“For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.”
Because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid — the take courage (tharsete) and don't be afraid bracket the central declaration: it is I (egō eimi). The Greek ego eimi is the divine self-identification of the Septuagint — the I AM of Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah 43:10. Jesus' self-identification in the storm is simultaneously the reassurance of the disciples and the revelation of his divine identity. The same voice that spoke the world into being speaks to the disciples' terror: it is I — the one you already know is more than you yet understand.
Church Fathers on Mark 6:50
But it is with reason that we wonder how Mark says, that after the miracle of the loaves the disciples crossed the sea of Bethsaida, when Luke relates that the miracle was done in the parts of Bethsaida [Luke 9:10], unless we understand that Luke means by the desert which is Bethsaida not the country immediately around the town, but the desert places belonging to it. But when Mark says that they should 'go before unto Bethsaida,' the town itself is meant.
But when He had dismissed the crowd, He goes up to pray, for prayer requires rest and silence.
But how could they understand this, except from His going a different way, wishing to pass them as strangers; for they were so far from recognizing Him, as to take Him for a spirit.
Read all 13 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!