But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid.”
(John 6:20)
Uncertain times. Is there anything so certain, so constant? People change as do circumstances, but it seems that one things stays the same—life keeps us on our toes.
We crave security. For each of us, that may look at bit different. Knowing for sure that a spouse will be faithful. Achieving debt freedom. Having normal, healthy relationships with extended family. Experiencing true, long-term unity in a local church. Receiving a clean bill of health. Hearing that a grown child has made the right decision. Seeing that friend or loved one surrender to the Lord.
Yet, it seems that we gain one measure of security only to miss or crave another. Safety and peace can feel so elusive that a latent anxiety settles in our heart as we ask, “What next? What’s going to happen?”
John 6 contains a wonderful picture of security in uncertain times. The disciples had left everything to follow Jesus. Like everyone else, at least early on, they believed Him to be an earthly Messiah who would setup an earthly kingdom and free the Jews from the Romans. Yet, by John 5 Jesus has already become a stench to the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem to the point that they were seeking to kill Him (John 5:16, 18). He was highly popular in Galilee; hated in Judea. Uncertain times.
Early in John 6, we find the disciples participating with Jesus in feeding the 5,000, a task which would have taken hours at the end of an already long day of ministering to the people (John 6:1-14).
Afterward, Jesus withdrew by Himself to the mountain. Beginning in v16, we read:
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,
17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.
Several things are worth noting. First, the disciples rowed three or four miles into the night. This means physical exhaustion on top of sleep deprivation. Second, the sea was rough. Most of them were fishermen and had grown up on this very sea, so rough waters wouldn’t have been frightening. However, rough waters only made the task of rowing more difficult. Third, what DID frighten them was what Jesus was doing in the middle of the choppy seas. People don’t walk on water. Never-before-seen things can become frightening things when mixed with confusion and exhaustion.
But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid.”
The first three words, “It is I,” are the same words found in John 8:58: Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Of course, in John 8, the Jews understood precisely the claim Jesus was making—not mere existence, but identification with the Great I Am. The Jews became enraged at the perceived blasphemy and picked up stones to murder Him.
Here in John 6:20, the words are the same and there is no reason to take them any differently. “I AM. Do not be afraid.” This was more than a reassurance, “Hey, guys, it’s just me.” Jesus was identifying Himself as the I AM, a name which connotes covenant presence (Exo 3:13-17). "I AM" means to us, “Because of My covenant, when you’re with Me, it doesn’t matter where here is. You’re secure.”
Is there a better metaphor for the uncertainty of life than rowing across rough waters, completely exhausted in the middle of the night, while God is doing something we absolutely don’t understand? It’s frightening. But what could be a better picture of security than a God-Man standing on the rough waters, saying, “I AM. Don’t be afraid.”
His covenant presence is even more fully realized with us than it was with the disciples who saw Him with their physical eyes that night. The covenant has now been sealed with His pure blood. We have individually been sealed by His own Spirit for the last day. The Christ who was beside the disciples is now IN us, assuring us, “I AM. Don’t be afraid.”
We should do what the disciples did that night—welcome Him into the boat and trust Him to see us to the other shore.
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