Church Fathers Commentary John 6:15-21

"Jesus therefore perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force, to make him king, withdrew again into the mountain himself alone. And when evening came, his disciples went down unto the sea; and they entered into a boat, and were going over the sea unto Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. And the sea was rising by reason of a great wind that blew. When therefore they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they behold Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the boat: and they were afraid. But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat: and straightway the boat was at the land whither they were going." — John 6:15-21 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: The crowd, concluding from such a great miracle that He was merciful and powerful, wanted to make Him a king. For people like having a merciful king to rule over them and a powerful one to protect them. Knowing this, our Lord withdrew to the mountain: When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain Himself alone.

From this we gather that our Lord had previously gone down from the mountain, where He was sitting with His disciples, when He saw the crowd coming and fed them on the plain below. For how could He go up to the mountain again unless He had first come down from it?

St. Augustine of Hippo: This is not at all inconsistent with what we read, that He went up into a mountain apart to pray, as the objective of escaping is quite compatible with the objective of praying. Indeed, our Lord teaches us here that whenever escape is necessary, prayer is also greatly necessary.

Yet He who was wary of being made a king was already a king. He was not made king by men (for He reigns forever with the Father, in that He is the Son of God), but was instead making people kings in the kingdom the prophets had foretold. By becoming man, Christ made believers into Christians—that is, members of His kingdom, incorporated and purchased by His Word.

This kingdom will be made manifest after the judgment, when the brightness of His saints will be revealed. However, the disciples and the crowd who believed in Him thought He had come to reign at that time. And so they wanted to take Him by force to make Him a king, wishing to anticipate His timing, which He kept secret.

St. John Chrysostom: See what the belly can do! They no longer care about violating the Sabbath; all their zeal for God has fled now that their bellies are filled. Christ has become a Prophet, and they want to enthrone Him as king. But Christ escapes to teach us to despise the honors of the world. He dismisses His disciples and goes up into the mountain.

When their Master had left them, they went down in the evening to the sea, as we read: And when even was now come, His disciples went down unto the sea. They waited until evening, thinking He would come to them. When He did not come, they no longer delayed their search for Him but, in the fervor of their love, entered a ship and went over the sea toward Capernaum. They went to Capernaum, thinking they would find Him there.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The Evangelist now returns to explain why they went and to relate what happened to them while they were crossing the lake. He says, And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.

St. John Chrysostom: The mention of the time is not accidental but is meant to show the strength of their love. They did not make excuses and say, "It is evening now, and night is coming on," but in the warmth of their love, they went into the ship. And now many things alarmed them: the time, And it was now dark; the weather, as we read next, And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew; and their distance from land, So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs.

The Venerable Bede: This is a way of speaking we use when we are in doubt; we say, "about twenty-five or thirty."

St. John Chrysostom: And at last, He appears quite unexpectedly: They see Jesus walking upon the sea, and drawing nigh. He reappears after His withdrawal, teaching them what it is to be forsaken and stirring them to a greater love, while His reappearance manifests His power. They were disturbed and afraid. Our Lord comforts them: But He said to them, It is I, be not afraid.

The Venerable Bede: He does not say, "I am Jesus," but only, "I am." He trusts that they will easily recognize His familiar voice, or, as is more probable, He is showing that He was the same one who said to Moses, I am that I am.

St. John Chrysostom: He appeared to them in this way to show His power, for He immediately calmed the tempest: Then they wished to receive Him into the ship; and immediately the ship was at the land, whither they went. The calm was so great that He did not even enter the ship, in order to work a greater miracle and show His divinity more clearly.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Observe the three miracles here: first, His walking on the sea; second, His calming the waves; and third, His bringing them immediately to shore, even though they were some distance away when our Lord appeared.

St. John Chrysostom: Jesus does not show Himself walking on the sea to the crowd, as such a miracle would be too much for them to comprehend. He did not even show Himself to the disciples for long, but disappeared immediately.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Mark’s account does not contradict this. He says that our Lord told the disciples first to enter the ship and go ahead of Him over the sea while He dismissed the crowds, and that when the crowd was dismissed, He went up alone into the mountain to pray. John, on the other hand, places His going up alone into the mountain first, and then says, And when even was now come, His disciples went down to the sea. But it is easy to see that John relates what the disciples did afterward, which our Lord had commanded before His departure to the mountain.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, take another explanation. This miracle seems to me to be a different one from that given in Matthew. In that account, they do not receive Him into the ship immediately, whereas here they do. There, the storm lasts for some time, but here, a calm follows as soon as He speaks. He often repeats the same miracle in order to impress it on people's minds.

St. Augustine of Hippo: There is a mystical meaning in our Lord’s feeding the multitude and ascending the mountain, for it was prophesied of Him in this way: So shall the congregation of the people come about You: for their sake therefore lift up Yourself again.

St. Gregory the Great: But why did He flee? For they could not have detained Him against His will. This flight has a meaning: namely, that His departure is beyond our comprehension, just as when you do not understand something, you say, "It escapes me." He fled alone to the mountain because He has ascended far above all heavens.

Upon His ascension, a storm came upon the disciples in the ship (that is, the Church), and it became dark, as the light (that is, Jesus) had gone. As the end of the world draws near, error increases and iniquity abounds. Light is also love, according to John: He that hates his brother is in darkness. The waves, storms, and winds that agitate the ship, then, are the clamors of evil-speaking and love growing cold.

Nevertheless, the wind, storm, waves, and darkness were not able to stop and sink the vessel, for he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. As the number five has reference to the Law (the books of Moses being five), the number twenty-five, being made up of five times five, has the same meaning. This Law was imperfect before the Gospel came. Now, the number of perfection is six, and therefore five is multiplied by six, which makes thirty; that is, the Law is fulfilled by the Gospel.

To those, then, who fulfill the Law, Jesus comes treading on the waves—that is, trampling underfoot all the swellings of the world and all the pride of humanity. And yet such tribulations remain that even those who believe in Jesus fear that they might be lost.

Theophylact of Ohrid: When either men or devils try to terrify us, let us hear Christ saying, It is I, be not afraid—that is, "I am always near you, God unchangeable, immovable; do not let any false fears destroy your faith in Me." Observe, too, that our Lord did not come when the danger was beginning, but when it was ending. He allows us to remain in the midst of dangers and tribulations so that we may be tested by them and flee for help to Him who is able to give us deliverance when we least expect it.

When human understanding can no longer help, then divine deliverance comes. If we are also willing to receive Christ into the ship—that is, into our hearts—we will immediately find ourselves in the place where we wish to be: heaven.

The Venerable Bede: This ship, however, does not carry an idle crew; they are all strong rowers. That is, in the Church, not the idle and weak, but the strenuous and persevering in good works attain the harbor of everlasting salvation.