And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
The fourth watch of the night marks the end of the night. One watch consists of three hours. This means that at the end of the world the Lord will come to the rescue, and he will be seen walking on the water. Although this ship is tossed by the storms of temptation, it sees the glorified Lord walking upon all the billows of the sea—that is, upon all the powers of this world. For through the voice of his Passion he gave an example of humility according to the flesh. Those waves of the sea to which he willingly submitted for our sake were stilled, in accordance with the prophecy: “I came to the height of the sea, and the storm swallowed me up.”
“When the disciples,” it is said, “saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit! And they cried out for fear.” This is the way he constantly deals with our fears. He does not hesitate to bring on worse things, even more alarming than those before. They were troubled here not only by the storm but also by the distance from the land. Note that he did not too easily remove the darkness. He did not come quickly to their rescue. He was training them, as I said, by the continuance of these fears and instructing them to be ready to endure. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
Accordingly, neither did he present himself to them at once. For it is written that “in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.” He was instructing them not too hastily to seek for deliverance from their pressing dangers but to bear all challenges courageously. In any case, just when they looked to be delivered, their fear was again heightened. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
Yea, and He constantly does so; when He is on the point of removing our terrors, He brings upon us other worse things, and more alarming: which we see took place then also. For together with the storm, the sight too troubled them, no less than the storm. Therefore neither did He remove the darkness, nor straightway make Himself manifest, training them, as I said, by the continuance of these fears, and instructing them to be ready to endure. This He did in the case of Job also; for when He was on the point of removing the terror and the temptation, then He suffered the end to grow more grievous; I mean not for his children's death, or the words of his wife, but because of the reproaches, both of his servants and of his friends. And when He was about to rescue Jacob from his affliction in the strange land, He allowed his trouble to be awakened and aggravated: in that his father-in-law first overtook him and threatened death, and then his brother coming immediately after, suspended over h...
