Immediately he made the disciples get into
the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And
after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray.
When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by
the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in
the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw
him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!"
And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said,
"Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter answered him,
"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said,
"Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water,
and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became
frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You
of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they got into the boat, the wind
ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the
Son of God." (Matt 14:22-33 NRSV; cf. Mark 6:45-52)
Commenting
on the differences between Matthew’s account and that of Mark, and how such
differences show Matthew had a high Christology, Peter Head wrote:
The storm
and epiphany of Jesus (vv. 24-27)
In v. 24 Matthew emphasises the distance of
the boat from the land: ἤδη σταδίους πολλοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἀπεῖχεν (v. 24a). This
involves an alternation of Mark 6.47 (‘in the midst of the sea’) which does not
use characteristically Matthean vocabulary: ‘Neither σταδιον nor απο τησ γης is attested elsewhere in the
First Gospel, and απεχω is not otherwise redactional’ (Davies and Allison, Matthew, vol. II, p. 503, n. 26). For
this reason Davies and Allison prefer the variant reading μεσον της θαλασσης ην (with א C L W f1 it Maj etc., also read by Greeven, Synopsis). This view, however, takes
insufficient account of the possibility of scribal harmonisation to the
parallel text in Mark and the strength of the external support for the reading
of NA27 given above (B (θ 700) f13 syr cop).
Matthew also omits a few words from Mark and
adds a new clause resulting in βασανιζομενον υπο των κυματων. This addition is the first of
several which increase the parallelism between this account and the stilling of the storm (Matt 8.23-27); in this case, υπο των κυματων is also found in 8.24, where the boat was
being swamped by the waves. Matthew’s account focusses attention on the boat throughout
v. 24 – as the object of the passive verb βασανιζομενον and the referent of εναντιος – and tends to increase the severity of the
problem, which in Mark is effectively limited to difficulty in rowing. These
alternation align Matthew more closely to the ‘distress at sea’ motif discussed
by Heil and prepare for the christological point which Matthew will press: God
alone can rescue from the sea and ‘distress at
sea implies rescue by God’ (Heil,
Jesus Walking on the Sea, p. 36. He
discusses Exod. 14.10-15.21; Ps. 107.23-32; John 1.1-16; Wis. 14.2-4; IQH 3.6,
12-18; 6.22-5; 7.4f; T. Naph. 6.1-10 [pp.
17-37]).
The report of Jesus’ coming, walking on the
sea, is very similar to that of Mark. This plays a important role in the
christological focus of the whole pericope, particularly in light of the OT
background concerning Yahweh walking on seas (Job 9.8; Hab. 3.15; Ps. 77.19;
cf. Isa. 43.16; 51.9f; Frg. Tg. Exod.
15.11). Matthew omits the enigmatic statement of Mark 6.48: και ηθελεν
παρελθειν αυτους.
Although some argue that Matthew omitted this phrase because it seemed to imply
that Jesus was not able to do what he wanted (Davies and Allison, Matthew, vol. Ii, p. 505), a simpler and
more obvious reason is that for Matthew, unlike Mark, παρελθειν normally means ‘to pass away’
(5.18; 24.34f; 26.39, 42) (Gundry, Matthew,
p. 298).
Matthew slightly rearranges Mark’s description
disciples’ response (v. 26): inserting μαθηται, shifting εταραχθησαν from a later phrase in Mark
6.50, changing Mark’s εδοξαν to λεγοντες, and adding
απο του φοβου;
resulting in οι δε μαθηται ιδοντες αυτον επι της θαλασσης περιπατουντα εταραχθησαν
λεγοντες οτι Φαντασμα εστιν, και απο του φοβου εκραξαν. This combination of fear and being troubled
echoes Psalm 76.16LXX: εἴδοσάν σε ὕδατα ὁ θεός εἴδοσάν σε ὕδατα καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν
καὶ ἐταράχθησαν ἄβυσσοι πλῆθος ἤχους ὑδάτων (‘When the waters saw thee,
O God, when the waters saw thee, they were afraid, yea, the deep trembled’).
This it might be said that Matthew revises Mark in light of the OT background
(as also in vv. 30f). In v. 27 in response to the disciples’ cry Jesus
identifies himself in words identical to Mark: Θαρειτε, εγω ειμι μη
φοβεισθε. In view of
Matthew’s interest in the OT it is probably right to take this not only as an
identification formula (a in Luke 1.19; 24.39; Acts 9.5; 22.8; 26.15) but also
as revelatory, theophanic statement, echoing the εγω ειμι language of Exodus 3.14; Isaiah 41.4; 43.10;
47.8, 10; and the μη φοβεισθε language of Genesis 15.1; 26.14; 28.13; 46.3; Isaiah 41.13;
43.1-3; Revelation 1.7 (cf. Apoc. Abr.
9.2f; 2 Enoch 1.8). (Peter M. Head, Christology
and the Synoptic Problem: An Argument for Markan Priority [Society for New
Testament Studies Monograph Series 94; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1997], 88-89)
With respect
to Peter walking on the water (Matt 14:28-31) and how it presents Jesus as
being divine, Head writes:
Matthew’s long addition its well into this
context, with a parallel between Jesus’ coming to the boat (v. 25) and Peter’s
later coming to Jesus (v. 29). As already noted, many of the terms used in this
account echo Matthean preferences (particularly phrases in the stilling of the
storm of Matt. 8.23-7): Peter’s use of the vocative Κυριε (vv. 2a, 30b; cf. 8.25b), particularly
Κυριε, σωσον με (v.
30b; cf. 8.25b: Κυριε σωσον);
Jesus use of ολιγοπιστος
(v. 31b; cf. 8.26); and the use of κελευω (14.28 cf. 8.18). As for the story itself we
cannot attempt a complete analysis. It is noteworthy that Peter’s dilemma (v.
30) is provoked by the wind (linking with vv. 24 and 32), and is expressed in
terms reminiscent of Psalm 69.1-3 (Ps 68 LXX):
Save me (σωσον με), O God! For the waters (υδατα) have
come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters (θαλασσης),
and the flood sweeps over me (κατεποντισεν με).
I am weary with my crying (κραζων); my throat is parched.
My eyes grow di with waiting for my God. (Heil, Jesus Walking on the Sea, p. 61)
come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters (θαλασσης),
and the flood sweeps over me (κατεποντισεν με).
I am weary with my crying (κραζων); my throat is parched.
My eyes grow di with waiting for my God. (Heil, Jesus Walking on the Sea, p. 61)
It is also
noteworthy that Jesus’ saving action involves stretching out his hand (cf. also
8.3; 12.49; 26.51), which is allusive of OT rescue passages such as Psalm
18.17f; 144.7f: ‘Stretch forth thy hand from on high, rescue me and deliver me
from the many waters . . .’ Therefore, although the insertion readily provides
teaching about discipleship (cf. Peter’s role elsewhere in Matt.), it is also
of a piece with the overall christological impact of the passage (Davies and Allison, Matthew, Vol. II. pp. 497-8). (Ibid.,
90, emphasis in bold added)
So we see
that in this incident, Matthew presents a high
Christology. Furthermore, this should not be taken to mean that Mark’s
Christology is “low” as is commonly believed by many, including many errant
commentators. On the High Christology in the Gospel of Mark, see:
High Christology and the Baptism of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels