EXPLORE THE TEXT
We can trust Jesus to walk with us in the storms of life.
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat
and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
23 After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
Well into the night, he was there alone.
24 Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from land,
battered by the waves, because the wind was against them.
25 Jesus came toward them walking on the sea very early in the morning.
26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified.
“It’s a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear.
27 Immediately Jesus spoke to them.
“Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Many of Jesus’s disciples were experienced fishermen who probably had dealt with storms on the Sea of Galilee before.
Describe the meaning of “battered” and the wind being against them.
the term: Meanwhile turns the focus back to the disciples in the boat.
Early in the morning (v. 25) provides a timeframe,
Some distance from the land provides a location.
According to John’s account, they were “three or four miles” out into the lake (John 6:19).
Nothing indicates that these experienced fishermen feared for their lives, but they were dealing with difficult conditions.
The word battered sometimes referred to torture or great distress.
The disciples were struggling against the natural elements.
Jesus had dismissed them around sundown and now it was nearing sunrise.
The wording suggests between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.
walking on the sea.
The words are a Christological statement identifying Jesus as God.
Job testified that God walks on “the waves of the sea” (Job 9:8). In Psalm 77:19, Asaph proclaimed that God makes His way “through the sea and . . . through the vast water.” (See also Isa. 43:16.)
In other words, Jesus was doing what only God can do!
Jesus came to the disciples for two reasons:
to join them and to help them. .When His disciples cried out in terror and fear, Jesus immediately called out to them.
His words were intended to encourage them and allay their fears.
Have courage, He said, it is I.
Literally, Jesus declared, “I am.” . .With this short exclamation, Jesus was hinting at the presence of the great “I Am,” the Lord God Almighty.
This was God Himself who was with them during the wind and waves.
There was no need to be afraid. (PSG, pp. 12-13)