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e>Walking on Water. What does it mean?
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as Jesus treads on water, so shall his people tread on (overcome) their
demons. The believer is given the authority to tread over all the power
of the enemy. The Hebrew Scriptures look forward to this prophetically. |
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WALKING
ON WATER
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By
David BruceUse
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WALKING
ON WATER IS A SYMBOL OF CONQUERING OUR FEARS AND HAVING POWER OVER
EVIL.
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| In
Superman, Lois Lane's flight (walk)
in space is similar to St. Peter's walk on water. He sank.
So did Lois. |
In
The Truman Show, Truman takes a boat
to the end of his world. Gets out and seemingly walks on water.
He had conquered his evil. |
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WHAT
IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF
JESUS WALKING ON WATER?
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Although the Hebrews didn't believe in
sea monsters, the ancient Hebrews of the Bible used the image of a sea
monster to symbolize evil. Crocodiles were the perfect real example.
They called the mythical embodiment of evil Rahab or Leviathan. |
In
the Bible God's name is Yahweh. In the Old Testament only Yahweh
has the authority to rebuke evil. In the New Testament Gospels
only Jesus has the victory over chaos. Only Jesus has the authority
of God, becuase he is God in flesh. Only Jesus can rebuke evil!
In a prophetic messianic Psalm Yahweh’s power to rule the
sea (chaos) is transferred to a David king who is called the firstborn
of the Father.
Psalm
89: 9-10 (New Revised Standard Version)
You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.
You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
I have found my servant David;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;
I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
He
shall cry to me, 'You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!'
I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
I will establish his line forever,
and his throne as long as the heavens endure.
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 Kings
have power and authority. In the above ancient prophecy a decendant
of Israel's greatest king, David, would be the "highest of the
kings of the earth." This is a messianic prophecy regarding
Jesus Christ |
JESUS
IS THE DAVIDIC KING
After the miracle of feeding five thousand with only five loaves
and two fishes the zealots wanted to grap Jesus and make him king in
thier quest to overthrow Rome. Jesus slipped away from them into the
safety of the mountains. This was not the kind of kingship that
Jesus was about. Jesus rejected the role of military leader against
Rome. His was the eschatological battle against
the cosmic enemy, the chaos monster characterized by the sea.
John
6:14-21 (from The Message Translation)
The people realized that God was at work
among them in what Jesus had just done. They said, "This is
the Prophet for sure, God's Prophet right here in Galilee!"
Jesus saw that in their enthusiasm, they were about to grab him
and make him king, so he slipped off and went back up the mountain
to be by himself.
In the evening his disciples went down
to the sea, got in the boat, and headed back across the water to
Capernaum. It had grown quite dark and Jesus had not yet returned.
A huge wind blew up, churning the sea. They were maybe three or
four miles out when they saw Jesus walking
on the sea, quite near the boat. They
were scared senseless, but he reassured them, "It's me. It's
all right. Don't be afraid." So they took him on board. In
no time they reached land on the exact spot they were headed to.
The
story of Jesus walking on water is also found in Matthew 14:
22-33, and Mark 6:45-52.
John
6:19 (quoted above) and Luke 10:19 (quoted below) use the Greek wording
similar to the Greek version (the Septuagint) of Job 9:8
Job
9:8
(NIV)
He alone stretched out the heavens
and treads on the waves of the Sea
(Yamm);
In
the original Hebrew the word for sea is Yamm,
who is the evil sea god in ancient Canaan myth. For the Hebrew people
Yamm is the chaos monster.
BELIEVERS
GIVEN THIS AUTHORITY
Just as Jesus treads on water, so shall His people tread on their
enemies. The believer is given the authority to tread over all the
power of the enemy. The old Testament looks forward to this prophetically.
Deut.
33:29
(NRSV)
Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,
a people saved by the Lord,
the shield of your help,
and the sword of your triumph!
Your enemies shall come fawning to you,
and you shall tread on their backs.
The
followers of Jesus were astounded that they have this authority!
"EVEN
THE DEMONS SUBMIT TO US!"
Luke 10:17-19 (NLT)
The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name
even the demons submit to us!" He said to them, "I
watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.
See, I have given you authority to
tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy;
and nothing will hurt you. "
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PETER'S EARLY ATTEMPTS TO WALK
ON WATER WITH JESUS DISPLAYED AN INADEQUATE AMOUNT OF FAITH
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