Study Starter: Along Came Jesus Walking
on the Chaos
by: Christopher Wiles
Along came Jesus
walking on the water
Along came Jesus walking on the water
Along came Jesus walking on the water
Out on the deep blue sea.
Along came Jesus walking on the water
Along came Jesus walking on the water
Out on the deep blue sea.
We have fun singing this little ditty to the kids as we
teach them Bible histories, don’t we? We
make up hand motions. We sing it with
smiles on our faces. We may even get up and dance or mimic the gentle waves of
the ocean. While we tone it down to make
it palatable for children, the Bible history recording Jesus walking on the
water in Matthew 14 was anything but palatable for the disciples, it was CHAOS.
Let’s walk through a little bit of Hebrew history to
understand the chaos. First let’s travel
through the primary Hebrew word for “water” which is “mayim”. It’s used 580 times
in the Old Testament and it occurs in every period of biblical Hebrew. The word, “mayim” is actually a plural of the
basic Hebrew letter for “M” pronounced “MEM.” That letter was made, using what looks like
waves of water. Check out the letter in
early, middle, late, and modern Hebrew writings:
The letter “mem” and the word “mayim” get their basic
meaning from something that is troubled, stirred, choppy, or wavy. You can see that usage in passages such as 2
Samuel 22:17 where David writes about the Lord rescuing him from his
enemies in which he says, “He sent from above, he took me; he drew me
out of many waters.” David is referring
not to actual water, but to the Chaos that water represents. These are the same chaotic and troubled “waters”
found in Genesis 1:2 “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over
the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the
waters.”
In the beginning, in God’s effort to bring order to “mem” or
chaos, God put light, stars, plants, animals, and mankind. Just like David, when “mem” or chaos rises to
the surface of our lives, we realize that God intervenes to bring calm. When the “mem” or chaos gets so bad like when
the disciples in Matthew 14 who were in a boat being buffeted in the middle of
the chaos, God walks right across the “mem” to save us. Just as He did for Peter, our Lord and Savior
invites us to have faith and join Him, as we conquer all the “mem”, “mayim”,
and “chaos” in our life.
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have
overcome the world.” (John 16:33b)
Along came Jesus walking on the water, out on the deep blue
sea.
Living Lessons & Study Starters are articles written for the weekly Washington Church of Christ bulletin. You can find more by clicking HERE or searching for "Study Starter" in the right sidebar search.
Living Lessons & Study Starters are articles written for the weekly Washington Church of Christ bulletin. You can find more by clicking HERE or searching for "Study Starter" in the right sidebar search.