Was Jesus walking on water real?
Question 03079
The account of Jesus walking on the water tends to provoke one of two responses: either straightforward acceptance as a miraculous act by the Son of God, or a search for a naturalistic explanation that preserves the story whilst removing its supernatural content. What the text actually says, and what it means theologically, deserves careful attention before reaching for either response.
The Evidence of the Gospels
The event is recorded in Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52, and John 6:16-21. Three independent witnesses describing the same event already constitutes a significant body of testimony. The disciples have been sent ahead on the Sea of Galilee whilst Jesus goes up the mountain to pray (Matthew 14:23). A strong wind arises during the night, the sea becomes rough (John 6:18), and the disciples are struggling against the conditions. Jesus comes to them walking on the sea. The disciples, seeing Him, are terrified and cry out, thinking He is a ghost (Matthew 14:26). Jesus identifies Himself: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).
Matthew adds the remarkable episode of Peter. At Jesus’ invitation, Peter steps out of the boat and walks on the water towards Him. When he notices the wind and takes his eyes off Jesus, he begins to sink and cries out for rescue. Jesus reaches out, catches him, and asks: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). When they get into the boat, the wind ceases. The disciples’ response is unambiguous: “Truly you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33). Mark adds a detail of particular interest: Jesus was intending to pass by them (Mark 6:48). That phrase carries a significant echo. In the Old Testament, when God reveals His glory, He “passes by” — Exodus 33:19-23, 1 Kings 19:11. Mark is drawing a deliberate connection that his Jewish readers would not have missed.
Attempts at Naturalisation
Various explanations have been proposed that avoid the miraculous. One suggests that Jesus was walking on a submerged sandbar or in the shallows near the shore, and the disciples mistook His location due to darkness and distance. Another proposes that an unusual weather event produced floating ice capable of supporting His weight. These proposals share a common problem: they require a greater level of implausibility than the miracle they are trying to avoid. The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake not prone to freezing, and the text explicitly places Jesus on the sea in a storm, with the disciples far from land (John 6:19). Matthew’s account of Peter also beginning to walk and then sinking is entirely without explanation on any naturalistic reading.
The underlying issue is not evidential but philosophical. If God exists and became incarnate in Jesus, then walking on water is not a category error. The question is not whether such things can happen in principle, but whether this particular event happened. The consistent testimony of three Gospel writers, the specificity of their details, and the theological coherence of the event within the broader narrative of Jesus’ identity all point firmly in one direction.
What the Miracle Declares
In the Old Testament, the sea is frequently associated with the forces of chaos that lie beyond human control. God’s mastery over the water is one of the consistent markers of His lordship over creation. The Psalms are explicit: “You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them” (Psalm 89:9). When Jesus walks on the water, He is not simply performing an impressive feat. He is doing what the Scriptures consistently say only God does. The disciples’ confession that He is the Son of God is precisely the right response.
The phrase Jesus uses to identify Himself, rendered “It is I” in most translations, is in the Greek egō eimi — the same formulation Jesus uses elsewhere in John’s Gospel in the great “I AM” declarations, and the verbal equivalent of the divine name revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). The one walking towards them across the storm is the Creator who made the sea they are sitting on.
So, now what?
Peter’s experience functions as a model for what faith looks like in practice: genuine, initially effective, vulnerable to distraction, but ultimately rescued rather than abandoned. The failure to keep his eyes on Jesus is not a story of judgement but of instruction. Jesus’ question “Why did you doubt?” is pastoral rather than condemnatory. He asks it with His hand already outstretched. The miracle of the walking is matched by the mercy of the rescue.
“And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.'” Matthew 14:32-33
