Biblical Narrative
In the New Testament narrative, this episode appears in the gospels of Matthew (14:22-33), Mark (6:45-52), and John (6:16-21). This episode is distinct from the Calming the storm episode which also involves a ship on the lake but takes place much earlier in the gospel narratives. In all three gospels this episode follows the narrative of the feeding of the 5000, where Jesus had withdrawn by ship to a desert place "belonging to" Bethsaida after hearing of the death of John the Baptist, but was followed by the crowds on foot.
In all three accounts, during the evening the disciples got into a ship to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, without Jesus who went up the mountain to pray alone. John alone specifies they were headed "toward Capernaum". During the journey on the sea the disciples were distressed by wind and waves, but saw Jesus walking towards them on the sea. John alone specified that they were 25 or 30 furlongs away from their departure point. The disciples were startled to see Jesus, but he asked them not to be afraid. In John and Mark's accounts Jesus then got in the ship.
Only Matthew's account mentions Peter asking to come unto the Lord on the water. After Peter came out of the ship and walked on the water, he became afraid of the storm and began to sink. He called out to Jesus for help. Jesus caught him and reproved him for his lack of faith, and led him back to the ship whereupon the storm stopped. Also in Matthew the astounded disciples called Jesus the Son of God.
In all three accounts, after Jesus got into the ship the wind ceased and they reached the shore. Only John's account has their ship immediately reach the shore. Matthew and Mark's accounts end at this point, but John continues to narrate the events of the next day, when the crowd of the five thousand came to Capernaum and asked Jesus how he had crossed over, having seen the disciples leave without him. Jesus did not answer that question, but told the crowd that they followed him not because they had seen signs, but because of the free loaves they had eaten the day before, and advised them not to seek earthly gains, but aim for a life based on higher spiritual values. In John's account this discussion about the loaves then led to the Bread of Life Discourse about "true bread" from heaven.
This episode took place towards the end of the Ministry of Jesus in Galilee before the key turning points half way through the gospel narratives where Peter proclaimed Jesus as Christ and saw the Transfiguration. After those events Jesus began his final journey to Jerusalem.
For a direct comparison of the three New Testament accounts, please see the concordance table in the section below.
Read more about this topic: Jesus' Walk On Water
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“Yet poetry, though the last and finest result, is a natural fruit. As naturally as the oak bears an acorn, and the vine a gourd, man bears a poem, either spoken or done. It is the chief and most memorable success, for history is but a prose narrative of poetic deeds.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)