When that happens, theres nothing to do except praise God for yet another gift of mercy and grace. One step off, and she began to drown. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesall things have been created through Him and for Him. The sea is seven-and-a-half miles long and thirteen miles wide at its widest point. However, when the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were startled and said, Its a ghost! as they screamed in terror.Take comfort, it is I, Jesus said directly to them when they had heard him say it.Be brave and do not be scared. And Peter said, Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the sea, indicating that he believed it was. All rights reserved. However, Jesus only draws closer and closer until, at long last, He calms them down and leaves them alone. 53 And when they had crossed over, they came to the land unto Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. Although I have often interacted here with posts on other blogs, I have not generally paid a great deal of attention to the comments on those other blogs. He said . / In every high and stormy gale, /My anchor holds within the veil. One of His encounters with them was at the road to Emmaus. In the past, I have seen some theistic evolutionists act, well, kind , Isnt this what we were taught to sing in the old hymnals? Several hours later in the night, the disciples encountered a storm that frightened them. [9] Alan Robinson sees the pericope as important in establishing the belief in the early Church that the disciples viewed Jesus as the Son of God. We were not present to witness any miracles of timing. The signs and wonders, the miracles of Jesus are both real historical events and 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. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. This blog is no longer being updated. The narrative serves as a reminder to Christians that when the Lord appears to them in the midst of their own personal troubles, they may not recognize him. Not for convenience but as part of his mission. phrase walked on the water was used, the minister corrected people 14:2022). Derrett, 1981). For example, in Luke 9, the story of the feeding of the five thousand is told without any mention of Jesus walking on water, which is significant. Instead, they jumped to the false conclusion that His appearance was that of a ghost. 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 . He wascompletely innocent in both deed and word: no deceit ( doJloz, dolos;cf. the sea into dry land to part the waters of the Red Sea. Is it True for Christians That 'Once Saved, Always Saved'? What did Jesus mean when He said, Peace, be still. Oral tradition, according to Meier, is intertwined with references to the Old Testament (Jesus' answer "I am" is in accordance with the vision of Jesus as Yahweh of the Early Church) and post-resurrection perceptions. 711). Do not be alarmed. So many of us are apprehensive about even getting out of the boat!Jesus, please hurry up and come aboard the boat with us, in our secure little corner!So many of us Christians want him to do just that!No, instead, come out on the sea with me, He says.Im not going to let you drown. This is exactly what we need to do! 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me. Jesus committed no sin, either before orduring His suffering (cf. Jesus is still with us in the storm, reminding us of what Hes done, strengthening us for the trials we face, and encouraging us not to forget that our biggest problems have already been solved. [22], Finally, there are scholars who regard the story as an example of "creative symbolism", or myth,[23] which probably was understood by a part of the audience literally and by others allegorically. Instead, Young explores the pericope with literary-critical methods as narrative art. In each of the Gospels that record it, Jesus miraculous crossing of the Sea of Galilee follows the feeding of the five thousand. 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. 11:1), doubting Gods ability to give what He promised to provide (John 6:52; see Ps. The miracles of Jesus are miraculous deeds attributed to Jesus in Christian and Islamic texts. Fairchild, Mary. Then Jesus multiplies bread, as if from thin air, to feed the multitudes with as much as they wanted (John 6:11), just as God had provided bread from heaven to feed His people with as much as any man could eat (Ex. Lord, save me! he cried out in desperation. 2 Cor. [19], Catholic scholar John P. Meier believes that the miraculous walk on water is a purely theological narrative, without historical foundation. In essence, Jesus was testing the disciples faith, and this meant removing every human prop. You can read more of what she writes on the Ever Sing blog atstephaniemenglehart.com or follow her on Instagram: @stephaniemenglehart. walked on the water, so the historical question is the same. All of this has no bearing on my view of the mechanism of creation. But what about the Red Sea crossing, which was a massive migration event in its own right?There is a similarity between this and the gospel of John.The Johannine narrative of Jesus walking on water, in addition to the obvious similarities to the Exodus in John 6, also makes four references to the seaa number that is more than any other account in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).This is even the more astonishing when you consider that Johns account is by far the shortest (86 words in Greek compared with 139 in Mark and 186 in Matthew).Furthermore, John refers to the sea four more times in the same chapter, both before and after the crossing of the Sea of Galilee by Jesus and his disciples (John 6:1, 22, 25).To the contrary, none of the other authors mentions the sea either before or after Jesus walks on its surface water. Miracles, Peace, Strength, Mary had an extremely close relationship with Jesus, walking with Him, even through the trenches. Night fell and the sea arose as the ship became caught in a wind storm. Best Answer. Like all apocalyptic literature, his function is to comfort a community in need. Keeping in mind that Matthew is writing to his fellow Jews and that it is his purpose to expose Jesus as the Son of God and the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament history of the Jewish people is the key to understanding the passage. This is where the waves whipped up around the disciples' boat and frightened them into waking Jesus during the storm. 5:21; Heb. God interacts with and in his creation in relationship with his people. Jesus said one word, "Come," and Peter took a step out of the boat without sinking (verse 29). Jonah is judged by a storm that is stopped only when he is cast into the sea (Jonah 1:916). Christ ascended 40 days after His resurrection. They said, It is a ghost! and they cried out in fear. To show His disciples that the very thing they feared, the raging, seething sea, was merely a set of steps for Him to come to them. Jesus walks on Water. and played it back today, what would we SEE? All this receives further confirmation when we consider that in Scripture, the sea tends to symbolize sin, death, and judgment. For while all four Gospel authors record the feeding of the five thousand, only John tells us when this miracle took place, namely, near the time of Passover (John 6:4). Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.. 329 views, 25 likes, 5 loves, 29 comments, 6 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The Living God Tabernacle -God's Spoken Word Evangelism: 2023-01-22 SUNDAY SERVICE _"IF YOU ARE BORN AGAIN, WHERE IS. When it comes to ghosts in the ancient world, they were considered to be a negative omen; in the LXX Isaiah 28:7, a comparable phrase () is rendered as a foul omen. Take heed, disciples, as Jesus reaches out to them and instructs them to take heed. eart! (imperative from eart!) Article Images Copyright . Copy. 23 And after he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain apart to pray: and when even was come, he was there alone. By contrast, none of the other authors mentions the sea before or after Jesus walks on its water. But as a matter of fact, Jesus is the One who can calm the storms of our lives precisely because He is the One who liberates us from sin, death, and hell. 14:13).2 The implication is clear: we have nothing to fear so long as God is with us, and He is with us in Christ Jesus our Lord. Growing up, every sermon I heard about Jesus walking on water focused on Gods ability to calm the storms in our lives. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Despite its name, the lake is 700 feet below sea level in the Mediterranean Sea.One of the most notable characteristics of this body of water is that it is extremely vulnerable to storms that can come on suddenly and be extremely violent.This type of storm is triggered by the collision of cold air rushing down from the mountains surrounding it with warm, moist air rising from the surface of the water itself.After sunset, his disciples went down to the lake, where they boarded a boat and began their journey to Capernaum. 4:89; Luke 4:57), Jesus doesnt reject the connection to Moses. In addition to being Jesus closest buddy, John was also known as the disciple whom Jesus loves. Many things he observed and documented that the others did not were picked up on by him.What do you think youre seeing here?After the people witnessed the sign Jesus performed, they started to speculate, Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world, as if Jesus were the promised Messiah. In the book of Psalms, the sea is frequently used to symbolize tremendous uncertainty and insurmountable difficulty (e.g., Pss. Doug Ponder is pastor of teaching and discipleship at Remnant Church in Richmond, Va., and a content editor for the International Mission Board. The third significant point is that Jesus proved Himself to be in command of the elements, something only God can do.He revealed this truth to the disciples who recognized His divinity and responded with a confession of faith in Jesus as God: The wind died down.Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God (Matthew 14:3233). (Matthew 14:31; Mark 12:31).After that, they went onto the boat, where the storm had subsided.All of the disciples eyes were wide open and riveted on Jesus, as if they couldnt believe what they were seeing for the first time!And theres Jesus, all alone in the middle of the room.I believe He was beaming from ear to ear the entire time. 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. Weathering the storm with Jesus: As soon as Jesus entered into the boat, the storm subsided completely. There are three different accounts of Jesus walking on water that have been recorded in the Bible.It is crucial to notice that the event is told by three of Jesus followers, Matthew, Mark, and John, who are all named in the Bible.In Jesus earthly career, Luke was not a disciple of Jesus, thus his gospel does not include any references to Jesus walking on water. Instead of being terrible and punitive, however, the signs Jesus performs are gracious and restorative (John 6:2, 11). Because of its religious significance, the narrative serves as the foundation for numerous fundamental life teachings that guide believers in their religious practices. What is the significance of Jesus calming the storm? The New Testament Bible story of when J esus walks on water is one of the most widely told narratives and critical miracles of Jesus. Meaning of Jesus Walking on Water. Using similar language, Philip asks Jesus the same (John 6:5). [20], Some scholars have held the view that while this event took place, it was not miraculous: Albert Schweitzer, for example, suggested that the disciples saw Jesus walking on the shore, but were confused by high wind and darkness; some scholars who accept this "misperception thesis" argue that Mark originally wrote that Jesus walked on the seashore rather than on the sea, and that John had a more accurate version. Peter replied, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water," and Jesus invited Peter to do exactly that. The video appears to have been taken roughly 15 miles downstream from East Palestine, and just north of where Little Beaver Creek feeds into the Ohio River in Midland, Pennsylvania. Two summers ago, my family drove out to a little lake just Southeast of Seattle for our annual All Church Retreat. And this is what worship is, acknowledging who God is and praising Him both for who He is and for what He has done.It was in this story that the disciples took the first step and worshiped Jesus as the Son of God.Return to: Questions about Matthew What was the meaning of Jesus walking on water? 711).In contrast to this, the signs Jesus performs are loving and restorative rather than horrific and punishing in nature (John 6:2, 11).Next, in Exodus 12, we have the institution of the Passover, as well as an allusion to the Passover in John 6:4, which are both references to Jesus.Following this, Israel traveled in the desert, and Moses prayed to God for guidance on where he could obtain enough food to feed such a large number of people (Num. O'Connor's dazzling first novel tells the hilarious and disturbing tale of Hazel Motes, a young Georgia man whose obsession with God leads him to run from God as fast as he can, only to crash head-on into the wall of Jesus and religion. And promising a coming of, and baptizing with, the Holy Spirit ( Acts 1:5, 8 ), Jesus ascended to heaven . Instead, the story of Jesus walking on the sea (John 6:1621) seems almost like an interruption of an otherwise unbroken narrative about Jesus feeding the five thousand and revealing His identity as the Bread of Life (John 6:115, 2371). 18 And the sea was rising by reason of a great wind that blew. Initially Jesus collects the Apostles on a boat and sends them away alone, to go alone to the mountain to pray, but promising to meet them on the other side of the "sea"; the apostles have difficulty in reaching the other shore, but Jesus appears and everything ends well. 157 views, 3 likes, 4 loves, 3 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Mora Grace Lutheran Church: Music used with permission from CCLI The amazing thing is that in faith Peter started walking on the water toward Jesus. My daughter stepped off into a still lake and immediately began to sink, but Jesus took off from the shore into high waves and gusting winds. [24], Adela Yarbro Collins concludes that the text characterizes Jesus as Messiah and king of Israel endowed with divine properties. When Peter called out to Jesus to save him, Matthew 14:31 says Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him. Yet when Gods enemies attempted to follow them, God brought the same sea that He had stayed from the Israelites back over Pharaohs army (Ex. To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: Acts 1:3. Your email address will not be published. Jesus Walks on Water Bible Story Study Guide. (Isaiah 43:2).The Lord may not come at the time we think He should come, because He knows when we need Him the most. This was the first time Jesus was called the Son of God by the disciples, a statement that, in fact, built on what they had said earlier about Him in Matthew 8:27: What kind of man is this?Even the winds and the waves obey him. Here they answer their own question: Truly you are the Son of God. Though they had a long way to go in their spiritual understanding, the disciples were growing in their faith in the Lord.Also, this was the first time the disciples are said to have worshiped Jesus.In Matthew 2:11, the magi from the East worshiped Jesus.Later, a leper is said to have worshiped Jesus (Matthew 8:2). It's easy for us to see other cultures or communities doing this; it's difficult to see ourselves doing it. [18] The meaning of the episode is held to be inherent in its miraculous nature: "The meaning of the pericope (story) only has meaning if it is understood as relating a miraculous event which really took place" (Leopold Sabourin, 1975). of squirmy when such episodes are brought up. In antiquity, people were fascinated by the prospect of walking on waternot just and not exclusively the J It was a dream, a fascinating I dreamed about it.If humans do not have a particular relationship with God or attain divine abilities through magic (Luz, Matthew, 3), it is impossible for them to do so and it is only possible for God to do so. The account of Jesus walking on the water, according to Matthew, was written with the goal of evoking memories of the Exodus.This would then build on the imagery of the Exodus in the feeding of the 5000 as being akin to Gods supply of manna in the wilderness, as well as the Exodus imagery in the feeding of the 5000. Ex. 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