128 Walking on Water

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Contents

Data

(1) John 6:16-21
(2a) Mark 6:45-52 = Matt 14:22-27
(2b) Mark 4:35-41 = Matt 8:18,23-27 = Luke 8:22-25


Crossan analysis:
Item: 128
Stratum: I (30-60 CE)
Attestation: Double
Historicity: ±

Texts

(1) John 6:16-21

6:16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 6:17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 6:18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 6:19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 6:20 But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 6:21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.


(2a) Mark 6:45-52

6:45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 6:46 After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 6:47 When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 6:48 When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by. 6:49 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; 6:50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." 6:51 Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 6:52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

= Matt 14:22-27
14:22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 14:23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 14:24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 14:25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 14:26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. 14:27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."


(2b) Mark 4:35-41

4:35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." 4:36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 4:37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 4:38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" 4:39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 4:40 He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" 4:41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

= Matt 8:18,23-27
8:18 Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. ... 8:23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 8:24 A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 8:25 And they went and woke him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" 8:26 And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. 8:27 They were amazed, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

= Luke 8:22-25
8:22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." So they put out, 8:23 and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. 8:24 They went to him and woke him up, shouting, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. 8:25 He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?"


Literature

  • John Dominic Crossan, The Historical Jesus (HarperSanFrancisco, 1991)
  • John Day, God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea (Cambridge University Press, 1985)
  • Robert W. Funk et al, The Acts of Jesus (Polebridge, 1998)
  • Dennis R. MacDonald, The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark. (Yale UP, 2000)
  • John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew: II. Mentor, Message and Miracles. (Doubleday, 1994) 905-33


Parallels

See Jesus and the Stormy Sea for some related traditions about conflict with the sea, sometimes represented as a monster or dragon.


Psalm 107 - meal and sea - Note the sequence of meal followed by sea in this Pslam:

Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.
(Psalm 107:4-9 NRSV)

Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
(Psalm 107:23-32 NRSV)


Homer, Odyssey

Homer describes Hermes' ability to move across the surface of the sea:

Right away he strapped onto his feet
his beautiful sandals, immortal and golden,
which were able to bear him quickly
over the waters of the sea
and over the limitless land
like the blasts of the wind.
...
Thus did Hermes ride on the myriad waves.
Odyssey 5.44-46,54


The Buddha and his disciples

Miracles stories involving the capacity to walk across water are also found in Buddhism:

The Buddha told this story at Jetavana Monastery about a pious lay follower. One evening, when this faithful disciple came to the bank of the Aciravati River on his way to Jetavana to hear the Buddha, there was no boat at the landing stage. The ferrymen had pulled their boats onto the far shore and had gone themselves to hear the Buddha. The disciple's mind was so full of delightful thoughts of the Buddha, however, that even though he walked into the river, his feet did not sink below the surface and he walked across the water as if he were on dry land. When, however, he noticed the waves on reaching the middle of the river, his ecstasy subsided and his feet began to sink. But as soon as he again focused his mind on the qualities of the Buddha, his feet rose and he was able to continue walking joyously over the water. When he arrived at Jetavana, he paid his respects to the Master and took a seat on one side.
"Good layman," the Buddha said, addressing the disciple, "I hope you had no mishap on your way."
"Venerable sir," the disciple replied, "while coming here, I was so absorbed in thoughts of the Buddha that, when I came to the river, I was able to walk across it as though it were solid."
"My friend," the Blessed One said, "you're not the only one who has been protected in this way. In olden days pious laymen were shipwrecked in mid-ocean and saved themselves by remembering the virtues of the Buddha."
SOURCE: Jataka Tales of the Buddha [1]


Porphyry [3C pagan writer]

Experts in the truth about those places [in Galilee] report that there is no sea there, except they do refer to a small river-fed lake at the foot of the mountain in Galilee near the city Tiberius, a lake easily traversed in small canoes in no more than two hours and insufficiently capricious for waves or storms. So Mark greatly exaggerates the truth when he ludicrously composes the fiction of a nine-hour journey and Jesus striding upon the water in the tenth to find his disciples sailing on the pond [Gk: lakko]. Then he calls it thalassa, not merely a sea but one beset by storms, dreadfully wild, and terrifyingly agitated by the heaving of the waves, so that from these details he could represent Christ as performing a great sign, namely calming a mighty and violent storm and rescuing his scarcely endangered disciples from the deep and open sea.
[Porphyry, Contra christianos frag. 55. Tr. by MacDonald and cited in The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark, 2000:57)


Poseidon [2]

In Greek religion, Poseidon was the god with special powers over the sea. He could command the storm and was invoked by sailors to ensure their safe passage.


Sibylline Oracles

Crossan [Historical Jesus 406] notes the following passage in the Christian section of the Sibylline Oracles:

With a word he makes the winds to cease, and calm the sea
While it rages walking on it with feet of peace and in faith.
And from five loaves and fish of the sea
He shall feed five thousand men in the desert,
And then taking all the fragments left over
He will fill twelve baskets for a hope of the people.
[SibOr 8:273-78 (OTP 1.424)]

Commentary

John Dominic Crossan

Crossan (1991:311f) notes the likelihood of an early collection of miracle stories, independently attested in Mark and John:

Crossan also cites Hull's view [Hellenistic Magic and the Synoptic Tradition 1974] that miracles belong in the earliest layer of the gospel tradition but tend to be "washed out of the tradition and, when retained, were ... very carefully interpreted."

Crossan proposes that the origins of this story lie in Mark's decision to retroject earlier resurrection appearances back into the narrative. He explains the origin of 184 Transfiguration of Jesus as Mark using the resurrection story from the Cross Gospel with the two heavenly beings being transformed into Moses and Elijah, and suggests three other cases where appearance traditions become historical events in Mark:

Contrary to some scholars (e.g. Meier - see below), Crossan identifies the Sitz im Leben of these stories not in christological epiphanies but in disputes over authority and leadership within the early community:

I suggest that those latter [nature miracle] stories, including the above trilogy, had nothing originally to do with demonstrating the power of Jesus over nature but rather with establishing the power of leadership over the church and especially some leaders over others. (p. 397)

Crossan understands these "nature miracles" as ways of giving narrative expression to the Easter experience of Jesus' continued - albeit non-physical - company with his followers. Like 003 Bread and Fish, this episode of 128 Walking on Water affirmed the presence of the risen one and the authority of those leaders who were the recipients of the miracle.

According to Crossan, some elements of its original character as an appearance story can still be discerned in the present forms of the story and especially in John:

  • timing: Jesus comes "about the fourth watch" - "that is, towards morning" in Mark 6:48b and "as day was breaking" in John 21:4
  • intention: "he meant to pass them by" - c.f. Luke 24:28-29
  • reaction: the disciples think they are seeing a ghost in Mark 6:50a as in Luke 24:
  • reassurance: "It is I" - Mark 6:50b and Luke 24:39
The original point, however, was not just that Jesus could walk on and calm the raging sea but that he could and would do it to help the disciples succeed in their mission. And, of course, such a walk was itself a beautiful symbol of resurrection, of victory over death. It was the risen Jesus who assisted and thereby validated their authority. (p. 405f)

Crossan (p. 407) notes the possibility that the formation of the double miracle of meal and sea may reflect the influence of the exodus traditions, but with the order revered under the influence of Psalm 107:4-9,23-32 (see above).


Dennis MacDonald

In The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark, MacDonald devotes a chapter to this story and another to the story in Mark 5:1-20. He begins by noting :

In no gospel does Jesus sail more often than in Mark, and, as far as we now know, no author independent of Mark ever related Jesus to things nautical. ... One of Mark's most enduring innovations was painting traditions about Jesus against a landscape replete with mountains, uninhabited regions, villages, and especially a sea. He presented four of the disciples as erstwhile fishermen who were able to provide Jesus with the boat that would later transport him across the Chinnereth. He told them to have it ready for him, so that he could avoid the crowds, and once used it as his pulpit. The disciples sail with Jesus across the lake several times, enduring a storm and rowing against contrary winds. Once they failed to provision the ship with enough bread, an oversight unpardonable for ancient sailors, who often had to traverse vast expanses. Several episodes echo sailing tales in the Odyssey. (p. 55)

MacDonald points out that Mark seems to have been responsible for the elevation of the Lake Chinnereth, a mere seven miles long and four miles wide, into "a ferocious sea, troubled by storms, mighty winds, and lofty waves." This literary re-imaging of the Galilean lake was already observed by the 3C pagan writer, Porphyry (see citation above, under Parallels.

MacDonald cites numerous parallels between the Odyssey and Mark, including shared use of rare vocabulary not found in the Greek (Septuagint) version of the Hebrew Bible.


Jesus Seminar

The commentary in The Acts of Jesus (p. 76f) observes:

Mark's account of the stilling of the storm brings us to the first of the so-called nature miracles. It also introduces a new and different sense of who Jesus is into the gospel story. ... [no longer] simply another charismatic sage with healing powers, but a Jesus who has the power to calm the seas and still the wind puts him in a category with the other gods -- with Yahweh, with Zeus, with Poseidon. In other words, the "christology" of this story is that of the early Christian community. For this reason alone, many scholars have concluded that the tale is the fictional product of the believing community.

The Seminar's voting on the various texts related to this tradition was as follows:

  • Jesus Walks on Sea (Mark 6:45-52 = Matt 14:22-27) - BLACK 0.00
  • Stilling the Storm (Mark 4:35-41 = Matt 8:18,23-27 = Luke 8:22-25) - BLACK 0.00
  • Walking on the Sea (John 6:16-21) - BLACK 0.00


John P. Meier

Meier devotes almost 30 pages of his second volume (A Marginal Jew: II. Mentor, Message and Miracles. 905-33) to a discussion of the gospel accounts of Jesus walking on the water and stilling the storm. This is part of an even larger discussion of the nature miracles.

Two considerations lie at the heart of Meier's discussion:

  • the early and independent attestation in Mark and John
  • the primitive association of Jesus walking on the sea with the miracle of the feeding

Meier understands Mark's account to be using a pre-existing tradition also used by John, but he sees the essence of the story's meaning as the element of divine epiphany rather than a miraculous sea-rescue:

The use of the phrase "to pass by someone" in OT narratives of theophany illuminates the point Mark is making ... Jesus wished to reveal himself to his disciples in all his divine majesty and power by demonstrating his dominion over the unruly forces of wind, sea, and waves. He acts toward them as Yahweh or Yahweh's personified divine Wisdom acts in the OT. (p. 907)

Meier argues the version in John 6 may be closer to the original pre-Markan form of the tradition, and that it survived in John with minimal editing because (1) it was a subsidiary element to the story of the feeding miracle its core, and (2) its central focus on the epiphany of Jesus as the divine Wisdom was entirely congenial to John's high christology:

For John, the Jesus who walks on the turbulent sea is the eternal Word made flesh, divine Wisdom who bestrode the waves of chaos in the OT. Hence Jesus' "I am" echoes the divine name of Yahweh revealed in Exod 3:14-15 and the formula of revelation regularly used in Deutero-Isaiah. Indeed, given the overarching context of Jesus' ego eimi in John's Gospel, the surface meaning of "It is I" almost necessarily resonates with the deeper meaning of "I am." (p. 910)

Meier outlines several OT passages that provide examples of epiphanies involving demonstrations of divine power over the sea. The passages he cites are all included in the material cited at Jesus and the Stormy Sea. Meier observes at one point:

This tendency to attribute to divine Wisdom the imagery used elsewhere of the God who dominates the waters of the sea as he creates the world and redeems Israel is extremely important to John's high christology and to the miracle of John 6:16-21 in particular. A great characteristic of the Fourth Gospel is that it applies to Christ much of the OT speculation about divine Wisdom active in creation and redemption. (p. 916)

Meier turns to the question of historicity only after his detailed consideration of the tradition-history and theological focus of this story. he eschews any rejection of the miraculous on philosphical or theological grounds, and then makes a clear case against historicity.

Citing the criteria of discontinuity and coherence, Meier notes that miracle stories "that have some claim to go back to an event in Jesus' life have two things in common:" (1) they meet some real need on the part of the recipient, and (2) they do not focus on the person or status of Jesus:

... the walking on the water does not cohere with the miracle stories that have a good chance of going back to some event in Jesus' ministry. Indeed, this miracle story is emphatically discontinuous with them. Instead, it is continuous with the christology of the early church, especially with an early thrust toward a high christology that tended to associate Jesus with Yahweh or to make Jesus the functional equivalent of Yahweh. (p. 921)

Meier is quote certain that the story originates in the theological imagination of early Christianity, acting under the influence of their conviction that Jesus had been raised from the dead by God and shaped by the OT epiphany traditions. For Meier, the primitive association of this walking on the water miracle with the feeding miracle prompts the question of why the secondary story was attached to the feeding miracle. He suggests that the walking on water story was intended as a commentary on the significance of the multiplication miracle:

In other words, the eucharistic symbolism that begins in the story of the feeding of the five thousand continues into the story of the walking on the water. The first story reflects what the Christian "crowds in the wilderness" of this world experience when the risen Jesus once again gives thanks, breaks the bread, and gives it to those who have followed him and are hungry because they lack their own resources. What I am suggesting is that, to a small church struggling in the night of a hostile world and feeling bereft of Christ's presence, the walking on the water likewise symbolized the experience of Christ in the eucharist. (p. 923)

Meier then notes some firm conclusions from his work:

  • the story of the walking on the water is a creation of the early church and does not go back to an incident in Jesus' public ministry
  • there is no need for naturalistic explanations of the story's origins
  • Matthew's story of Peter walking on the water can also be dismissed as a creation of the church

Poetry

Images

  • Storm on the Sea - art links from TextWeek.com [3]

Work to be Done

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