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participants had such aims, it does not look as if that is the way the evangelists
intended it to be understood. With the possible exception of John 6:14–15 (and
even that can be read as a spontaneous reaction to the miracle rather than as
indicating a political motivation for the gathering in the first place), none of the
gospel accounts requires a political interpretation, nor does it appear to be a
conscious determinant in the way they tell the story. What then of Matthew’s
“without women and children”? A simpler explanation is that he is merely
following OT convention: in Exod 12:37 the tally of the people who left Egypt is
given as “six hundred thousand men, besides children,”²⁵ where the term for
“men” is firmly masculine (literally “feet of males”), not inclusive. Such
numberings in the OT are generally of the men rather than of the whole
population, even where no such explicit rider is added. If that is the pattern
Matthew is following,² and if we have no other reason to assume that it was an
exclusively male gathering, the number actually fed must be seen as well over
5,000 (unless only the men received the food, which is hardly likely!), but when
such large numbers are involved it is pedantic to attempt to calculate them; the
traditional term “feeding of the five thousand” serves well enough.
2. Walking on the Water (14:22–33)
²²Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to
the other side, while he himself sent the crowds away. ²³Then, when he had sent
the crowds away, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Well into the
night¹ he remained there alone. ²⁴Meanwhile, the boat was now miles² out from
the land, being buffeted by the waves since the wind was against them. ²⁵But in
the fourth watch of the night Jesus came to them, walking on the lake. ² When
the disciples saw him walking on the lake³ they were terrified and said “It’s a
ghost;” they cried out in fear. ²⁷Jesus spoke to them straightaway: “Don’t worry,”
he said, “it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
²⁸Peter replied, “Lord, if it’s you, give me the order to come to you on the water.”
² “Come on, then,” said Jesus. And Peter got down out of the boat and walked on
the water and came⁴ toward Jesus. ³ But when he saw the strong wind⁵ he
panicked, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹Immediately
Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of Peter, saying, “You faithless man,
why did you doubt?” ³²When they had got into the boat, the wind died away.
³³Then those who were in the boat bowed down before him⁷ and said “Truly you
are the Son of God.”
This incident is also recorded by John immediately after the feeding miracle,
though Luke omits it. The apparently hurried aftermath of the feeding results in
the disciples being out on the lake without Jesus in the boat (contrast 8:23–27),
and it is this temporary separation which provides the setting for Jesus’ coming
independently across the lake. His walking on the water is thus presented, like
the other nature miracles, as a practical response to a difficult situation rather
than as a wonder performed for its own sake. Nor is there such clear indication
here as there was in the case of the stilling of the storm and of the feeding of the
5,000 that Matthew intends his readers to read the incident as a whole
symbolically as an object lesson in faithful discipleship, though this element will
become more evident in the added account of Peter’s experience in vv. 28–32.
Jesus’ walking on water is recorded rather as a spectacular instance of his
supernatural power, which evokes a suitably awed and theologically loaded
response from the disciples (v. 33). Behind their reaction lies the OT imagery of
God walking on or through the sea (Job 9:8; Ps 77:19; Isa 43:16), a potent
symbol of the Creator’s control over the unruly forces of his world.⁸ It thus
follows naturally that when Jesus, like God, walks on the water the storm yields
to his authority.
As with the feeding of the 5,000 all three evangelists go out of their way to
eliminate the sort of rationalistic explanation which some modern scholars have
proposed, such as that Jesus was walking on a hidden reef or sandbank.¹ Not
only is this hardly likely to have impressed fishermen who knew the lake well,
but all the evangelists emphasize that the boat was a long way from the shore.
The lake of Galilee is deep, and there are no such shallows away from the
shores. Matthew’s version throws further doubt on any such naturalistic
explanation, in that he portrays Peter as sinking where Jesus was walking.
Peter’s ill-fated attempt to emulate Jesus occurs only in Matthew. It is here,
rather than in the account of Jesus’ own miracle, that an element of symbolism
seems to be indicated, especially as Peter is specifically chided for his lack of
faith, a common Matthean complaint about disciples (6:30; 8:26; 16:8; 17:20).
The faith which can move mountains (17:20) would have kept Peter safe, if he
had not allowed his obedience to Jesus’ call to be overwhelmed by his very
natural perception of the danger to which he had rashly exposed himself. It is
thus an illustration of the vulnerability of the disciple who allows doubt, the
natural human perspective, to displace the faith which relies on the supernatural
power of God.
It is not so clear, however, whether Matthew intends us to see Peter in this
incident as an example of valid faith which went wrong, or as from the
beginning taking a foolhardy risk either to impress the others or simply in a
childish search for exhilaration. Peter’s motivation for wishing to do as Jesus is
doing is not explained. Jesus appears to endorse Peter’s request (v. 29), and to
imply that had he had sufficient faith it would have succeeded (v. 31), but on the
other hand the eventual failure of the experiment perhaps suggests that Matthew
does not intend it to be taken as a model for others to follow, but rather as a
cautionary tale. Peter’s proposal might be regarded as coming rather too close to
the “testing” of God which is forbidden in 4:5–7. Peter’s leading role among the
Twelve is particularly emphasized in Matthew, especially in this central part of
his narrative (cf. 15:15; 16:17–19; 17:24–27; 18:21, all peculiar to Matthew), but
he does not appear always as a model of true discipleship or an example to be
followed (16:22–23; 26:33–35, 69–75).
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