Jesus Walks on Water – Matthew 14:22-36

The Story in a Nutshell

The story continues…

After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus had the disciples get back into the boat and return to the other side of the lake.  Then, he went further up into the hills to pray and be alone.  Night fell while Jesus was alone.

While the disciples were crossing the lake that night strong winds arose.  Soon they were in big trouble fighting heavy seas.  What were they going to do?  Jesus wasn’t with them.

About three o’clock in the morning when the disciples were desperate, Jesus showed up walking on the water.  When the disciples saw him they screamed in fright; they thought he was a ghost.  Jesus spoke to them immediately.  “Don’t be afraid.  It’s me!  Everything’s gonna be okay.

But Peter wasn’t sure.  “If it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on the water.”

“All right,” said Jesus.  “Come on over.”  So Peter got out of the boat, stepped onto the water, and walked toward Jesus.  But as he looked at the water and the huge waves, he became terrified and began to sink.  “Help,” Peter shouted.  “Save me!”

Quickly Jesus reached out and grabbed Peter.  “You don’t have much faith, do you?” said Jesus.  “Why didn’t you believe me?”  Then Peter and Jesus got back into the boat and the winds immediately stopped.

“You really are the Son of God!” said the disciples, and they worshiped him.

Jesus and the disciples finished crossing the lake and landed at Gennesaret.  The news of their arrival spread quickly and soon there was a large crowd bringing their sick to be healed.  The sick begged to touch the hem of his garment, and when they did they were healed.

To be continued…

What did you learn from the story?

If you want to gain a full understanding of the complete story, and for help in answering some of the questions below, you may want to have the following items as additional resources:  a Bible, a dictionary, and a Bible commentary on the Book of Matthew (optional).

1. What did Jesus have the disciples do after he fed the five thousand?
2. What did Jesus do after feeding the five thousand?
3. What did the disciples encounter as they were crossing the lake?
4. What happened early in the morning when the disciples were trying to get to shore?
5. What did the disciples do when they saw Jesus walking on the water?  Why?
6. What did Jesus tell them?
7. When Peter was in doubt, what did he ask Jesus to do?
8. When Jesus responded, what did Peter do?
9. Why did Peter begin to sink?
10. How did Jesus save Peter?
11. Jesus asked Peter two questions.  What were they?
12. What happened after Jesus and Peter got back into the boat?
13. What then did the disciples say about Jesus?
14. What happened after Jesus and the disciples landed at Gennesaret?
15. What did you learn about God, Jesus, and people from the story?

Have questions about God, Jesus, and the Bible? An excellent source for answers to your questions is gotquestions.org. Check it out. gotquestions.org.

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