Today’s Gospel is one of the miracles classified as an Epiphany miracle. The reason for that is that the miracle intends to reveal something hidden about Christ; in this case, His divine identity is being revealed.
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
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.
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded. Mark 6:47-51
In this narrative, recorded by Matthew, Mark, and John,1 Our Lord tells His apostles to go to the other side of the sea, and He will follow later on after He prays. Each of the Gospels has the same basic layout for the miracle:
The Apostles get in a boat and leave Jesus on the shore
In the late hours of the night, they see Him walking on the water
They are afraid
He reveals His identity
The Apostles respond with wonder and adoration
I want to concentrate on each of these points to really get down to the beauty of this miracle and what Our Blessed Lord is revealing to His apostles and to us.
The first part of this miracle involves the setup, so to speak. Our Lord goes off to pray and instructs His apostles to get in the boat and cross the sea. They do as they are instructed, and Our Lord follows them later on. This shows an intentional act by Our Lord. He could have simply asked them to wait for Him as He prayed, or He could have gone with them and prayed when they got to the other side of the sea, but Our Lord desired to reveal to His apostles His divine identity.2
The second part of this miracle is immensely important as it is the miracle itself. Here, we find the Lord walking on water. This is a very important manifestation as it is a clear revelation of His divinity. For a first-century Jewish believer, to see someone walking on the water would have immediately alerted him to the divine identity of that person since only God could do something like this. To the Jewish mind, the book of Job would be recalled:
“[God] alone stretched out the sky and walks on the sea as on dry ground...” Job 9:8, LXX
Even in pagan societies, the ability to walk on water was seen as a distinctly divine action. Multiple pagan emperors and kings claimed this ability, going so far as to build bridges just below the surface of the water to create the illusion of walking on the waves so as to reinforce the belief that they were divine.
Christ does this miracle intentionally, knowing what it represents for a first-century human person, whether Jewish or Gentile.
Third, the response of the Apostles is telling. They respond with fear, thinking that there might be a ghost in front of them. Even when they see that it is Jesus, the fear does not leave them. One could say that the fear is transformed, however, from a fear of the unknown to a holy fear in light of the miracle itself, one that we might call Fear of the Lord. There, in the fourth watch of the night, that is between 3 am and 6 am, in the darkest part of the night before the dawn, the divine Lord comes to His apostles, and they are struck with a holy fear of His divine presence.
Fourth, Our Lord’s response is even more revealing than the miracle itself. Depending on the translation that is used, we will find it rendered a little differently each time. But returning to the Greek of the New Testament, we find a more authentic wording:
“Ego Eimi Ho On”
This Greek phrase is what is referred to as I AM. We find it in multiple scripture passages as the name of God:
“Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” Ex 3:13–14.
“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine... that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He.” Is 43:1, 10.
“I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Is 43:25.
In addition to these, Our Lord takes the name of God for Himself in the Gospel of John:
“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Jn 8:58.
In each of these instances, the Greek is the same: “Ego Eimi Ho On.” While this is translated in various ways: I am who am, I am who I am, It is I, etc. It is probably best understood by its Latin rendering: Ipsum Esse Subsistens, that is, BEING ITSELF. The reality that Christ is manifesting is that He is BEING ITSELF. He is Existence, that which holds all things in being. He has no beginning and no end. There is nothing that holds Him in existence. He is not contingent on anything or anyone else. He simply IS. This is the divine identity. When Moses asked who it was that was sending Him to Egypt, God replied with this name: I AM, indicating His absolute Being. Christ takes this name, the name of God, for Himself. Only God can walk on the water, and only God can claim to be BEING ITSELF.
Finally, we find the response of the Apostles. Mark writes that they were astounded.3 However, Matthew4 records that the apostles worshiped Him. Whether we look at Mark or Matthew, both of these responses, that of Wonder or Awe, and that of Worship, are rightly given to God. It is indicative of what was just shown to them through this miracle, that is, that Jesus Christ is God. This is what Matthew indicates at the end of his account:
And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Mt 14:33.
The Epiphany Miracles are meant to reveal Our Lord’s divine personhood. They are meant to show that He is much more than a prophet and that the Messiah is not simply a human person sent to lead some political revolt, but that He is the Son of God, Incarnate, sent to redeem the world from our sin. The beauty of these miracles is that they are intimately tied to the rest of scripture, as we can see from this short consideration. Our Lord desires to reveal His Divine Identity to both His apostles and to us, to enliven our faith so that we can believe that He is truly the Son of God.
For more from Dr. McGovern, visit his Substack at A Thomist, Dedicated to the Theological tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas. Exploring Thomas’ Spiritual Theology and topics in Christology and Mariology.
Matthew 14:22–27; John 6:16–20.
Interestingly, in each of the Gospels that record this miracle, it takes place after the feeding of the multitudes on the multiplied loaves and fish. It seems Our Lord knew that the Apostles needed something extra to enliven their faith even after seeing that sign. This could be why Mark records that the Apostles’ hearts remained hardened. Cf. Mark 6:52.
Mark 6:51.
Matthew 14:33.
Beautiful…wonderful…amazing…thank you!!