And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
They were troubled – They were afraid. The sight was remarkable. It was sufficient to awe them. In the dark night, amid the tumultuous billows appeared the form of a man. They thought it was a spirit an apparition. It was a common belief among the ancients that the spirits of people after death frequently appeared to the living.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mat 14:26
And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled.
Christ walking on the sea
Here are presented two points.
I. Human need.
II. Divine help. These two facts are involved in the two aspects of humanity.
I. I ask you to consider the attitude of man towards the supernatural and the unknown. They cried out for fear. This was the cry of men tossed and toiling on the wild deep, in the gloom of night. Very startling must have been to them the appearance of that form, advancing through the shadow and over the sea. But that was a cry of our common nature; it was a spontaneous human utterance from a mysterious depth, which under all forms of civilization, and all kinds of religion, abides in the soul of man. Every man awakens to the conviction that there is something beyond this world. It may not be a very practical conviction; thousands may live without any steady appreciation of that to which such a conviction points. But there are occasions when it is suddenly realized. There are three conditions of nature which are especially adapted to stir these feelings of mystery and awe, and all three are involved in the circumstances of the text. These are night, the night sky, and the sea.
1. Witness the common terror of the dead night-time and the dark, not a mere childish superstition, but a solemn awe creeping over the innermost fibres of the heart, In thought from the visions of the night, said Eliphaz, when deep sleep falleth on men, etc. Even the sceptical mind has acted upon the conviction that something must people that undefined space into which the visible world melts away.
2. Or, again, who has ever looked up through the darkness and gazed upon those orbs of light and glory that shame all splendours of the earth, without the spontaneous conviction of powers and intelligences dwelling outside these beaten ways of our traffic and our thought? What influences rain upon us from those starry depths? What unseen messengers glide down these awful solitudes?
3. Or, once more, consider that element in which the greatness and the mystery of nature and of life are represented. What suggestions of the supernatural and the unknown rise upon us from the bosom of the sea. What intimations beyond our sight; what a conviction of our impotence. Regarding thus this attitude of human need, what help has been found for it?
Two answers have come-one from the side of human sentiment, the other from human reason.
1. One answer elicited in this attitude of human need appears in various forms of superstition. Rock-temples and bloody altars, and human sacrifices proclaim the fact that human nature does not all gravitate to sense and the darkness of annihilation. The superstitious sentiments need some explanation.
2. The answer that comes from the side of reason. Law, force, order, are sublime facts, but not enough for human nature. You cannot by scientific explanation of the seen repress mans earnest inquiry about the unseen. To our human need, and our attitude towards the supernatural, Christ has come. There is only one voice that can say, Be of good cheer, be not afraid.
II. Consider the attitude of man respecting the natural and the known, and here you will observe the conditions of human need and divine help. These men who cried out for fear had been toiling in rowing. We are troubled here amidst the perplexities and trials of daily life. In one way or another many of us are toiling in rowing-the toil of pleasure-or we are rowing through heavy waves of care. Our need calls for Divine help. In seasons of gloom, looking out upon the world around us through shadows, we discern objects at which we shudder. That which excites our fears may be a blessing; but we know it not, and need the assurance that can bid us be of good cheer. (E. H. Chapin)
Jesus no phantom
I. It is too common an error to make a phantom of Christ.
1. How often is this done in the matter of sin and the cleansing of it. Our sin is real to us; but is Christ as real to us?
2. In the matter of our acceptance with God after pardon. Our shortcomings real; equally real the righteousness of Christ.
3. In the matter of sanctification.
4. In times of trial.
5. In time of death.
6. In Christian work.
II. We make Christ a phantom most when he is most really Christ. When He walked on the waves there was more of Christ visible than on land; His Godhead visible. In the pardon of great sin you see most of Christ; so in great distress and danger.
III. Our greatest sorrows arise from our treating our Lord as unreal. TO some Christ is an indifferent spirit. Many a poor sinner imagines Him to be an angry spirit and cries out for fear.
IV. If we could but be cured of this desperate mischief, our Lord Jesus Christ would have a higher place in our esteem, and many other beneficial results would follow:
1. Knowledge.
2. Worship.
3. Service. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Eastern belief in Spirits
The belief is quite general in the East that there exists a class of beings whom they call Jins, both male and female, good and bad, which hold an intermediate position between angels and men, were created before the latter, are made of fire, or perhaps of gas, and are capable of assuming a variety of forms, or of becoming invisible at pleasure. They eat, drink, and marry-sometimes human beings-as well as die, though they live several centuries. Many events are accounted for in the East by the agency of the Jins; so that they do not exist in stories alone, but are recognized as active agents in human affairs, (Van Lennep.)
The magic of the Saviours voice
It is a wonderful organ, this human voice-wonderful in itself, and no less so in its effects. It is wonderful as an exponent of individual mind and character, being somehow very closely connected with a man, and contributing largely to constitute that aggregate of special qualities we call individuality. So much so, that one is known, is revealed and recognized, by his voice almost as much as by anything outward.. And it is wonderful as an instrument for affecting others. The Saviours voice on this occasion operated like a charm; it wrought like magic upon them. It is amazing what power the living voice, especially a long-known and much-loved voice, has to touch the heart, and to awaken confidence and peace, and emotions of all kinds, that may have been long dormant in the soul. (A. L. R. Foote.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 26. It is a spirit] That the spirits of the dead might and did appear, was a doctrine held by the greatest and holiest of men that ever existed; and a doctrine which the caviliers, free-thinkers and bound-thinkers, of different ages, have never been able to dispove.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,…. It being now morning, and perhaps might have moon light; and besides, there is always more light upon the water than land; they were able to discern something like a man, walking upon the surface of the sea, but had not light enough to distinguish what, or who it was; and, moreover, had no thought of Christ, or expectation of seeing him; and the appearance of a man walking upon the waters being so unusual, and astonishing,
they were troubled, saying it is a spirit: a nocturnal apparition, a demon in human form. The Jews, especially the sect of the Pharisees, had a notion, from whom the disciples might have their’s, of spirits, apparitions, and demons, being to be seen in the night; hence that rule u,
“it is forbidden a man to salute his friend in the night, for we are careful, lest , “it should be a demon”.”
They say a great many things of one , “Lilith”, that has its name from , “the night”, a she demon, that used to appear in the night, with an human face, and carry off young children, and kill them. Some such frightful notions had possessed the minds of the disciples:
and they cried out for fear, as persons in the utmost consternation, in the greatest danger, and in want of help: the fear of spirits arises from the uncommonness of their appearance; from their superiority to men in power and strength; from the enmity there is between men and evil spirits; and from a general notion of their doing hurt and mischief: hence, demons are, by the Jews, called
, “hurtful”, or “hurting”, all their study being to do hurt to men; and the same word is here used in Munster’s Hebrew Gospel: add to all this, that the fear of the disciples might be increased, through a vulgar notion among seafaring men, that such sights are ominous, and portend evil to sailors; and they might the more easily be induced to give credit to this, and fear, since they were already in such imminent danger.
u T. Bab. Megilla, fol. 3. 1. Sanhedrim, fol. 44. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
They were troubled (). Much stronger than that. They were literally “terrified” as they saw Jesus walking on the sea.
An apparition (), or “ghost,” or “spectre” from and that from . They cried out “from fear” ( ) as any one would have done. “A little touch of sailor superstition” (Bruce).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
A spirit [] . Of which our word phantasm is a transcription. Rev., rather stiffly, apparition. Wyc., phantom.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,” (hoi de mathetai idontes auton epi tes thalasses peripantounta) “Then when the disciples saw him walking upon the sea,” not on the land in the background, in the fourth watch of the night, about 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., Mr 6:48,49.
2) “They were troubled, saying,” (etarachthesan legontes) “They were troubled, repeatedly saying,” saying again and again, when they saw Him upon the sea approaching them through the storm, Mr 6:50.
3) “It is a spirit;” (hoti phantasma estin) “That it is a phantom-spirit,” some kind of a spirit, Luk 24:37. To them, sea-worthy men, it seemed impossible that a man could simply walk over, on, and across the boisterous waves of water, as they surged and limpidly rolled around and around, up and down.
4) “And they cried out for fear.” (kai apo tou phobou ekraksan) “And from fear they cried out,” with cracked or broken voices, Mr 6:49; Joh 6:19. This certifies that they believed in the existence of spirits, a thing the Sadducees denied, Act 23:8. Let it be here noted that even the consciences of sailors have an innate conviction that supernatural spirits, exist, though their natural mind does not, and can not, comprehend them, 1Co 2:14; Luk 24:37-40.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
‘And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost,” and they cried out for fear.’
Quite naturally when the disciples saw this eerie figure (in the first light of day) walking on the Sea some distance away, they cried out in fear, ‘Its a ghost’. This is no doubt intended to be contrasted with their later words, ‘You are the Son of God’. What a difference it made once He was with them in the boat.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 14:26. When the disciples saw himthey were troubled It is well known, that it is never intirely dark on the water; not to urge that the moon might perhaps now be in the last quarter, as it must have been, if this was about three weeks before the passover. By that little light, therefore, which they had, the disciples seeing Jesus, but not perfectly discerning who it was, were much terrified, and said, It is certainly an apparition, or evil spirit, [ ]: for no human body, they conceived, could thus be supported by the water.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 14:26 ff. (see critical notes): upon the sea. There , just at that spot, they saw Him walking as He was coming toward them over the sea (Mat 14:25 ). Observe the appropriate change of cases. For genitive, comp. Job 9:8 . , Lucian, Philops . xiii. , 14 :hist . ii. 4, al.
] They shared (Luk 24:37 ) the popular belief in apparitions (Plat. Phaed . p. 81 D: ; Eur. Hec . 54; Lucian, Philops . 29; Wis 17:15 ). Comp. the nocturnos Lemures in Horace, Ep. ii. 2. 209.
Mat 14:27 . . .] , Chrysostom.
Mat 14:28-31 are not found in any of the other Gospels, but their contents are entirely in keeping with Peter’s temperament ( . , Chrysostom).
] not: as He perceived , but: as He saw; for, when on the sea, He was in immediate contact with the manifestations of the storm.
] “pro modo fidei ferebatur ab aqua” (Bengel); namely, by the influence of Christ’s power, for which influence, however, he became unreceptive through doubt, and accordingly began to sink.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1368
CHRIST WALKING ON THE SEA
Mat 14:26-27. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
THE Christians duties are often difficult and self-denying. Nevertheless he must do the will of God, and leave events to his all-wise disposal. Jesus ordered his Disciples to go in a small vessel to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the multitudes, who had been fed by him. They, probably approving in their hearts the proposal that had been made to invest him with royal authority [Note: Joh 6:15.], were somewhat averse to leave him; but, being commanded to go, complied [Note: , ver. 22.]. In the discharge of their duty they were overtaken with a storm, which not only obstructed their progress, but endangered their lives. In this state they were greatly terrified; but they soon found that the way of duty was the way of safety.
In elucidating the miraculous interposition of Jesus on their behalf, we shall notice,
I.
The power he exercised
He came to them walking on the sea
[Jesus, after dismissing the multitudes, retired to a mountain to pray; and thus by his own example taught us all, and especially ministers, that, however pressing our public business may be, we should redeem time, even from sleep, for the purposes of private devotion. In the meantime his disciples, driven from their course, were contending with the storm [Note: They were ordered to go over a small bay to Bethsaida; but striving against the winds which drove them nut to sea towards Capernaum, they were, after many hours, only a league from shore.]. But Jesus went to their relief; and, having no boat or attendants to convey him, walked to them upon the tempestuous waters.]
This he did from the purest and most benevolent motives
[Had he been actuated by a vain ostentation, he would probably have continued walking on the sea, instead of going up into the ship, that the people of Capernaum also might behold him [Note: Besides, he had just refused to be made a king.]; but his disciples were to be his witnesses to the world; and, being very slow of heart to believe, they needed more abundant testimonies for their conviction. Now the walking upon the sea was known to be an indication of Divine power [Note: Job 9:8.]. He therefore gave them this evidence on purpose to prove to them his Messiahship; and, by means of it, he wrought a conviction on their minds, which his other miracles had failed to produce [Note: ver. with Mar 6:52.].]
The first effect produced by his appearance to them, leads us to notice,
II.
The fears he occasioned
His disciples were extremely terrified at the sight of him
[The day but just beginning to dawn, their view of him was very indistinct. They supposed him to be a spirit. They knew that it was an evil spirit who had raised the storm by which Jobs family were destroyed [Note: Job 1:12; Job 1:19.]; and they possibly might think that such a spirit had stirred up this tempest, and was now coming to overwhelm them utterly. Filled with terror, they cried aloud; accounting him an object of dread, whom, if they had known him, they would have regarded as their most seasonable, most welcome deliverer; but the trouble was necessary, in order to engage their more fixed attention to the miracle now exhibited before their eyes.]
Thus are the Lords people frequently harassed by unnecessary fears
[All are called to sustain some conflicts in the path of duty; and in the midst of trouble the mind is apt to faint. If our difficulties or dangers be great, we are prone to indulge despondency, and to increase by imaginary fears the calamities under which we labour. How often has that been a source of trouble to us, which should rather have been an occasion of joy and gratitude! How often have we forgotten, that God is pledged for our support, while we continue in the path of duty; and that there are a thousand unforeseen ways in which he can appear for us, when we think him most unmindful of our state! But, however distressing our fears may be for a moment, we shall have reason to be thankful for them, if they be the means of impressing us with a more abiding sense of Christs love and faithfulness; yea, they are often permitted, and even excited by him, for this very end.]
These fears however were amply compensated by,
III.
The condescension he manifested
He instantly dispelled their fears in the kindest and most condescending manner
[He at first appeared as though he would pass by them; but, having tried them for a moment, he revealed himself unto them, and bade them dismiss their groundless fears. He moreover went up into the vessel to them; and immediately the ship was wafted to its destined port [Note: Joh 6:21.].]
Thus does he at this time also allay the fears of his people
[Are they distressed by reason of fierce opposition? he reminds them that, with Him on their side, they have none to fear [Note: Isa 41:10-15.]. Are they overwhelmed with heavy trials? his presence with them is urged by him as an abundant ground of consolation and encouragement [Note: Isa 43:1-2; Isa 43:5.]. Are they desponding under an apprehension that they are forsaken by him? he gently reproves their unbelief [Note: Isa 40:27-31.], and assures them of his unremitting care [Note: Isa 49:14-15.]. Whatever be the source of their discouragement, he bids them not fear [Note: Luk 12:32.]; and commands his ministers to labour more especially in comforting their afflicted minds [Note: Isa 35:4.]. Thus, by revealing himself to them, he removes their trouble; and, by his presence with them, carries them forward towards the haven of rest.]
Infer
1.
There is no state in which Christ can not save us
[Our difficulties may be greatly multiplied, and appear utterly unsurmountable; but his hand is not shortened that it cannot save; nor is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. He who made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over, and saved Jonah in the belly of a fish, can never be at a loss for means to deliver us. On the contrary, the greater be the obstacles to our salvation, the more will he magnify his power and grace in effecting it.]
2.
There is no state in which Christ will not save us
[He sees us when we little think of it; and is often nearer to us than we imagine. Our conflicts may be long; and he may suffer all our endeavours to be frustrated: but he will appear for us in some unexpected way; and his presence with us shall both alleviate our labours, and crown us with success. Only let us invite him into the vessel with us, and we shall gain in safety the desired haven.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
Ver. 26. They were troubled ] Ere they were helped: things often go backward, before they come forward with us. Deus plagam sanaturus, graviorem infligit: he knows how to commend his mercies to us.
And they cried out for fear ] For fear of him, in whom was laid up all their comfort. But pessimus in dubiis augur, timor. -How often are we mistaken, and befooled by our fears!
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 14:26 . : a little touch of sailor superstition natural in the circumstances; presupposes the impression that they saw something walking on the sea.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
a spirit = a phantom. Greek. phantasma. Occurs only here and Mar 6:49.
for = from. Greek. apo. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 14:26. , they were troubled) We often take Christ for another rather than for Christ: cf. Mat 14:2. The disciples now feared not only the sea, but also the Lord.-, an apparition) and are identical in meaning. See Wis 17:15; Wis 17:4. Nor does greatly differ from them. Ibid. Mat 18:17.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
they were: 1Sa 28:12-14, Job 4:14-16, Dan 10:6-12, Mar 6:49, Mar 6:50, Luk 1:11, Luk 1:12, Luk 24:5, Luk 24:45, Act 12:15, Rev 1:17
Reciprocal: Gen 43:18 – the men Gen 45:3 – for they Job 4:15 – a spirit Mar 16:6 – Be not Luk 24:37 – General Joh 6:19 – walking
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4:26
Peering out over the sea in the darkness the disciples saw an object on the surface of the water coming toward them. While it was still in the darkness of night, yet it was not total darkness, so that an object could be discerned but not very distinctly. The sight startled them and they cried out with fear because they thought it was a spirit. Ordinarily a spirit is not supposed to be something that can be seen, but the original for this spirit is PIIANTASMA which means a phantom or something that appears to exist but which belongs to the unseen world. There is enough of the superstitious in most people to make them have a weird or uneasy feeling in the presence of such an appearance, hence the disciples cried out in their fright.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 14:26. It in an apparition. An unreal appearance of a real person. The word is not that usually rendered, spirit
They cried out for fear. Matthew is an honest witness to tell of this superstitious fear. As he here discriminates between an apparition and a real bodily appearance of our Lord, he cannot mean the former when he writes of the resurrection of Christ.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See how the disciples take their deliverer to be a destroyer: their fears were highest when their deliverer and deliverance were nearest. God may be coming with salvation and deliverance for his church, when she for the present cannot discern him.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mat 14:26-27. And when the disciples saw him, they were troubled It is well known that it is never entirely dark on the water not to urge that the moon might perhaps now be in the last quarter, as it must have been, if this was about three weeks before the passover. By that little light, therefore, which they had, the disciples, seeing him, but not perfectly discerning who he was, were much terrified: saying, It is a spirit, , It is an apparition: for they justly supposed that no human body could be supported by the water. Although the original word here used is not spirit, but apparition, yet that the Jews in general, particularly the Pharisees, believed in the existence of spirits, and that spirits sometimes appeared, is evident from Luk 24:37; Luk 24:39, and Act 23:8-9. And they cried out with fear Through their dread of what might be the consequence: for, Mar 6:50, they all saw him, and were troubled. We see here, that even appearances and approaches of deliverance may be the occasions of trouble and perplexity to Gods people, who are sometimes put into great fear when they are most highly favoured. See Luk 1:29, and Exo 3:6. To allay the fears of his disciples, Christ immediately drew near and spake to them, in a tone of voice with which they were all perfectly acquainted, saying, , Take courage: it is I Your Lord and Master; be not afraid Either of me, who am your friend, or of the violent tempest, which cannot hurt you while you are under my protection.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a {d} spirit; and they cried out for fear.
(d) A spirit, as it is taken here, is that which a man imagines to himself vainly in his mind, persuading himself that he sees something when he sees nothing.