Walking on the Sea of Galilee and Standing Up to Injustice
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Walking on the Sea of Galilee and Standing Up to Injustice
Herb Montgomery | August 7, 2026
If you’d like to listen to this week’s article in podcast version click on the image below:
Our reading this week is from the gospel of Matthew:
Our reading this week is from the gospel of Matthew.
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:22-33)
This week’s reading is a fantastical tale that has deep social and political lessons if we use a life-giving interpretive lens. First, during Jesus’ life, the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) was an economic hub within the Roman client state of Galilee and was ruled by Herod Antipas. Fishermen operated under state-granted licenses and heavy taxation. Their catch was heavily processed, with taxes benefiting Roman and Herodian elites but leaving the common fishermen economically marginalized. Fishing was not a free-market endeavor; it was a state-controlled, monopolistic industry, so fishermen like Peter and Andrew had to obtain licenses and a substantial portion of their catch—sometimes up to 25-40%—was claimed by Roman and temple taxes or to pay off toll collectors. Rather than serving only local customers, Roman and Herodian elites commercialized the Galilean fishing industry. That meant that the fish were heavily salted and processed in towns like Magdala (also known by its Greek name Tarichaeae, which means “Processed-Fishville”). From there, the fish were exported across the Roman Empire. Fishing was a vital industry, yet the fishermen were generally poor, peasant laborers who sustained an empire that stripped away most of their profits. Because of the heavy taxation and dependent livelihoods, many peasants and fishermen experienced severe economic precarity, which bred widespread dissatisfaction and primed the region for unrest and messianic uprisings.
In Michael Okińczyc-Cruz and John Dominic Crossan’s latest book, Jesus and Justice: Organizing for God’s Reign on Earth Then and Now, the authors unpack the socio-economic and political context surrounding the sea of Galilee, a central location in Matthew’s version of the Jesus story:
“What was once a public lake that Jews and other first-century Mediterranean peoples relied upon for food and their way of life was transformed into a privatized imperial enterprise. Herod Antipas viewed the Sea of Galilee and the vulnerable people that lived along its shores as objects for production that could be mercilessly exploited for profit and gain.” (John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okińczyc-Cruz, Jesus and Justice: Organizing for God’s Reign on Earth Then and Now, p. 2)
In Jesus’ lifetime, Herod Antipas hoped to increase his tribute from Galilee to persuade his Roman masters to choose him as their vassal and to rule the whole country as its “king.” But Herod Antipas could not increase his tribute to Rome by squeezing more grain from his peasants without risking a rebellion. A rebellion would have had the opposite effect: Herod would be removed from the region as an incompetent ruler, not chosen to rule it. What Herod did instead was to add to the land’s produce the products produced in the regions second greatest asset, the Sea of Galilee. This would have to be accomplished at the expense of the poor fishermen and peasants. Think of how prominent loaves (grain) and fish are in Jesus story. (For a more detailed account of this history, see John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okińczyc-Cruz’ book Jesus and Justice: Organizing for God’s Reign on Earth Then and Now, p. 11.)
Herod saw the Sea of Galilee and the poor fishing families that surrounded the lake as objects for his ruthless exploitation. He viewed the Sea and his subjects nearby as a vital linchpin in his consolidation of political and economic power across the territories he wanted to rule under the Roman Empire. This spelled profound trouble for the poor peasant fishing families who lived along and near to those shores. Antipas’ lake could supply Rome with what his land could not: fish and fish-factories that could deliver dried fish, salted fish, and fish-sauce to coastal Tyre and into the imperial commerce machine through the “globalization” of the Mediterranean region’s markets. By 20 CE, Herod controlled the lake, exploiting its fish and increasing his imperial tribute in Galilee so that Tiberius and his Roman rulers might extend Herod’s rule to the whole country. Finally, he would become “king of the Jews.”
Michael Okińczyc-Cruz and John Dominic Crossan invite us to think of what these changes “did to small peasant-fishers for whom the lake had once been an aquatic ‘commons’ available to all who could afford a hook, a net, or, even if corporately, a boat. If they could still do any of that, Herod Antipas’ monopoly meant enforced sale at fixed prices to his fish depots. By exploiting the farmers and peasants inland, Antipas had learned to multiply loaves in the land around Sepphoris; and by exploiting the fishermen and surrounding fishing villages, he would now learn how to multiply fishes in the lake around Tiberias. For small local fishers by the 20s, the once-open Lake of Galilee was the now-closed Lake of Tiberias.” (John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okińczyc-Cruz, Jesus and Justice: Organizing for God’s Reign on Earth Then and Now, p. 12).
All of this leads us to what I believe is the most relevant point of this week’s story. Jesus’ act of walking on the water carries more than mere theological significance. It also communicated profound political and social meaning to Jesus followers in the time it was written. Under the rule of Herod Antipas, the Sea of Galilee had become the center of an exploitative fishing economy. Antipas established the city of Tiberias on its western shore and local fishermen, including several of Jesus’ disciples, lived under heavy economic burdens created by this political system.
Against this backdrop, Jesus’ mastery over the waters symbolizes liberating authority over a realm that Herod claimed to control. The lake represented the economic power of the ruling elite, yet Jesus walks across it as one who is not subject to its oppressive structures. Rather than being constrained by the forces of imperial exploitation, he demonstrates that God’s reign transcends and challenges human systems of domination. Jesus’ authority comes not from military power, wealth, or political office but from solidarity with the sacred and divine work of achieving justice for the oppressed.
The disciples’ fear during the storm could mirror the insecurity that ordinary people experienced living under political oppression and economic uncertainty. Jesus’ words, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid,” become a message of liberation to those whose lives were shaped by exploitation. His presence over the turbulent waters assures them that God’s kingdom offers assurance beyond the reach of oppressive rulers. Matthew’s account therefore presents Jesus as more than Lord over creation, a description emphasized by many theological interpretations that seek not to disturb the powerful and privileged. Matthew also presents Jesus as one who confronts unjust political and economic powers. By exercising authority over the very center of Herod Antipas’ commercial enterprise, Jesus proclaims that his kingdom overturns systems of exploitation and restores dignity, hope, and freedom to those marginalized by imperial rule.
In this context, Peter’s attempt to walk on the water in our reading this week is significant. When we read this story against the realities of oppression, fear, and faithful resistance, there are lessons we can glean for our justice work today. At Jesus’ invitation, Peter leaves the relative safety of the boat and steps into the turbulent sea. His action symbolizes the courage required of those who choose to participate in Jesus’ kingdom (a just, compassionate, safe world for everyone) rather than remain within the security of the existing social order. Following Jesus demands more than belief; it requires risking one’s comfort to confront the forces that threaten human dignity.
The waves represent more than natural danger. They can also be understood as the overwhelming powers of political oppression, economic exploitation, violence, and social exclusion that dominated first-century Palestine under Roman rule and the client kings such as Herod Antipas. Like the disciples, communities seeking justice often find themselves surrounded by forces that appear too powerful to overcome. Peter succeeds while his attention remains fixed on Jesus, whose authority surpasses the power of the waves, but he begins to sink when he shifts his attention from Jesus to the raging wind and waves. Socially, this could illustrate how movements for justice falter when fear becomes greater than hope. The intimidation of oppressive systems can paralyze individuals and communities, tempting them to abandon the difficult work of liberation. Fear magnifies the apparent strength of injustice while diminishing confidence in our collective transforming power.
Yet the story does not end with Peter’s failure. As he cries, “Lord, save me,” Jesus immediately reaches out and takes hold of him. Grace meets human fear without shame. A just world is sustained not by flawless courage but by our faithful continuation even when the waves threaten us. Jesus restores Peter, demonstrating that even when we falter or feel ourselves sinking in the struggle for justice, there are hands that remain extended, calling us together to renew our solidarity with each other and courage liberation work today.
Discussion Group Questions
1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s podcast episode with your discussion group.
2. How does our reading this week inform your own justice work, today? Share and discuss with your group.
3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?
Thanks for checking in with us, today.
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My latest book Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political and Economic Teachings of the Gospels is available now on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and also on Audible in audio book format.
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Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.
I love each of you dearly,
I’ll see you next week.
New Episode of The Social Jesus Podcast
A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice.
This week:
Season 3 Episode 32: Walking on the Sea of Galilee and Standing Up to Injustice
Matthew 14:22-33
Jesus’ act of walking on the water carries more than mere theological significance. It also communicated profound political and social meaning to Jesus followers in the time it was written. Under the rule of Herod Antipas, the Sea of Galilee had become the center of an exploitative fishing economy. Antipas established the city of Tiberias on its western shore and local fishermen, including several of Jesus’ disciples, lived under heavy economic burdens created by this political system. Against this backdrop, Jesus’ mastery over the waters symbolizes liberating authority over a realm that Herod claimed to control and a lake that was at the center of Herod’s exploitative plan.
Available on all major podcast carriers and at:
Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels.
by Herb Montgomery
Available now on Amazon!
In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity.
Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society.
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