John 6:21

When the disciples realized that it was Jesus, they willingly received Him into the boat. Perhaps Jesus met the disciples fairly close to their destination and so it did not take them long to arrive there. Perhaps with Jesus in the boat the remaining trip appeared to them to be a short one, or with the wind subdued it did not take them long to reach land. Any of these explanations could account for John’s description. Many commentators believed that John referred to a second miracle and that the boat supernaturally reached Capernaum swiftly. There seems little point to such a miracle, however, and there is nothing in the text that explains it.

The feeding of the 5,000 presents Jesus as the provider of people’s needs. His walking on the water pictures Him as the protector of those who trust and obey Him. The second of these two signs taught the disciples that Jesus had authority over nature (cf. Job 38:8-11; Psalms 29:3-4; Psalms 29:10-11; Psalms 65:5-7; Psalms 89:9; Psalms 107:29). [Note: Tenney, John: The Gospel . . ., p. 132.] John undoubtedly recorded the incident to teach his readers the same lesson. Both miracles demonstrated Jesus’ equality with the Father, whom Old Testament writers described as doing these things.