Water, Fish and Jonah

And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Have courage! It is I AM; do not fear." Mat. 14:26-27.

The Impossible is Not

The story of Christ walking on the lake has created a lot of debate.  From "it is impossible" to "Christ is God and God can do anything".   

First of all, it would not be necessary for Christ to be God for Him to be able to walk on water.  Here is a repeat from a former post; "when John baptized Christ He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him. Mat. 3:16.  This statement may well be the key to defining the ministry of Christ." 

Since the spirit of Jehovah was resting on Christ, walking on water would not have been a problem for Him.

When the disciples saw Him walking on water they thought they saw a ghost and were afraid so, to calm their nerves, Christ said, Have courage! It is I AM. In Greek "I am" is "EGO EIMI".  By writing, I AM, in capital letters, trinitarian Bible students falsely emphasize the idea that Christ is "the great I AM - Jehovah Himself".  The more exact meaning is Jesus said to them, "Don't worry! I am Jesus. Mat. 14:27, Contemporary English Version.

That Christ did not mean to imply that He was God is made very clear in a blog by Krista Mariia.  I quote, "John 9:9 is a similar verse. In this verse a man who had been blind from birth (John 9:1), and was healed by Jesus, said the same Greek words, "EGO EIMI", "I am". Did he claim to be God?"

This removes all basis for trinitarians to argue that Jesus was trying to fit Exodus 3:14 to himself in Mark 6:50, or in any other scripture having the words "EGO EIMI".  

Enough Bread and Fish 

So they all ate and were satisfied, and they took up what they had left of the fragments, twelve baskets full. 

Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, apart from women and children. Mat. 14:20-21.

So they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what they had left of the fragments, seven hampers full. 

Now those who ate were four thousand men, apart from women and children.  Mat. 15:37-38

These two stories, side by side, have caused some to believe that it is the same situation with some random numbers changed.  Perhaps one storyteller rounded-up the numbers and another rounded-down the numbers.

However, Christ did not think that the two stories refer to the same incident.  He said, Do you not ... remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 

Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many hampers you took up? Mat. 16:9-10.

The Sign of Jonah

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him, they asked Him to show them a sign out of heaven. 

... 

An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And leaving them behind He went away.  Mat. 16:1-4.

came ... testing Him.  They wanted to ensnare Christ; perhaps they could catch how he did His "slight of hand" tricks; things like making the blind see or the lame walk. 

they asked Him to show them a sign out of heaven.  These earthly miracles you do are nothing compared to the miracles the "real" prophets "back then" did.  Moses gave us manna; Joshua made the sun stand still; there were thunder and lightning at the giving of the law.

The appearance of the rainbow, in a very extraordinary manner, is looked upon by the Jews as a sign of the Messiah's coming. "Says a certain Jew, when my father departed out of the world, he said thus to me; do not look for the Messiah until thou seest the bow in the world, adorned with light colours, and the world enlightened by it; then look for the Messiah, as it is written, Gen. 9:16.'' Gill. 

Back then, already, Bible students put meanings into the Scriptures which were not even hinted at there.  And the rainbow shall be in the cloud. And I will look upon it that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. Gen. 9:16.

Do We Always Need to be Politically Correct

Christ well knew that they were not interested in believing Him.  With their request, they were just scorning Him.  So He bluntly said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.  It sounds as if Christ did not mind "stepping on the toes" of those who refused to believe Him.  He did not find it necessary to always be politically correct!  

When men pretend to favour the gospel, yet live in evil, we must not favour their self-delusion, but must deliver our consciences as John did. The world may call this rudeness and blind zeal. False professors, or timid Christians, may censure it as want of civility. Matthew Henry.   Why are we, The Christian Church, so eager to fit into the non-Christian's worldview?  

He said, I am not going to indulge you in your petty games; no sign will be given to it, an evil and adulterous generation, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Christ walked away; leaving them behind.

What is the sign of Jonah?  Probably just the most impressive sign in the Old Testament.  Christ referred to that sign at another time, also.  He said, For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  Mat. 12:40. 

That sign has been shared with humankind.  There are more copies of the Bible in the world than any other book.   History has vindicated that sign's accuracy. Whether or not humans believe that Christ died and rose again is their choice.  However, the fact stands secure; historical studies attest to it; Christ died and after three days and three nights He came back to life.