King James Bible
"So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid."
The disciples had rowed 3-4 miles into the Sea of Galilee, placing them in deep water far from shore. This distance detail emphasizes their isolation and vulnerability in the darkness, having earlier departed without Jesus after the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus approaches them by walking on the water's surface, demonstrating divine power over nature. This miraculous act echoes Old Testament imagery where only God treads upon the waves, revealing Jesus's divine identity to the struggling disciples. Their fear reflects both the supernatural terror of seeing someone walk on water and their failure to immediately recognize Jesus in the darkness. This human response sets up Jesus's subsequent reassurance and highlights how even his followers struggled to comprehend his divine nature.