There is something mysterious about how Jesus encounters people in the Gospels. We are accustomed to finding Our Lord searching out and calling people like a good shepherd. But there are instances in the New Testament in which he appears to be intent on passing by his intended audience.

Did you ever notice at the end of Luke’s Gospel that after the risen Christ encounters a few of his disciples on the road near Emmaus, he seems to do this? After opening the Scripture and showing the disciples how the Messiah must suffer and rise, once they reach the village, Luke writes, Jesus “...gave the impression that he was going on farther” (Luke 24:28). This is not the only time Jesus seems to be passing by something that is important.

One of the most surprising instances occurs when he is walking on the water in Mark 6:47-51. The disciples are in a boat during a storm about halfway out to sea and couldn’t make headway because the wind was against them. Mark says that Jesus “...came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. ... They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, ‘Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!’ He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were (completely) astounded.”

In addition to the strange observation that Jesus meant to pass by them is Jesus’ reply to his disciples, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.” In Greek, it says, “Take courage, I am, do not be afraid.”

Why this strange reply? It could be that Jesus isn’t saying “It’s me, Jesus” to his disciples, but is repeating the divine name given to Moses in Exodus 3:14, “I AM WHO AM.” But why would Jesus apply to himself the divine name in this context? There is one episode in the Old Testament where God pronounces His divine name as He passes by someone. It occurs during a very intimate scene between God and Moses in Exodus 33:18-22. Moses asked to see God’s glory and God answered:

“I will make all my beauty pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce my name, ‘LORD’; I who show favors to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will. But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives. ‘Here,’ continued the LORD, ‘is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. When my glory passes I will set you in the hollow of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.’”

Notice how this passage emphasizes three times that God’s presence will pass by Moses and while his presence passes God pronounces his name, “LORD” (YHWH). It’s easy to see the parallels here. Jesus loves his disciples and takes the opportunity to manifest his divine identity to them in order to calm their fears. Therefore, Jesus walks as if he is passing by his disciples like the presence of God passed by Moses, and he speaks the divine name “I AM” to them. Remember this passage the next time someone insists that Jesus never claimed to be God.



But what about all the other passages in which Jesus appears to be passing by people that he encounters in the Gospels? While the Bible background of those passages might help explain why he does this, a possible explanation might be that he wishes to teach us not to trust in our own strength, but to trust in God. If we are suffering or in a difficult situation, it’s easy to think that we can take care of ourselves. God is polite. He will give us what we want in these cases and passes by us. But when we do cry out for him, he comes and either resolves the difficulty (like calming the sea) or he compassionately stays with us during our trial so we may be able bear it. He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, and he won’t come in unless our hearts welcome him.

Gary Michuta is an apologist, author and speaker and a member of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Livonia. Visit his website at www.handsonapologetics.com.