How does Jesus walking on water connect to Old Testament miracles? Setting the Scene • John 6:19 — “When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching the boat, and they were frightened.” • A supernatural act in the midst of a restless, wind-tossed Sea of Galilee. • The disciples witness power over a realm Scripture consistently reserves for God alone: untamed waters. Old Testament Waters Under God’s Feet • Job 9:8 — “He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.” • Psalm 77:19 — “Your path led through the sea; Your way through the great waters, but Your footprints were not to be seen.” • These verses picture the LORD literally striding across chaotic waters—imagery Jesus now embodies in flesh. The Red Sea: Salvation Through Seas • Exodus 14:21-22 — “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea… and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.” • God’s dominion over water rescues His people from death; Jesus displays that same dominion as He approaches His disciples, foreshadowing the greater salvation He provides. The Jordan River: Threshold of Promise • Joshua 3:16-17 — the waters “stood still” while Israel crossed. • 2 Kings 2:8, 14 — Elijah and Elisha each strike the Jordan, and it parts. • Repeated partings affirm that the covenant-keeping God clears paths through obstacles. Jesus, by simply walking, shows He needs no staff or cloak—He Himself is the path. Job’s Poetic Vision Fulfilled • Job pictures God treading on waves; Jesus fulfills the poet’s vision in real time, identifying Himself with the Creator who commands chaos. Psalms of Sovereignty Over Storms • Psalm 89:9 — “You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them.” • Psalm 107:29-30 — “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.” • In John 6 and the parallel account in Matthew 14:32, the wind ceases when Jesus enters the boat—exactly what the psalmist celebrates. Prophetic Echoes: “I AM” in the Midst • Isaiah 43:16 — “Thus says the LORD—who makes a way in the sea and a path through the surging waters.” • Mark 6:50 records Jesus saying, “Take courage! It is I” (literally, “I AM”). The covenant name spoken atop the waters links Him unmistakably to the LORD of Isaiah’s prophecy. Threads Tied Together • Every Old Testament scene of water mastery—creation’s formless deep, the Red Sea, the Jordan, poetic visions and psalms—finds its living, breathing fulfillment when Jesus walks out to His disciples. • The miracle is not a random display; it is a deliberate revelation that the One standing on the waves is the same God who always makes a way through them. |
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