Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus fed the multitude which included five thousand men plus women and children. Afterward, “Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea”, and in chapter fourteen and verse twenty-six of his book, Matthew shares how the, “disciples … were troubled … and they cried out for fear” where we read:
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,
they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
The verse reads, “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, ...”. Matthew began with the words, “and when” which means “and at the time and moment” “the disciples” or “Jesus' students, pupils and attendants” “saw him” which means “perceived, noticed, discerned and understood that it was Jesus” “walking” or “ambling and making progress” “on the sea” which refers to “the waters of the sea in which the disciples were sailing”. Matthew shared how Jesus' “disciples” noticed Jesus “walking” toward them upon the sea waters.
The verse goes on to say, “... they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.” Matthew continued with the word, “they were troubled” which means “the disciples were distressed, agitated, disquieted and made restless”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming”, “It is a spirit” or “that Jesus was a apparition, specter, phantasm or ghost”; “and they cried out” which means “the disciples shouted, screamed and yelled aloud” “for fear” or “because and since the disciples were afraid and stricken with terror”. Matthew shared how the disciples were afraid and cried aloud in terror when they saw the supposed “apparition” on the water.
When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we notice how easily the disciples were frightened by this unfamiliar sight upon the sea. Among them were experienced fishermen who no doubt had never seen anything quite like this before. Just because people believe something to be true does not necessarily make it so, and though they believed they were seeing a “ghost”, it was actually Jesus upon the water. God desires a loving and trusting relationship with every person who will yield their lives to His Son Jesus, and when they submit their lives to Him, they shall find comfort in the fact that even things which appear to be “apparitions” are well within His power and control.
Next time we see Matthew shares how Jesus tells disciples, “Be of good cheer; It is I”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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