Discovering Biblical Treasures
Sunday August 13, 20 17
Volum e 0 2, I ssue 27
The H ebr aic W ay
(learning the Scripture the way ancient people did)
LET’S D I SCOVER M ATTH EW 14 :22-32
LINGUISTIC STRUCTURE
A 22 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead
of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 After He
had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to
pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was
already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the
wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to
them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on
the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out
in fear.
B 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage,
it is I; do not be afraid."
C 28 Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come
to You on the water."
D 29 And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat,
and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
C’ 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning
to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"
SOM ETH I N G
ABOU T TH E LI N GU I STI CS
This narrative is a
chiasm based on top-
31
B’ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him,
and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
ics for each section.
Who
A’ 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who
were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son!"
A: Who is Jesus. B: Jesus's words towards his disciples. C:
Words of Peter. The center is invitation of Jesus.
was
was
the
Yeshua
question?
Yeshua could direct
the forces of nature
which proved to His
disciples that He was
God in the flesh.
The questions and answers offered are for discussion purposes. You may have different questions and
answers. Remember all questions are valid and all answers must be defendable from Scripture.
Your Questions:
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1A
Why did Yeshua send His disciples off in a boat by himself?
(v. 22)
This narrative follows the feeding of the 5,000. It is possible that Yeshua was willing to chat with any of the people. The disciples where
always protective of Yeshua and kept people at a distance whenever possible. By sending the disciples away, Yeshua could now do
what He wanted to do.
What is the significance of it being a night? (v. 23)
Night time was a time for the evil inclination to be its strongest. This
was believed because darkness was associated with evil while the
light was associated with the LORD. Yeshua sent His disciples out
at night on the Sea of Galilee. It was quite unusually for anyone to
attempt to navigate the Sea during the night. The belief that the
Why would the disci-
center of Sea was an abyss that could swallow the boat and its pas-
ples take the boat to-
sengers was prevalent in Yeshua’s day. Therefore, it could be a test
ward the center of the
of how the disciples dealt with evil. Certainly, they had to deal with
lake and not around the
shore line? (v. 24)
evil when they evangelized.
This is a difficult question
to answer, if at all. The
narrative tells us that they
were instructed to take
the boat to the other side
What is the significance of the boat being a long distance from
land and in bad weather? (v. 24)
The boat being a long distance from land tells us that the disciples
of the Sea of Galilee. The
in the boat could not see land. The Sea of Galilee is 25 miles wide.
shortest distance to the
Considering the narrative takes place at night, it would be difficult if
other side of the Sea was
not impossible to see the land when the boat reached a mile or so
to traverse through the
off shore. The disciples were truly alone.
center of the sea. It appears from the narrative
that was what was going
to happen
3
What is the allegorical meaning of Peter becoming
scared? (v. 30-31)
Perhaps it is that Peter realized that he
th
When was the 4 watch of the night? (v. 25)
“The Jews, since their conquest by Pompeii’s, had adopted the
Roman division of the night into four watches, and this was accordingly between 3 A.M. and 6 A.M., in the dimness of the early dawn.”
was not ready to go
out on his own. He
needed more training
from
Yeshua.
Ye-
shua telling him that
he did not have faith
What is the significance of Yeshua walking on the water?
(v. 26)
First point to contemplate is how far the boat was from the land.
Since the waves of the sea was battering the boat, and because it was 9+ hours after Yeshua’s command, it is safe to assume that the boat was several miles from short. The miracle is
not only Yeshua walking on the water but also Yeshua being
able to cover the distance between the shore and boat. The exact distance is unknown. The author of Matthew is showing the
reader that not only is Yeshua the replacement for Moses but
also Yeshua had divine qualities. Only the divine could rebuke
nature by first walking on water then stopping the storm.
could easily be that
Peter did not have
faith in himself. Yeshua might have believed that Peter had
the training necessary
should
and
that
have
he
been
able to walk on water
Why did Peter want to join Yeshua on the water? (v. 28)
also.
The Disciples were learning how to carry on the Yeshua movement after He was gone. Therefore, Peter might have wanted
to join Yeshua because he wanted to learn the secrets of how
Yeshua did the miracles He did.
4
Main/Center Point
D I SCOVERI N G
BI BLI CAL
hen viewing this story as an allego-
baptism. However, we do not make
ry the question becomes what is a
disciples. A disciple of Yeshua is
TREASU RES
spiritual lesson(s)
can be
one who has faith in the salvation
learned. Do remember that there
acts of Yeshua and is educated in
can be more than one allegorical
the faith. Churches really need to
interpretation. Perhaps the lesson
stress the education part of the
here is that we must be educated
Great Commission. Peter believed
about the faith before we can go
that he was trained to be able to do
out and make disciples for Yeshua.
what Yeshua could do. His sinking
The Great Commission says that
into the water was a sign that he
we are to baptize and educate. The
was not ready. Also, this leads us
church stresses the baptize part of
to the understanding that a member
the Great Commission because the
does not have to know everything
church wants members. We do
about the faith to become a disci-
make members for churches by
ple.
The purpose of
Discovering Biblical Treasures is to
teach students of
the Bible how to
learn the Bible in
the same manner
that our Lord and
Savior Yeshua did.
What did people
think when they
heard the Scriptures spoken by
Yeshua.
that
Cultur e of D em ons
The fear of demons and evil spirits played an important part
Learn more from
the teachers of the
Bible Learning
University at
http:/ /
bibleinteract.com
in the lives of Semitic people. They even created specific re-
You can watch
many video teachings at http:/ /
bibleinteract.tv
assured them that he was not a spirit.
5
ligious laws about spirits. In Assyria when a man entered a
house at night and was unknown to the family, he would be
tested by sticking him with a large needle. If he was a spirit
he would change into a donkey. Yeshua’s disciples believed
in spirits. That is why they became scared. Yeshua quickly
H EBRAI C VI EW —PU TTI N G I T TOGETH ER
This passage read literally is filled with spiritual lessons. To discover even more treasures, it needs to be read as an allegory. One allegorical interpretation is offered. Fishermen would not have gone out into the sea at night. In addition, they would have taken a
route around the perimeter of the sea to get to the other side rather than going straight
across the sea. The middle of the sea was considered the abyss where there were sea
creatures and Satan. The boat with the disciples was far enough away from the shore
line that they could not see it. They had between nine and twelve hours to journey into
the sea. Therefore, if Yeshua was walking out from the land He would have had to travel
a great distance.
The literal interpretation is that of a miracle and a very cool story. Looking at the story as
an allegory brings up a lot of additional possibilities. One view is offered here. This is an
allegory about educating new converts about the faith and to understand that while one is
learning about Yeshua that one can still make disciples. How do we make disciples from
Yeshua? We must talk to people and tell them about Yeshua and how Yeshua has affected their lives. We must be ready for the basic questions about the faith. Therefore, a
base knowledge of the faith is important.
The Great Commission says that we are to make disciples for Yeshua by baptism and
education. The church concentrates on baptism but fails at times on the education. When
a person is baptized without education then they are simply members of the church. It is
the educated in the faith and baptized person who is a true disciple. The more one learns
about the faith the stronger their faith becomes.
Peter sinking into the water could be viewed in several different ways. One option offered
here is that Peter felt that he was ready to make disciples by coming out of the boat but
he still needed more education in the faith, which is symbolized by his sinking. Yeshua
convinced him in the allegory that he was not yet ready to make disciples. The disciples
needed more training which occurs in the subsequent chapters.
How deep is your knowledge in the faith? The more you learn, the more you will learn to
rely upon Yeshua. There is never an end to learning about being a disciple of Yeshua.
There are plenty of avenues available. Take advantage of everyone you can find.