Walking on Water

The only miracle in the New Testament where the disciples say, “Truly this is the Son of God”, was the miracle of Jesus walking on the water (Matthew 14:23-33). Could the reason for this be found in the Hebrew bible? In Job 9:8 it says, “He [God] alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.” What about Psalm 107:28-30, where it says, “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.” Also, in this story, Jesus walks by the boat on the water. Listen to the next passage in Job 9:11 talking about God. ”When He passes me, I cannot see Him, when He goes by, I cannot perceive Him”. Could it have been that those disciples knew their Text and realized that God was present among them because Jesus had done what the Text said God alone could and would do? The miracle of calming the sea does not necessarily prove that Jesus was God. Moses and Elijah also performed miracles with water. What made the miracle so profound was that He walked on the sea and by doing so, according to the Text, claimed to be just like God. Also, like the Jonah story (Jonah 1:4-6), both Jesus and Jonah were asleep in the bottom of the boat, just before the storm was calmed. The disciples must have thought, “It’s happening again!” However, this time, the greater Jonah (Jesus) went toward His mission from God instead of running from it.

How many times have we seen this happen in Scripture where something that Jesus did was fulfillment of the Hebrew text? The Bible is one long interwoven thread – we just have to study it enough to be able to trace the cord!

Bob Dodson

About the author:

Bob is the creator of this site and a disciple of Ray Vander Laan. Along with his wife of 50 years, he teaches a Bible study at Christ’s Church in Roswell, NM. He is also an avid hunter and fisher.