Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,* for the wind was against them. 25And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’
Literally: "And immediately, he compelled the disciples to cast into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. Dismissing the crowds, he went up into the mountain and by himself to pray. When evening happened, he was alone there. But now, the boat was many stadia away from the land, tortured by the waves, for they were against the wind. But at the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea. But the disciples, seeing him walking on the sea, were troubled, saying, 'It is a ghost!' and they cried out from fear. But immediately, Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart, I am. Do not be afraid.'"
We are in "book four" of Matthew's gospel, a section which is concerned with church. Several Peter stories, which appear nowhere else in the four gospels, are contained in this section. Here's what I find curious: In Mark's gospel, the disciples, and especially Peter, never do anything right. In Matthew's gospel, which generally follows Mark quite closely, Peter looks a lot better. In fact, it is in "book four" of Matthew that Peter is acclaimed the "rock" and given "the keys to the kingdom." In the leadership struggles of the early church, it appears that Matthew has done an about-face from his primary source, Mark, and is promoting a pro-Petrine point of view.
In this week's lection, Jesus compells the disciples to get into the boat and go ahead to "the other side." The dismissal of crowds is mentioned twice. (There may be a reason for this, but I have no idea what it is.) Jesus then goes to a mountain, by himself, to pray. In Matthew's gospel, Jesus is said to be in prayer only here and at Gethsemene (26 : 36-44). Matthew mentions twice that Jesus was alone. Jesus apparently stayed on the mountain through the night and into the early morning.
In this heavily symbolic story, the disciples are out in the boat when a storm comes up, and they are "tortured"--basanizominon--by the waves. While I wouldn't make a steady diet of it, occasionally an allegorical interpretation makes sense. The boat is a symbol of the church. (Navis is where we get our word for both "nave"--the sanctuary of a church--and "navy.") The boat of the church faces difficulty from evil, which is represented by the tormented sea in the middle of the night. The church was "sailing against the wind."
If Matthew was writing AD 80-85--which is the general consensus--that may have been how Matthew saw the situation facing the church at that time. The land was trying to recover from the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. In AD 80, the church was still rather small and fragile, facing threats both internal and external. Feeling adrift in the "waters of chaos" would make sense for a nascent movement in that situation. In AD 80, the church truly was "sailing against the wind."
The image of the restless sea, buffeted by winds and rain, was a rich one in ancient Israel. The Book of Genesis describes chaos in the beginning of creation--the creation was "without form and void." Ancient Israel had a primordial fear of the "waters of chaos" which, they feared, might again engulf the world. They believed that this chaos was always a threat to return and undo the order that God had imposed upon creation.
During the "fourth watch," which was from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.--the deepest part of the night, in other words--Jesus came walking on the sea toward the beleaguered church. (Psalm 77: 19: "Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen.") Again, as in dismissing the crowds, and being alone on the mountain, Jesus' "walking on the sea" is mentioned twice.
The disciples were "agitated"--etaraxthesan, or "troubled," "disturbed"--and they believe they're seeing a ghost--Fantasma estin! They "screamed because of fear." It is at this point, when fear in the face of difficulty threatens to overtake the church, that Jesus lets them know that it is him. Tharseite--"Take heart," or perhaps "Have courage," Jesus says.
Why should they "take heart"? Because, Jesus says, "Ego eimi"--"I am," which is the Greek version of the Hebrew tetragrammaton, YHWH, which is the divine name of God (Ex 3: 14). The Lord God took control of the "waters of chaos." By walking on the water, Jesus likewise demonstrates his power over the forces of nature. The power of Jesus is the same as God's power. Therefore, church: "Do not be afraid."
28 Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ 29He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. 30But when he noticed the strong wind,* he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ 32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’
Literally: "But Peter answered him, saying, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." But he said, 'Come.' And going down from the boat, Peter walked upon the water and he came to Jesus. Discerning the mighty wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me.' And immediately, Jesus stretched forth the hand, taking hold of him, and saying to him, 'You little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they went up into the boat, the wind ceased. The ones in the boat worshipped him, saying, 'Truly, you are son of God.'"
To this point, Matthew has been following Mark (6: 45-52). Now, he switches to his own source, generally called "Special Matthew," i.e. the stories only Matthew tells. Peter addresses Jesus as "Lord"--kyrie. Peter wants to be able to do what Jesus does, and he asks to be commanded to do it. Jesus says simply, "Come." Peter climbs down out of the boat, and the text straight-forwardly says that Peter did indeed walk on the water.
Even then, however, it is not quite the same as what Jesus had done. Peter walks on water--udata--while Jesus walks on the sea--thalassan. Matthew is being careful to put Peter at least at one remove from what Jesus himself is capable of doing.
Then, in a poetic and insightful phrase, Peter "sees"--blepone--"the mighty wind," succumbs to fear, and starts to sink. Allegorically, in the face of difficulty, the Christian becomes afraid, begins to be engulfed, and cries out to Jesus. (See also 8: 23-27, also a story of a storm on the lake, where, likewise, the disciples cry out, "Lord, save us.")
Immediately, Jesus "stretched forth the hand," which is reminiscent of YHWH in Psalm 18: 16--"He reached down from on high, he took me; he drew me out of mighty waters"--and Psalm 144: 7: "Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters."
Jesus then calls Peter a "person of little faith," one who becomes fearful in the face of crisis. In Matthew's gospel, the disciples are referred to as being "people of little faith" five times. Compare this with the story of the Canaanite woman in the next chapter (15: 21-28). Matthew resurrects the word "Canaanite"--the word had not been used for hundreds of years. Matthew wants to associate the foreign woman as being an ancient enemy of Israel. Yet, by the end of the story, Jesus calls her faith "great." What a contrast between the "great" faith of the foreign woman and the "little" faith of the church!
When Jesus and Peter get back into the boat, the wind ceased. All is safe when Jesus is present with his church in times of difficulty. The disciples worshipped and said, "Truly, you are son of God."
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