Is This How Jesus Walked On Water?
Walking on water is one of the most well-known miracles attributed to Jesus. Most experts agree Jesus was a real person, per Live Science. The miraculous feats he's said to have accomplished during his lifetime are another matter, at least as far as they can be proven through science, rather than accepted as a matter of faith, or through divine intervention. When it comes to walking on water, though, research from the last decade suggests that the story may in fact have a scientific explanation, more so than what was previously believed.
Per Learn Religions, the New Testament story of Jesus walking on water begins shortly after another miracle, called the feeding of the 5,000, or the miracle of the five loaves and two fish. According to the story, Jesus sent his disciples across the Sea of Galilee before him. When a storm struck, Jesus was then seen walking on the water, reassuring them as he approached. Although believers take many lessons from the New Testament story, scientific evidence that might explain the story has been missing until relatively recently.
It might have been ice
As reported by The Guardian in 2006, unique weather and water conditions can sometimes create a thin layer of ice on the surface of the Sea of Galilee. According to a team of U.S. and Israeli scientists, this possibly explains how Jesus appeared to be walking on water, as it is recorded in the New Testament. According to the study, iced-over parts of the water, called "springs ice" or salty springs, dotted the shore of Galilee. The phenomenon has even been observed near Tabgha, an ancient settlement mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.
If a patch of ice had broken off, blown smooth and nearly undetectable by the heavy wind, it might explain how Jesus seemed to be walking on water. According to Doron Nof, professor of physical oceanography at Florida State University and the study's lead author, odds are there was at least one, but perhaps as many as four, of these cold periods that occurred during the life of Christ, per The Guardian. For this reason, "The chance that there was ice on the lake is very, very high," he said. For science-minded individuals, this presents a scientific explanation for the miraculous feat. For the faithful, the veracity of the story was never in doubt.