Meanwhile a stormy wind had arisen on the lake, making rowing difficult for the

disciples, as it caused the boat to be buffeted against the waves (Matt. 14: 24). The Lord

had rescued them once before on the lake which was subject to sudden storms.

Remembering their fear, He started to walk out to them on the water. Job 9: 8 tells us

that one of the characteristics of God is that "He treadeth upon the waves of the sea".

Once again we have a demonstration of the Lord's sovereign superiority over the laws

which He, in creation, ordained and here supercedes. He treads the waves beneath His

sovereign feet, and what buffeted the disciples provided as it were a carpet for Him.

Moreover, we must remember that the last time He calmed a storm on the lake it was

daylight, and He was with them. Now it is night and they are alone.

When the disciples saw Him approaching they were terrified (A.V. "troubled" is not

nearly strong enough), and they cried out for fear, thinking they saw a ghost (14: 26).

The Lord then calls out to them "take courage", and surely they had heard that voice

Impulsive Peter cries out, "Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water"

(verse 28). The Lord replied in one word, "Come". Peter obeys and does something that

no human being had ever done before; he walked on water towards the Lord: and this

was accomplished because, at this moment, he had faith in the Lord Jesus and the word

that He had given. While he looked at the Lord all was well, but, looking away to the

stormy elements, he became afraid and started to sink, crying out "Lord, save me".

Immediately Christ did this very thing and pulled him up while still walking on the water,

but had to say "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (verses 29-31).

There is a profound lesson here for all of us.  There is only one way that our

difficulties can be overcome and that is by constantly looking, trustingly, to the Lord and

relying on Him to help, strengthen, guide and deliver us from them, if it is His will.

The result of this miracle was that, after climbing into the boat, they worshipped Him

and the Lord accepted it. If He was not God, then this would have been blasphemy.

They added "truly you are God's Son". The definite article is omitted before the word

"Son", as the centurion did in Matt. 27: 54. Perhaps they had not yet realized fully

the implications of His deity, but their appreciation was growing when compared with

their statement in 8: 27.

Then they landed at Gennesaret, which was a rich plain four miles long and two broad.

The Lord was recognized immediately and the whole neighbourhood were informed of

His presence (14: 34, 35), with the consequence that many sick people were brought to

Him and once again He healed them all. So urgent were some of the cases that they

begged Him to allow them just to touch Him, and this was sufficient to bring them

healing and complete restoration.

The heirarchy at Jerusalem were obviously watching every movement of the Lord and

the results that followed from His work and witness. So they send Pharisees and teachers

of the law to question Him about His attitude to the tradition of the elders. This was the