For they all saw Him and were afraid. But He immediately spoke with them and said, “Take courage, it is I. do not be afraid.”
These words are full of comfort. Christ speaks to them immediately, because He knows that in temptation a person first of all needs His voice. “Take courage” is a call to the soul’s firmness. “It is I” is not merely a confirmation of identity, but a word that reminds us of God’s presence and eternal presence, and it is also an echo of that same divine name by which God revealed Himself to Moses: “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). “Do not be afraid” is the result of the first two. If He is present, then fear must not rule. These three expressions together present the great peace of faith. In temptation the most important thing is not that the waves disappear before one comes to know Christ, but that a person knows Him right in the midst of the waves.