The New Testament Bible story of when Jesus walks on water is one of the most widely told narratives and critical miracles of Jesus. The episode occurs shortly after another miracle, the feeding of the 5,000. This event convinced the 12 disciples that Jesus is indeed the living Son of God. Thus, the story is highly significant to Christians and the basis for several important life lessons that govern how believers practice their faith.
Where did Jesus walk on water?
Jesus was from Nazareth, which is in Galilee, and though He was born in Bethlehem, He was not raised there but in Nazareth. His primary circuit for proclaiming the kingdom of God was in the region of Galilee. This was near the Sea of Galilee, so that is likely where Jesus walked on water. There are three accounts of this miracle, and they seem to show different perspectives of each of the authors, but they all took place on the same sea; the Sea of Galilee. The first one is from the Gospel of Matthew.
In Matthew’s account, just after Jesus feeds the five thousand men, besides women and children, He made the disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side while He dismissed the crowds. After He dismissed the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, detailed in Matthew 18:22-23, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. He came to them in the fourth watch of the night, walking on the sea, shown in Matthew 18:24-25. What was the disciple’s reaction? When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, “It is a ghost!” They cried out in fear. Probably just as anyone would react, so Jesus reassures them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Mark’s account of Jesus walking on water is very close to Matthew’s account. Mark gives us better information on where they were at as Mark writes in Mark 6:45, “he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.” If you know the cities around the Sea of Galilee, you know that Bethsaida is on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Mark 6: 47-49 tells us that the boat was out on the sea when evening came, and Jesus was alone on the land. He saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. At about the fourth watch of the night, Jesus was walking on water. He meant to pass by them, but when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. With the boat being out on the sea and Jesus instructing them to go to the other side, to Bethsaida, it had to be the Sea of Galilee.
Like Matthew and Mark’s account, John has the walking on water incident coming right after feeding the 5,000 in John 6:1-14. You can also see John talking about where Jesus was as he writes that Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias in John 6:1. The Sea of Tiberias is the same as the Sea of Galilee. It was sometimes called the Sea of Tiberias because the city of Tiberias is right on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. John 6:16-17 said when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the ocean to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. Since they started across the sea to go to Capernaum and Capernaum lies on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, this must have been where the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat.
Who walked on water with Jesus?
Jesus Christ wasn’t the only man to walk on water. Peter was the other man who walked on water with Him. Peter did the impossible when he entirely relied on Jesus to enable him. However, as soon as Peter took his eyes of faith off Jesus and focused on the storm around him, he immediately lost faith and began to sink out of fear. This story is a Christian favorite to show that to keep your faith, you must keep your eyes on God.
The story of Jesus’ walk on water.
All of the accounts of Jesus walking on water are about the same. After feeding the 5,000, Jesus Christ sent his disciples ahead of him in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. Several hours later in the night, the disciples encountered a storm that frightened them. Then they witnessed Jesus walking toward them across the surface of the water, and their fear turned to terror because they believed they saw a ghost. As recounted in Matthew verse 27, Jesus told them to take courage and not be afraid.
Peter replied, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water,” and Jesus invited Peter to do precisely that. Peter jumped out of the boat and began walking on water toward Jesus, but the moment he took his eyes off of Jesus, Peter saw nothing but the wind and waves, and he started to sink.
Peter cried out to the Lord, and Jesus immediately reached out his hand to catch him. As Jesus and Peter climbed into the boat together, the storm ceased. After witnessing this miracle, the disciples worshiped Jesus, saying that He was indeed the Son of God.
The story of how Jesus walked on water is a favorite throughout all Christianity-based faiths. This parable reminds all of us that Jesus is the source of our salvation. There may be storms going on around us, but as long as we keep our eyes on Him, the waters will cease, and He’ll get us through the storm. It also shows that we must trust Him and be courageous in times of trouble. The disciples were afraid when they saw Jesus walking on water, but Jesus reminded them that they must have courage and not be scared. When we go through hard times, it’s easy to cower away from them. However, if we stay strong and step up to the plate, Jesus will take care of the rest.
