Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

John 6:20,21

John 6:20-21. But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat. His voice and manner were enough to remove all their fears. They would have kept away from the apparition, affrighted; but now their will was to receive their Master. This renewed mention of the ‘will' (compare chap. John 5:6; John 5:40) is striking and characteristic. In the first two Evangelists we read of our Lord's entering the boat, and some have thought that the words here present a difficulty as implying a desire on the part of the disciples that was not fulfilled. But there is really no discrepancy whatever. John mentions the will only, assuming that every reader would understand that the will was carried into effect (comp. John 1:43; John 5:35).

And immediately the boat was at the land whither they went. They were making for Capernaum, and this town they reached immediately. It is plain that John intends to relate what was not an ordinary occurrence but a miracle. The first two Evangelists do not speak of it, but their words are in perfect harmony with John's account, for immediately after the lulling of the wind then mention the completion of the voyage.

This is the fourth of the ‘signs' recorded in this Gospel. Unlike the former miracle (the feeding of the multitude), it is not mentioned again or in any way expressly referred to; hence we have less certainty as to the position assigned to it by the Evangelist. That to him it was not a mere matter of history we may be sure; but the event is not as closely interwoven with the texture of his narrative as are the other miracles which he records. The thoughts which are here prominent are the separation of the disciples from their Lord, their difficulties amid the darkness and the storm, their fear as they dimly see Jesus approaching, the words which remove their fear, their ‘will' to receive Him, the immediate end of all their trouble and danger. The cardinal thought is their safety when they have received Jesus. The narrative is connected with that which precedes in that, here as there, all attention is concentrated on the Redeemer Himself, who in sovereign power and in infinite grace manifests His glory. It is still more closely joined with what comes after, as it teaches on the one hand the safety of all who are with Him (John 6:37-39), and on the other the necessity of man's receiving Him, opening his heart to His words, committing Himself to Him by faith (John 6:40). We cannot doubt that the question of Jesus and the answer of the twelve, of which we read in John 6:68, are closely linked with the teaching of that night in which the disciples found at once the end of peril and rest from toil when they saw and received their Lord.

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Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

John 6:20,21

Old Testament

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