Jesus Walks on the Water^(A)

⁴⁵ Immediately Jesus ·told [compelled; made] his ·followers [disciples] to get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida [^Ca town on the northern shore of Lake Galilee, east of the Jordan River] across the lake. He stayed there to ·send the people home [dismiss the crowd]. ⁴⁶ After ·sending them away [saying goodbye], he went into the hills to pray.

⁴⁷ That night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw his ·followers [disciples] struggling hard to row the boat, because the wind was blowing against them. ·Between three and six o’clock in the morning [^LAt about the fourth watch of the night], Jesus came to them, walking on the water, and he ·wanted [intended; was about] to ·walk past [pass by] the boat. ⁴⁹ But when they saw him walking on the ·water [lake; sea], they thought he was a ghost and cried out. ⁵⁰ They all saw him and were afraid. But ·quickly [immediately] Jesus spoke to them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind ·became calm [ceased; stopped]. They were greatly amazed. ⁵² [For] They did not understand ·about the miracle of the five loaves [the significance of the loaves; ^Labout the loaves], because their ·minds were closed [hearts were hardened/stubborn/dull].

⁵³ When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret [^Ceither the plain on the northwestern shore of the lake, or a town in that region] and tied the boat there. ⁵⁴ When they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵ They ran everywhere in that ·area [region] and began to bring sick people on ·mats [cots] wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And everywhere he went—into towns, cities, or countryside—the people brought the sick to the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch just the ·edge [fringe; tassels] of his coat, and all who touched it were healed.

Jesus Walks on the Water^(A)

²² Immediately Jesus ·told [compelled; made] his ·followers [disciples] to get into the boat and go ahead of him ·across the lake [to the other side]. He stayed there to ·send the people home [dismiss the crowds]. ²³ After he had ·sent them away [dismissed them], he went by himself up into the ·hills [mountain] to pray. ·It was late, and [When evening/night came,] Jesus was there alone. ²⁴ By this time, the boat was already ·far away [^Lmany stadia; ^Ca stadion was about six hundred feet] from land. It was being ·hit [buffeted; beaten] by waves, because the wind was blowing against it.

²⁵ ·Between three and six o’clock in the morning [^LAnd in the fourth watch of the night], Jesus came to them, walking on the water. ²⁶ When his ·followers [disciples] saw him walking on the water, they were ·afraid [terrified]. They said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out in fear.

²⁷ But Jesus ·quickly [immediately] spoke to them, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter said, “Lord, if it is really you, then ·command [tell] me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ Jesus said, “Come.”

And Peter left the boat and walked on the water ·to [^Land came toward] Jesus. ³⁰ But when Peter saw the wind,^[a] he became ·afraid [terrified] and began to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and ·caught [took hold of] Peter. Jesus said, “·Your faith is small [What little faith you have; ^TYou of little faith]. Why did you doubt?”

³² After they got into the boat, the wind ·became calm [stopped; died down]. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, “Truly you are the Son of God!”

Healings at Gennesaret^(B)

³⁴ When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret. ³⁵ When the ·people there [or men of that place] recognized Jesus, they ·told people [sent word] all around there that Jesus had come, and they brought all their sick to him. ³⁶ They begged Jesus to let them touch just the ·edge [or tassels; see Num. 15:38–39] of his ·coat [cloak], and all who touched it were healed.

Jesus Walks on the Water^(A)

¹⁶ That evening Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] went down to ·Lake Galilee [^Lthe lake/sea]. ¹⁷ It was dark now, and Jesus had not yet ·come to [joined] them. The ·followers [disciples] got into a boat and started across the lake to Capernaum. ¹⁸ By now a strong wind was blowing, and ·the waves on the lake were getting bigger [^Lthe sea/lake rose up]. ¹⁹ When they had rowed the boat about ·three or four miles [^Ltwenty-five or thirty stadia; ^Ca stadion was about 600 feet], they saw Jesus walking on the ·water [sea; lake], coming toward the boat. The ·followers [disciples] were afraid, ²⁰ but Jesus said to them, “It is I [or “I am”; ^Cthere could be an echo here of Ex. 3:14]. Do not be afraid.” ²¹ Then they ·were glad [or were willing] to take him into the boat. ·At once [Immediately] the boat came to land at the place where they wanted to go. [^CThe sea often stands for chaos, and God controls it.]

The People Seek Jesus

²² The next day the ·people [^Lcrowd] who had stayed on the ·other [opposite] side of the ·lake [sea] knew that Jesus had not gone in the boat with his ·followers [disciples] but that they had left ·without him [^Lalone]. And they ·knew [^Lsaw] that only one boat had been there. ²³ But then some boats came from Tiberias [^Ca major city on the western shore of Lake Galilee] and landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ When the ·people [^Lcrowd] saw that Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] were not there now, they got into boats and went to Capernaum to find Jesus.

Jesus, the Bread of Life

²⁵ When ·the people [^Lthey] found Jesus on the ·other [opposite] side of the ·lake [sea], they asked him, “·Teacher [^LRabbi], when did you come here?”