Good News - November 2019

en GAGE www.goodnewsfl.org 23 NOVEMBER 2019 Jesus Commands a Fish in the Sea to Retrieve a Treasure In the beginning God gave dominion to man over the “fish of the sea” (Gen- esis 1:28). During his ministry, the last Adammade a fish of the sea to be his ser- vant to retrieve a shekel coin to pay the temple tax for himself and Peter (Matthew 17:24-27). Jesus Walks on a Pathway Through the Sea Jesus, after multiplying bread and fish for the five thousand, dismissed the crowds and separated himself to go up onto the mountain of solitude to be alone with God for a season of prayer. He sent his disciples on ahead of him to sail across the Sea of Galilee. At nighttime, a storm of wind arose and the waves battered the boat. But after three full watches of the night had passed, the disciples saw Jesus approach, walking on the sea. The apparition terrified them, and they cried out in fear, thinking they saw a ghost. But Jesus said to them, “Greetings. I Am. Do not fear!” (Matthew 14:22-27). When Jesus entered the boat, the wind ceased suddenly. So the disciples worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are God’s Son!” (Matthew 14:32-33). Matthew records the confession of faith in Jesus’ divinity by the disciples in order to challenge his readers to respond with their own confession of faith. Jesus uses the words of the Lord of Sinai, greeting his disciples with the as- tonishing claim, “I Am.” The man who walked on the sea was claiming to be the Lord who met Moses and commissioned him to free God’s people from bondage. In the beginning, God made the wind of his Spirit to move over the waters of the deep (Genesis 1:2). Jesus is both Creator and Redeemer. The disciples recognize that Jesus, who commands the natural forces of the winds and the sea, is divine as well as human. The Evangelists’ and Apostles’ Testimony to the Divinity of Jesus The New Testament unambiguously testifies to the divinity of Jesus. There are many texts, but the following citations show that the doctrine is pervasive throughout the Gospels and the epistles. Matthew 28:9, Mark 2:9-12, Luke 22:69, John 1:1-3, 14, 8:58, Acts 2:36 (Peter), Colossians 2:9, Titus 2:12-13, Hebrews 1:8, Revelation 1:17-18. Consistent with these confessional statements, the apostles are careful to show that Jesus does the work of Adonai (the Lord) in the Hebrew Bible. For example, when Jesus breathes on his disciples and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:19, cf. 1 Corinthians 15:45), we recall that the Lord God breathed upon Adam and he became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). When Jesus multiplied bread and fish for Israel (creating them out of nothing, John 6:11), we recall that the Lord God gave manna and quail to Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 16:4, 13). When Jesus stilled the storm on the sea (Matthew 8:23-27), we recall that Jonah’s Lord God stilled the storm on the sea (John 1:15). When John recalled that Isaiah had seen the Lord God enthroned in heaven, he stated explicitly that the Lord God whom Isaiah saw was Jesus (John 12:37-41). When Jesus instituted the new covenant in the bread and the wine with the twelve, we recall that the LordGod had said through Jeremiah that he would institute the new covenant with Israel (Luke 22:20, cf. Jeremiah 31:31). Next month: What is True Religion? Dr. Warren A. Gage, Th.M., J.D., Ph.D. is president of Th e Alexandrian Forum, whichprovides life-changingBiblical teaching. To learnmore, visit alexandrianforum.org Is Jesus God? (Continued from page 22)