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2012-07-12 - His Name
John 6:20 But Jesus said to them, It is I; be not afraid!
[I Am; stop being frightened!] (AMP)
Let's set the scene. Jesus has sent His disciples ahead across the Sea of
Galilee in a boat headed for the other side. It is dark and has become stormy
with waves becoming large. From the bits I have read the geography around
the body of water contributes to evening storms roiling up like is described
in this chapter. Many of the group have been commercial fishermen on the
Sea of Galilee for many years. They are seasoned sailors as part of their
job. The boat is now three to four miles out from their starting point and
Jesus comes walking on the water toward them through the storm.
A brief aside here. This verse above is from the Amplified Bible. In the
brackets at the end of the sentence there is a more literal translation provided.
One thing jumps out at me. Remember that the Bible was not written in the
native language of most of us. It was written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.
The translations have been done with the utmost care and have been reviewed
over the centuries by many people with great skill in translation. I studied
Spanish for three years in school. Two things became very clear during that
time. There are some things that do not translate well. There are literally
some ideas for which there is no corresponding word in another language.
For example, there are something like seven words in the Greek language (five
more commonly used) that are most often translated "love" in English. These
different words in the Greek language are more specific facets of the concept
of love.
Also, in translation some things are difficult to translate literally because
they come out very clumsy in the targeted language. Jan can probably do a
better job at explaining the details as she is much more skilled at translation.
Now look at the sentence. Jesus is quoted as saying, "It
is I;", where the literal translation is rendered, "I
Am;". That may not seem like a huge difference, but it is. This
is why. Jesus is not telling His friends, "Hey guys. It's me." He is using
His name. Remember when Moses questioned the Lord in the burning bush:
Exo 3:13-15 Then Moses said to God, Behold, I am
going to the sons of Israel, and I will 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? 14 God said to
Moses, I AM WHO I AM; and He said, Thus you shall say to
the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.
15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, Thus you shall
say to the sons of Israel, The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.
This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations
[emphasis mine]. (NASB)
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus is surrounded by a crowd of people including
a cohort of Roman soldiers and is asked who He is. Jesus literally answers,
"I Am.", and the crowd reels back and many fall to the ground. My
translation reads, "I am He.", with He in italics indicating that
the word was provided for clarity by the translator. The Creator used His
name alone to let everyone present know Who was really in control. Jesus
on the Sea of Galilee was explaining to the men in the boat why they had
no reason to fear.
There were several reasons they might have been fearful. How many of us has
seen a man walking across the surface of a body of water? There was also
the growing storm around them. These men would know the dangers of storms
on the water. We also often rely on our human experiences and understanding
of situations - and fear when we may have no reason to be fearful. The Lord
we serve is mighty beyond our understanding. He created time itself and has
existed before time and will exist after He closes time. Think about that!
By His grace eternity with Him is offered to us if we will turn and follow
Him.
Grace & Peace,
Mike
jmhoskins@gmail.com
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