Walking in the Spirit-Study on how to see the Lord in others
Let us focus again on the Matthew 16 passage. 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
I am hammering home this concept because it is paramount in understanding who the Lord is; and needed to be understood if anyone is to grow as a true Disciple. Let us examine several problems here. The first problem would be considering that somehow the soul of one of these three prophets was living inside Christ which seems to be the concept here; a sort of "reincarnation"; except for the case of John the Baptist who it appears Herod thought had repossessed Christ after having him killed ( Matthew 14:1-2). The concept of the Holy Ghost manifesting in someone as He did with someone else isn't entirely wrong or unscriptural; we see for instance Elisha having a double portion of the Spirit that Elijah had ( 2 Kings 2:9). John the Baptist also was like Elijah in a way ( Matthew 17:12). This correct analogy of course is NOT what people are saying. This fits in also to those who would call Him teacher or Rabbi. Luke 16:15 warns us that what is honorable among men is an abomination to God. Names and titles mean nothing; neither does human pride. Let us once again examine this concept of exaltation of Pastors.
The easy point to make here is that we should never put men on a pedestal; or substitute worship for God alone to a man.
This doesn't change the fact that we should seek examples to emulate; as it is essential for discipleship.
They could be basing their claim on any one of the following pieces of scripture:
John 1:1, John 1:14, John 8:24, John 8:58, John 10:30-33, John 20:28, Hebrews 1:8, Colossians 2:9, Philippians 2:5-8, Psalm 45:6.
The Bible tells us that we are to worship God alone, and yet Jesus received worship and never rebuked anyone who worshipped Him. We see evidence of this in Matthew 2:2, Matthew 2:11, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 28:9, John 9:35-38, Hebrews 1:6.
Isaiah 44:6 reads, "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides me."
In Rev 1:17, it says "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as a dead man." In Daniel 10:8-9, Daniel did the same thing. When he saw this vision of Christ, he fell down as he was dead. In Ezekiel 1:28, Ezekiel sees the vision and he falls down as a dead man. It goes on to say "Fear not; I am the first and the last: (the designation of God, found in Isaiah 41:4, and Isaiah 48:12).
In Revelation 1:18, it says I am He that lives, and this is another designation of God found in Psalm 84:2, and Joshua 3:10.
I am He that lives. God presents Himself to the Jews as the living God. He says I am He that lives, and was dead; literally, and became dead, and behold, I am living forevermore, His resurrection, His eternalness.
And then it reads, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and of death. Keys are a symbol of authority. Those who were in charge of the temple had the keys to the temple. We are told later on that the Lord (Jesus) will be in control of hell and death.
In Matthew 16:15, Jesus asks His disciples who do you say I am? Peter had the perfect answer. Peter said "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Peter was Jewish. The phrase "Son of the living God" from a Hebrew standpoint is a phrase used for God. To a Jew, claiming to be the Son of God was considered blasphemy, but that was Peter's response to who Jesus was
My brother, I do find it interesting that John 7:39 uses both spirit and ghost in the same verse. Whether these were John's exact words, or for some unknown reason the translators decided to put it in there that way, I do not know.
I can tell you that in the Greek text, the first word Spirit in John 7:39 is PNEUMATOS, and the second word Ghost is PNEUMA. Both Greek words translate to Spirit in English, so Holy Spirit would have been correct.
There is a different word used for Ghost in the Greek. That word is PHANTASMA and is where we get our English word phantom from.
There are 90 places in the King James NT where Holy Ghost is mentioned. However, if you look these verses up in the Greek text (Textus Receptus), every place that the KJV uses Holy Ghost, the Textus Receptus says Holy Spirit (HAGION PNEUMA). Why the translators decide to use Holy Ghost instead is something I am not sure of.
I also find it interesting that there are places in the KJV where the word spirit is used, but the Greek text uses the word ghost.
Matthew 14:26 is one place. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a (spirit); and they cried out for fear.
The word spirit in this verse is PHANTASMA for ghost. They thought He was a ghost. It is not the word for spirit (PNEUMA). It is the word for ghost.
So every place in the KJV New Testament where it says Holy Ghost, it can be correctly translated Holy Spirit.
I emphasize the KJV because if I'm not mistaken, most other English versions say Holy Spirit, not Holy Ghost, which would be considered correct according to the Greek.
I think that whether we choose to say Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, we are speaking of the same Spirit of God, the third person of the triune God.
In Matthew 14:31, we have the Catching of the Lord:
It says, "And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore did you doubt?"
Now the word "doubt" means to stand between two opinions, or two principles. Peter was trying to look at Jesus and trust Him, and yet looking at the circumstances at the same time.
You can only be occupied with one thing. But even if we do let ourselves get drawn into the circumstances, Jesus is there to pull us out!
In Matthew 14:32, we have the Calming of the Sea:
So now the wind stops! There is a lesson there as well.
You see, Jesus doesn't need to stop the storm. He doesn't need to stop the problem. He doesn't need to change anything because He is in charge of it. His message to us is that we need to trust Him. He's even in charge of the storm.
Notice the confession of the disciples in Matthew 14:33, " Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God."
I know this was a little long. If you read through it all, I say thank you. Bottom line is that no matter what our circumstances might be, we must trust in Jesus, and not let any outside distraction take our focus off Him.
Peter was not going to get out of the boat unless the Lord commanded him to do so. But once Peter got out of the boat, he began to waiver in his faith due to the storm.
So Matthew 14:27 says, But straightway, or immediately, Jesus spake unto them saying, be of good cheer, literally be of courage. He didn't mean be happy. He just meant, have some courage here guys!
But please notice this. Jesus says it is I, except in the Greek it doesn't say it is I. It says AYGO AYMI, or I Am, and that's the name of God, Jehovah God in the Old Testament. He says, be of courage, I Am! Do not be afraid!
So now in Verse 28, we see the proposal of Peter:
Peter answered and said unto him, Lord, if it be thou, and in the Greek text that is called the first-class condition assumed to be true.
What Peter is saying is "Since it's you." But as a side note, please know that the storm is still going. The storm has not stopped. Some people lose that as they read through it.
So here's Peter saying, Lord, if it be thou, bid me to come unto thee upon the water.
In order to walk on the water, you would have to first get out of the boat. And then you got to have faith like Peter if you want to walk on water.
But please notice that Peter said to Jesus "Command me to come out!" You see, Peter wasn't going out unless the Lord commanded him to. If you ask me, that is pretty smart!
And so we see the command of Jesus in Matthew 14:29. He says, Come!
And the capability of Peter:
It says when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked upon the water.
Now we're talking about the surging waves, we are taking about the middle of the storm, and that Jesus didn't stop the storm. He doesn't need to stop the storm.
Peter's walking on top of the storm, walking to Jesus! And then in Matthew 14:30, we see the call to the Lord. When Peter saw the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and began to sink; and he cried out, calling, Lord save me.
I think the significance of this section in Matthew is that we are to trust in Jesus, no matter what our circumstances are. Matthew 14:22-33 is the section that talks about Peter walking upon the water.
I'll share this with you from my study in the hope that it might shed some light on what was taking place there.
First of all in Matthew 14:22, it says that straightway (or immediately) Jesus constrained his disciples to get into the ship.
Please notice here in Verses 22 and 23 that everything that's going to happen now is because Jesus designed it to happen. He constrained them, meaning He forced them into the ship.
So in Verse 22, we have the providence of Jesus. He forced the disciples into the ship and told them to go to the other side of the sea while He stayed behind and sent the multitudes away.
In Matthew 14:23, we see the prayer of Jesus. But notice the incident in Verse 24. Notice the peril of the disciples. They are in this ship in the middle of the sea, and they are being tossed around by the waves. They are in the middle of this huge storm.
And then the presence of Jesus in Matthew 24:25. It says that in the fourth watch of the night (which would be somewhere between three and six a.m.) that they are out there in their boat with hurricane force winds, and Jesus came to them walking upon the sea.
In Matthew 14:26, we see the perception of the disciples. The word spirit in Greek is PHANTASMA, and it where we get our English word phantom from. They thought He was a ghost. It is not the word for spirit. It is the word for ghost. They thought He was a ghost and they cried out.
Please notice here the personal word of Jesus in Matthew 14:27. It says, "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."
I am running out of space so I will need to send a part 2.
Matthew 6, Luke 4:40, Matthew 12:15, Luke 6:19, Psalms 139, Psalms 107:20, Matthew 15:30, Luke 9:11, Matthew 4:24, Matthew 14:14, Mark 6:13, Acts 5:6, Acts 14:9, Matthew 10:8, Mark 16:17,18, John 16:23, Luke 11:9-11, context Luke 11:2-13, James 5:13-20,
Hopefully these are helpful & encouraging & healing to you, that you likewise will help others Matthew 10:8,
Hello Peggy. You could look up the following Scriptures on Jesus Christ's Deity (i.e. God's fullness found in Jesus ( Colossians 2:9) & in His Holy Spirit). Jesus' Deity is proved by:
a. His Names: Hebrews 1:8, John 20:28 (God); Matthew 16:16, Matthew 26:61-65 (the Son of God); Matthew 22:41-46 (Lord); Revelation 19:13 (Word of God); Revelation 19:16 (King of kings and Lord of lords).
b. His Characteristics: Matthew 28:18 (Omnipotence: all powerful); Luke 6:8, John 2:24,25, John 13:11 (Omniscience: all knowing); Matthew 18:20 (Omnipresence: present in any place); John 1:4 (Life); John 14:6 (Truth); Hebrews 13:8 (Immutability: unchanging); 1 Timothy 3:16, John 1:1-14 (God manifest in the flesh in Jesus).
c. His Works: John 1:3, Colossians 1:16 (creates); Colossians 1:17 (sustains); Luke 7:48,49 (forgives sin); John 11:41-44 (raises the dead); John 5:27 (judges); John 15:26 (sends the Holy Spirit).
d. His receiving Worship: Hebrews 1:6 (from angels); Revelation 5:11-13 (from other heavenly beings); Matthew 14:33 (from men); Philippians 2:10 (from all).
e. His equality within the Triune God: John 14:23, John 10:30-33 (with the Father); Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14 (with the Father and the Spirit).
I hope you can see from these few Scriptures that Jesus was not just a special Man or Prophet sent by God, but truly was "God manifested in the flesh". No other man before Jesus' coming, during, or after His leaving this Earth, could ever fully reflect God's Glory, Wisdom & Power. Only God could - and He did this by sending us His Word, made Him a Man, so that He could give His Life as full payment for our sins - but only to those who believe this & place their trust in Him. To some, the 'Trinity' teaching is abominable. But man's salvation depends on the Divine Person of the Lord Jesus Christ - that God could accept no other Sacrifice to redeem & secure people to Himself - only by giving fully of Himself, which is true love for all.
If we wish to separate those "would be" believers who desire to go to heaven but have no compulsion to serve God from those who already are His bondservants and just would be continuing what they started to practice here on earth we can evaluate their love for God and obedience to obey His commandments ( John 14:15). There are many shallow; foolhardy and at times downright blasphemous concepts of "love" today which permeate much of Christendom; particularly in the "music industry". The concept of obedience because of love seems a foreign concept today; especially in our nation. How many social issues could be deflected if that were the case of more children in their family upbringing for their parents today? Surely; there is more to His love than us being bondservants; as He calls us "friends." ( John 15:15 in the very next verse!) To serve to the length of our own hurt is surely seen in Christ's ministry; not the least of which of course was the crucifixion and all the sufferings beforehand. We often neglect the extent of the rest of His public ministry; where He wasn't even able to mourn the death of John the Baptist; despite making a deliberate attempt at retreat to be alone in a desert place with His chosen few. ( Matthew 14:13). While the Son of Man came to serve and not be served ( Mark 10:45) while on earth; He is certainly worthy to serve and exalt for all eternity for what He did for us. For Him to lift Himself up is not sinful like with the rest of His Creation.
True; there are "pleasures for evermore at His right hand" ( Psalm 16:11). This has to be balanced with the rest of our reverent service toward Him. The shallow; sentimental emotional "love" is at best a tepid version of the Spirit; at worst just a hyped up emotional mindset which is of the world; or comes from occult persuasion. Our emotions; mind; and soul must be incorporated into worship of God ( Mark 12:30).
GOD is good: John 3:16,17, 2Peter 3:9, Psalms 22:24, Psalms 111:4, Psalms 139, Matthew 9:36, Psalms 86:15, Matthew 14:14, Read Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. 1John 4:19,
Matthew 25:31-46, 2Kings 13:23, Jeremiah 12:15, Revelation 21,
The point of this scripture seems to be the " impossibility " that Jesus shows all things are possible. John 6:5-13,
Note: John 6:7 note the last part of that scripture says clearly "._._. is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. "
Regardless of amount of money, even clear understanding of money amounts for time, inflation, price gouging, sales, shortage etc. Historical understanding doesn't say what GOD's scripture does about the message He is saying to us.
1st John 6:6 "And this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do."
It was Philip Jesus was talking to: John 6:5, & Phillip who answered: John 6:7, his answer was about financial calculation, earnings, lack, almost as if money was the only answer he had. Remember it was to prove him. When we see " impossibilities" where's our faith & solutions?
Matthew 14:13-21, Matthew 15:29-39, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:12-17,
I believe it was to clearly point out the fulfillment of Prophecy. Please see:
Son of David prophecy : 1Kings 9:5, Jeremiah 33:17, 2Chronicles 7:18, Psalms 132:11,
The coming promise of deliverance : Jeremiah 23:5, Jeremiah 33:15, proclaimed: Matthew 22:24,43,44,45, Matthew 1:1,
Luke 18:38, some identified JESUS as by different names for significance to themselves, healer, deliverer
Son of GOD : Genesis 6:2,4, Daniel 3:25, Matthew 8:29, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 27:54, Mark 1:1, Luke 1:35, Romans 8:14, Matthew 11:27,
Son of Man : prophecy : Daniel 7:13-14, Revelation 1, Genesis 3:15, Ezekiel 30:1-4, Job 25:4-6, Job 35:8-16, Matthew 24:30, proclaimed : Mark 14:21, John 12, Matthew 11:19,
Additionally he was called the BRANCH : Job 14:7, Psalms 80:15, Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 14:19, Jeremiah 23:5, Zechariah 3:8, Zechariah 6:12, proclamed: John 15,
1. Yes I believe in some ways our faith may be considered more complicated because they being with Jesus " physically " John 3:12, John 14:11, yet scripture says : 2 Chronicles 20:20, we have so many accumulated testimonies, prophecy fulfilled, the written WORD of GOD from many generations past in many ways we have all that to help build upon our faith. Then we have personal experiences & witness of miraculous events in our present days & years. I believe it's powerful to see the biblical text, New & Old Tstm & imagine the future with the stacked testimonies & understanding time accumulates more information. When the days of tribulation come the stacked accounts with all scripture will be that much bigger. GOD is amazing. I realized the other day the wealth of faith building information at our reach. I told a young man, "Yes, these days are difficult but we have so much to draw from". & GOD in HIS infinite wisdom gives each generation what they need. Romans 10:17, John 20:29,
2. Luke 23:43, I guess it applies to today to yes prove "nothing is impossible with GOD" Luke 1:37, & possibly to encourage us that it's not too late to repent, in dying moment.
Next. (?) Interesting observation. Matthew 4:12, Matthew 23:37, GOD gives people many chances to do good. Mark 6:20, Mark 6:19-31, read though, Mark 6:32-46, did Jesus even take time to mourn? It seems HE went to take a moment, yet compassion moved HIM to minister.
At 1st read I had thought you asked about Peter & Paul comparison of Peter released & Paul was not, also same "(charges) Acts 12:5-17, Acts 21:30-40, - Acts 22, - Acts 23, - Acts 24, - Acts 25, - Acts 26, - Acts 27,-, Acts 28,
My emotion would want to say "all chains are evil" however Mark 5:3-20, Jude 1:6, 2 Peter 2:4,
GOD uses all for good , Psalms 105:17-25, Romans 8:28-30, while Paul was in prison he wrote letters that became an important part of our HOLY Bible today.
Genesis 6:5-8, Genesis 6:11-13, Genesis 6:19-21, yet HE preserved life. Genesis 9:9-17, John 3:15-16,
You don't need to look far to see disregard for life of babies, abortion kills millions & who spares a single child from it? Spade & nueter goes on constantly of animals destroying seed before reproduction. Crimes, injustice, lies, greed etc. If it was so wicked & coucorrupt then? I don't want to imagine. )=
Psalms 139, Psalms 111, Matthew 9:26, Matthew 14:14, Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24, Revelation 7:16-17,
It's was known as far back as the time of Moses that men indulged in witchcraft and magic on accounts of Moses records with Ramses magicians and the serpents..
Matthew 14: 27-33 records the events with Jesus and Peter walking on the water and having doubts Jesus had to save Peter..They thought he was a spirit!
Fast forward to Jesus miracles after that..Feeding the poor with five(5) loaves and a few fish, healing the sick, some by just touching his garments, raising the dead, turning water to wine and most likely many more not recorded..
Yet at his crucifixion they lost faith denying him publicly? They was with Jesus physically..We have to accept Jesus by faith!
1.Does that make our commitment to follow and accept Jesus in this modern era less or more complicated?
2. Scriptures states that Jesus granted the thief being crucified with him Eternal life before he, Jesus died and was resurrected? Anything is possible with God
But why is that an example for us today?
2. God opened the jail for Peter but allowed John the Baptist to remain in prison.. Basically for the same crimes! Being a voice against evil men..
3. What's the rational or logic between the two events?
I like to read each account of a given biblical account especially when deeply searching truth or studying details. The search box on this site is helpful for that.
But in the end, the important part is the miraculous provision made by Jesus, multiplying the food to feed so many. It wasn't just ""stretching" the morsels out to feed more (as we did when there was someone extra for dinner in our big family). It was obviously abundantly miraculous.
You are welcome. It is true that we don't know how long the journey was or if the Lord waited on those who came by foot. Something I am also seeing is that in Matthew 14:13, it says they followed him on foot out of the cities (Plural). So my guess is that they came from various cities to where Jesus was and some may have gotten there even before Him. This is just a guess on my part. I do not know?
Thanks Jesse, I was thinking that also, An out of the way place that is not very inhabited. The Jordan valley is very fertile and as steep slopes leading up to the upland. The people may have had a way around the body of water Jesus was crossing in a boat and were able to meet up with Him wen he got out of the boat to the place He wished to perform tis miracle. He must have tarried some for them to catch up with him, or the boat was slow traveling compared to foot. We don't know if it was a long journey or sort.
It does and TY!! There's that old adage that scripture defines scripture and good ol'Mark details this departure in a different way. Apparently the masses came from all directions, so many didn't have to cross by sea (I'm thinking HOW did @20,000 people get a vessel to navigate a body of water)? Holy Spirit driven. Your desert description makes total sense!!
Matthew 14:13-21 speaks about the provision of food for the five thousand. You are correct in stating the approximate number of people being 20,000. It tells us that there were also women and children, so it would have been somewhere between 15 to 20 thousand people that were fed.
Here is what I would like to share with you on this section as I am taking it from reading the Greek text. In Matthew 14:13, it says that Jesus departed by ship into a (desert place) apart. We see the word desert in our English bibles, and we think of a desert as some dried-up place full of cactus (No grass). So why did Jesus tell them to sit on the grass? There's no grass in the desert!
This is why I love the Greek. In the Greek text, where it says, "a desert place," it is EREMON TOPON which literally means a secluded place. It is not a desert as we know a desert to be in English. This was a secluded place that would have had grass. So that would explain why Jesus had them sit on the grass.
Wherever this secluded place was, we know that Jesus went by boat. As for the masses that followed, Verse 13 says they walked.
Jesus desired solitude, departed on a ship, then went to the desert. Yet the masses followed him? HOW? did they take a ship? There were @ 20,000 of them (5000 men). Also they were in the desert but Jesus told them to sit on the grass?
I see a Peter in all of us, We will fall apart in our long suit when times get tough. Peter thought he had enough in himself to love and worship the Lord for ministry but he failed "like all of us"
When the Holyspirit come, not only was he bold and equipped for the ministry but he was given the ability to love and die for the Lord.
As for the skeptics, If they deny the scripture convincing them of anything is impossible, However we stick with what's in scripture, All of them!!!
My Question Is. (1) What traits of peter's faith during his time learning from Jesus are admirable. Which needed further growth. (2) What should the Christian response be when skeptics try to rationalize away the miraculous works Jesus performed. Thank You.
Let us focus again on the Matthew 16 passage. 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
I am hammering home this concept because it is paramount in understanding who the Lord is; and needed to be understood if anyone is to grow as a true Disciple. Let us examine several problems here. The first problem would be considering that somehow the soul of one of these three prophets was living inside Christ which seems to be the concept here; a sort of "reincarnation"; except for the case of John the Baptist who it appears Herod thought had repossessed Christ after having him killed ( Matthew 14:1-2). The concept of the Holy Ghost manifesting in someone as He did with someone else isn't entirely wrong or unscriptural; we see for instance Elisha having a double portion of the Spirit that Elijah had ( 2 Kings 2:9). John the Baptist also was like Elijah in a way ( Matthew 17:12). This correct analogy of course is NOT what people are saying. This fits in also to those who would call Him teacher or Rabbi. Luke 16:15 warns us that what is honorable among men is an abomination to God. Names and titles mean nothing; neither does human pride. Let us once again examine this concept of exaltation of Pastors.
The easy point to make here is that we should never put men on a pedestal; or substitute worship for God alone to a man.
This doesn't change the fact that we should seek examples to emulate; as it is essential for discipleship.
They could be basing their claim on any one of the following pieces of scripture:
John 1:1, John 1:14, John 8:24, John 8:58, John 10:30-33, John 20:28, Hebrews 1:8, Colossians 2:9, Philippians 2:5-8, Psalm 45:6.
The Bible tells us that we are to worship God alone, and yet Jesus received worship and never rebuked anyone who worshipped Him. We see evidence of this in Matthew 2:2, Matthew 2:11, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 28:9, John 9:35-38, Hebrews 1:6.
Isaiah 44:6 reads, "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides me."
In Rev 1:17, it says "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as a dead man." In Daniel 10:8-9, Daniel did the same thing. When he saw this vision of Christ, he fell down as he was dead. In Ezekiel 1:28, Ezekiel sees the vision and he falls down as a dead man. It goes on to say "Fear not; I am the first and the last: (the designation of God, found in Isaiah 41:4, and Isaiah 48:12).
In Revelation 1:18, it says I am He that lives, and this is another designation of God found in Psalm 84:2, and Joshua 3:10.
I am He that lives. God presents Himself to the Jews as the living God. He says I am He that lives, and was dead; literally, and became dead, and behold, I am living forevermore, His resurrection, His eternalness.
And then it reads, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and of death. Keys are a symbol of authority. Those who were in charge of the temple had the keys to the temple. We are told later on that the Lord (Jesus) will be in control of hell and death.
In Matthew 16:15, Jesus asks His disciples who do you say I am? Peter had the perfect answer. Peter said "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Peter was Jewish. The phrase "Son of the living God" from a Hebrew standpoint is a phrase used for God. To a Jew, claiming to be the Son of God was considered blasphemy, but that was Peter's response to who Jesus was
My brother, I do find it interesting that John 7:39 uses both spirit and ghost in the same verse. Whether these were John's exact words, or for some unknown reason the translators decided to put it in there that way, I do not know.
I can tell you that in the Greek text, the first word Spirit in John 7:39 is PNEUMATOS, and the second word Ghost is PNEUMA. Both Greek words translate to Spirit in English, so Holy Spirit would have been correct.
There is a different word used for Ghost in the Greek. That word is PHANTASMA and is where we get our English word phantom from.
There are 90 places in the King James NT where Holy Ghost is mentioned. However, if you look these verses up in the Greek text (Textus Receptus), every place that the KJV uses Holy Ghost, the Textus Receptus says Holy Spirit (HAGION PNEUMA). Why the translators decide to use Holy Ghost instead is something I am not sure of.
I also find it interesting that there are places in the KJV where the word spirit is used, but the Greek text uses the word ghost.
Matthew 14:26 is one place. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a (spirit); and they cried out for fear.
The word spirit in this verse is PHANTASMA for ghost. They thought He was a ghost. It is not the word for spirit (PNEUMA). It is the word for ghost.
So every place in the KJV New Testament where it says Holy Ghost, it can be correctly translated Holy Spirit.
I emphasize the KJV because if I'm not mistaken, most other English versions say Holy Spirit, not Holy Ghost, which would be considered correct according to the Greek.
I think that whether we choose to say Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, we are speaking of the same Spirit of God, the third person of the triune God.
In Matthew 14:31, we have the Catching of the Lord:
It says, "And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore did you doubt?"
Now the word "doubt" means to stand between two opinions, or two principles. Peter was trying to look at Jesus and trust Him, and yet looking at the circumstances at the same time.
You can only be occupied with one thing. But even if we do let ourselves get drawn into the circumstances, Jesus is there to pull us out!
In Matthew 14:32, we have the Calming of the Sea:
So now the wind stops! There is a lesson there as well.
You see, Jesus doesn't need to stop the storm. He doesn't need to stop the problem. He doesn't need to change anything because He is in charge of it. His message to us is that we need to trust Him. He's even in charge of the storm.
Notice the confession of the disciples in Matthew 14:33, " Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God."
I know this was a little long. If you read through it all, I say thank you. Bottom line is that no matter what our circumstances might be, we must trust in Jesus, and not let any outside distraction take our focus off Him.
Peter was not going to get out of the boat unless the Lord commanded him to do so. But once Peter got out of the boat, he began to waiver in his faith due to the storm.
So Matthew 14:27 says, But straightway, or immediately, Jesus spake unto them saying, be of good cheer, literally be of courage. He didn't mean be happy. He just meant, have some courage here guys!
But please notice this. Jesus says it is I, except in the Greek it doesn't say it is I. It says AYGO AYMI, or I Am, and that's the name of God, Jehovah God in the Old Testament. He says, be of courage, I Am! Do not be afraid!
So now in Verse 28, we see the proposal of Peter:
Peter answered and said unto him, Lord, if it be thou, and in the Greek text that is called the first-class condition assumed to be true.
What Peter is saying is "Since it's you." But as a side note, please know that the storm is still going. The storm has not stopped. Some people lose that as they read through it.
So here's Peter saying, Lord, if it be thou, bid me to come unto thee upon the water.
In order to walk on the water, you would have to first get out of the boat. And then you got to have faith like Peter if you want to walk on water.
But please notice that Peter said to Jesus "Command me to come out!" You see, Peter wasn't going out unless the Lord commanded him to. If you ask me, that is pretty smart!
And so we see the command of Jesus in Matthew 14:29. He says, Come!
And the capability of Peter:
It says when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked upon the water.
Now we're talking about the surging waves, we are taking about the middle of the storm, and that Jesus didn't stop the storm. He doesn't need to stop the storm.
Peter's walking on top of the storm, walking to Jesus! And then in Matthew 14:30, we see the call to the Lord. When Peter saw the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and began to sink; and he cried out, calling, Lord save me.
I'll need to send a part 3
I think the significance of this section in Matthew is that we are to trust in Jesus, no matter what our circumstances are. Matthew 14:22-33 is the section that talks about Peter walking upon the water.
I'll share this with you from my study in the hope that it might shed some light on what was taking place there.
First of all in Matthew 14:22, it says that straightway (or immediately) Jesus constrained his disciples to get into the ship.
Please notice here in Verses 22 and 23 that everything that's going to happen now is because Jesus designed it to happen. He constrained them, meaning He forced them into the ship.
So in Verse 22, we have the providence of Jesus. He forced the disciples into the ship and told them to go to the other side of the sea while He stayed behind and sent the multitudes away.
In Matthew 14:23, we see the prayer of Jesus. But notice the incident in Verse 24. Notice the peril of the disciples. They are in this ship in the middle of the sea, and they are being tossed around by the waves. They are in the middle of this huge storm.
And then the presence of Jesus in Matthew 24:25. It says that in the fourth watch of the night (which would be somewhere between three and six a.m.) that they are out there in their boat with hurricane force winds, and Jesus came to them walking upon the sea.
In Matthew 14:26, we see the perception of the disciples. The word spirit in Greek is PHANTASMA, and it where we get our English word phantom from. They thought He was a ghost. It is not the word for spirit. It is the word for ghost. They thought He was a ghost and they cried out.
Please notice here the personal word of Jesus in Matthew 14:27. It says, "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."
I am running out of space so I will need to send a part 2.
Hopefully these are helpful & encouraging & healing to you, that you likewise will help others Matthew 10:8,
Please also pray the next time I have doubts about my salvation, I will look to Gods Word. John 6:37 Matthew 14:30-31
Thank you brothers and sisters I will be praying for you
a. His Names: Hebrews 1:8, John 20:28 (God); Matthew 16:16, Matthew 26:61-65 (the Son of God); Matthew 22:41-46 (Lord); Revelation 19:13 (Word of God); Revelation 19:16 (King of kings and Lord of lords).
b. His Characteristics: Matthew 28:18 (Omnipotence: all powerful); Luke 6:8, John 2:24,25, John 13:11 (Omniscience: all knowing); Matthew 18:20 (Omnipresence: present in any place); John 1:4 (Life); John 14:6 (Truth); Hebrews 13:8 (Immutability: unchanging); 1 Timothy 3:16, John 1:1-14 (God manifest in the flesh in Jesus).
c. His Works: John 1:3, Colossians 1:16 (creates); Colossians 1:17 (sustains); Luke 7:48,49 (forgives sin); John 11:41-44 (raises the dead); John 5:27 (judges); John 15:26 (sends the Holy Spirit).
d. His receiving Worship: Hebrews 1:6 (from angels); Revelation 5:11-13 (from other heavenly beings); Matthew 14:33 (from men); Philippians 2:10 (from all).
e. His equality within the Triune God: John 14:23, John 10:30-33 (with the Father); Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14 (with the Father and the Spirit).
I hope you can see from these few Scriptures that Jesus was not just a special Man or Prophet sent by God, but truly was "God manifested in the flesh". No other man before Jesus' coming, during, or after His leaving this Earth, could ever fully reflect God's Glory, Wisdom & Power. Only God could - and He did this by sending us His Word, made Him a Man, so that He could give His Life as full payment for our sins - but only to those who believe this & place their trust in Him. To some, the 'Trinity' teaching is abominable. But man's salvation depends on the Divine Person of the Lord Jesus Christ - that God could accept no other Sacrifice to redeem & secure people to Himself - only by giving fully of Himself, which is true love for all.
2Kings 9:30, Jeremiah 22:14,
1611 KJV, Judith 8, through, Judith 14,
Hopefully these are helpful
If we wish to separate those "would be" believers who desire to go to heaven but have no compulsion to serve God from those who already are His bondservants and just would be continuing what they started to practice here on earth we can evaluate their love for God and obedience to obey His commandments ( John 14:15). There are many shallow; foolhardy and at times downright blasphemous concepts of "love" today which permeate much of Christendom; particularly in the "music industry". The concept of obedience because of love seems a foreign concept today; especially in our nation. How many social issues could be deflected if that were the case of more children in their family upbringing for their parents today? Surely; there is more to His love than us being bondservants; as He calls us "friends." ( John 15:15 in the very next verse!) To serve to the length of our own hurt is surely seen in Christ's ministry; not the least of which of course was the crucifixion and all the sufferings beforehand. We often neglect the extent of the rest of His public ministry; where He wasn't even able to mourn the death of John the Baptist; despite making a deliberate attempt at retreat to be alone in a desert place with His chosen few. ( Matthew 14:13). While the Son of Man came to serve and not be served ( Mark 10:45) while on earth; He is certainly worthy to serve and exalt for all eternity for what He did for us. For Him to lift Himself up is not sinful like with the rest of His Creation.
True; there are "pleasures for evermore at His right hand" ( Psalm 16:11). This has to be balanced with the rest of our reverent service toward Him. The shallow; sentimental emotional "love" is at best a tepid version of the Spirit; at worst just a hyped up emotional mindset which is of the world; or comes from occult persuasion. Our emotions; mind; and soul must be incorporated into worship of God ( Mark 12:30).
GOD is good: John 3:16,17, 2Peter 3:9, Psalms 22:24, Psalms 111:4, Psalms 139, Matthew 9:36, Psalms 86:15, Matthew 14:14, Read Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. 1John 4:19,
Matthew 25:31-46, 2Kings 13:23, Jeremiah 12:15, Revelation 21,
Genesis 45:4,5,7, 1Corinthians 4:5,
Great: Job 40,-41, Psalms 147:5, Psalms 95:3, Jeremiah 10:6, Psalms 36:6, Psalms 50:6,
Hopefully these are useful as you ponder GOD's goodness & greatness
Note: John 6:7 note the last part of that scripture says clearly "._._. is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. "
Regardless of amount of money, even clear understanding of money amounts for time, inflation, price gouging, sales, shortage etc. Historical understanding doesn't say what GOD's scripture does about the message He is saying to us.
1st John 6:6 "And this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do."
It was Philip Jesus was talking to: John 6:5, & Phillip who answered: John 6:7, his answer was about financial calculation, earnings, lack, almost as if money was the only answer he had. Remember it was to prove him. When we see " impossibilities" where's our faith & solutions?
Matthew 14:13-21, Matthew 15:29-39, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:12-17,
Note Matthew 15:32-33,
In each account Jesus had healed all the sick.
Hopefully this is helpful
Son of David prophecy : 1Kings 9:5, Jeremiah 33:17, 2Chronicles 7:18, Psalms 132:11,
The coming promise of deliverance : Jeremiah 23:5, Jeremiah 33:15, proclaimed: Matthew 22:24,43,44,45, Matthew 1:1,
Luke 18:38, some identified JESUS as by different names for significance to themselves, healer, deliverer
Son of GOD : Genesis 6:2,4, Daniel 3:25, Matthew 8:29, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 27:54, Mark 1:1, Luke 1:35, Romans 8:14, Matthew 11:27,
Son of Man : prophecy : Daniel 7:13-14, Revelation 1, Genesis 3:15, Ezekiel 30:1-4, Job 25:4-6, Job 35:8-16, Matthew 24:30, proclaimed : Mark 14:21, John 12, Matthew 11:19,
Additionally he was called the BRANCH : Job 14:7, Psalms 80:15, Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 14:19, Jeremiah 23:5, Zechariah 3:8, Zechariah 6:12, proclamed: John 15,
Also "shall be called Nazarene " Matthew 2:23,
Hopefully this is helpful
James 1:5,
Hopefully these are helpful
People in here will give you their help to answer some questions about scripture. We do it because we love you too.
Always ask Holy Spirit what is the Truth; and to open Gods Word, and the meaning, to your newborn spirit.
Matthew 11:25-30. Verse 27, you are WHOMSOEVER
Matthew 14:23 is something Jesus did every day. Get alone, quiet and pray in your own words to the Lord. Be assured that He is hearing your prayers.
1. Yes I believe in some ways our faith may be considered more complicated because they being with Jesus " physically " John 3:12, John 14:11, yet scripture says : 2 Chronicles 20:20, we have so many accumulated testimonies, prophecy fulfilled, the written WORD of GOD from many generations past in many ways we have all that to help build upon our faith. Then we have personal experiences & witness of miraculous events in our present days & years. I believe it's powerful to see the biblical text, New & Old Tstm & imagine the future with the stacked testimonies & understanding time accumulates more information. When the days of tribulation come the stacked accounts with all scripture will be that much bigger. GOD is amazing. I realized the other day the wealth of faith building information at our reach. I told a young man, "Yes, these days are difficult but we have so much to draw from". & GOD in HIS infinite wisdom gives each generation what they need. Romans 10:17, John 20:29,
2. Luke 23:43, I guess it applies to today to yes prove "nothing is impossible with GOD" Luke 1:37, & possibly to encourage us that it's not too late to repent, in dying moment.
Next. (?) Interesting observation. Matthew 4:12, Matthew 23:37, GOD gives people many chances to do good. Mark 6:20, Mark 6:19-31, read though, Mark 6:32-46, did Jesus even take time to mourn? It seems HE went to take a moment, yet compassion moved HIM to minister.
At 1st read I had thought you asked about Peter & Paul comparison of Peter released & Paul was not, also same "(charges) Acts 12:5-17, Acts 21:30-40, - Acts 22, - Acts 23, - Acts 24, - Acts 25, - Acts 26, - Acts 27,-, Acts 28,
My emotion would want to say "all chains are evil" however Mark 5:3-20, Jude 1:6, 2 Peter 2:4,
GOD uses all for good , Psalms 105:17-25, Romans 8:28-30, while Paul was in prison he wrote letters that became an important part of our HOLY Bible today.
3. James 1:5-8,
Hope this helps
You don't need to look far to see disregard for life of babies, abortion kills millions & who spares a single child from it? Spade & nueter goes on constantly of animals destroying seed before reproduction. Crimes, injustice, lies, greed etc. If it was so wicked & coucorrupt then? I don't want to imagine. )=
Psalms 139, Psalms 111, Matthew 9:26, Matthew 14:14, Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24, Revelation 7:16-17,
It's was known as far back as the time of Moses that men indulged in witchcraft and magic on accounts of Moses records with Ramses magicians and the serpents..
Matthew 14: 27-33 records the events with Jesus and Peter walking on the water and having doubts Jesus had to save Peter..They thought he was a spirit!
Fast forward to Jesus miracles after that..Feeding the poor with five(5) loaves and a few fish, healing the sick, some by just touching his garments, raising the dead, turning water to wine and most likely many more not recorded..
Yet at his crucifixion they lost faith denying him publicly? They was with Jesus physically..We have to accept Jesus by faith!
1.Does that make our commitment to follow and accept Jesus in this modern era less or more complicated?
2. Scriptures states that Jesus granted the thief being crucified with him Eternal life before he, Jesus died and was resurrected? Anything is possible with God
But why is that an example for us today?
2. God opened the jail for Peter but allowed John the Baptist to remain in prison.. Basically for the same crimes! Being a voice against evil men..
3. What's the rational or logic between the two events?
John 6:23-24, they took ships
I like to read each account of a given biblical account especially when deeply searching truth or studying details. The search box on this site is helpful for that.
Hopefully this is helpful
But in the end, the important part is the miraculous provision made by Jesus, multiplying the food to feed so many. It wasn't just ""stretching" the morsels out to feed more (as we did when there was someone extra for dinner in our big family). It was obviously abundantly miraculous.
You are welcome. It is true that we don't know how long the journey was or if the Lord waited on those who came by foot. Something I am also seeing is that in Matthew 14:13, it says they followed him on foot out of the cities (Plural). So my guess is that they came from various cities to where Jesus was and some may have gotten there even before Him. This is just a guess on my part. I do not know?
Thanks for helping on this.
Matthew 14:13-21 speaks about the provision of food for the five thousand. You are correct in stating the approximate number of people being 20,000. It tells us that there were also women and children, so it would have been somewhere between 15 to 20 thousand people that were fed.
Here is what I would like to share with you on this section as I am taking it from reading the Greek text. In Matthew 14:13, it says that Jesus departed by ship into a (desert place) apart. We see the word desert in our English bibles, and we think of a desert as some dried-up place full of cactus (No grass). So why did Jesus tell them to sit on the grass? There's no grass in the desert!
This is why I love the Greek. In the Greek text, where it says, "a desert place," it is EREMON TOPON which literally means a secluded place. It is not a desert as we know a desert to be in English. This was a secluded place that would have had grass. So that would explain why Jesus had them sit on the grass.
Wherever this secluded place was, we know that Jesus went by boat. As for the masses that followed, Verse 13 says they walked.
Does this help any?
I see a Peter in all of us, We will fall apart in our long suit when times get tough. Peter thought he had enough in himself to love and worship the Lord for ministry but he failed "like all of us"
When the Holyspirit come, not only was he bold and equipped for the ministry but he was given the ability to love and die for the Lord.
As for the skeptics, If they deny the scripture convincing them of anything is impossible, However we stick with what's in scripture, All of them!!!
God bless