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Matthew 24:43
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Luke 12:38
And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and findthem so, blessed are those servants.

walking.

Job 9:8
Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

Psalm 93:3,4
The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves…

Psalm 104:3
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

Jesus went out to them
This phrase highlights Jesus' initiative and divine authority. Despite the physical separation, Jesus approaches His disciples, demonstrating His omnipresence and care. It reflects the theme of God reaching out to humanity, as seen in the incarnation (John 1:14). Jesus' approach signifies His readiness to assist and comfort His followers in times of distress.

walking on the sea
Walking on water is a miraculous act that underscores Jesus' divine nature and authority over creation. In the Old Testament, only God is described as having control over the seas (Job 9:8,Psalm 77:19). This act fulfills the typology of Jesus as the Lord of creation, echoing the power displayed inGenesis 1:2 where the Spirit of God hovers over the waters. It also prefigures Jesus' ultimate victory over chaos and evil, symbolized by the sea in biblical literature.

“During the fourth watch of the night…” (Matthew 14:25)

• The ancient Jewish night was divided into four watches; the fourth spanned roughly 3–6 a.m. (cf.Luke 12:38). This tells us it was darkest and coldest, an hour when human strength is lowest.

• Jesus had intentionally allowed the disciples to struggle for hours against the wind (Matthew 14:24), underscoring their helplessness apart from Him.

• God’s pattern of showing up at what feels like the last moment appears elsewhere—think of Israel at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:13-14) or Gideon’s dwindled army (Judges 7:2-7). He often lets circumstances ripen so that His intervention is unmistakably divine.

• For believers today, the “fourth watch” reminds us that when darkness lingers, God has not forgotten; His timing is perfect (Psalm 46:1;Galatians 6:9).

“…Jesus went out to them…”

• The initiative is entirely His. The disciples did not row back to shore for help; Jesus closed the distance.

• This mirrors His mission overall: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). We do not ascend to God; He comes to us (Romans 5:8).

• Notice the personal nature—He went “to them,” not just near them. Like the Good Shepherd leaving the ninety-nine for the one (Matthew 18:12-14), He draws near to His own in distress.

• In Mark’s parallel record, He “intended to pass by them” (Mark 6:48), echoing God’s glory passing before Moses (Exodus 33:19-22). Jesus’ approach is both comforting and revealing His divine glory.

“…walking on the sea.”

• This is not allegory; Scripture presents it as a literal miracle. The water that threatened to drown them became the pavement beneath His feet (Job 9:8).

• Only God exercises such mastery over creation (Psalm 77:19;Psalm 107:29). By doing what only Yahweh can do, Jesus openly displays His deity.

• The miracle also serves a pastoral purpose:

– It conquers the very element that terrifies them.

– It short-circuits every human solution, forcing faith (Matthew 14:27).

– It foreshadows ultimate victory over every chaotic “sea,” culminating in the new heaven and new earth where “there was no more sea” (Revelation 21:1).

• Peter’s brief walk (Matthew 14:29) further highlights that power flows from fixing our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).

Matthew 14:25 shows Jesus arriving in the darkest hour, taking the first step toward His struggling followers, and treading effortlessly over the very waves that overwhelmed them. The verse assures us that Christ’s timing is perfect, His initiative unearned, and His authority absolute. Whatever storms confront us, the One who walks on water still comes, still speaks, and still saves.

Walking on the sea.--Here, again, we have to choose between the simple acceptance of the supernatural fact as another instance of His sovereignty, or rejecting it as a legend. On the former supposition. we may see in it something like an anticipation (not unconnected, it may be, with the intensity of that crisis in His life) of that spiritual body of which we see another manifestation in the Transfiguration, and which became normal after the Resurrection, reaching its completeness in the wonder of the Ascension. We speculate almost involuntarily on the nature, and, as it were, process of the miracle, asking whether the ordinary laws that govern motion were broken or suspended, or counteracted by higher laws. No such questions would seem to have suggested themselves to the disciples. They, as yet not free from the popular superstitions of their countrymen, thought that it was "a spirit" (better,a phantom, orspectre) taking the familiar form, it might be, to lure them to their destruction, or as a token that some sudden mischance had deprived them of that loved Presence, and, therefore, in their vague terror, they were troubled, and cried out for fear.