John 6:19

(Hom. xliii. 1) And at last He appears quite unexpectedly: They see Jesus walking upon the sea, drawing nigh. He reappears after His retirement, teaching them what it is to be forsaken, and stirring them to greater love; His reappearance manifesting His power. They were disturbed, were afraid, it is said. Our Lord comforts them: But He saith unto them, It is I, be not afraid.

To the multitude He showeth not Himself walking upon the sea, for the miracle was too great to suit their infirmity. Indeed, even by the disciples He was not seen long doing this, but He appeared, and at once retired.

The Jews under the guidance of Moses passed over the Red Sea, but that case is widely different from this. He did all with prayer and as a servant, but Christ with absolute power. There when the south wind blew, the water yielded so as to make them pass over on dry land, but here the miracle was greater. For the sea retaining its proper nature so bare its Lord upon its surface, thus testifying to the Scripture which saith, "Who walketh upon the sea as upon a pavement." (Job ix. 8.)

Wherefore then doth Christ let them go, and not show Himself? And again, wherefore doth He show Himself walking alone upon the sea? By the first He teacheth them how great an evil it is to be forsaken by Him, and maketh their longing greater; by the second, again, He showeth forth His power. For as in His teaching they heard not all in common with the multitude, so in the case of the miracles they saw them not all with the mass of people, since it was needful that they who were about to receive in charge the presidency of the world, should have somewhat more than the rest.

When they are separated by great interval from the land, and it was like that they in their trouble would no way be saved (for they were now in the midst of the sea) then Christ thrice longed for appears to them. For thus could He give most welcome salvation to those in danger, when fear had already cut off all hope of life. But He appears to them miraculously (for so was it ordered to their greater profit) and they are astonished beholding Jesus going through the midst of the sea and upon the very waters, and make the miracle an addition to their fear. But Christ immediately relieves them from their misfortunes, saying, I am, be not afraid. For need, need must all disquiet be away, and they be openly superior to all danger, to whom Christ is now present. We shall see then by this again, that we ought to have a spirit courageous and manly in temptations, and endurance intense from hope in Christ, confirmed unto good confidence in our being surely saved, even though many be the fears of temptation that pour around us.

For observe that Christ does not appear to those in the boat immediately on their setting sail, nor at the commencement of their dangers, but when they are many furlongs off from the land. For not when the condition which harasses us first begins, does the grace of Him who saves visit us, but when the fear is at its height, and the danger now shews itself mighty, and we are found, so to say, in the midst of the waves of afflictions: then unlooked for does Christ appear, and puts away our fear, and will free us from all danger, by His Ineffable Power changing the dread things into joy, as it were a calm.

It can also be asked why, when the disciples were laboring on the sea, the Lord stood on the shore after His resurrection, though before His resurrection He had walked on the waves of the sea before His disciples. The reason for this matter is quickly understood if the cause that was then present is considered. For what does the sea signify except the present age, which dashes itself against the tumults of affairs and the waves of corruptible life? What is figured by the solidity of the shore except that perpetuity of eternal rest? Because the disciples were still amid the waves of mortal life, they were laboring on the sea. But because our Redeemer had already passed beyond the corruption of the flesh, after His resurrection He was standing on the shore.

He says only "I am." He trusts that they will easily recognize his voice, which was so familiar to them. Or, more probably, he shows that he was the same who said to Moses, "Say to the children of Israel, the one who is has sent me to you."

(in v. cap. Joan.) The way of speaking we use, when we are in doubt; about five and twenty, we say, or thirty.

This ship, however, does not carry an idle crew; they are all stout rowers; i. e. in the Church not the idle and effeminate, but the strenuous and persevering in good works, attain to the harbour of everlasting salvation.

Observe the three miracles here; the first, His walking on the sea; the second, His stilling the waves; the third, His putting them immediately on shore, which they were some distance off, when our Lord appeared.

When either men or devils try to terrify us, let us hear Christ saying, It is I, be not afraid, i. e. I am ever near you, God unchangeable, immoveable; let not any false fears destroy your faith in Me. Observe too our Lord did not come when the danger was beginning, but when it was ending. He suffers us to remain in the midst of dangers and tribulations, that we may be proved thereby, and flee for succour to Him Who is able to give us deliverance when we least expect it. When man's understanding can no longer help him, then the Divine deliverance comes. If we are willing also to receive Christ into the ship, i. e. to live in our hearts, we shall find ourselves immediately in the place, where we wish to be, i. e. heaven.

The Jews crossed the Red Sea under the leadership of Moses, but he did everything as a servant and by the power of prayer, whereas This One acts with perfect authority. There the water parted from a strong south wind raised by the Lord, so that they crossed on dry land (Ex. 14:21, 22); but here a greater miracle was accomplished: the sea remained in its own nature, and yet bore the Lord upon its surface, so that the prophetic word might be fulfilled: "He walks on the sea as on the ground" (Job 9:8).

"When therefore they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia"; he says "about" on account of the uncertainty of distance at sea; "they saw Jesus walking upon the sea and drawing near to the ship," to bring aid: but they did not recognize him: therefore it is added: "And they were afraid": and the reason for this is given in Mark 6: "They thought it was a phantom." And because the Lord strengthens fearful hearts.

It is also asked concerning the Lord's walking upon the sea: on which side was the miracle — whether of the water supporting, or of the body walking upon it? And why also did he not show this miracle to the crowds?

Some say that it was on the part of the body, and that for that time he assumed the gift of agility: Master Hugo says this. Others say that it was on the part of the water, which rendered itself walkable beneath the feet of the Creator: and this is taken from Gregory. But it is better to say that, with each preserved in its own nature and property, the body was borne above the waters by divine power.

Moreover, he manifested this more to the disciples than to the crowds, because, just as the disciples excelled in understanding of words as masters, so also in the beholding of miracles: whence he showed many things to them in secret.

Christ did not appear to them when the storm first began, but only some time later; thus he says, After they had rowed twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus. We see from this that our Lord allows us to be troubled for a while so our virtue may be tested; but he does not desert us in the end, but comes very close to us: "God is faithful, and will not allow you to be tested beyond your strength" (1 Cor 10:13).

According to Augustine, the twenty-five stadia they rowed are the five books of Moses. For twenty-five is the square of five, since five times five is twenty-five. But a number that is multiplied in this way keeps the meaning of its root. Thus, just as five signifies the old law, so twenty-five signifies the perfection of the New Testament. Thirty, however, signifies that perfection of the New Testament which was lacking in the law: for thirty is the result of multiplying five by six, which is a perfect number. So, Jesus comes to those who row twenty-five or thirty stadia, i.e., to those who fulfill the law or the perfection taught by the Gospel; and he comes treading under foot all the waves of pride and the dignities of this present world: "You rule the might of the sea and calm its waves" (Ps 88:10). And then we will see Christ near our boat, because divine help is close: "The Lord is near to all who fear him" (Ps 144:18). Thus it is clear that Christ is near to all those who seek him rightly. Now the Apostles loved Christ very keenly: this is obvious because they tried to go to him despite the darkness, the stormy sea, and the distance to shore. Consequently, Christ was with them.

Now we see the effect of Christ's appearance. First, the interior effect; secondly, the exterior effect (v 21b).

The interior effect of Christ's appearance was fear; and he mentions the fear of the disciples at the sudden appearance of Christ when he says, and they were afraid. This was a good fear, because it was the effect of humility: "Do not be proud; rather fear" (Rom 11:20); or it was an evil fear, because "they thought it was a ghost" (Mk 6:49); "They trembled with fear" (Ps 13:5): for fear is especially appropriate to the carnal, because they are afraid of spiritual things.

When the disciples saw Christ walking on the water they were frightened: they would not have been frightened unless they had known the Laws of Nature and known that this was an exception. If a man had no conception of a regular order in Nature, then of course he could not notice departures from that order: just as a dunce who does not understand the normal meter of a poem is also unconscious of the poet's variations from it. Nothing is wonderful except the abnormal and nothing is abnormal until we have grasped the norm.

The second class of miracles, on this view, foretell what God has not yet done, but will do, universally. He raised one man (the man who was Himself) from the dead because He will one day raise all men from the dead. Perhaps not only men, for there are hints in the New Testament that all creation will eventually be rescued from decay, restored to shape and subserve the splendor of remade humanity. The Transfiguration and the walking on the water are glimpses of the beauty and the effortless power over all matter which will belong to men when they are really waked by God.