Day 60 - Didn't I walk on the Water
- Congregational Federation
- Apr 18
- 2 min read
Today`s Lectionary Gospel is John 6 verses 16-21 and I turned to the great William Barclay, for an exposition of the text.
According to Barclay, despite this being “one of the most wonderful stories in the Fourth Gospel,” it is “all the more wonderful when we press behind the meaning of the Greek to find that it really describes not some extraordinary miracle, but a simple incident in which John found, in a way he never forgot, what Jesus was like.”
Barclay bases this assertion on a number of facts.
1.“At the north end, the lake was no more than four miles across and John tells us that the disciples had rowed between three and four miles, that is to say, they were nearly at their journey`s end. It is natural to suppose that in the wind, they hugged the shore of the lake, seeking what shelter they could find.”
2. “They saw Jesus walking on the sea. The Greek is: epi tes thalasses; which is exactly the phrase used in John 21:1, where it means (it has never been questioned) that Jesus was walking on the seashore. That is what the phrase means in this passage too. The toiling disciples looked up and suddenly saw him. It was all so unexpected, they had been bent so long over their oars, that they were alarmed because they thought it was a spirit they were seeing. Then across the waters came that well-loved voice `It is I. Do not be afraid`”
And before they know it, the boat had been blown ashore.
“Looking back on the experience, John saw wonders that are still there for us.
He saw that Jesus watches. Up on the hill, Jesus had been watching them. When we are up against it, Jesus watches. Life is lived with the loving eye of Jesus upon us.
He saw that Jesus comes down. Down from the hillside Jesus came to enable the disciples make that last pull to safety. When strength is failing, he comes with strength for the last effort which leads to victory.
He saw that Jesus helps. It is the wonder of the Christian life that there is nothing that we are left to do alone.
He saw that Jesus brings us to the haven. It seemed to John, as he remembered it, that as soon as Jesus arrived, the keel of the boat grated on the shingle and they were there.
One of the loveliest things in the Fourth Gospel is that John, the old fisherman turned evangelist, found all the wealth of Christ in the memory of a fisherman`s story.”
Now whether you accept Barclays interpretation, or prefer the one you heard in Sunday school is not important. The truth behind the story is eternal – Jesus watches, Jesus comes, Jesus helps and Jesus brings us to the safe haven.
Reflect on that as you listen to today`s hymn from the Family Worship Centre, Baton Rouge, Louisiana USA.
Alan Kennedy
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