"Kerplunk!"

EPISODE 72

Praise the Eternal King

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Canoeing on a lake this summer, I heard a little girl point out some bugs, "Look, Mom, Jesus Bugs!" I had never heard the term, but I understood what she meant. These insects — Water Striders — distribute their weight over their long legs while thousands of hairs cover their bodies to keep the water from sinking them. So they "walk" on water!

Later that day, I watched my canoe leeean to my right as if in slow motion, and I could … not … tilt it right! Kerplunk! Into the water I went. I sunk because that's what humans do.

Jesus Is No Ordinary Human

"When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid "" (John 6:19–20).

Even if this were his only miracle, it would distinguish Jesus from every other human. He's the Man Who Walks on Water!

Jesus Is the Great "I Am"

No surprise, seeing a man walking on the sea terrified the disciples. Throughout Scripture, when people begin to realize God has come near them, they tend to panic (Ex. 20:19; Isa. 6:5; Rev. 1:17). When God appeared to Moses in the bush, Moses "hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God" (Exod. 3:6). When Moses asked God's name, he identified himself as "I AM" (Ex. 3:14) — Yahweh, the self-existent, eternal God.

When Jesus appeared on the water and saw the disciples' fear, he said, "It is I" (John 6:20). Jesus uses these same words (ego eimi) in his seven "I am" statements in John (John 6:35; 8:12; 10:9; 10:11; 11:25-26; 14:6; 15:5). The Jews later considered these words — "I am" — blasphemy when Jesus spoke them.

"Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am'" So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple" (‭‭John‬ ‭8:58-59‬).

To the disciples in the boat, Jesus' words probably had no deep meaning. They heard their master and friend identifying himself, "It is I, do not be afraid" (John 6:20). But in the context of the rest of John's gospel, it's hard not to hear the full force of those words — "I Am."

Yahweh, the "I Am" is the one who always has been and always will be. Years later, John had another frightening encounter with the Lord in a vision, and "fell at his feet as though dead" (Rev. 1:17).

"… But he laid his right hand on me, saying, 'Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades'" (‭‭Rev. ‭1:17-18‬).

Jesus' words leave no doubt about his identity. Glory to the living, eternal King.