“And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.” (Mark 6:45-52)

Having fed the multitudes by the power of omnipotence, the Bible says that the Lord instructed His disciples to get into a boat and return to the other side of Galilee to Bethsaida while He dispensed the great crowd. Bethsaida (house of fishing), was located two miles north of the Sea of Galilee and East of the Jordan River. Later, the name Julias was given to it by the tetrarch Philip (Luke 3:1), in honor of Julia, the daughter of Caesar Augustus (27 BC to AD 14).

Having sent the disciples to Bethsaida and having dispensed the crowd that was reluctant to leave, the Bible says that Jesus departed into a mountain to pray. Prayer was needed because of the pressures that were building up. Jesus faced religious hostility from the spiritual leaders of the land. He faced political suspicion from Herod Antipas. And the Lord faced the temptation of political power from nationalistic zealots who desired to make Him a king. Jesus needed to pray.

The picture of Christ as a man of prayer is one of the great images of the New Testament. Concerning the prayer life of Christ, we know the following.

The Lord prayed in different places.

On a mountain

“And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray” (Luke 9:28).

In the Garden of Gethsemane

“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder” (Matt. 26:36).

In the Wilderness

“And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed” (Luke 5:16).

The Lord prayed at various times.

Before daylight 

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35).

When in distress

“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour” (John 12:27).

During Supper

“And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it” (Mark 13:22-23).

The Lord prayed for long periods of time.

All night

“And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12).

The Lord prayed in an intercessory manner.

For Peter

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:31, 32).

For Believers 

“I pray for them [the elect]: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine” (John 17:9).

For the Holy Spirit to come.

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever” (John 14:10).

The Lord prayed alone.

While Jesus prayed His disciples were caught up in another storm on the Sea of Galilee. They were again in distress because the winds were “contrary unto them” (Mark 6:48). The harder they rowed, the less progress they made towards their grand destination four miles away.

This desperate condition continued for a long time. As Jesus “saw them toiling in rowing” (Mark 6:48) He decided to go to their help in a very personal way. He would not stop the winds from blowing for a moment, nor would He send an angel to hold back the storm.

Instead, the Lord began to walk towards His disciples—at 3 o’clock in the morning. Stepping from solid ground upon the waves of the water, Jesus actually walked on the surface of the Sea of Galilee. Anticipating this moment prophetically, the Psalmist said, “The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea” (Ps. 93:3-4).

Now, it is wonderful to see something of the sovereignty of the Son of God, but it can be terrifying. The Bible tells us that the disciples when they saw Jesus were afraid. Their fear came because of several factors.

First, the disciples were afraid because of weak theology. The thought arose that somehow Jesus had been killed since they last saw Him but now His spirit lived and was moving towards them. If the thinking of the disciples reveals anything, it teaches how quickly wrong thinking can arise, how easily it can be embraced, and how dangerous it can be to a spiritual life of faith.

Second, the disciples were afraid because there is a natural foolishness to the human heart that creates something out of nothing. Many years ago President Franklin Roosevelt told the American people that they had nothing to fear but fear itself. Spiritually, most of the things we fear are of our own making (Mark 6:5).

We think that God is our enemy, but Divine providence is moving towards us to help us, not to hurt.

We think that God is going to pass us by, but He is nearby to be called upon.

We think that God does not care about our desperate condition, but He cares very much.

Most of our fears are of our own making. Of course, it is true that men should have a certain type of fear. There is a fear that pleases God. There is a fear that is commanded by God as the Doctrine of Fear indicates. But always, the mature believer will want to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate fear reflected in the reaction of the disciples to the walking of Jesus on the water in the early hours of the morning.

Now, by way of personal application, for some of God’s people it is still 3 o’clock in the morning and life is at a standstill. The heart has been laboring to be obedient to the known will of the Lord, but contrary winds have arisen to halt any forward progress.

It is 3 o’clock in the morning and life is stressful. The common techniques of time are not working. The normal events that made up everyday activities are failing. Distress and panic are setting in.

It is 3 o’clock in the morning, and the prayers of passion are suddenly halted in astonishment at the presence of Divine providence. But His presence is terrifying. He has answered the prayers of His people for deliverance, but in a way they never expected. The way God has chosen to work is in fact frightening.

It is 3 o’clock in the morning and suddenly everything is alright for a familiar voice is heard. It is the voice of the Good Shepherd who calls His own by name. And the message is familiar.

“Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid.”

Have you heard that voice of the Good Shepherd? I know that the storms of life are blowing. There are many desperate situations represented today. Some are financial and some are physical. Some are personal and some are unwholesome relationships. All of the situations are stressful to one degree or another.

It is 3 o’clock in the morning and the voice of the Lord is heard. He is telling us, “Be of good cheer, It is I be not afraid.”

Now consider the lessons of life to be learned from this portion of the text.

Our Lord sees the troubles of His people and in due time will move to help them again and again. We might wish that there were no storms of life, but if that happened, we would never know of God’s grace, mercy, and power to deliver.

The Christian is never beyond the reach of the Lord’s care for the progress of the believer is never hidden from Him.

The antidote for fear is faith. We are not to have faith in faith, nor to have faith in the thoughts of our own imaginations. Rather we are to have faith in the person of Christ. When commenting on this passage Augustine said, “He came treading the waves; and so He puts all the swelling tumults of life under His feet. Christians—why afraid?” Why afraid indeed.

We will never know Christ until He is pleased to reveal Himself. When Jesus does reveal Himself, it will be with words of comfort and with words of relationship. “It is I,” He says (Ego eimi; I am he or, I am), “be not afraid.”

These are words of great power. We find them being repeated again. On the night of His arrest Jesus said, according to John 18:6. “I am he,” and those who came to arrest the Lord “went backward, and fell to the ground.” Why did that happen? Why did men fall when Jesus said, “I am” and why were people comforted? The answer is this. Christ was claiming to be God and there is power in the name of God.

The first time we find the sacred name and its power is in Exodus 3:14 when the Lord revealed that He had come to deliver His people. When Moses asked by what sign he could convince the children of Israel that the Lord had sent him, “God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Ex. 3:14). Jesus said, “I am” and the forces of nature were at His command because of who He is. Jesus said, “I am” and the demons of darkness fell backwards. There is power in the person of Christ.

Believing this we come to Christ by faith, and cast our welfare upon Him  knowing that He cares for us.

The presence of Christ is enough to make us of good cheer.

Jesus went into the ship and the winds ceased and the destination of desire was reached. And so it shall ever be. When Christ comes to His people, they will get where they have been instructed to go and the whole process will be according to sovereign power and grace.