(Audio)
The crowd had come to know that Jesus was a prophet, but the deeper truth of who he was eluded them, hence "he withdrew again to the mountain alone", to the place near to God where their minds could not yet reach. His miracle of the multiplication of the loaves revealed him to the crowds as a prophet. But to his disciples he chose to reveal more.
But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”
He chose to give them a theophany, a revelation of his divinity. Therefore the words he spoke to the disciples in the boat were "I AM. Do not be afraid", appropriating for himself the name revealed to Moses by God at the burning bush.
they saw Jesus walking on the sea
It was not in casual conversation that he chose to give this revelation, nor was it only given in words. He walked on the water to show the disciples that he was the one of whom the Psalmist wrote, "Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen" (see Psalm 77:19). Previously it had been dark and a strong wind was blowing, but seeing Jesus in this context they "began to be afraid." Probably the storm and the darkness were a cause for fear, but earthly fear lost its power over them them as a holy fear took hold. He told them "Do not be afraid", that is, 'Do not let your holy fear cause you to keep distant from me.' And because he reassured them, because his words really did have the power to bring peace, they "wanted to take him into the boat". This desire itself the response Jesus desired. It wasn't even so much a matter of whether Jesus was physically in the boat as it was that the disciples were willing to receive into their hearts this one who revealed himself to be divine.
They wanted to take him into the boat,
but the boat immediately arrived at the shore
to which they were heading.
An early commentator points out that "our Lord did not come when the danger was beginning, but when it was ending. He suffers us to remain in the midst of dangers and tribulations, that we may be proved thereby, and flee for succour to Him Who is able to give us deliverance when we least expect it. When man’s understanding can no longer help him, then the Divine deliverance comes. If we are willing also to receive Christ into the ship, i. e. to live in our hearts, we shall find ourselves immediately in the place, where we wish to be, i. e. heaven." It is when we finally find ourselves beyond our strength that the Lord is able to fully reveal himself to us. But this does not mean that we give up. Rather, we must persevere until that moment and not surrender, for "the one who endures to the end will be saved" (see Matthew 24:13). We can do so with the great confidence that "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability" (see First Corinthians 10:13). We would prefer to avoid the darkness and the wind and the apparent absence of Jesus. But when we do experience these things we can find solace in the fact that the Lord is preparing to reveal his divinity to us in a deeper way than we have yet known.
When we come to believe what Jesus tells us about who he is we too are filled more and more "with the Spirit and wisdom", able to undertake any tasks to which God calls us. We lose interest in rivalries and politics and are able to do our part so that the word of God can continue to spread. The deacons were ordained for their task when the Apostles laid hands on them. But they were already prepared for it by the work of the Spirit. We might feel more like we are in a boat in a storm than a confident disciple filled with the Holy Spirit. But if so, let us wait with confidence, knowing that at any moment the Lord will reveal himself to us, and in doing so, fill with the same Spirit that animated Stephen. We can be confident that Jesus wants to make us a people filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, just like these first deacons described in Acts.
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