It Is I; Do Not Be Afraid! —A Great Surprise (Matthew 14:22-33)

[Stephan Choe]

June 4, 2026

Key Verse 27: "But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart! It is I. Do not be afraid.'"

You are familiar with the word "surprise." A surprise is something lovely that one did not expect. When a friend suddenly appears unexpectedly, one says, "What a surprise!"

In today’s story, Jesus surprised His disciples as they were laboriously rowing their boat against a storm on the Sea of Galilee one night. Then Jesus came to them on foot and surprised them.

What does Jesus wish to teach us through this story? Who is this Jesus who walks upon the waters of the sea?

1. Jesus Prays (22-24)

Jesus had fed 5,000 people to their fill using only five loaves of bread and two fish. It was a sensational miracle. Consequently, the crowd concluded that Jesus was a "Bread-Messiah" and sought to make Him their king. In doing so, they were likely thinking of the divine promise found in the Old Testament, for God had promised the Israelites that He would send a descendant of David to be the Messiah (e.g., Ezekiel 37:25).

How, then, did Jesus respond? Did He suggest to the crowd that they hold a referendum to decide whether or not He should become their king?

Verse 22, however, tells us that Jesus urged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side of the sea (22). He knew that His disciples were enthralled by His miraculous power. Yet He did not want them to remain captivated solely by the miracle, nor to expect Him to provide them with bread again and again through that miraculous power. He did not wish to orient His messianic ministry according to the desires of the crowd. Therefore, he sought out a solitary place where he could pray to God in silence and ask Him for guidance.

The disciples rowed the boat to reach the western side of the sea. The Sea of Galilee is 13 kilometers wide and 21 kilometers long. When they were already far from the eastern shore, a strong wind rose against them. The disciples rowed and rowed, but their efforts were of little avail; they could barely make any headway. They were utterly exhausted.

Thus, the fourth watch of the night arrived—sometime between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m., the hour of the breaking dawn. And then, Jesus appeared!

What had Jesus been doing all this time? Had he been sleeping? No. He had spent the entire night in prayer. Now, he intended to return to them.

2. “It Is I; Do Not Be Afraid!” (25–27)

How did Jesus come to them? By boat? No. He simply came on foot—walking on the water!

The disciples had not expected this. That is why, when they saw him approaching, they were terrified and cried out, “It is a ghost!”

What did he say to them? He said, “Take heart! It is I. Do not be afraid!” (27).

It was not a ghost, but Jesus!

“It is I. Do not be afraid!” — These words constitute one of Christ’s most beautiful messages of comfort for us.

God says to everyone in despair, “Do not be afraid!”

For instance, 2,700 years ago, God said to King Hezekiah of Judah—who was filled with anxiety due to the siege by the world power of Assyria—: “Do not be afraid” (Isa. 37:6).

He also spoke to Paul when the apostle, along with his fellow passengers, faced mortal danger during a shipwreck: “Do not be afraid!” (Acts 27:24).

And today, He says to us as well: “Do not be afraid!” Therefore, we have no need to fear.

But who is this Jesus who says to us: “Do not be afraid!”?

Jesus walked upon the waters of the sea as if on dry ground. He fed five thousand people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. This demonstrates to us that He is the almighty Son of God. Indeed, He is God incarnate. That is why He is called the Son of God.

For this reason, the Apostle John wrote, “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

Amidst the waves and storms of this world, we often hear nothing but the crashing of the waves or the clamor of the world. Despite the clamor and noise, we are to listen to the voice of Christ.

For He says to us, “Take heart! It is I. Do not be afraid!”

When we are despondent because of some seemingly impossible problem, Jesus comes to us and says, “It is I. Do not be afraid!”

We are to receive Jesus Christ and His Word. In this way, we can overcome every wave and every storm, attain peace of soul, enjoy blessed fellowship with Christ, and safely reach our destination. In a certain sense, the waves are a sign that our Lord is coming soon.

3. Peter (28–31)

When Peter saw that Jesus was coming on the water, he said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

Peter’s request reveals three things about him:

First, Peter had a deep love for Jesus.

As soon as he saw Jesus approaching, he wanted to receive Him as quickly as possible. That is why he asked Jesus for permission to come to Him across the water. He wanted to receive Jesus without delay because he loved Him dearly and longed to be in His presence.

We should ask ourselves, “Do we love Jesus as deeply as Peter did? Do we, like him, yearn to be with Jesus?”

When we first encountered Jesus personally, we possessed a burning love for Him. Although we may have made mistakes in certain respects, our love for Jesus was nonetheless genuine.

I, for instance, was so filled with joy that I felt as though I were living in paradise. Consequently, I was willing to give my all for Jesus. In the summer of 1977, when I overheard Peter Suh and Abraham Kim discussing a marriage proposal, my heart was so completely filled with Jesus that I assumed they were discussing a proposal intended for someone else. Yet, it turned out to be a proposal meant for <me>!

Just as I was nearing the completion of my doctoral studies, I received a job offer through a former professor. Out of love for Jesus, I simply declined the offer—and I have never once regretted it.

However, I must now be vigilant lest I allow my love for Jesus to fade and become lukewarm.

Second, Peter possessed great boldness.

His act of walking on the water demonstrates that he was a man of daring courage. The others remained safely within the boat, waiting there for Jesus. But Peter dared to step out onto the water and walk toward Jesus, so that he might receive Him without delay. He was a man of bold initiative.

The fifth chapter of the Gospel of Luke offers another example of his boldness.

On one occasion, Peter and his fellow fishermen had spent the entire night attempting to catch fish, but to no avail. Consequently, they were washing their nets. Then Jesus came to Peter and asked permission to step into his boat. And from the boat, he preached to the gathered crowd. After his preaching, he said to Peter, "Put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch!" Peter answered: "Master, we have worked all night and caught nothing, but at your word, I will let down the nets." And the result was a great catch! Because Peter possessed the courage to venture forth, he was able to witness the miracle.

We, too, need this courage in Jesus Christ. We are called to choose to become Jesus' disciples and to follow him boldly, even though there are things we do not fully understand. Out of love for Him, we should dare to boldly stand up for God. Sometimes, our act of venturing forth may feel as though we are walking on water; yet God will surely bless our endeavor.

Thirdly, Peter was dependent on Jesus.

Peter did not wish to walk on the water merely on his own whim; rather, he wanted to do so in response to Jesus’ word (cf. Luke 5:5).

Therefore, he said to Jesus, “Command me to come to You on the water.”

Then Jesus said: “Come!” And Peter stepped out of the boat and began to walk toward Jesus on the water. Initially, he was able to walk well on the water, for he relied on Jesus and His word. But when he saw the strong wind, he became frightened and began to sink into the water. Therefore, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Jesus immediately reached out His hand and grasped him. And He said to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

As soon as the two of them stepped into the boat, the wind ceased.

As long as Peter kept his eyes fixed solely on Jesus and believed firmly in Him, he was able to walk on the water. But when he looked at the wind—and doubted Jesus’ power and His word—he began to sink.

We believe in Jesus Christ and His resurrection power. However, when we look at the world, doubts arise within us regarding His resurrection power and His promises. We ask ourselves, for instance: Is there truly a resurrection of the dead? Is there any salvation for those of other faiths? Is it truly worth believing firmly in Jesus and investing my life for His sake?

When doubts concerning Jesus and His power begin to take hold of us, we begin to sink. We begin to doubt the help that Christ offers. And we become plagued by various anxieties regarding our future. What will our future look like? What will become of our children? And so on and so forth. And we sink deep into the waters of anxiety.

Even though the waves may rise high, we must not give in to the doubts of the world; instead, we must hold fast to our faith in Jesus and His word as found in the Bible. If we do so, we can stand firm, rise far above all the waves of the world, and emerge victorious. The Disciples' Confession (32–33)

When Jesus and Peter stepped into the boat, the wind suddenly ceased.

The disciples who were in the boat fell down before Jesus and said: "Truly, you are the Son of God!" (33).

Why did they fall down before Jesus and confess: "Truly, you are the Son of God!"?

Because they had witnessed His divine majesty. They were overwhelmed by His majesty. They could not help but confess that He is the Son of God.

Here, the disciples confessed their faith spontaneously, overwhelmed as they were by the divine glory of Jesus. Some time later, in Matthew 16:16, Peter would once again personally confess his faith in Jesus—this time after having reflected deeply upon the person of Jesus (as had the other disciples). Thus, the disciples' confession here marked a first step on that journey.

The Apostle John, too—through divine revelation—recognized the glory of Jesus as the Son of God. And in John 1:14, he wrote: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory—glory as of the only Son from the Father—full of grace and truth."

The disciples' confession in verse 33 teaches us that, through His miraculous deeds, Jesus desires to instruct us that He is the Son of God. Through His miracles, Jesus does not seek merely to satisfy our curiosity regarding the miraculous; rather, He seeks to lead us to faith in Him as the Son of God. We are to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and worship Him. We are not to place our faith in a dead, powerless Christ, but in the living, almighty Christ. We are to possess a living faith in Him. If we possess such faith, we will—from the depths of our hearts—kneel before Him and worship Him. We can find peace even amidst the waves of this world. May God grant us this faith. Amen!