John 6:19b-21 19Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 20But he said to them, “I AM; do not be afraid.” 21Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
The disciples had started on the journey and gone out a long way out from the shore. The note of twenty-five or thirty stadia, which is about three to four miles, highlights the distance Jesus had to go to catch up with them. At that distance from the shore, the water would have been deep. There is no way he could have walked on a sandbar, as some skeptics claim. This was a true miracle beyond any explanation except by Jesus’ control over the elements of nature.
John does not reference the disciples being afraid of the wind or waves but from seeing Jesus walking out to them on the water. The preposition upon (epi) indicates that this event did not take place along the shore where Jesus could just walk out a short distance. Rather, he was walking on the surface of the water. The disciples were smart enough to realize that no one walks on water, so this could have been a ghost, as Mark 6:49 records. Their worldviews were being shaken. The miracles so far had been safe and easy. This was something beyond their imagination. John does not get into the details of the disciples’ fear but focuses more on the revelation of Jesus.
Verse 20 records one of the simplest but most amazing short statements in John’s Gospel. In response to the disciples’ fear, Jesus simply said, “I am” (egō eimi). This is one of the non-predicate “I am” sayings of Jesus (compare 6:35; 10:14; 15:1). Some English translations will turn this phrase into something like “it is I,” which is possible but misses the significance of John’s style of writing and revelation of the person of Jesus as the Son of God. The Greek could simply and accurately be translated as “It is I,” but the possible allusions to deity should also be considered. The disciples may have recognized Jesus’ response in the original Aramaic in echo of the words of Yahweh in Exodus 3:14 when Moses asked who was sending him. Jesus is the revelation of the “I AM” of the Old Testament in human form. Whatever the possible interpretation, these words stand out in the story as the only ones spoken, and they come from the One who had the power to change the situation.
The disciples immediately changed from fear to joy when they realized Jesus was with them. When Jesus comes into our presence, we do not need to fear. As Jesus climbed on board, time slipped away and the disciples found themselves on the other side of the Sea, which was another miracle of time since John used the word immediately (eutheōs). Jesus brought calm to the sea and calm to the hearts and minds of the disciples. The disciples must have been left wondering about the person and power of Jesus. Jesus’ revelation of himself was not finished. It was not enough for the disciples to be fascinated by this person. They needed to count the cost of committing their lives to him.
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