Jesus approaches the disciples by walking across the water to them. They are terrified. he responds by saying "It is I. Don't be afraid."
The word for FEAR is
phobeo {fob-eh'-o}
It is the word we use in the English for phobia. One definition of phobeo is "terror which seizes one when danger appears." It is a shaking, quaking reaction. It is one that renders you unable to do anything but run away.
Yet Jesus' presence took care of the fear. He did it then, and He can do it now. I like the story that I read of a church's sign in WWII in London as nighttime bombings shook the city:
"If your knees knock, kneel on them."
"If your knees knock, kneel on them."
