Immediately
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat, and to go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It’s a ghost!” and they cried out for fear.
Matthew 14:22-26
Matthew 14 [18.] He said, “Bring them here to me.” He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes. They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces. Those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Matthew 14 [22.] Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat, and to go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It’s a ghost!” and they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.”
Matthew 14 [28.] Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters.”
Meaning:
Jesus had just fed about five thousand men, besides women and children, with five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:14-21). That same evening he sent his disciples away by boat and spent the night alone in prayer. Before dawn the disciples, struggling against the wind, saw him coming to them across the water. Matthew tells the story in a way that reveals who Jesus is.
- “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat”
The word “made” is strong; Jesus insisted that they go. John explains why there was urgency. After the feeding, the crowd wanted to make Jesus king: “Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force, to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself” (John 6:15). The disciples might easily have been carried away by that excitement. Jesus separated them from it and dismissed the crowd himself.
- “He went up into the mountain by himself to pray”
After a long day of healing, feeding and teaching, Jesus sought his Father in prayer. This was his habit: “He withdrew himself into the desert, and prayed” (Luke 5:16); “Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he rose up and went out, and departed into a deserted place, and prayed there” (Mark 1:35). Grief over John, the pressure of the crowds and the temptation of a political kingdom all lay behind this night. Jesus met them with prayer. Mark adds that from the land he saw the disciples “distressed in rowing, for the wind was contrary to them” (Mark 6:48). While he prayed, he had not forgotten them.
- “Distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary”
The disciples were in the boat because Jesus had sent them. Obedience did not protect them from the storm. Sudden winds often sweep down from the hills around the Sea of Galilee, and the fishermen among them knew how dangerous it could be. They rowed for hours and made little progress. It was “the fourth watch of the night”. The Romans divided the night into four watches, so this was roughly three in the morning until sunrise. They had been struggling most of the night.
- “Jesus came to them, walking on the sea”
The PIB footnote points to Job, who described God as the one who “alone stretches out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea” (Job 9:8). In the Old Testament the sea is a picture of chaos, and only God rules it. He divided the Red Sea for Israel (Exodus 14:21-22) and promised, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:2). By walking on the sea, Jesus did what Scripture says God alone does.
- “It’s a ghost!”
The disciples did not recognize him. In the dark, after a night of struggle, a figure on the water could only seem like something from the spirit world, and they screamed in fear. Jesus would answer at once, “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).
The Significance of Matthew 14:22-26
- Prayer in the pressure
Jesus faced grief, success and temptation by withdrawing to pray. If the Son of God needed time alone with the Father, so do we, especially after times of great activity.
- Storms in the path of obedience
The disciples were doing exactly what Jesus told them, yet they met a contrary wind. Hardship is not a sign that we have left God’s will. Jesus sees us in the struggle and comes to us at the right time.
- Recognizing him
Fear can make us mistake Jesus’ presence for something threatening. Faith learns to look again and hear his voice.
Cross-References:
Mark 6:48: "Seeing them distressed in rowing, for the wind was contrary to them, about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea," Mark’s parallel account.
Job 9:8: "He alone stretches out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea." God alone walks on the sea.
Isaiah 43:2: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you," God’s promise in trouble.
Conclusion: After feeding the five thousand, Jesus sent his disciples ahead by boat, dismissed the crowd and prayed alone on the mountain. In the last watch of the night, while the disciples struggled against the wind, he came to them walking on the sea, and they cried out in fear, thinking he was a ghost. The passage shows Jesus’ dependence on prayer, his care for his disciples in the storm, and his divine authority over the sea.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible