Matthew 14:25-27

The Jews divided the night, from sunset to sunrise, into three watches (Judges 7:19; Lamentations 2:19). The Romans, however, divided it into four. Matthew used the Roman division of watches. The fourth watch was between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. Jesus had spent most of the night praying, and the disciples had spent most of the night rowing.

Some translators rendered the Greek word phantasma as "ghost," but it means an apparition (cf. Mark 6:49). The disciples saw Jesus, but to them His appearance resembled that of a ghost. Perhaps rain or fog was responsible as well as poor light. They may have believed the popular superstition that evil spirits lived in the sea and that those who had drowned haunted the water. [Note: France, The Gospel . . ., p. 569.]

Jesus’ response centered on, "It is I." Note the chiasm of His response. The disciples could take courage and not fear because Jesus was there. The words, "I am," were a term Jesus used to claim deity (cf. Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 43:10; Isaiah 51:12). The fourth Gospel stressed Jesus’ use of this term especially. The disciples may not have realized this claim in the terror of the moment, but later they undoubtedly saw the significance of what He had said more clearly.

"Fear is unwarranted where Jesus is present [cf. Matthew 1:23; Matthew 28:20]." [Note: Hagner, Matthew 14-28, p. 425.]

God had ordained that man rule over the sea before the Fall (Genesis 1:28). Here Jesus was doing precisely that; He was fulfilling God’s purpose for humankind. This action gave testimony to His being the Second Adam (cf. Matthew 8:27; Romans 5:12-17), the man who succeeded where Adam had failed. The Old Testament speaks of God walking on or through the sea (Job 9:8; Psalms 77:19; Isaiah 43:16; cf. Psalms 18:16; Psalms 144:7).