Господи! спаси меня. Христос не остановил ветра и волн, но

простер руку Свою к Петру,

поддержал его и говорит ему: маловерный! зачем ты усомнился? зачем поколебалась вера твоя, силу которой ты испытал, когда, выйдя из лодки, не погрузился в воду, а

пошел по ней ко Мне? — Не усмирил Иисус тотчас же бушующее море преднамеренно, желая показать Петру, что он, восстановив в себе поколебавшуюся веру, может вновь идти по воде.

И, когда вошли они в лодку, ветер утих. Из этих слов Евангелиста видно, что, при том же бурном состоянии моря, Иисус и Петр дошли до лодки по воде, и когда вошли в нее, то тогда только ветер утих.

Пораженные чудом, Апостолы, по выражению Евангелиста Марка,

чрезвычайно изумлялись в себе и дивились, ибо они

they did not understand the miracle of the loaves, because their hearts were hardened (Mark 6:51-52). When Jesus and Peter entered the boat and the wind instantly subsided, amazement was replaced by awe, and they fell down before Jesus, bowed down to Him and said:

verily Thou art the Son of God.

Continuing to sail unhindered, Jesus and the Apostles landed on the shore of the land of Gennesaret, as the Evangelists Matthew and Mark say (Matt. 14:34; Mk. 6:53), or: they landed

to the shore where they sailed, as the Evangelist John says (6:21). In whatever place they landed on the shore, it did not matter; only the indication of the Evangelist John that the boat immediately landed on the shore is important. The boat could not be close to the shore; it was in the middle of the sea, 25-30 stadia from the place of departure; therefore, if it

immediately, that is, extremely quickly, landed on the shore, then this should be seen only as a continuation of the miracle of walking on water.

Opponents of the authenticity of the Gospels see a contradiction between the Evangelists in the fact that, according to John, the Apostles wanted to receive Him (Jesus) into the boat; and immediately the boat landed on the shore where they were sailing, and according to the legends of Matthew and Mark, He entered the boat. From the comparison of these accounts, the conclusion is drawn that the Apostles wanted to receive Jesus into the boat, but did not accept him, and the boat without Him landed on the shore, near which it was at that time.

It is impossible to draw such a conclusion from John's brief, untold narrative. It has been explained above why John speaks briefly about the feeding of the people and Jesus' walking on the water; he said nothing even about Peter walking on water. Therefore, it is at least imprudent to refute the detailed narratives of the other Evangelists by John's brief (as if in passing) reference to the same events. And John's expression —