzed by literary-critical methods.