This is one of the Bible’s best-loved stories, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s easy for us to visualize the disciples struggling to
get their small ship across the stormy Sea of Galilee, and their astonishment when Jesus comes to them, strolling atop the waves as if the water were a Roman road. We can sympathize with Peter, who in the flush of amazement goes onto the water himself, only to be struck with fear. And we can draw a clear spiritual message of trusting the Lord and believing in His power.
But is that all there is? Did Jesus walk on water just to amaze the disciples and to amaze the reader? Or did it have some deeper meaning?
According to Swedenborg, the story illustrates the fact that the new church being launched by Jesus would bring spiritual life to the wide world, not just the narrow group of specific believers. Viewed on another level, we can see that the Lord works the same way right now as he works to launch a new "church" inside each of us. In both cases, the key element is the desire to be good and loving -- like Jesus, our love can walk safely atop the turbulence and uncertainty of our ideas and opinions, can bring them into order and can raise us up to better things.
One of the key symbols here is the sea. Swedenborg says that water represents "natural truth" -- facts and ideas about the world, nature and relatively external things. The sea is a large collection of water from many different sources. Swedenborg says it represents those in "the outskirts of the church" -- people with a multitude of ideas and viewpoints, united by some desire to do what is right. So there are spiritual ideas and natural ideas tumbling around: We can see that in the roughness of the water.
Another key symbol is the ship, which represents the specific beliefs held by the disciples, their doctrine. They sail that ship, alone, into the turbulence of the beliefs of the "outskirts of the church." The waves show that they were attacked by arguments from natural ideas; the wind shows that their doctrine was not elevated enough to be truly aligned with the Lord’s power.
So Jesus comes to them at dawn – which means the beginning of his new church – walking on the water. This shows that in desiring to be good to everyone, the Lord brings life even to those in external beliefs. Love is not bothered by the arguments of fact verse fact; love floats above our opinions on external things. Love loves.
At first the disciples don’t recognize Jesus and are afraid – the reaction of those in a lower spiritual state to the advance of a higher one. But Jesus reassures them, and Peter – who represents true ideas which spring from the desire for good – dares to walk on the water himself.
For a moment, buoyed by the belief in Jesus, it works. When the desire to be good and loving is above all, the resulting ideas can work without the support of a specific doctrinal system, even in the face of the storms of natural thinking. But the disciples are not ready for this yet; Peter’s confidence fails him and Jesus has to deliver him back to the ship.
The end result, though, is a spiritual advance for the disciples. The fact that the wind stops when Jesus boards the ship shows an elevation in their doctrinal ideas; they are more in accord with the Lord’s power (represented by the wind). And what is this difference? That’s illustrated by the fact that they bow and worship Jesus, calling him the Son of God.
So what does this mean to us? It means a couple of things.
On one hand, we are are (hopefully, anyway) essentially disciples – people with some knowledge of the Lord and the desire to be good. This story shows that the Lord’s love is not restricted to us or to those who believe as we do – it is for everyone, everywhere, in every reach of the sea. And if we want to do the Lord's work, we need to make love and goodness the center of our thoughts and be willing to get out of the ship from time to time, confident that love is for all people with all their ideas and assumptions.
On a deeper level, we can look at the ship and the sea both as aspects of our own hearts and minds. We have our safe, buoyant, carefully built belief systems; we also have our turbulent seas of thoughts and ideas. The story shows that seas can be calmed by the desire to be good and loving, and that when love is the focus the ship can sail peacefully, in harmony with all around it.
Passages from Swedenborg
Apocalypse Explained 514
[21] Concerning the fact of the Lord walking on the sea to the ship in which the disciples were, it is thus written in the Evangelists:
"The ship" (in which the Lord's disciples were), "was in the midst of the sea driven by the wind; in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And Peter said, Bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship he walked on the waters to go to Jesus. But beginning to sink, he was afraid. Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou, of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God" (Matt. xiv. 24-33; Mark vi. 48-52).
And again:
"When even was come, his disciples went down unto the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. When they had rowed about five-and-twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship; and therefore they were afraid. But he saith, It is I; be not afraid. Then they were willing to receive" Jesus "into the ship; but immediately the ship was at the land whither they were going" (John vi. 16-21 and following verses).
All the details here also signify Divine spiritual things, which nevertheless, do not appear in the letter; as the sea, the Lord walkingupon it, the fourth watch in which He came to the disciples, the ship, Jesus entering into it, and thence rebuking the wind and the waves of the sea, with other particulars. But it is not necessary to explain what the spiritual things here separately signify, except to state that the sea signifies the ultimate of heaven and of the church, because in the ultimate borders of the heavens there are seas. The walking of the Lord upon the sea, signified the presence and influx of the Lord into them also, and thence life from the Divine with those who are in the ultimates of heaven; the life of these from the Divine was represented by the Lord walking upon the sea. Their obscure and wavering faith was represented by Peter walking upon the sea, and beginning to sink, but being caught by the Lord he was saved. To walk, also, in the Word, signifies to live. This taking place in the fourth watch, signified the first state of the church, when it is daybreak and the morning is at hand, for then good begins to act by means of truth, and then the coming of the Lord takes place; the sea being in the meantime in commotion from the wind, and the Lord calming it, signifies the preceding natural state of the life, which state is turbulent, and, as it were, tempestuous; but when the state is next to the morning, which is the first state of the church with man, there is tranquillity of mind because the Lord is then present in the good of love.
Matthew 14:22-33
Verse 22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
Verse 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
Verse 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
Verse 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
Verse 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
Verse 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
Verse 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Verse 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
Verse 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Verse 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Verse 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
Verse 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
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