Tell the Story
The Death of John the Baptist
14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,1 4 because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way2 from the land,3 beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night4 he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind,5 he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
After storms and demons and healings and lots and lots of people, Jesus was eager for some peace and quiet. So he sent the crowds back home and sent the disciples into another boat. The plan was for Jesus to catch up with the disciples on the other side of the lake. But first he wanted time by himself to pray.
Later that evening, Jesus looked out across the lake and saw that the disciples were a long way from land. But not as far away as they should have been. It was a very windy night, and their boat was having a hard time making it through the waves.
So in the wee hours of the morning—when it was still dark and no one was getting up for school or heading out to work—Jesus decided to go help the disciples. But he didn’t take a boat. He didn’t parachute from a plane. He didn’t swim from the shore. He decided to walk.
On the water!
When the disciples saw someone coming, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they cried. They were very scared. And who can blame them? This water wasn’t frozen, and Jesus didn’t have ice skates. He was walking on the water as though it were his own personal sidewalk.
“Take heart,” Jesus said. “It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
Peter believed it was Jesus. “Lord,” he said, “if you tell me to, I’ll come to you on the water.”
So Jesus said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and dipped his toe into the water. Or, on the water, really. He was standing on the water, just like Jesus. As he started walking to Jesus, Peter felt the wind and saw the waves. Once again, he was afraid. He started to sink and called out to Jesus. “Lord, save me!”
Jesus reached down and pulled Peter out of the water. Peter was wet, and probably a little embarrassed, but he was going to be okay.
“You should have kept on believing,” Jesus said to Peter. “Why did you doubt?”
Peter was pretty brave to get out of the boat. But like a lot of us, it’s hard to be brave when it looks like we might drown. Jesus wanted the disciples to know that they could always count on him and always turn to him. Sometimes it’s hard to believe in Jesus. But trusting in Jesus, no matter what, is the smartest and safest thing we can do.
When Jesus got into the boat, the wind stopped. The disciples still didn’t have Jesus figured out. They still had a lot to learn. They still were going to get a lot of things wrong. But they knew this was no ordinary man. They fell at his feet, saying, “You really are the Son of God.”
