Bread on the Hillside
When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear. Matthew 14:26 · Berean Standard Bible
When the disciples saw someone walking on the water, they were terrified and screamed that it was a ghost. Fear can distort how you see Jesus.
Sometimes Jesus comes to you in ways you don't expect, and your first reaction might be fear instead of faith. That's okay. He speaks into your fear.
The disciples cry out in fear, unable to recognize Jesus in the storm.
The very one who can save them is the one they're most afraid of. Fear has blinded them to the presence of their rescuer.
The disciples' reaction (etarachthēsan, 'were terrified') and their cry phantasma estin ('it is a ghost') reflect the ancient belief in nocturnal maritime spirits. Their fear reveals they cannot yet identify Jesus in an unexpected divine manifestation.
The term phantasma appears only here and in Mark 6:49 in the New Testament. The disciples' confusion underscores the gap between witnessing miracles and truly recognizing Jesus' identity.
The narrator describes the disciples' terrified reaction, quoting their fearful cry.
The disciples, already exhausted and afraid from the storm, now face something even more terrifying. They mistake Jesus for a phantom.
24but the boat was already far from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea.
26When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.
27But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
28“Lord, if it is You,” Peter replied, “command me to come to You on the water.”
Read all of Matthew 14 — A king's guilty banquet ends with a prophet's head on a platter. Hours later, Jesus feeds thousands and walks on water through the night.
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