But the ship was now in the midst of the sea
That is, the ship in which the disciples were put into, to go on
the other side, had by this time got into the midst of the sea:
the Syriac and Persic versions say, it was "many furlongs from
land"; and the Arabic expressly says, "about twenty five
furlongs": which account seems to be taken from ( John 6:19 ) but this was
not all, it was not only at such a distance from land, but was
tossed with waves:
up and down, and in danger of being overset, and the passengers
lost:
for the wind was against them;
which beat the waves with such violence against them, that they
were in the utmost danger of their lives, and not able to get
forward; and what was worst of all, and most discouraging to the
disciples, Christ was not with them. The ship in which the
disciples were, was an emblem of the church of Christ, and of its
state and condition in this world: this world is like a sea, for
its largeness, and the abundance of nations and people in it,
compared to many waters, ( Revelation
17:15 ) and for the tumultuousness of its inhabitants; the
wicked being like a troubled sea, which cannot rest, continually
casting up the mire and dirt of sin, to the dishonour of God, and
the grief of his people; and for its fickleness and inconstancy,
changes and war being continually in it: now the church of Christ
is like a ship in this troublesome sea; where the true disciples
and followers of Christ are selected together; and are preserved
from the pollutions of the world, and from the danger to which
the men of it are exposed, being in their sins, and liable to the
wrath and curse of God, and eternal damnation; which, they that
are in Christ, and members of his body, are secure from; the port
or haven to which they are bound, is heaven and eternal
happiness; their's and Christ's Father's house, where are many
mansions provided for them; and where they long to be, and hope,
and believe, ere long they shall arrive unto; and hope is as an
anchor of their soul, sure and steadfast: but in the mean while,
whilst they are sailing through the sea of this world, they are
often, as the church of old, tossed with tempests, and not
comforted, ( Isaiah 55:11
) with the tempests of Satan's temptations, the storms of the
world's persecutions, and with the winds of error and false
doctrine; and then is it most uncomfortable to them, when Christ
is not with them, which was the case of the disciples here.
