25 “And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:25–27 (ESV)
Jesus’ miracles always generated a response. People responded to Jesus with gratitude, praise, wonder and, with respect to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, hatred. Very rarely, if at all, were people ambivalent when Jesus revealed His power, presence and personhood as God in the flesh.
One interesting response to the Lord because of His miracles was fear. The disciples feared Jesus when He stilled the storm (Matt. 8:23-25; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25). The Gadarenes feared Jesus when He cast out the demons (Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:34-39). It was this reaction that Jesus was mindful of when He approached the disciples in the midst of yet another storm on the Sea of Galilee.
Following the feeding of the 5,000 men (Matt. 14:13-21), Jesus instructed His disciples to get into a boat and sail to Bethsaida, located on the western shore (Matt. 14:22; Mark 6:45). He then dismissed the crowd and went into the surrounding mountainside to pray (Matt. 14:23). As evening came, the disciples battled an intense storm that prevented them from safely reaching shore (Matt. 14:24).
It was during the fourth watch, between the hours of 3:00 am – 6:00 am, while they still battled the winds and waves that Jesus approached them by walking on the water. It was once again an occasion that Jesus miraculously revealed His power, person and presence before His disciples.
As in the previously mentioned storm account, the disciples were terrified (ταράσσω; tarasso). In other words, they were greatly disturbed and distressed. This was not so much because of the surrounding storm but rather because of the approaching Lord.
They screamed out in fear, ““It is a ghost!” Their cry was from the depths of their being. The fear of the dangerous storm gave way to the disciples’ terror at the approaching figure they believed to be an apparition or ghoul.
Sensing their fear, Jesus immediately said to them, ““Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Jesus continually assured the disciples they had nothing to fear. He commanded them to have courage or to be cheerful because it was Him. He then commanded them to not be afraid.
“Christ’s walking on water was a revelation of His deity. In the Old Testament, only God can control the wind and the sea, and He is even said to walk or trample on the waves in passages such as Job 9:8. By walking on water, Jesus showed that He shares the same abilities as God Himself and is therefore true deity,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.
“Furthermore, the English phrase “it is I” spoken by Jesus (v. 50) translates the Greek phrase egõ eimi. That is significant because God uses egõ eimi to describe Himself in Exodus 3 (in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), and the same phrase is used repeatedly by Jesus in John’s gospel (John 6; 8; 9; 10; 11; 14; 15).
Jesus’ walking on the water was not intended to be entertaining for the disciples. Neither was the feeding of the crowd with two fish and five loaves of bread. Rather, miracles are moments of God’s self-disclosure of His person, power and presence. Have you encountered a miracles recently?
Soli deo Gloria!
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