“And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.”
He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them — the seeing from the shore communicates Jesus' awareness of the disciples' struggle even at distance and in darkness. Walking on the lake — the same Greek verb (peripatōn) used for ordinary walking, applied to the surface of the sea. He was about to pass by them is a theophanic phrase: in Exodus 33:22 and 1 Kings 19:11, God passes by in glory. Jesus' sea-walking is a divine self-manifestation — he is not merely rescuing the disciples but revealing himself.
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