Four different people in Scripture crossed a body of water by parting it. Moses famously parted the Red Sea after the Israelites left Egypt. Later Joshua parted the Jordan River, as did both Elijah and Elisha some time after that. But look back to Job 9:8. only one person has ever traversed a body of water by walking on the top of it: the God who spoke water itself into existence.
John tells us less about this powerfully iconic scene than Matthew and Mark do, and yet it is still rich with Passover imagery. John has already told us that it is near the Passover, the anniversary of God rescuing Israel out of Egypt. And now, not only is the walking on water reminding readers of when Moses parted the sea, but Jesus’ simple word “I AM” harkens back to when God told Moses from the burning bush that his very name was “I AM.” Just in a couple verses, this little story of Jesus’ miracle is shouting to us that he is no mere human leader; he is God, the same God who rescued Israel out of Egypt long before.
In fact John has to keep reminding us of who Jesus is, because the Israelites preferred to see him as a mere sidekick to their lives—and candidly, we often do too! They wanted to make Jesus their king so he would start a revolution against Rome, and in similar fashion, we often want to treat him as a genie that will fix our life problems for us. But that was never Jesus’ plan. He instead wanted us to have the freedom from sin and the joy of eternal life that comes from his own divine, infinite love for us, which we receive by knowing him as our God, our comforter, and our friend. Is that what we want from Jesus? Do we just want a revolutionary, or do we want God himself?
When we’re surrounded by turmoil and fear, it is the voice of Yahweh himself, rather than any mere man, that tells us “It is I; don’t be afraid.” The same God that created the waters in power and walks across it in authority also stills the storms and stills our fearful hearts. No human king can fill that role. Our faith is not in a mere human teacher or miracle-worker; it is in the God of salvation, the God of the Passover, the God who has all power and authority over the raging waters.
