There is also a grammatical construction in the passage that can't really be carried over into the English. When Jesus says "It is I," the actual Greek reads, "I am." That would be the Greek way of saying, "It is I," but it is also a way Greek speaking Jews of the First Century spoke of God. (Think of the "I AM" speech of God to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus.) But regardless of whether or not we are supposed to hear an echo of "I AM" in Jesus' words to his disciples, the gospel writer clearly wants us to recognize that all the power of God is present here in Jesus. His ability to provide food in the wilderness (think manna) and now to walk on the water and cause the wind to cease clearly speak of God's presence, even if the "hardened hearts" of the disciples don't yet perceive it.
Now this may all sound like Christianity 101, but in fact the notion of God fully present in Jesus does not fit all that well with way lots of Christians practice their faith. If what Jesus says and does carries the full weight of God, then his teachings are not some philosophy to consider, to evaluate and adopt whatever parts sound reasonable to us. And if God is really present in Jesus, getting mixed up in all the messiness of human life, illness and meals and money and relationships, then faith cannot be only about what I believe, or how I'm feeling spiritually.
You know, Christian faith would be a whole lot easier if we just used the Thomas Jefferson Bible, Jefferson's attempt to distill the ethics and morals of Jesus' teachings while removing all the supernatural elements that caused so much trouble. But many of us treasure the Bible too much to actually edit it the way Jefferson did. Besides, it's even easier just to ignore most of it.
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