What does Matthew 14:27 mean?
The disciples are exhausted and terrified. They have been rowing on rough seas against a strong wind for hours (Matthew 14:22). It is between 3 and 6 a.m., they are a few miles from land, and have just noticed a figure walking toward them on the water. They cry out in fear, and someone says that the figure is a ghost. Considering their situation, that's not an unexpected reaction, and it was probably a terrifying sight, at first.As it turns out, the figure is Jesus. He has walked from the place they left Him behind earlier in the evening to catch up with them in the boat. As He approaches, He reassures them. He wants them to take heart and not be afraid. This miracle must be the most surprising and unexpected thing they have seen Jesus do up to this point. Peter's reaction to seeing Jesus do this is almost equally as surprising (Matthew 14:28–29).
Matthew 14:22–33 contains the miracle of Jesus walking on the water. Immediately after feeding thousands of people from a single small portion, Jesus goes up to a mountain to pray. The disciples spend a long night rowing against a strong wind. Jesus walks across the lake to meet them. Peter walks on the water with Jesus briefly before becoming afraid of the wind and waves and beginning to sink. Jesus saves Peter and asks why he doubted. The wind stops when Jesus gets in the boat, and the disciples worship Him as the Son of God.
Matthew 14 begins with a backstory about the arrest and execution of John the Baptist by Herod the tetrarch, the Jewish ruler of the region. Jesus and the disciples take a boat to a desolate place only to find crowds waiting. Jesus heals many and then feeds as many as twenty thousand people with five loaves and two fish. Later, the disciples row against a strong wind until Jesus walks on the water to meet them and calm the wind. Peter walks on water briefly and then doubts and begins to sink. The disciples worship Jesus. On the other side of the lake, Jesus continues to heal the sick.
