tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament
Based on John chapter 6 verses 14 to 20 & Matthew chapter 14 verses 28 to 36
Walking on Water
‘It was hard work passing out all that bread and fish to all those people! And by the time we’d each collected a basket full of leftovers, the twelve of us were exhausted!’
‘It was then that the crowds realised Jesus had just fed well over five thousand people from the contents of a child’s packed lunch, they were amazed! It was an incredible miracle and reminded them of how in the time of Moses, God had fed the people of Israel with manna from heaven when they were wandering in the desert.’
‘It was enough to convince some of the crowd that Jesus was the ‘Great Prophet’ Moses had promised would one day come, and so they decided that they were going to make Him king, even if it meant they had to use force to make it happen!’
‘Jesus was indeed the ‘Great Prophet’, but at that time we didn’t understand how the ‘Great Prophet’ Moses had promised would come us, and that His kingdom wasn’t one restricted to the earth. And so Jesus slipped away from us all and made His way higher up into the hills to be alone and pray.’ (PAUSE)
‘As the crowd melted away, going back to their home, the twelve of us, His disciples, were left waiting for Jesus. Jesus hadn’t left any instructions with us about what we were supposed to do. So after a while we wandered back to the boat and waited for Him there.’
‘The hours ticked by slowly, and when it started to get dark and we realised Jesus wasn’t going to be coming back with us, we set sail for Capernaum.’
‘The wind was against us from the start and we made slow progress through heavy waves. When we were about three or four miles out into the lake, our minds were completely absorbed in the battle against the waves and in trying to make headway through the dark seas. So when, at about three o’clock in the morning, we saw a figure walking on the water towards us out of the night we screamed in terror!’
‘But no sooner had we seen the figure and started to scream than the voice of Jesus came to us strong and loud from the figure in the darkness. ‘It’s all right,’ He said. ‘It’s me! I’m here! Don’t be afraid.’’
‘As we looked at each other, not sure what to think or do, Peter started shouting back. ‘Lord, if it really is you, then tell me to come to you by walking on the water.’’
‘The rest of us couldn’t believe what we were hearing! Peter wanted to walk to Jesus on the water – in this storm?’
‘‘Come to me Peter,’ Jesus said.’ (P)
‘It was so typical of my brother Peter! Without a second thought he leapt out over the side of the boat and, gazing at Jesus, he started to walk on the water towards Him!’ (PAUSE)
‘Maybe it was the howling winds that first caught Peter’s attention and took his eyes off Jesus. Whatever it was that broke his concentration, Peter started to notice the massive waves rolling by, and as he saw them and stopped looking at Jesus, terror grasped at his heart, and as the fear took hold so he started to slip down into the water. ‘Save me Lord,’ he screamed as he sank lower and lower.’
‘Instantly, without a moment’s hesitation, Jesus reached out His hand and grabbed hold of Peter. ‘You don’t trust me very much do you Peter?’ He said. ‘Why did you doubt me?’’
‘The two of them climbed into the boat and as they did, the wind stopped.’ (PAUSE)
‘It was then that all of us fell to our knees and worshipped Jesus. We had seen the impossible, Jesus coming to us walking on water in the midst of a storm, and then calling Peter to come to Him on the water. We had seen Jesus save Peter’s life when he called out to Him for help. And so on bended knee we all said to Jesus, ‘You really are the Son of God.’’ (PAUSE)
‘We landed at Gennesaret and it seemed that within moments the news of our arrival spread throughout the whole region. Soon crowds of people arrived, begging Jesus to heal the sick. Even the sick themselves begged just to be able to touch the fringe of His robe, and everyone who touched it was healed.’