But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Their terrified cry, "It is a ghost!", reveals they missed the divine power right before them. They saw a manifestation of power, but their fear interpreted it as a spectral apparition rather than the Lord of creation. This highlights how easily our own fears can blind us to God's presence and works.
But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.
English Standard Version (ESV)
After feeding thousands with a few loaves, Jesus sends his disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a boat while he goes to pray alone. As a storm rages and the disciples struggle to row, Jesus appears walking on the water toward them in the pre-dawn hours. Seeing this disembodied figure, they are overcome with terror, convinced they are seeing a ghost.
The disciples are in a terrifying storm, but what really sends them into a panic? It's not the waves, but a figure walking on them.
In Matthew 14, Jesus sends his disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a boat while he goes to pray. A fierce storm arises, and they're struggling. Then, in the darkness, they see someone walking on the water. Their immediate reaction isn't relief that help might be arriving, but terror. They cry out, 'It is a ghost!' (or apparition/phantom). This tells us something profound: while the storm itself was dangerous, the appearance of something so utterly beyond their natural understanding was even more frightening. They feared the supernatural event itself, not just the physical danger. This highlights how our deepest fears can stem from the inexplicable, from things that defy our understanding of reality.
They saw a miracle, but their minds couldn't grasp it. Why did they jump to the conclusion it was a ghost instead of Jesus?
The disciples' reaction reveals a critical spiritual blind spot. Even though they had witnessed Jesus perform incredible miracles, like feeding thousands with just a few loaves and fishes, their immediate thought wasn't, 'It must be Jesus!' Instead, they labeled the figure an 'apparition.' This shows that even after experiencing God's power, we can still struggle to recognize Him when He shows up in unexpected or awe-inspiring ways. Their fear was rooted in a failure to connect the extraordinary sight to the divine power they already knew. Their hearts were 'blinded,' as Mark's Gospel notes, preventing them from seeing Jesus in this powerful moment.
Understand the original words
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phantasma · Greek Noun
A supernatural being or spirit; in this context, it refers to the disciples' perception of a disembodied spirit rather than a physical person.
phobos · Greek Noun
A state of intense agitation or dread caused by the perception of danger, mystery, or the presence of the divine.
c. AD 27-30
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
Jesus miraculously feeds a crowd of over five thousand people with only five loaves and two fish. This event immediately precedes the disciples' journey across the Sea of Galilee.
Evening of the same day
Jesus Prays Alone
After sending the crowds away, Jesus withdraws to a mountain to pray alone, while the disciples are commanded to go ahead of Him in a boat across the Sea of Galilee.
Night, fourth watch
Disciples Battle a Storm
The disciples' boat is in the middle of the sea, struggling against a strong, contrary wind and high waves. This occurs during the darkest part of the night, between 3 AM and 6 AM.
Night, fourth watch— this verse
Jesus Walks on the Sea
Jesus appears to the disciples, walking on the surface of the stormy sea toward their boat. He intended to pass by them, but they see Him.
This passage describes God as the one who walks on the waves of the sea, immediately bringing to mind Jesus's similar, miraculous action and highlighting His divine authority.
Luke 24:37Here, the disciples mistake the resurrected Jesus for a spirit, mirroring the terror and confusion the disciples experience in Matthew's account when they see Jesus walking on the water.
Psalm 107:29This psalm beautifully recounts God's power over the sea, calming storms and bringing sailors to their desired haven, which powerfully contrasts with the disciples' fear and connects to Jesus's ultimate control over the elements.
John 6:19In this parallel account, the disciples see Jesus walking on the sea and initially react with fear, stating 'It is a ghost,' showing a consistent reaction across the Gospels to this astonishing event.
calvinMatthew 14:22-33: "And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away."
- And immediately Jesus constrained his disciples to embark, and to go before him to the opposite bank, till he had sent away the multitudes. 23. And when he had sent away the multitudes, he went up into a mountain alone to pray; and when the evening came, he was there alone. 24. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tosse…
bensonMatthew 14:26: "And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear."
Matthew 14:26-27 . And when the disciples saw him, they were troubled — “It is well known that it is never entirely dark on the water not to urge that the moon might perhaps now be in the last quarter, as it must have been, if this was about three weeks before the passover.” By that little light, therefore, which they had, the disciples, seeing him, but no…
Their terrified cry, "It is a ghost!", reveals they missed the divine power right before them. They saw a manifestation of power, but their fear interpreted it as a spectral apparition rather than the Lord of creation. This highlights how easily our own fears can blind us to God's presence and works.
After feeding thousands with a few loaves, Jesus sends his disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a boat while he goes to pray alone. As a storm rages and the disciples struggle to row, Jesus appears walking on the water toward them in the pre-dawn hours. Seeing this disembodied figure, they are overcome with terror, convinced they are seeing a ghost.
After feeding thousands with a few loaves, Jesus sends his disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a boat while he goes to pray alone. As a storm rages and the disciples struggle to row, Jesus appears walking on the water toward them in the pre-dawn hours. Seeing this disembodied figure, they are overcome with terror, convinced they are seeing a ghost.
"But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear." — Their terrified cry, "It is a ghost!", reveals they missed the divine power right before them. They saw a manifestation of power, but their fear interpreted it as a spectral apparition rather than th…
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Last reviewed October 2026