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On the surface this looked as though it might be the fulfillment of the purpose for
which He had come to this earth; to be king of Israel and bring in His kingdom. But no,
this was not the Father's way. It was the easy way that cut out the cross and all it meant
and was a recurrence of one of His wilderness temptations. The question of sin and death
must be dealt with, for without this there could be no lasting kingdom of heaven upon
this earth.
The people were now afire with political zeal and if Christ would not take the
initiative, they would try to force Him to do so. So He goes into solitude on the nearby
Golan hills and withdraws from them.
The time had now arrived for the fifth miraculous sign to be performed by the Lord
Jesus. While Christ was above on the hills, the disciples attempted to reach Capernaum
by boat. However, being overtaken by darkness and rising sea, after rowing about twenty
to thirty furlongs, they became afraid, for they could see someone walking on the sea and
coming towards the ship. They themselves were struggling with a contrary wind and had
rowed about three miles. Some commentaries suggest that the ship was near the shore
and that Christ was walking by the sea. This cannot be true for the ship was in the midst
of the sea (Matt. 14: 24; Mark 6: 47) and the Lord was coming towards them. In any
case there would have been no need of fear if He was walking by the sea. The fact of His
walking on the sea caused the problem, for they thought it must be an apparition and they
were terrified.
The Lord Jesus spoke and quietened them:
"But He said to them, `It is I; don't be afraid'. Then they were willing to take Him
into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading"
(John 6: 20, 21).
John omits the account of Peter walking on the water (Matt. 14: 28-31). As the
disciples thought about it afterwards one wonders if their minds went back to two O.T.
scriptures:
"(God) which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the
sea" (Job 9: 8).
"O Lord God of hosts, Who is a strong Lord like unto Thee? . . . . . Thou rulest the
raging of the sea: when the waves thereof rise, Thou stillest them" (Psa. 28: 8, 9,
A.V.).
Both these verses stress Deity.
John 6: 22-24 are an explanation of the action of the crowd. They were determined
to find Him. Doubtless their ambition to make Him the leader and the fine meal they had
enjoyed were still fresh in their minds. Other boats from Tiberias had arrived, and
deciding that He was not in the vicinity, they crossed to the west side to look for Him.
When they reached Capernaum, they found Him there. They were puzzled as to how He
had got there, but the Lord did not gratify their curiosity. Instead He said to them: