How does this miracle connect to Old Testament demonstrations of God's power? Setting the scene Matthew 14:25: “During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea.” The seemingly simple sentence carries centuries of theological weight. Jesus, in the darkness before dawn, steps onto a wind-tossed lake and does what only God has ever claimed to do—place His feet on the watery deep. Old Testament echoes over the waters • 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 mighty waters, but Your footprints were unseen.” • Psalm 89:9: “You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them.” • Exodus 14:21-22: God parts the Red Sea so Israel crosses on dry ground. • Joshua 3:16-17: Jordan River piles up in a heap as Israel again walks through. • 2 Kings 2:8, 14: Elijah and later Elisha strike the Jordan, and it divides. • Isaiah 43:16: “Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea and a path through surging waters.” • Proverbs 30:4 hints at a divine Son who binds up the waters in His cloak. Greater than Moses, Joshua, Elijah • Moses, Joshua, Elijah, and Elisha needed an external act—staff, ark, or cloak—to make the waters obey. • Jesus needs no instrument; He Himself is the authority. • Walking rather than parting underscores a deeper supremacy: He is not just making a way through water; the water itself holds Him up. Revealing Yahweh in flesh • By fulfilling Job 9:8 literally, Jesus identifies Himself with the One “who treads on the waves.” • The miracle shows continuity with every Old Testament scene where God masters the chaotic deep, then pushes that revelation forward: the Lord of Israel’s history is now standing bodily in Galilee. • Matthew pairs this event with the earlier storm-stilling (Matthew 8) to reinforce Psalm 89:9—Jesus both calms and walks on the sea, leaving no doubt about His divine identity. Takeaway truths • The God who once split seas now steps across them—unchanged in power, newly present in flesh. • Old Testament wonders were previews; Jesus is the main event, embodying everything those miracles pointed toward. • Confidence for believers rests in the same sovereign authority that ruled Red Sea waves and Galilean swells: waters, storms, and all creation answer to the One who walks where only God can walk. |
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