Then he made his disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And when he had taken leave of them, he went off to the mountain to pray. 47 When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore. 48 Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. 49 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. 50 They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” 51 He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were [completely] astounded. 52 They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.
This story is an epiphany. Only the divine could walk on water but the disciples did not understand the true identity of Jesus at that time. The Gospel of Mark recorded that Jesus went up the mountain to pray after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand and before walking on the water (Mk. 6:46). This indicated that it is God is the source that feeds us and God has power over everything in creation. Sometime between 3:00 am and 6:00 am, the disciples were far out in the Sea of Galilee not making much progress. They were terrified when they saw Jesus walking on the water and he said to them, “It is I, do not be afraid (v. 50)!” Only God can, “Tread upon the back of the sea (Job 9:8)." God referred to himself as, “I am who I am (Ex. 3:14)," so Jesus implied that he was God, “The Father and I are one (Jn. 10:30).” The disciples did not understand that Jesus was the Son of God.
Almighty God, with the benefit of hindsight many have come to believe that Jesus is Your Son, but some presume that your loving mercy will always be extended no matter how rebellious they are. Grant us the wisdom to understand how to serve you and the strength to do it. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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