byPtr. Art Calaguas<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shalom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week we saw in John 6:20 the Lord Jesus came by the boat\u2019s side and says to his disciples: \u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9<\/mark>,\u03bc\u1f74\u03c6\u03bf\u03b2\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5.<\/em>This can be formally translated as: \u201cI AM<\/mark>, fear not.<\/em>\u201d The parallels in Matthew 14:27 and Mark 6:50 essentially express the same thing: \u201c\u2026I AM; fear not<\/em>.\u201d We also noted that most translations render the \u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 as \u201cIt is I.\u201d Since we know the Greek\/Hebrew words behind this, we will be able to appreciate more the power of the Lord\u2019s words and not miss their nuanced significance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the Lord Jesus walked over the stormy waters of the Sea (Lake) of Galilee and said \u201c\u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9, \u03bc\u1f74\u03c6\u03bf\u03b2\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5,\u201d it is quite possible that some of his disciples remembered later that Genesis taught that the Spirit of God was brought to bear upon the unformed\/formless and unfilled\/void\/empty world represented by the primordial waters to bring about the start of an ordered creation. Recall that at the end of Genesis 1:2are these Hebrew words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u05d5\u05b0\u05e8\u05a3\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u0594\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u05d7\u05b6\u0596\u05e4\u05b6\u05ea \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05e4\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05b5\u05a5\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b7\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05bd\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd\u05c3\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most Bible translations render this as: \u201c\u2026and the Spirit of God was hovering\/moving\/brooding over the waters.\u201d This same statement is translated in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) this way:\u201c\u2026\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u1fe6\u03bc\u03b1 \u03b8\u03b5\u03bf\u1fe6\u1f10\u03c0\u03b5\u03c6\u03ad\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03bf\u1f10\u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c9\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u1f55\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2.\u201d The LXX can be translated as \u201c\u2026and the Spirit of God was being brought above\/over the waters.\u201d The LXX also has the supporting meaning of the Spirit\/wind of God being superior over the force of the waters. Clearly, when our Lord Jesus walked over the violent water he displayed his superiority over the forces of nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, in Genesis 6-8, in the narrative about Noah, the Ark and the Flood may have reminded the disciples that it is God who saves. This story had been handed down to these Jewish men ever since they were small children. As they cried out in their stormy situation and the Lord Jesus comes in an unexpected way and calms the waves to save them a second time<\/em>, the account of the Ark that saved Noah, his family and the other living creatures from the (flood) waters must have felt very true indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But perhaps the most foundational aspect of the Jewish belief system is the revelation of God\u2019s name to them. One can never underestimate the significance of the words Moses heard in his encounter with the LORD God in the Burning Bush incident in Exodus 3:14. Here, God gave his \u201cI AM\u201d covenant name to the people he chose; a name to be remembered forever. To review, we already know that the Hebrew passage can be translated as: And God said to Moses \u201c<\/em>I AM who <\/em>I AM<\/mark>\u201d; and He said, \u201cThus you shall say to the sons of Israel, \u2018<\/em>I AM<\/mark> has sent me to you.\u2019\u201d<\/em> Also, we earlier learned the LXX translation of Exodus 3:14:\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41\u03b8\u03b5\u1f78\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2\u039c\u03c9\u03c5\u03c3\u1fc6\u03bd<\/em>\u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9\u1f41\u1f64\u03bd<\/mark>\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd \u039f\u1f55\u03c4\u03c9\u03c2\u1f10\u03c1\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c2\u03c4\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2\u03c5\u1f31\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2\u0399\u03c3\u03c1\u03b1\u03b7\u03bb <\/em>\u1f49\u1f62\u03bd<\/mark>\u1f00\u03c0\u03ad\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03bb\u03ba\u03ad\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5 \u03c0\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2\u1f51\u03bc\u1fb6\u03c2<\/em>. The English can be rendered as such: And God said to Moses \u201c<\/em>I AM the one who is<\/em><\/mark>;\u201d and He said, \u201cThus you shall say to the sons of Israel, \u2018The one who is<\/mark> has sent me to you.\u2019\u201d<\/em> And we saw that alternatively, the phrase \u201cI AM the one who is<\/em>\u201d can also be rendered \u201cI AM the existing one<\/em>\u201d or \u201cI AM the one who exists<\/em>.\u201d And so the Greek \u1f41\u1f64\u03bd means \u201cthe one who is<\/em>,\u201d or \u201cthe existing one,\u201d or \u201cthe one who exists,\u201d or even \u201che who exists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Hebrew and LXX Greek translations evoke the LORD God\u2019s transcendent and timeless nature as an eternally existing being. For the Lord Jesus to use these very words (\u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9) is a clear and distinct claim to deity backed up by his supernatural walk over the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there is another Old Testament (OT) reminder that may have also crossed the disciples\u2019 minds. This account is also foundational because the miraculous event laid the cornerstone of defining the Hebrew people as a people and as a people unto the LORD God. Again, waters are involved, but this time it is another body of water altogether. This is the account of the crossing of the Red Sea (Hebrew \u05d9\u05b7\u05dd\u05be\u05e1\u0591\u05d5\u05bc\u05e3\u201cYam Suph\u201d). [While there are continuing debates as to where exactly this body of water is located (in the Sinai in Egypt; or in Midian, in present-day Saudi Arabia), this issue is not relevant to our discussion for now.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exodus 14:21-22 narrates the episode where the Hebrews crossed the \u201cYam Suph\u201d when Moses stretched out his hand over the sea as instructed and the waters were divided by the LORD. The Hebrew and LXX differ slightly in that in the Hebrew text, a strong east wind was used by the LORD in the dividing the waters while the LXX text tells of a strong south wind used. Nevertheless, the effect is the same; the \u201cYam Suph\u201d was parted like walls on the left and right with a dry corridor in the middle for the Hebrews to pass on to the other side. After all the Hebrews had passed over to the other side, the succeeding verses of Exodus 14 narrates that Moses raised his hand again upon the LORD\u2019s instructions and the waters collapsed over the pursuing Egyptian chariots and drowned them all. Like the select passengers of Noah\u2019s Ark, only the Hebrews, those who were under the LORD\u2019s protection survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the Lord said \u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9,\u03bc\u1f74\u03c6\u03bf\u03b2\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5<\/em>, meaning \u201cI AM, fear not,<\/em>\u201d he was addressing the entire group in the boat. But for each of them, the words of the Lord Jesus may have reminded them of Isaiah 41:10 where the LORD tells his Servant to fear not nor be dismayed \u201cfor I<\/mark>(am) with you,\u201d(\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05a3\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05bc\u05da\u05b8\u05be\u05d0\u05b8\u0594\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9<\/mark>) \u201cfor I<\/mark>(am) your God\u201d(\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05bd\u05d9\u05be\u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05a3\u05d9<\/mark> \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u0591\u05d9\u05da\u05b8).The LXX translates this last phrase as \u1f10\u03b3\u1f7c<\/mark>\u03b3\u03ac\u03c1\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9<\/mark>\u1f41\u03b8\u03b5\u03cc\u03c2\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 (\u201cfor I AM<\/mark> your God\u201d). And in the rest of the Hebrew verse, the LORD says that he will strengthen as well as help his Servant and also support him with the LORD\u2019s righteous right arm. This promise is reiterated 3 verses later, in Isaiah 41:13. Here the LORD God identifies himself with his Tetragrammaton covenant name (\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u0597\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u059b\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05a5\u05d4<\/mark> \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b6\u0596\u05d9) meaning \u201cFor I, the LORD<\/mark> your God \u2026,\u201d as the one who grasps the right hand of his Servant, the one saying to him not to be afraid as God helps him. The LORD identifies himself as the one who saves. The parallels are unmistakable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the episode, in John 6:21, when the Lord Jesus boarded the boat, the stormy waves were stilled and they immediately arrived at their destination. It may be another miracle. Note that they were in the Sea of Galilee since early evening up to the 4th<\/sup> watch (3:00-6:00 A.M.).If the disciples took their boat out at 6:00 P.M., that is about 9 hours or more elapsed time! It is not clear if they were rowing and struggling against the wind and waves during this entire period. But at the end, the Lord Jesus saves them and they get to their destination right away. My ESV Global Study Bible points to Psalm 107 in this context. Let us now hear these beautiful prophetic verses from Psalm 107:28-31 using the King James Version (KJV):<\/p>\n\n\n\n 28<\/sup>Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.<\/p> 29<\/sup>He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.<\/p> 30<\/sup>Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.<\/p> 31<\/sup>Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!<\/p>Psalm 107:28-31<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The Lord Jesus, by using the words \u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 (\u201cEgo eimi\u201d) at the Sea of Galilee unequivocally identified himself as Lord over the storms and waves; \u201cthe One who exists,\u201d \u201cthe One who is;\u201d the God of Genesis, Exodus and of Isaiah and the Psalms.He controls his creation and the elements of nature. And he is the One who saves. Thanks be to God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n