Matthew 14:22-36

Who Is This Jesus?

Matthew 14:22-23     Jesus Prays on the Mountain

Matthew continued to follow the order of Mark’s narrative.  The following incident had already been heavily theologised by the time Mark included it in his Gospel.  Matthew carried the trend even further.

Earlier in the narrative [8:18,23-28], the other side had come to refer to Gentile territory.  The image of boat at sea, heading towards Gentile territory, had come to symbolise the institutional Church as it reached out beyond its comfort zone to include Gentile members.  The earlier journey to the other side had been stormy and frightening.  The Church’s inclusion of Gentiles had occasioned argument, and led to its gradual ostracism from mainstream Judaism.  Little wonder that Jesus had to make the disciples get into the boat.

Matthew was concerned, not with details of a past event, but with the current experience of his Christian community (and of the Church at every moment of its history).

Unlike Luke, Matthew rarely mentioned the personal prayer of Jesus.  But this part of the narrative was important.  Jesus put himself explicitly in intimate connection with the heart of his God.  

Mountains were significant for Matthew, not for their geographical location, but for their symbolic value.  The convenient mountain contained echoes of Moses’ mountaintop encounters with the God of Sinai, the God who was faithful to his suffering Hebrew people, the God who had revealed to Moses the name “I am” (which Jesus would soon use of himself [v.27]).

Matthew 14:24-33     Jesus Walks on the Water

Matthew chose an image not used by Mark.  He said, literally, that the boat was “tortured”, or “tormented”, by the waves.  (The word had occurred previously, and was used by evil spirits exorcised by Jesus:  What have we in common, man of God? Have you come here before the time torture us ? [8:29]; in other Jewish writings, it had been use to refer to political torture and oppression).  Matthew had in mind the profound torment confronting believers in his community.

Whatever about Matthew’s community and its encounters in darkness with contrary winds and storms, across the centuries, the Church has encountered its problems as, in the dark and out of its depth, it has faced new situations, new cultures, challenges and questions.  In the midst of the storms of life, many Christians have felt the apparent absence and unconcern of Christ.  That felt absence of Christ is precisely the context for genuinely integrating and deepening faith.

The fourth watch of the night was the last watch of the night that lasted through to the early morning.  That had been the time when God had liberated the fleeing Hebrew slaves from their oppression under Pharaoh, going before them and leading them across the water.

Jesus had let them battle alone in the dark.  Only when it was early in the morning did he approach them – and his coming terrified them!  The unexpected and uncharacteristic presence of Christ could be more threatening even than his absence!

The early community’s theologising continued.  The imagery had strong Scriptural precedents, with references to the creating and liberating presence and action of Yahweh.

Job had referred to the creating God

The Psalmist had sung of the liberating God, who had led the fleeing Hebrew slaves across the Sea of Reeds and out of the clutches of the Egyptian Empire:

Speaking of the same liberating event, Isaiah had seen it symbolising an even greater event soon to happen in his day – the liberation of the deported and captive Jews from the oppression of the Babylonian Empire.  God would use Jesus to lead the whole world to freedom.

The phrase, It is I, translates literally “I am”, and was the “name” of the liberating God, introduced in the Book of Exodus:

Jews chose never to use the actual Hebrew word translated as "I am" or "I am who I am".  They preferred instead to substitute the word "Lord" whenever the original Hebrew word occurred.  

The story moved into a new mode.  It became, even more clearly, the story of the early community of believers, who, in the light of Jesus’ resurrection, could address him as Lord.

What point did Matthew wish to make by his dialogue between Peter and Jesus – to highlight Peter’s impetuous faith? or his uncertainty seeking assurance? The incident and dialogue echoed closely the challenge made to Jesus by the devil in another wilderness: 

Perhaps Matthew intended to suggest that the devil, who tempted Jesus to challenge his God, now tempted Peter to challenge Jesus.  In Peter’s case the temptation would come, not from absence of faith, but from immature and confused faith.

If that be the case, why, then, did Jesus respond to Peter’s challenge? Characteristically, Jesus accepts people at their actual level of faith and personal development in order to lead them, through experience and further reflection, to deeper and more enlightened faith.

Like the rest of the story in which it was inserted, this passage was highly theologised.  The imagery was drawn largely from the Psalms:

The same language echoed in the prayer of Psalm 144:

Peter’s little faith was evidenced in his challenge to Jesus, before ever it took shape in his fear of the wind and the waves.  Yet, for Jesus, asking for a sign, and panicking at the reality of wind and water, were both instances of little faith.  

Inner peace is possible, even in the midst of chaos.  Matthew was more generous than Mark in his assessment of the disciples’ faith, expressed so clearly in their exclamation.  They may have noted his claim to be “I am”.  Certainly, Matthew intended his small community to take note of it.

Mark had concluded the incident with the disciples profoundly astounded, but failing to see its significance and to move to faith.  Matthew used the story to clarify the identity of Jesus.  He had the disciples make their deeply felt act of faith in Jesus.  They had drawn the right conclusion from the Scriptural allusions: they worshipped Jesus as the Son of God.  The act of faith would anticipate the same profession of faith to be made soon afterwards by Peter [16:16].

Walking on Water

Matthew 14:34-36     Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

The journey to the other side did not eventuate.  They landed at Gennesaret, in Galilean territory.

Matthew had prefaced the recent actions of Jesus by noting how he had felt strongly moved for them and healed their weaknesses [14:19].  Not only had he fed the crowds, but he saved them as well.  This concluding reference to Jesus’ saving activity served to highlight, and to round off, the incidents they framed.

Next >> Matthew 15:1-20