“When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.
It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.”
In John 6:16-21, we read the account of Jesus walking on the water, coming to his disciples who were caught in their boat in the middle of a terrible storm. He calms their fears and the storm and they miraculously reach their destination.
Is this simply a tremendous supernatural event for us to applaud? Or is there more to it?
Why did Jesus walk on the water and still the storm?
What was He “saying” by His actions?
That He is greater than the storm? Yes.
That He is even above the very waters that His disciples feared they were going to drown in? Yes
But there’s more. Let’s look at three specific things in this passage that shows what Jesus was revealing about Himself.
Firstly….
The writer of Psalm 89, speaks of God’s power….
Here is what was written in Psalm 89:8-9
“O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD,……
You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.”
Jesus was showing in a very visible way to His disciples when He simply walked on the raging sea and stilled the waves, that He was the One that Psalm 89:9 talks about.
Secondly….
Jesus identified Himself to His disciples, “It is I…”
The Greek phrase here is: “EGO EIMI” or I AM.
This is the very name of God, as the ever-existing, the ever-living, and the eternal. Jesus identified Himself with the same name that Yahweh revealed Himself to Moses! (Exodus 3:14)
Hence, this verse in the Aramaic Bible in Plain English reads:
But Yeshua said to them, “I AM THE LIVING GOD, do not be afraid.” John 6:20
(because that is the meaning in herent in the divine name “I AM”.)
Thirdly…..
This passage in John ends with verse 21 as follows.
“Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.”
In Psalm 107:29-30 describes the deeds of God in this manner.
“He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.”
Once again, we see that what Jesus did when He waked on the water and stilled the storm was more than just a fantastic miracle.
It was a very visible demonstration of who He truly is.