Matthew 14:30

Mat 14:30. Βλέπων, seeing) Peter both felt the wind, and saw it on the waves.—τὸν ἄνεμον the wind.) The wind had been strong before that, but had not been so much observed by Peter.—ἐφοβήθη, he was afraid) Although he was a fisherman, and a good swimmer; see Joh 21:7. They who have begun to depend on grace are less able to employ nature.—καταποντίζεσθαι, to sink) According to the measure of his faith, he was supported by the water; just as the Israelites prevailed according as the hands of Moses were held up.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 14:30 . βλέπων τὸν ἄνεμον , seeing the wind, that is, the effects of it. It is one thing to see a storm from the deck of a stout ship, another to see it in midst of the waves. καταποντίζεσθαι : he walked at first, now he begins to sink; so at the final crisis, so at Antioch (Gal 2:11 ), so probably all through. A strange mixture of strength and weakness, bravery and cowardice; a man of generous impulses rather than of constant firm will. “Peter walked on the water but feared the wind : such is human nature, often achieving great things, and at fault in little things.” ( πολλάκις τὰ μεγάλα κατορθοῦσα , ἐν τοῖς ἐλάττοσι ἐλέγχεται , Chrys., H. 1.)

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me--(Also see on Mar 6:50.)

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 30. When he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid] It was by faith in the power of Christ he was upheld; when that faith failed, by which the laws of gravitation were suspended, no wonder that those laws returned to their wonted action, and that he began to sink. It was not the violence of the winds, nor the raging of the waves, which endangered his life, but his littleness of faith.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(30) When he saw the wind boisterous.—The adjective is wanting in the best MSS.

He was afraid.—In the conflict between sight and faith, faith was worsted, and with that came fear. The supernatural strength left him, and the swimmer’s art would not now avail, and so the waters were closing over him, and he cried out in his agony. And then the gracious pity of his Lord helped the “little faith” with the firm sustaining grasp, not, indeed, without a word of loving reproof, and yet as unwilling even here to quench the smoking flax.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand,.... The Syriac reads it, "and in that very moment"; for his case requires immediate assistance, and Christ readily gave it; he reached out his hand at once, being just by him,

and caught him; as he was sinking to the bottom, and lifted him up, and set him on his feet upon the water, and enabled him to walk with him to the ship; but not without reproving him for the weakness of his faith,

and said unto him, O thou of little faith: he does not say, O thou unbeliever! or, O thou who hast no faith! for some faith he had, though but small; of this phrase; see Gill on Mat 6:30.

Wherefore didst thou doubt? waver, fluctuate, or wast divided between faith and fear. He was worthy of reproof, since he had had the order of Christ to come to him upon the water; and an experience of his power in supporting him thus far; and was now so near unto him, that he had no room to doubt, whether it was he or not, nor of his power to preserve him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

Ver. 30. But when he saw the wind boisterous] Every bird can sing in a sunny day; and it is easy to swim in a warm bath; but to believe in an angry God, as David; in a killing God, as Job; to stick to him in deepest desertion, as the Church, Psa 44:17-18; to trust in his name, and stay upon his word, where there is darkness and no light, as Isa 50:10; to cast anchor even in the darkest night of temptation, when neither sun nor stars appear, as Paul and his company, Act 27:20, praying still for day, and waiting till it dawn, O quam hoc non est omnium! this is not in the power of every Peter, who yet shall be graciously supported that they faint not, neither sink under the heaviest burden of their light afflictions. It was not so much the strength of the wind, as the weakness of his faith, that put Peter into this fit of fear. Be we faithful in weakness, though weak in faith, and it shall go well with us. Be as a ship at anchor, which, though it move much, yet removes not at all.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He was afraid. As long as Peter had his eye and faith fixed on Christ, the liquid element yielded not to his steps; but the moment he turns his thoughts on himself, his own weakness, and the violence of the winds and waves, he begins to lose confidence, and on that account to sink. Again his faith saves him; he calls upon the Lord, who stretcheth forth his arm, and takes hold of him. (Jansenius) --- By his confidence in God, we learn what we can do by the divine assistance; and by his fear, what we are of ourselves: also, that no one receives from God the strength he stands in need of, but he who feels that of himself he can do nothing. (St. Augustine, ser. 76.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

30. The wind boisterous — The windy waves were stronger than Peter’s faith.

“To understand the causes of these sudden and violent tempests we must remember that the lake lies low, six hundred feet lower than the ocean; that the vast and naked plateaus of the Jaulan rise to a great height, spreading backward to the wilds of the Hauran and upward to snowy Hermon; that the water-courses have cut out profound ravines and wild gorges, converging to the head of this lake, and that these act like gigantic funnels to draw down the cold winds from the mountains. The faith of Peter in desiring and daring to set foot on such a sea is most striking and impressive, more so indeed than its failure after the attempt. Those winds are not only violent, but they come down suddenly, and often when the sky is perfectly clear.” — Dr. Thomson.

There can be but little fair doubt that this was a symbol as well as a miracle. The ship full of disciples is no unapt symbol of the Church struggling through darkness and storms. The Saviour is ever her deliverer in the darkest hour.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But when he saw the wind boysterous (iscuron is clearly a gloss, and therefore omitted by the Revised Version). He was afraid; and beginning to sink. The natural tendency to sink, which he had had all the time, was counteracted before by his faith, which enabled him to receive Christ"s power. But now that his doubt made him incapable of receiving this, he sank (cf. Meyer). He cried (ekraxen), saying, Lord, save me. (Mat_8:25) Aphraates ("Homilies," vide Resch, "Agrapha," p. 380) quotes an apocryphal saying of our Lord"s, "Doubt not; lest ye are engulfed in the world, as Simon; for he doubled, and began to sink in the sea."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He was afraid - Though he had been used to the sea, and was a skilful swimmer. But so it frequently is. When grace begins to act, the natural courage and strength are withdrawn.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

30. When he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid. He stepped into the water, but the roaring winds and rushing billows were too much for his faith.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

30. ἰσχυρόν, omitted by Tischendorf on the evidence of א B* 33. Lachmann and Tregelles, who retain it, did not know of א.

30. ἰσχυρόν. Predicate.

καταποντίζεσθαι. Here and ch. Mat 18:6 only in N.T. ‘to sink into the deep sea’ (πόντος, the wide open sea, so the deep sea, connected with πάτος and pons, ‘the watery way,’ (Curtius), but according to others with βένθος, βάθος).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He was afraid. "Although," says Bengel, "a fisherman and a good swimmer" (Joh 21:7).

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.