2010-02-17 - It is I AM

We looked, last time, at this passage - and noted that the disciples, while in the storm, were right where Jesus had put them. This is one of the passages where Jesus walks on water, and he walks out, going past the boat, but when they saw Him, He stopped and entered the boat. It is in this context that we have the words, “Take courage; it is I.” He gets into the boat, the wind and waves stop, and they are all amazed. If this is all we see in the account, we miss something significant. Jesus does not actually say, “Take courage, it is I,” but rather the Greek renders it, “Take courage, it is I AM,” He uses the Greek “egw heimi,” which we would translate “I AM.”

It is a significant observation to consider. Jesus, in identifying Himself in this passage, clearly links Himself with the God who spoke out of the bush to Moses in Exodus 3. Moses is sent on a mission to rescue the Israelites from captivity in Egypt, and Moses says to the voice in the burning bush, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13) The answer comes in the next verse, “I Am WHO I AM,”’ and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” In the Mark 6 passage Jesus links Himself with the self-existent revelation of the nature of God found in Exodus 3. We miss this in the English translations. It was not lost on the disciples in the boat. As Jesus calmed the waters and quieted the winds, He showed Himself to be “I AM.”

Is Jesus your “I AM?” Do you find comfort in the self-attesting nature of Jesus Christ, to Whom you owe your very life? All of us should be thankful for this revelation of Christ, of Himself. It is a great comfort to know that the Lord we worship and serve is the same God who revealed Himself in power to the Israelites. Jesus was alive in the pre-incarnation time of Moses. He became incarnate in His life. He still lives today (He is risen), and He is the same God today as He always has been. When Jesus got into the boat with the disciples “I AM” was in the boat. When we pray, “I AM” hears. “I AM” is concerned about our needs. He knows our struggles. He knows our fears and anxieties, and He loves His children. It is “I AM” who calmed the winds and waves in the storm, and it is the same “I AM” Who is watching over us in the midst of the storms of our lives. This is a great comfort to us. For the disciples, “I AM” was also

Immanuel – God with us. Like the disciples, we also know the “I AM” as God with us, through the Holy Spirit.

When we also are tossed about, let us remember Whom it is that is on our side. We can be of good cheer, even in the midst of the greatest storms; we know for the Lord is with us. Jesus comes to us when we most need Him, and during our times of trial, we are not alone - for Immanuel is ever present and knows all our cares and worries.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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