Sally A Brown, Professor of Preaching Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary
Few Gospel texts have engendered more diverse trajectories of interpretation than Matthew’s version of the story of Jesus walking on the water in the midst of a storm (Mt 14:22-33). Only in Matthew do we read of Peter climbing out of the boat to walk toward Jesus on the waves. NT scholars divide sharply on how this undertaking and Jesus’ response (“Why did you doubt?” v 31c) should be interpreted.
A decisive factor in understanding Peter’s action is how one interprets the opening phrase of Peter’s request (or challenge) in v 28: does Peter say, “Since it is you . . .” or “If it is you . . .”?
The more traditional interpretation turns on opting for “Since it is you,” which would indicate utter confidence on Peter’s part that the one approaching them on the water is indeed their Lord and is Master of wind and waves, which represented chaos and evil in first century Mediterranean cultures. Peter longs to have Jesus call him out onto the water, perhaps to reassure his terrified companions that they are not in peril. Interpretations following this path treat Peter’s action as a laudable act of profound trust in Jesus’ divine power over the elements. Only when Peter’s focus shifts to the power of the wind does he give in to fear and begin to sink, crying out, “Lord, save me!” On this reading Jesus’s admonition is a gentle chiding, “You of little faith, why did you doubt [that I could keep you from sinking]?” This interpretation of the scene has inspired centuries of sermons that see Peter’s action as an exemplary demonstration of faithful discipleship. We must trust Jesus in the storms of life, keep our eyes on him rather than life’s frightening “storms,” and trust unswervingly when Jesus commands us to risk everything for him.
Other NT interpreters sharply disagree. Their alternate reading of this story turns on opting for “if it is you” (v 28), which would suggest that Peter doubts Jesus’ self-identification, with its clear divine overtone, in v 27b: “Do not fear; I AM!” Failing to take Jesus at his word, Peter “tests” (or even dares?) Jesus to prove his identity by “commanding” him to “come to [him] on the water” (v 28). Jesus indulges Peter, who predictably begins to sink (since this venture is motivated more by doubt than faith) and cries out for salvation. It is Jesus’ power to save, not Peter’s brief success, that validates Jesus’ self-identifying word. Jesus chides Peter firmly, not for his “little faith” that Jesus could make him walk on water, but his lack of faith in Jesus’ self-identifying word – “I AM!” Sermons that follow this reading of the text underscore that faith consists not gratuitously undertaking dangerous actions (the snake-handling rites of some US Christian sects come to mind), but in trusting, purely on the basis of Jesus’ self-identifying word, that Jesus has divine power to save.
At times, textual ambiguity is not a curse but a gift. Both interpretations have merit. Both declare that “Jesus saves.” I shall leave it to our readers to choose their path to the pulpit this week. I recommend that preachers be particularly attentive to Professor Petropoulos’s grammatical insights, and mindful, as well, of those particular, chaotic, faith-testing and fear-inducing “winds and waves” that confront your listeners, or your congregation as a whole, at this time.
Perhaps we are most like the other disciples who stay in the boat. They are exhausted and fearful. At each moment in this story, what do they see and hear? How and when does their fear give way to faith –faith so profound that, as one, they worship, declaring, “You are indeed God’s Son!”
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 