This is a straightforward statement.All of this is reinforced by the fact that the sea is frequently used as a metaphor for sin, death, and judgment in the Bible, as well.It is initially associated with the concepts of darkness and chaos (Gen.1:2).During the days of Noah, the sea served as Gods lethal tool of wrath against mankind (Gen.6:17).As a result, later on, when Israel attempted to flee Egypt, they were stranded by the sea (please grasp this) until God provided a way for them to safely travel over it on dry ground (Ex. Therefore, in John 6, Jesus is revealed as the One who brings about the new exodus, that is, the true liberation of Gods people from slavery to sin, the inevitability of death, and the just judgment of God. So the other disciples stayed in the boat and dragged in the net full of fish. In Matthew 14:25-32, Jesus is seen walking on water near the Sea of Galilee. It wasn't identified exactly in the Bible the year on which JESUS walk on the water but we can say it was perhaps year 33 as JESUS walkes on the water after His resurrection from the death when He . And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. [24] Rudolf Bultmann pointed out that the sea-walking theme is familiar in many cultures. According to Meier this is a metaphor of the Early Church immediately after Easter: Jesus leaves his disciples with the ascension promising to return, but occasionally visits them during the journey to support them (through the Eucharist). And it was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. Mary Fairchild is a full-time Christian minister, writer, and editor of two Christian anthologies, including "Stories of Calvary.". 19 When therefore they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they behold Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the boat: and they were afraid. In the past, I have seen some theistic evolutionists act, well, kind After being invited by Jesus to come, Peter got out of his boat and for a brief few moments walked on water (Matthew 14:28-33). He contends that these methods of exegesis rely on factual interpretations and fail to capture the full meaning of the text based on its structure. It is because John wants us to see Jesus as the greater Moses, as he has already told us both explicitly (John 1:1617) and implicitly (Moses could only draw water from the rock, while Jesus could draw wine from the rock, the stone jars; see Ex. to Moses (Ex 14:2129) or to Elijah (2 kg 2:8). Walking on the sea is linked with the prophet Elijah in the Old Testament. In him and by him everything was created. While he dismissed the multitudes, he immediately ordered his followers to get into the boat and accompany him to the opposite side of the lake.And once he had dismissed the people, he climbed up to the top of the mountain to pray on his own behalf.When the dark arrived, he was alone on the island, but the boat had already traveled a considerable distance from the shore, battered by the waves due to the winds opposition.Afterwards, he came to them during the fourth watch of the night, strolling on the water. The story of Jesus walking on water is retold in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John; it is not in the Gospel of Luke. It was such a remarkable difference that the disciples exclaimed Truly you are the Son of God. The only fitting response to what they had just witnessed was to acknowledge and glorify Jesus as the incarnate I AM. Im not sure, but Ill question Him about it one of these days.Because of the massive storm that is occurring all around them, as well as Jesus presence on the lakeshore, Peter responds, If its you, order me to come out on the sea (Matthew 14:28).As a result, Jesus accomplishes just that!Just think about it! Come, he instructed.As a result, Peter stepped out of the boat and walked across the water to reach Jesus.His fear increased, though, as he noticed the wind. The Bible says in Matthew 14:29-31 that Jesus said, Yes, come.. 9 Although I can see him as he passes me, I am unable to recognize him when he passes me. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. On the way to smashup, or redemptiondepending on how you read the bookHazel's path crosses that . Why did Jesus walk on the water? [7], In all three accounts, after Jesus got into the ship, the wind ceased and they reached the shore. Following their successful feeding of a large number of people, Jesus and His 12 disciples walked up a mountain for some one-on-one devotional time with the Father. What do you think? Article Images Copyright . 13:1). He walked on water so that we may know Him as the incarnate God and glorify Him as so. Ex. It is true that the disciples were scared because their hearts had been hardened as a result of their failure to comprehend the loaves. You have such a small amount of faith, Jesus responded. events with deep symbolic resonance. A few minutes behind them, I meandered over towards the dock full of people I knew. It seems to me that any speculation about a miracle, sign, or wonder without an audience is rather pointless. This sovereign King goes from whipping the wind into shape, to being crucified on a cross in order to bring about the redemption of His people. Please enjoy the archives. The New Testament translation of it is I in Matthew 14:27, is the same form of the Old Testament name for God, I AM. Stephanie is passionate about allowing God to use her honest thoughts and confessions to bring gospel application to life. [13], Richard Cassidy states that this episode sheds special light on the position of Peter who had faith in Jesus and acknowledged Jesus' extraordinary powers, and by considering to walk on water himself, wanted to share in the act of Jesus before the other disciples for he considered himself closest to Jesus. Psalm 30 thanks God (vv. As a Christian both orthodox and evangelical I affirm the historic creeds the rule of faith which we have received from the beginning. (Matthew 8:2). This blog is no longer being updated. When we consider the signs and wonders in recorded in scripture sometimes a natural explanation is found and the wonder is in the timing not physical cause, but on other occasions no natural cause is present. New Living Translation During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. After all the LORD swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned This is the sea where Peter took a faltering step toward Jesuson the water. Rather, He entered into our humanity to show Himself as the true bread of life (John 6:35). The allusion to the apostle Peter walking on water is not present in the gospels of Mark and John, on the other hand. In the book of Psalms, the sea is frequently used to symbolize tremendous uncertainty and insurmountable difficulty (e.g., Pss. Some of Jesus followers are fishermen who are accustomed to being on the Sea of Galilee at the time of his death. If you wish, you may contact me directly at rjs4mail[at]att.net. He walked on top of the water in the middle of a raging storm. The episode occurs shortly after another miracle, the feeding of the 5,000.This event convinced the 12 disciples that Jesus is indeed the living Son of God.Thus, the story is extremely significant to Christians and the basis for several important life lessons that govern . John alone specifies they were headed "toward Capernaum". In his resurrection, Jesus was "vindicated by the Spirit" ( 1 Timothy 3:16 ). Jesus fled to a mountain by himself once more, this time knowing that they meant to come and compel him to become king by force.He and his disciples descended to the sea, boarded the boat, and set sail across the sea to the town of Capernaum as the evening arrived.It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet arrived to meet them on the road.The sea got choppy as a result of the heavy wind blowing at the time. Concentrating on Jesus: Peter did not begin to sink until he took his eyes off of Jesus and began to gaze about him at the wind and the seas. Following the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus Christ dispatched his disciples ahead of him in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee to the other side.Later that night, the disciples came upon a storm that made them feel uneasy and threatened them with death.Their dread quickly changed to horror as they saw Jesus strolling toward them across the surface of the water, and they began to believe that they were seeing the appearance of a ghost. The walking on the sea episode has specific interpretations within Christian teachings and has been viewed by scholars as important due to its perceived impact on the formation of Christian ecumenical creeds, as discussed below. Because they were afraid, they screamed when they realized he was walking on the water and assumed he must be a ghost.He had intended to pass by them, but they mistook him for a ghost and screamed when they realized he was on the sea.However, he instantly addressed them and stated, Take heart; it is I. He said . What did Jesus mean when He said, Peace, be still. They were completely taken aback (NLT), The Bible says in Matthew 14:2931 that Jesus said, Yes, come. As a result, Peter climbed over the side of the boat and began walking across the sea toward Jesus. But Jesus was by the fire, cooking. When we repeat a particular idea often enough that it becomes part of the air we breathe for years, or even generations on end, it accumulates a gravitas, an authority, that soon goes unexamined. During the Exodus, the Lord states that he is the only God and that there is no rescuer besida.In Matthew, Peter will call out for the one walking on the water to swerve away from him.Please forgive him.Isaiah 43:10 The Lord reveals in verse 11: You are my witnesses, and my servant whom I have selected, so that you may know and trust me, and comprehend that I am he (). (There was no god before me, and there will be no god after me.) For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. What then? These passages shed light on the meaning of Johns vision that the sea was no more in Gods new creation (Rev. And Peter went down from the boat, and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus. The moment they notice Him approaching, they freak out, proclaiming that He is a ghost! Other times, however, storms rage with no end in sight. Sandwiched around Jesus claim as the great I AM, is His feeding of the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-21) and specific salvation of His disciple, Peter (Matthew 14:28-33). By this time, it was dark, and Jesus had not yet arrived to join them.There was a strong wind blowing, and the water became choppy.At about three or three and a half miles into their row, they noticed Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water, and they were frightened. [1], At the end of the evening, the disciples boarded a ship to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, without Jesus who went up the mountain to pray alone. Walking on water, which is recorded in three of the Gospels, was performed immediately after Jesus miracle feeding the 5,000 with only five loaves of bread and two fish, which was recorded in two of the Gospels (Matthew 14:17).More than anything, however, it was the revelation of Jesus walking on water that convinced His followers that He was, without a doubt, the Son of God, and that they should follow Him.Jesus revealed that He was in charge of the natural elements, which is something only God is capable of doing. The seas were raging, and the rowing of the disciples was doing little to assist!So, what does Jesus do in this situation?The Water-Walker simply strolls out toward them, straight into the midst of a thunderstorm!Its not a huge deal. 51 And he went up unto them into the boat; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves; 52 for they understood not concerning the loaves, but their heart was hardened. Every time the And He encourages us not to be scared!In the midst of the storm, when everything seems to be crashing and shattering around us, when we are in the midst of the storm and nothing makes sense, Jesus assures us that Im with you. That is incredible!That gives me a sense of security! And here in John 6:1621, Jesus is depicted as standing above the sea as the One who has power over everything. Rev. He chides them for not believing what the prophets foretold regarding the Messiah then explains to them all the Biblical verses that pertained to him. All we are left with is the evidence of Gods work through his natural cause, the historical record of what happened and the natural laws of the environment within which it occurred. https://www.learnreligions.com/jesus-walks-on-water-700220 (accessed March 1, 2023). For those who are familiar with the Old Testament, John 6 may appear to be a recreation of the exodus account, in which the Passover is a significant element, as it does to those who are not.In the first place, we have the proliferation of signs and wonders, similar to what happened in Egypt (cf.Ex. Peter jumped out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Jesus, but the moment he took his eyes offof Jesus, Peter saw nothing but the wind and waves, and he started to sink. 3:14), which is frequently rendered as Lord, just as it is in Exodus 14:13, which is the same translation as in Exodus 3:14. But we believe this, I believe this, not because it is a creed separate from scripture, but because it is a condensation of scripture. Anyone who is unfamiliar with the narrative will recall that Jesus multiplied enough bread and fish to feed a huge crowdand there were plenty of leftovers to go around.Besides providing what they need, he went above and above to deliver what they desired, which was more than enough!But thats exactly what Jesus does: He struts his stuff!Not only were all of His miracles for our advantage, but they were also for His benefit.He was well aware of who He was. The miracles of Jesus are miraculous deeds attributed to Jesus in Christian and Islamic texts. Mark 6:52 establishes a stronger connection between the two stories. Liberal rationalism here we come. Jesus miraculous crossing of the Sea of Galilee occurs immediately after the feeding of the five thousand, according to each of the four Gospels that describe it.Afterwards, the crossing is followed by a miraculous cure at Gennesaret, according to the gospels of Matthew and Mark (Matt.14:3436; Mark 6:5356). Your email address will not be published. I imagine that moment going from white caps, strong wind, and seasickness to the water looking like glass. When his fear hits, he begins to sink, but Jesus immediately saves Him. One reason Jesus stayed on earth for 40 days after His resurrection instead of ascending immediately into heaven was to demonstrate to His followers that He truly was alive. That verse doesnt predict Gods vengeance against beachfront property; rather, its His promise that everything the sea symbolizes in Scripturesin, death, and judgmentwill be done away with when Christ makes all things new (Rev. God interacts with and in his creation in relationship with his people. Jesus caught him, and commenting on his lack of faith led him back to the ship, whereupon the storm stopped. Jesus is the true source of our escape since He is the Passover Lamb (John 1:29) and the One who guides His people safely across hazardous rivers (John 6:1621), among other roles.And we know He is capable of doing so because Christ has shown Himself to us.During the most difficult time of their ordeal, when they were terrified by the fury of the sea and the apparent certainty of death, the disciples overheard Jesus declare, It is I; do not be terrified (John 6:20).Do not be scared, Moses instructed the Israelites on the eve of the Red Sea crossing: Do not be terrified. Remain steady and watch for the Lords redemption, which he will bring about for you today (Ex.14:13).2 This implies that we have nothing to be afraid of as long as God is with us, as He is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 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