Matthew 14.22-33

Some notes—and these are not comprehensive and do not prohibit arguments for alternative readings—afterhaving read through the exegetical summaries by MGVH:

1)Just because Jesus walked on the water does not mean, “Jesus is God.” At best, the disciples conclude that he is “Son of God.” It is a very big difference to say that “Jesus is the Son of God” as compared to saying “Jesus is God.” This still leaves unresolved why the disciples would have come to that particular conclusion. (Note that this does not prove that Jesus is the Messiah.) Frankly, I am not sure. The OT references I have cited offer some hints, but they certainly are not conclusive. My best guess at this point is that Matthew associates the “Son of God” title with the ability to do things humans cannot normally do. The way to argue this is to note the uses of the Son of God title in Matthew. The temptation scene in ch. 4 and the crucifixion scene in ch. 27 both use the title in contexts where Jesus is asked to do something miraculous.

2)Be very precise about your language and attentive to small details in the text.

  1. Nowhere does the text say, “Keep your eye on Jesus.” That might make for a catchy (and perhaps legitimate) preaching refrain, but it simply is not in the text.
  2. “Fear” is an important issue, but note carefully the causes of the fear. The disciples are in the boat, but there is no indication that they are in any jeopardy. The boat is “tormented,” and the wind is against them, but they are not in danger of drowning. What initially terrifies the disciples is a ghost = Jesus himself! After Peter gets out of the boat, it is the “strong wind” (not anything like ‘mountainous waves’-don’t over glamorize the text!) that causes his fear.

3)Do not even assume that Peter’s getting out of the boat is a good thing!

  1. Jesus “compelled” the disciples to embark (ἐμβαινω) in v. 22. It is Peter’s idea to disembark (καταβαινω) in v. 29. Note the Greek wordplay!
  2. Peter is testing Jesus. This does not sound like a good thing to do. Jesus resisted this kind of temptation in ch. 4, so it seems like a bad thing to do here. At best, one can argue that Jesus does yield to Peter’s demand (and note that it is a command) here because he ultimately turns it into a testing of Peter.
  3. Peter’s failure here foreshadows his later denials.
  4. Outreach and mission are not going to happen by everyone getting out of the boat and walking on water. More faithful to this text is the recognition that the boat is crossing over to new mission territory.

4)Do not turn this text into exhortation! The text is not encouraging disciples to jump out of the boat and walk on the water. It is not necessarily bad theology to encourage believers to walk in faithful confidence, but I do not think this is the text to use to make that argument. In fact, I think it is a better argument to make from Matthew that the point is to stay in the boat! When Jesus is in the boat, there is calm. It is with Jesus in the boat that appropriate worship of him as Son of God occurs.

5)Socio-historical criticism is not about issues of historicity (the kind of storms on the Sea of Galilee, the kind of boats they used, how capable the disciples were as sailors, etc.) nor about matters of historical setting (when, where, and by whom the Gospel was written). Instead it has to do with cultural-social-historical concepts that a first century reader held that would cause them to hear this account differently than we do. When they thought of the “sea,” did they think vacation resort or chaos? The disciples feared that Jesus was a “ghost.” What did this mean to them? Was this storm of wind that “tormented” the boat a sign of demonic activity? Note how such realities change one’s perception of the story.

6)This text does not talk about how Jesus is with us in the storms and trials of daily life. The sea and the wind are evidence of chaos and the forces of evil. (IMPORTANT: Note that there is no “storm” in this story, and the disciples are not afraid of the sea or the wind or the waves. The only thing they are afraid of is Jesus!) The text declares the Good News of Jesus’ power over these forces. Do not minimize it so that the text becomes the encouraging news of how Jesus will help you through a bad day.

7)Narrative criticism does get you to a different point in appropriating this story in preaching. How is the readersupposed to be understanding what is happening? Here is where you can begin to talk about a metaphorical reading that Matthew seems to be intending. Here is where we can see the “boat” as a metaphor for the “church.” The reader has been told early on that Jesus is “Emmanuel- God with us,” and so here the reader is being asked to reflect on what that means in an account like this. Simply keep clear in your mind the distinction between what is going on in the story with the disciples and the wind and Jesus, etc. and what is happening at the discourse level with you as a reader. I do think, however, that both levels meet in the conclusion as stated in the story with the worship of Jesus as “Son of God.”

8)As noted in the previous point, I think the central focus of this story is about the nature and identity of Jesus.

9)BUT, the addition of the incident with Peter, which is a Matthean addition, does add another aspect to the story.Note the text carefully. When Jesus says to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”, I do not think Jesus is asking why Peter doubted he could walk on water. Instead—and note Peter’s question in v.28, “If it is you…”—I think Jesus is asking why Peter doubted it was him. In this way, the Peter incident reinforces the identity of Jesus issue which is central to the text. There should be no doubt that Jesus, the Son of God, could walk on water which for Matthew was an affirmation of Jesus’ power over chaos and evil.

10)When you are asked to write a paper similar to this for your Epistles class, remember that we are not wanting you to unload on us all the work you did. Instead, the paper should begin with a clear, strong thesis of what you understand the text to be saying. The only evidence you need to set forth is that which supports your thesis.