“I Am” on the Water
John 6-7 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsIn this message, we will, along with Jesus’ disciples, be reminded of who Jesus claimed to be.
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Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
John uses “signs” 17 times throughout his gospel. The meaning of this term is a “distinguishing mark, sign or token” by which something is known.
It is an indication of the person and nature of Jesus.
The crowd interpreted the feeding of the 5k as a sign, John understands it that way too (see Jn. 6:14).
It was near the time of the Passover.
This turns out to be no trivial matter because connections will be made with the Exodus and the wilderness journeys (indeed this has just happened).
Following this incident, Jesus separated from the crowd because he knew the people wanted to seize him and make him king.
(Note that becoming king was not Jesus’ priority. Obeying the Father was his priority.)
Every Gospel has the feeding of the 5k, but Mark (Mk 6), Matthew, and John record the disciples attempting to cross the Sea of Galilee and Jesus’ walking on water thereafter.
Who is this man, Jesus?
The Apostles Attempt to Go Home
The Apostles Attempt to Go Home
Jesus spent time by himself apart from the apostles after he fed the crowd.
He went into the hills to protect himself.
According to the other accounts, he also wanted his apostles to precede him across the Sea.
They “descend” to the sea, and having embarked into a boat, they were coming to the other side of the sea unto Capernaum.
This little village located on the north, west corner of the Sea of Galilee was the home of apostles like Peter, Andrew, (most likely also) James, and John…at least.
The Sea of Galilee is only about 8 miles wide and 13 miles long.
These men, especially the commercial fishermen among them, knew the dangers of crossing in late afternoon and during the evening and night.
John also adds that it had already become dark (don’t forget that they are commercial fishermen).
Jesus had not yet come to them.
They are not acting rashly, instead, they are following his instructions.
Jn. 6:18 also explains the problem the men faced as they attempted to cross the sea.
The sea was “awakened” with a great wind blowing.
They worked hard to move the boat somewhere between 3-4 miles (were they halfway home?).
Jesus Claims to be “I Am.”
Jesus Claims to be “I Am.”
Having driven some distance through the water, Jesus’ disciples “are beholding Jesus walking upon the sea.”
John does not describe the process.
He just states what they beheld, what they observed.
He bookends this little statement with the following structure:
He notes what the men in the boat beheld.
He describes Jesus as “walking on the sea, coming to be near the boat.”
He says the disciples “feared.”
This sounds very much like the reaction of people such as Monoah in the OT.
Jesus then speaks to them by identifying himself:
He says “I am” (Jn. 6:20).
John attributes a desire on the part of Jesus’ disciples to bring him into the boat, but as it turned out, their arrival had already occurred.
There appear to be two miracles here.
I Am in John’s Gospel
I Am in John’s Gospel
The Gospel of John has two kinds of “I am “statements made by Jesus.
Type 1: Jesus makes a personal declaration but in reference to some object or thing. The purpose is to use the object to convey a mental picture or to illustrate his meaning.
I am the bread of life (John 6:35, 48, 51).
I am the light of the world (John 8:12)
I am the door (John 10:7, 9).
. I am the good shepherd (John 10:11, 14)
I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25).
I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)
I am the true vine (John 15:1,5)
Type 2: Jesus equates himself to the “I am” of the Old Testament. He makes a bold declaration to be Jehovah. In doing so, he also, often, claims that Messiah is Jehovah as well. There are nine total times when Jesus makes this claim with it featuring prominently in John 8 and John 18. These statements make reference to the conversation between Moses and Jehovah at the burning bush in Exodus 3 (look here).
John 4:26
John 6:20
John 8:24, 28, 58
John 13:19
John 18:5,6,8.
Do we have assurance about Jesus’ person? Can we use an event like this to remind us of who Jesus was and in whom we have believed?
Introduction (Part 2):
Introduction (Part 2):
Before we proceed further in John 6, it would be good for us to examine the claims of this Gospel about Jesus.
“I am” has only two options: blasphemy or truth. There are no other options.
John 1:1-4, 12-14 make it clear that John understands Jesus to be:
Pre-existent
Separate from God (pros ton Theon)
God in his essence, being, character
Responsible for creation (this makes the all important tie back to Genesis).
Up to this point, in John 6, we have three key connections to the Exodus event and its aftermath:
Passover is near.
Feeding of the people.
Claim to be “I am.”
Day 2:
Day 2:
John links the events chronologically.
Jesus’ disciples passed over in the evening.
Now it is the next morning, the next day.
John provides the point of view of the crowd, or at least of the part that had remained “on the other side of the sea.”
They saw that:
There was not another boat there except one (this had been the evening before).
Jesus did not get on the boat with them, but his disciples had crossed by themselves.
We should pay attention to the aggressiveness of the crowd.
The feeding event has intensified their fixation with Jesus.
They want to keep tabs on him.
John adds, apparently for precision and the travel of the people, that other boats did arrive at the shore near where they had eaten. Presumably that morning.
The Lord
The Lord
John does something else here very unexpected.
He refers to the previous day’s event by the crowd eating bread and “the Lord” giving thanks.
He builds upon the “I am” claim made by Jesus.
Now, he applies to Jesus the term “Kurios” which is the usual LXX translation of “Yahweh.”
He does not do this often through the Gospel.
John 11:2 “ἦν δὲ Μαριὰμ ἡ ἀλείψασα τὸν κύριον μύρῳ καὶ ἐκμάξασα τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ταῖς θριξὶν αὐτῆς, ἧς ὁ ἀδελφὸς Λάζαρος ἠσθένει.”
John 13:13–14 “ὑμεῖς φωνεῖτέ με· ὁ διδάσκαλος, καί· ὁ κύριος, καὶ καλῶς λέγετε· εἰμὶ γάρ. εἰ οὖν ἐγὼ ἔνιψα ὑμῶν τοὺς πόδας ὁ κύριος καὶ ὁ διδάσκαλος, καὶ ὑμεῖς ὀφείλετε ἀλλήλων νίπτειν τοὺς πόδας·”
Then, after the resurrection, Jesus is referred to by this term almost exclusively (note Thomas at John 20:28 “ἀπεκρίθη Θωμᾶς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου.”
We should consider, for just a moment, the implications of the Exodus. The Passover was the culmination of a series of proofs, indeed even a contest, about the deity responsible for creation. Jehovah, the existing one, note Ex. 7:5 and Ex. 8:22.
Jesus is not “a god.”
He is the God responsible for the Exodus. So, who was that?
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Who was that?
The God of Genesis 1:1.
We can see, still, the difference of the views of the people. They refer to him as a teacher, a rabbi.
