Feb. 14, 2025

AI vs Walking on Water

AI vs Walking on Water

AI examines Matthew 14:22-36

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AI examines Matthew 14:22-36

WEBVTT

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Welcome everyone. It

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is Thursday, February thirteenth, twenty twenty five. It is currently

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five eighteen pm Central Time, and I'm coming to you

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live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas.

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I don't know how you're doing this evening or this afternoon,

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depending on where you may be. I hope it's going

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well well for you. I know tomorrow around this time,

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probably not a lot of people would be tuning in, right.

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I mean, it's to be Valentine's Day. Love will be

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in the air. People will be going out to eat,

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going out on a date, going somewhere, maybe going off

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for a romantic weekend. So you really I have, like,

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you know, either broadcast today. I wonder how the numbers

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will actually be tomorrow. I wonder how many live broadcast

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will even be happening. I wonder how many people will

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even be listening. Will it have an impact? If you

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look at the amount of money Americans spend on Valentine's Day,

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it is like it's send the billions. So I know

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a lot of money will be spent. So will that

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impact then listening on a Friday evening. I mean, I

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typically don't broadcast on a Friday evening anyway, but I

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just I'd be curious if it would impact numbers. Who knows,

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But this evening or this afternoon again, I keep saying

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Thursday evening. It's you know, five nineteen pm Central time here,

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so we're not quite to the evening time with this

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late afternoon time. If you look on the sermons two

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point oh app right now. If you look at the

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sermon's two point oh app right now, what you see

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there are four live webcasts. You'll notice that I think

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most of them are in Spanish this evening at least

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two of them are in Spanish. And well then you

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have the Theology Central podcast, so that we're one of the

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four that are currently broadcasting. So yeah, there's not a

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lot of options currently. Thursday evening is typically where you

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don't have a lot of broadcast. So if you're a

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broadcaster and you're looking to really maybe be the only

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one kind of broadcasting at a given time, Thursday afternoon

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into Thursday evening really is a pretty good time. Wednesdays, obviously,

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there's hundreds and hundreds, Sunday morning hundreds and hundreds, Sunday

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evening hundreds and hundreds. So Thursday is a good time.

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I didn't necessarily pick this evening, you know, to do

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something because it's Thursday, but because I do know some

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will see this as a long holiday weekend. You always know,

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numbers can fluctuate, So hopefully this will be beneficial and

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we could get some things done. Also, if you're looking

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around on the sermon's two point, oh, app this evening,

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if we just go here to discover and look newest sermons,

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some of the newest sermons that have been added over

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the last couple of hours. Let's see here purging the

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military of wokeness. Okay, that could be interesting. I probably would. Yeah, Okay,

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So that's going on to see what else do we

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have here? Performance of the Willingness. That's an interesting title.

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Performance of the Willingness. Worship God as Trinity, that could

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be interesting. The historic Panorama of the Bible. That sounds good.

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Beware of Satan's Devices. That's also the name of a

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famous book by a Puritan. So I wonder if it's

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borrowing from the book or if it's borrowing from the

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passage was it tewod Corinthians? I believe, So that could

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be interesting. Dominion Part two. Hmm, that could be interesting. Oh,

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this could be fun. How justification and sanctification differ? Oh that, man,

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that just sounds like a right. There could be I

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don't even want to review that. That could lead to

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about eighteen hours of content. Right, that could be it.

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That could be the end of twenty twenty five. That

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would be it, right because who knows what direction that

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would go? That could go so many different directions. But

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there's a lot to choose from, a lot to do.

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So why did I turn on the microphone this evening

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when you've got all this other stuff to choose from.

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You don't have as many live webcasts right now, but

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you've got a lot of things to do. Well, I've

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decided to turn the microphone on because I just can't

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let it go, Ladies and gentlemen, I just can't let

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it go. I know I should move on, but I can't.

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We have been talking a little bit about the knotic

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heresy kenosis kinoticism. We've been talking about that heresy, and

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as we've I've heard, well what we we reviewed a

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devotional and we reviewed a sermon at least where the

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knotic idea again, and both cases, I guess was so

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frustrating is they never came out and just went full

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blown conotic heresy. It was kind of a functional canotic

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way of thinking, but they didn't even really expound on

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it or expand on it. They just threw in this

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little comment and moved on. But the entire premise, at

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least on the last sermon we reviewed, was really on

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this idea that basically Jesus had to rely on God

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and he relied on God the same way Peter did.

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And because Peter relied on God the way Jesus did, well,

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then Peter was able to do these things. And basically,

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if we live our Christian life relying on God this way,

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then basically we can have a we can be victorious,

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and our Christian life is going to be amazing. And

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we talked about all the problems, but none of them

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really served as a great example, because they know, they

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just threw out the concept but didn't really go into it.

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And if they would have went into it, we would

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have had a little bit more to chew on. So

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I was kind of frustrated with that, But then what

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really left me bothered was in the last sermon we

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reviewed at dealt with Jesus walking on the water and

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Peter walking on the water Matthew, chapter fourteen, verses twenty

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two to thirty six. Matthew, Chapter fourteen, verses twenty two

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to thirty six. And I guess what I can't let

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go is in the sermon. Even though they were making

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all these assumptions that basically when we read the story

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of Jesus and Peter walking on the water, that it

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basically I mean, it was just it was never explained,

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it was never justified, it was never proven. It was

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just like, this basically is a picture of the way

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you're to live the Christian life. So just immediately was like,

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this becomes a prescriptive passage, and not only is it prescriptive,

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we're going to turn it into a metaphor, we're going

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to turn it into a picture. So so all of

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a sudden, we're gonna spiritualize it, we're gonna turn it

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into a metaphor, and we're gonna make it prescriptive. But

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there was never any justification offered for why the text

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was being handled that way. And fact, if you go

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back and listen to that sermon. Now, I could be wrong.

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I know they referenced the text, but there really wasn't

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any like, let's work through this, let's consider this historically philologically,

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there really was no actual work on the text, and

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that I just can't let it go. So I've been

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sitting here working off and on throughout the evening or afternoon,

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I should say, I keep saying evening for some reason.

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I keep saying evening for some reason. I apologize. I

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had to cough there for a second, but I couldn't

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let it go. So I sat down and while me

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and artificial intelligence just started having a conversation, and I

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started explaining to artificial intelligence that, hey, I'm frustrated by this.

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I'm just frustrated by this entire passage in the way

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it's handled, you know, And I basically want to AYI

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to tell me if I'm right, if I'm wrong, do

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I understand this. So what we're going to do, just

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for a little bit of time, and I was about

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to say this evening today right now, is we're going

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to just kind of have AI kind of walk us

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through some of the issues with this passage. In Matthew

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chapter fourteen, verses twenty two to through thirty six about

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Jesus walking on the water and Peter. So first, let's

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just read the text. All right, here we go Matthew,

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Chapter fourteen, verse twenty two, and straightway, Jesus constrained his

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disciples to get into a ship and to go before

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him onto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

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And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went

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up into a mountain apart to pray. And when the

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evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship

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was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves,

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for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch

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of the night, Jesus went unto them walking on the sea.

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And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,

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they were troubled, saying it is a spirit, and they

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cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying,

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be of good cheer it is I. Be not afraid.

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I think there's a lot of importance there that he

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says it is I. We could get into a lot

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of the reasons why that's a significant phrase verse twenty eight.

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And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be

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thou bid me come unto thee on the water. Now,

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if you go back to the last sermon we reviewed,

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he did make a lot of interesting points about the

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way this is structured in the Greek, what that means,

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if it be thou And he made some very interesting

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points there that maybe we could expound on some other time.

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But I thought he did a very good job there.

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And Peter answered and said, Lord, if thou be, if

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it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

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And he said come. And when Peter was come down

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out of the ship, he walked on the water to

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go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous,

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he was afraid and beginning to sink. He cried, saying, Lord,

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save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand caught

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him and said, unto him, O, thou of little faith?

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Wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into

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the ship, they win ceased, and they and they that

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were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying, of

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a truth, Thou art the son of God. Right there,

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you have it all right, And now we can read

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a little bit further, but you get the basic story.

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You know, the basic story. Now, I would argue that

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the majority of Christian teaching, the majority of Christian preaching,

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the majority of Christians, that they interpret Matthew fourteen twenty

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two through twenty six the section as being prescriptive rather

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than descriptive. I would argue that many sermons, devotionals, and

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commentaries basically present this story as some type of model,

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some type of formula for Christian living. Hey, we are

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to do this, We're not to do this, we to

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do this, we are not to do this, and then

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we can live the Christian life. We can be successful.

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And so it takes this story, makes it prescriptive, and

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it turns it into some kind of formula, some kind

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of method, some kind of idea, and teaching us how

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to live the Christian life. Now, I would ask the

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question immediately, is the text there for that, is the

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text even attempting to do that? Is the text trying

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to show tell us something about us and what we

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should do? Or is the text trying to demonstrate something

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about Christ? Have we taken a text that's supposed to

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be exalting Christ and made it about us? I will say,

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welcome to Christianity. Because that's all we ever seem to do. Typically,

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these sermons, these devotionals, these you know, whatever small group teaching,

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wherever you find it. They typically focus on themes like

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step out in faith, trust Jesus amidst life storms. So

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now the storm has become like see how it all

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just becomes this, It just becomes Plato and you can

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just make it whatever you want, or overcome your fear

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by keeping your eye on Jesus. Those are some things

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you'll hear in church, right, It'll be like step out

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in faith, trust in Jesus in the middle of life storms,

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overcome your fear by keeping your eye on Jesus. All

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of that preaches really well. People typically eat this stuff up.

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They get they take some notes down in their journal

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or their notebook. They love it. They'll tell the pastor

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how encouraging it was, how helpful it was, how great

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it was, I guess, and then they go home and

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I don't know if they even know what to do

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or how to even do it. I don't even know.

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I don't know if you really cornered them in the

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parking lot and said, Okay, I know you said it

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was a great sermon. I know you said it was amazing.

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So what do I do now? What? And the last

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sermon we reviewed, that's what I kept saying. You told me,

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I have to get out of the boat. How do

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I get out of the boat? What does that even mean?

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I have to get out of the boat. And as

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soon as I get out of the boat, then Jesus

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will enable me with this strength and this power so

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that I can walk on water. Metaphorically speaking, what does

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that even mean? I don't even know what that means.

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Keep your eye on Jesus, don't look at the storm. Okay,

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what does that mean? Now we can try to describe

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it in some vague way where people will be like, okay, okay,

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all right, So what do I do? What do I do?

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What do I do? And it basically turns into you know,

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read your Bible, go to church, say your prayer. I mean,

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just basically the same thing over and over and over.

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It just all drives me crazy. So in Matthew fourteen

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twenty through twenty six, we have Jesus and Peter walking

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on water. I think we can all agree with that.

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The passage recounts Jesus walking on water and Peter's attempt

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to do the same after Jesus calls him. When Peter

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becomes afraid and begins to seek, Jesus rescues him and

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rebukes him for his doubt. I think that's a basic,

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easy summary of the text. We know that. Now, how

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do the majority of Christians? How does much of Christianity?

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How does the majority of Christianity interprets this passage? All right?

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So I asked Ai, what do they do? And AI said, well,

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the majority of Christianity, most of Christianity, interprets this in

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a prescriptive way, where the text is supposedly prescribing something

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you and I are to do. So AI breaks it

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down this way. Number one, step out in faith. Many

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sermons use Peter's actions as an example that Christians must

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step out of the boat and faith to experience God's power.

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If you want God's power, get out of the boat.

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You got to get out of your comfort zone. You

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got to get out of your safety, You got to

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get out of your security, and you go step out

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of the boat and boom boom, boom boom, you get

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God's power and now you can do it. You can

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do it. You can live the victorious life. You can

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do this. You can do this. Now, what exactly can

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I do? I don't know. Can can I walk on

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physical water? Well? No, you can't really do that, can

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I can I? Now, it depends. If you're in I guess,

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certain elements of charismatic world. You can do anything. You

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can raise the dead, heal the sick, you can do

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some of both. Stop tornadoes, stop hurricane. All the crazy

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claims that they make, which you know constantly are proving

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to be fraudulent, never come to pass. Okay, all the

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issues that we can have with that. But it almost

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always means if I'll just get out, if I'll just

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step out and faith whatever that means, it's usually somewhat vague. Well,

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then all of a sudden, I get power, I get

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I'm enabled im. That's howmost every sermon preaches it. It's

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sometimes it's never specific enough, but it's just vague. Hey,

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you just get out of the boat and boom, you say, Okay,

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so I don't need to stay in the boat. I

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don't need to stay in a place of security. I

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don't need all of that because I just get out

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of the boat. God's going to provide everything, all right, Well, then, look,

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what are the right what are the what are the

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implications of that. Typically, in this prescriptive way of interpreting,

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it will be step out on faith, or they'll focus

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on keep your eyes on Jesus. The common application is

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that if you keep your focus on Jesus, we can

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overcome any obstacle. But when we take our eyes off Him,

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we begin to sink. Keep your eyes on Jesus, keep

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your don't look to this, how do you? And so

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it'll be like, you know, four ways to keep your

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eyes on Jesus, Read your Bible, pray you know, prayse

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go to church. It almost always turns in again into

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here are the four steps, here are the three steps,

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here are the five steps. And if you just keep

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your eyes on Jesus, you won't sink. You keep your

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eyes in Jesus, you'll never fail. So if I'll just

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get out of the boat and I'll keep my eyes

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on Jesus, then then I'm I don't know, I don't

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it just nobody can really tell me how it specifically works.

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They will go on with trust God and the storms

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of life. This view treats the storms as symbolic of

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life's trials and Peter's experience as a pattern of how

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believers should trust God during difficulties. Now, please know what

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always happens here is all of these things that are

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literal and historical are all now rewritten to be metaphorical allegorical,

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and then you can just make it. Well, this represents this,

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This represents this, this represents this. This. You don't have

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anything in the text telling you you're even allowed to

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do this, but hey, we can just do whatever we

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want with the text. Basically, it'll go like this, if

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you have enough faith, you can do the impossible. And

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charismatic and word of faith circles. This passage is cited

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as proof that believers can perform miracles or achieve victory

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if their faith is just strong enough. So then almost inevitably,

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why are you sinking? Okay? Why why are you not

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having victory? Well, either one, you're too afraid to get

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out of the boat, so you just got to have faith,

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just step out there and do it. Okay, So either

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it'll be that or you got out of the boat,

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but you didn't care keep your eyes on Jesus. Your

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faith is it strong enough? So you're sinking, you're felling,

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You're messing up because you didn't keep your eyes on Jesus.

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It's all your fault, So AI said it this way.

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Most Christian teaching treats this passage as a blue plant,

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blueprint for how Christians should live by faith, face challenges,

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and depend on God. That's how most Christians approach it.

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I mean, if you don't believe me, I mean you

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got the sermon's two point oh app. We were talking

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about it right there in the beginning of the illustration.

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And the reason I was talking about or the opening

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introduction is because well, yeah, go Now I can challenge

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you to go do that. Go use the sermons two

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point oh app. Look up sermons on Matthew for the

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Temptation of Jesus, which we've talked about earlier this week,

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or or and look up sermons on Matthew fourteen fourteen,

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twenty two through thirty six, and just tell me. You

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can tell you, well, you don't have to tell me.

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Listen to how they handle the text. Almost in both cases,

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the text are handled in a prescriptive manner, not a

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descriptive one. Now, why is the prescriptive view so common?

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Why do you think the prescriptive view of Jesus walking

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on water and Peter walking on water. Why do you

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think it's so common? AI gave me its reasons. It said,

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Number one, it makes for compelling preaching. It's far easier

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to craft some top of a motivational sermon from a

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prescriptive view. Step out in faith like Peter see that,

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Come on, trust in Jesus. Trust in Jesus the storms

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of life. Don't seek keep your eyes on Jesus. Come on,

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and it preaches. It can be exciting, it can be in,

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it can be dramatic. So that's why we do it.

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And I've stated it so many times. Sermons are the

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enemy to biblical interpretation. When you have to worry about

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preaching a sermon that's compelling or that's interesting, you have

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a tendency to not go wait a minute, Wait a minute,

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what should I do with this text? Based on the text,

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it becomes what should I do with this text in

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order to have a sermon. I don't care if it's compelling,

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it's the issue is you're mishandling the text. Another reason

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this happens, and another reason it's so common, is because

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there's a desire for direct application. Many Christians and preachers

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feel the need to draw direct personal application from every

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single passage, even when the text itself doesn't even warrant it.

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So you have this, You have this desire almost for

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compelling preaching, this desire for direct application. And there's a

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third reason. It's because of what we call devotional culture.

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Many Christian devotionals thrive on finding life lessons and every narrative,

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even if it means stretching the text. Christians love devotional materials.

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Think of how much money is spent every year on

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devotional materials. To your devotionals, to your devotionals, spend quiet

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time with the Lord, and so people buy devotionals. Instead

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of learning how to take a text and do your

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own devotional, they rely on and know the devotional who

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then thinks they have to give you a life lesson

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for every narrative, even if there's nothing in that text

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that's a life lesson for you in a specific or

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direct way. This prescriptive approach is a cancer. So AI

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I summed it up this way. While the majority of

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Christianity interprets Matthew fourteen twenty through twenty six as prescriptive,

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a more faithful reading sees it as descriptive. Now please know, AI,

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says the more faithful way is seeing it descriptive. It

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is about Jesus divine authority. It's not a command or

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a pattern for believers to emulate. The passage calls us

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to recognize and worship Jesus for who he is, rather

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than to assume that if we have enough faith we

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can do what Peter did. So then Ai asked me,

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would you like to dive deeper into the text, perhaps

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by examining the Greek historical context or exploring how the

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early Church fathers interpreted this passage. So Ai was like, okay,

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let's dig in right. Ai was like, most people handle

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this in a prescriptive way. It should be handled in

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a descriptive way. Let's dig in. But I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

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slow down, Ai, slow down, don't get ahead of me,

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don't get ahead of me. So I just asked Ai

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a question. I was basically like, AI, come on, throughout

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church history, even in modern days, can't we all agree

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that no one in their right mind but would believe that, Oh,

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if we just trust in Jesus, if we just have

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the faith of Peter, that we could walk on water

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even for a minute. Ai said, outside of some extreme

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and fringe groups. Virtually virtually no one in mainstream Christianity

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teaches that believers today can literally walk on water if

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they have enough faith. And this is what always drives

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me crazy because because everyone knows, wait a minute, no

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can we if we have the faith like Peter, we can,

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we can walk on water. But then immediately they have

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to say, well no, no, no, not literal water, not

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literal water. No no no, no, no no no, we

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can walk on water, and that becomes that has to

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become metaphorical. Well see that right there just tells me,

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you know, deep down that even if I have the

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exact level of faith as Peter, even if I'm able

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to go, you know, next time I'm in the ocean somewhere,

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I'm just gonna jump off the boat. I'm not walking

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on the water, not for five seconds, not for ten seconds,

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not for a minute. It's not happening no matter. Everyone

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knows that. So immediately that should be like huh so

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why so that that forces everyone then to go to

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the text and then rewrite it. So AI goes on

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to say, so what's the issue? This is what AI says.

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It asked me the question, So what's the issue? Right,

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Because no one believes no other than some fringe groups,

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no one believes that that we can do that. So

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AI says, what's the issue. Then I'm like, well, you

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answer me right, don't ask me the question. You answered

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the question. So A I said this. While no one

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expects literal water walking, many still take this passive prescriptively

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and apply it to the Christian life metaphorically suggesting that

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if we have the right amount of faith, we can

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overcome any obstacle, performed spiritual feats, or live in complete victory. Well,

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the whole thing is, that's just maddening. You're gonna take

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a text about someone literally walking on water. You know

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we can't do that, So then you come along and

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just make it a metaphor, just to come along and say,

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well that was historical, but you know, forget what Peter

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actually walked on water? I mean, isn't that great? But

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actually it's metaphorically a picture of us walking in victory

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and overcoming the storms of life and just saying all

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of this nonsensical stuff that makes everyone feel good sitting

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in the pew, But it's nonsense. That's not what the

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text is about. AI says. The danger is not in

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people belie they can walk on water. But in the

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underlying theology that accompanies this interpretation, the idea that faith

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guarantees success, miracles are overcoming every challenge, the implication that

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if someone fails, like Peter sinking, it's due to a

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lack of faith, which can lead to guilt, legalism, and disillusionment.

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Don't you think, don't you think if I could just

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have the faith to get out of the boat, then

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I could walk on top of the storm. I can

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overcome it. But over and over and over, I look

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away from Jesus, and I see if I could just

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look to Jesus better, if I could just do more,

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if I could just read my Bible more, if I

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could go to just go to church more, if I

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could just do better. Come on, slap myself, what is wrong?

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Come on, come on, look at Jesus. It turns into

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this never ending performance based oh legalistic craziness. Now, when

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it's originally preached, people find some hope in it, But

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find them how's it working? How's it going? So AI

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goes on to say, no mainstream Christian group teaches that

459
00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:14.400
believers today can literally walk on water like Peter, even

460
00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:17.160
if they believe in strong faith or dependence on God. However,

461
00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:21.240
the philological framework that often emerges from this passage emphasizes

462
00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:24.920
faith as a guarantee of miraculous outcomes. It is still

463
00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:29.759
widespread and problematic. So then AI asked me another question,

464
00:28:29.799 --> 00:28:31.920
would you like to explore how this passage has been

465
00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:35.839
interpreted historically or how different philological traditions have handled it?

466
00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:38.920
And I'm like, slow down, I know where I'm going. AI,

467
00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:43.519
just let me fall, Just let me lead here. AI.

468
00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:45.960
I know you want to take over. Let me lead here, right,

469
00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:48.400
Because I was trying to walk it through in a

470
00:28:48.440 --> 00:28:53.680
logical progression. So when it comes to Matthew fourteen twenty

471
00:28:53.720 --> 00:29:02.119
two to thirty six, everyone knows. Everyone knows instinctively, Okay,

472
00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:05.799
I can have the faith of Peter, right, I can

473
00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:10.359
rely on the Holy Spirit and trust in God, and

474
00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:14.000
I can do what Jesus did. I can walk on water. Well,

475
00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:17.440
I mean I can't literally walk on water. Immediately, everyone

476
00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:21.880
already then places a limit. Well, I can't do that. Now,

477
00:29:21.880 --> 00:29:25.240
I know there's gonna be some charismatic Well yes you can. Okay,

478
00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:28.359
Well then come on, well, then go walk, you know,

479
00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:31.839
go walk as across the Gulf of America. Okay, right,

480
00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:36.000
I'm making a joke. Okay, go go walk across you

481
00:29:36.039 --> 00:29:39.079
know wherever the point is. You're not going to be

482
00:29:39.079 --> 00:29:40.640
able to do it. You can't do it, and everybody

483
00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:45.200
knows you can't do it. It's not the point. But

484
00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:48.559
of course you know that. So then what you in it?

485
00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:51.440
Don't you find it kind of a coincidence? Then you

486
00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:55.160
just magically come in and it's a metaphor, it's a picture,

487
00:29:55.559 --> 00:30:06.640
metaphorically olligorically. So then I basically asked Ai, you know, hey,

488
00:30:06.680 --> 00:30:09.880
so how should we then move forward here and ask

489
00:30:09.960 --> 00:30:12.920
it some questions. Ai goes on to say, the majority

490
00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:15.680
of Christian teaching on Matthew fourteen twenty through twenty six

491
00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:18.519
or twenty two through thirty six acknowledges that we cannot

492
00:30:18.559 --> 00:30:22.079
literally walk on water. But this is what AI says,

493
00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:31.160
But conveniently they substitute walking on water with something more abstract,

494
00:30:31.400 --> 00:30:36.519
like victory in the Christian life, overcoming sin, stepping out

495
00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:40.680
in faith during difficult times, or achieving spiritual success. I

496
00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:45.240
loved how AI was like, conveniently, they're like, hey, well

497
00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:49.200
we can't do that, But conveniently the text is really

498
00:30:49.240 --> 00:30:53.319
a picture. It's a metaphor, and that convenient that it is,

499
00:30:53.640 --> 00:30:58.440
because if we if we don't conveniently transform this into

500
00:30:58.440 --> 00:31:01.480
some kind of metaphorical things, saying, well, then anyone could

501
00:31:01.480 --> 00:31:03.880
walk up and go, well, are you telling me if

502
00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:06.480
you trust in Jesus and have faith in Jesus like

503
00:31:06.519 --> 00:31:08.960
Peter did, then I can walk on water. Well we

504
00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:13.960
can test that, can't we. Okay, well everyone knows, okay,

505
00:31:13.960 --> 00:31:16.480
well that's not gonna work. So we just conveniently go, well,

506
00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:19.519
we know it's a historical, actual fact, but but but

507
00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:21.599
but but it was really there showing me how I

508
00:31:21.680 --> 00:31:25.400
can walk on the storms of life. Yeah, of course

509
00:31:25.640 --> 00:31:33.240
you you've conveniently transformed it. So AI said, here's how

510
00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:36.960
the majority handles the passage. They recognize here, here's kind

511
00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:42.079
of the steps. They recognize the literal impossibility. Everyone agrees

512
00:31:42.119 --> 00:31:44.759
that believers today can't literally walk on water, even with

513
00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:51.119
strong faith. So number two, they reinterpret the miracle metaphorically.

514
00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:54.640
The act of Peter walking on the water is then

515
00:31:54.799 --> 00:32:00.480
transformed into a symbol for something else. Walking on water

516
00:32:00.519 --> 00:32:07.039
becomes metaphor for overcoming fear, achieving spiritual victory, stepping out

517
00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:11.839
in faith in life's challenges, and living above sin and struggle.

518
00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:16.680
So number one, they recognize the literal impossibility. They reinterpret

519
00:32:16.680 --> 00:32:20.240
the miracle metaphorically. They then make the act of walking

520
00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:25.000
on water symbolic of it becomes a metaphor for overcoming fear,

521
00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:28.759
achieving spiritual victory, stepping out in faith, or living above

522
00:32:28.839 --> 00:32:33.359
sin and struggles. Number three, they shift the focus to

523
00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:39.079
faith based success. The common sermon goes something like this,

524
00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:42.119
if you have faith like Peter, you can walk on

525
00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:45.960
water in your own life, whatever, whether that means overcoming

526
00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:50.519
your addictions, facing your trials with boldness, or living victoriously

527
00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:55.599
over sin. In other words, the miraculous act is spiritualized

528
00:32:55.839 --> 00:33:00.680
and applied to everyday Christian living. So all you got

529
00:33:00.680 --> 00:33:04.759
to do, so it all becomes this metaphor. Now, who

530
00:33:04.839 --> 00:33:10.279
gave any preacher the right to do that? Who gave

531
00:33:10.359 --> 00:33:12.359
the preacher the right to meda just turned it into

532
00:33:12.359 --> 00:33:15.240
a metaphor? Who gave the right for the preacher to

533
00:33:15.240 --> 00:33:18.200
all of a sudden make it allegorical. Who gave the preacher

534
00:33:18.240 --> 00:33:21.960
the hermeneutical right, the hermeneutical authority to just do this

535
00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:25.759
and then just and then throw this out there almost

536
00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:29.000
as if if you it's almost like a mathematical formula.

537
00:33:29.079 --> 00:33:31.440
If you'll get out of the boat and believe dun

538
00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:35.519
dun da dah, you can do it. Oh oh oh,

539
00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:38.559
but be careful. Don't do what Peter did because you'll sink.

540
00:33:39.480 --> 00:33:41.480
And if you sink, it's your fault because you're not

541
00:33:41.519 --> 00:33:47.640
looking at Jesus, who gave them the right to just

542
00:33:47.680 --> 00:33:52.440
come along and just do this to the text, to

543
00:33:52.559 --> 00:34:01.640
spiritualize it, alligorize it, make it a metaphor, so Ai says,

544
00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:05.400
here's what pre Christians do. They recognize the literal impossibility.

545
00:34:05.640 --> 00:34:10.079
They reinterpret the miracle metaphorically. They shift, they shift the

546
00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:14.119
focus to some kind of faith based success. They ignore

547
00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:17.840
and then number four, they ignore the original context the passage.

548
00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:21.639
Original context is about Jesus divine power and the disciples

549
00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:25.039
recognition of him as the son of God. The focus

550
00:34:25.079 --> 00:34:30.880
shifts from Christ's identity to our personal faith journey, which

551
00:34:31.119 --> 00:34:41.119
distorts the meaning of the text. So how do most

552
00:34:41.159 --> 00:34:44.719
churches handle it. They're going to recognize the literal impossibility,

553
00:34:44.840 --> 00:34:47.519
They're going to reinterpret it as metaphorical. They're going to

554
00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:49.400
make it some They're going to shift the focus to

555
00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:52.599
some kind of faith based success. Right then, they're going

556
00:34:52.679 --> 00:34:57.559
to ignore the original context. Now, AI says, why is

557
00:34:57.599 --> 00:35:01.159
this problematic? Well, it turns a unique history event and

558
00:35:01.239 --> 00:35:05.679
to a universal prescription for all believers. It sets up

559
00:35:05.719 --> 00:35:09.559
an unrealistic expectation, implying that if you have enough faith,

560
00:35:09.840 --> 00:35:13.559
you'll have victory in every aspect of life, whether that

561
00:35:13.639 --> 00:35:17.920
means overcoming san facing trials or achieving success number three.

562
00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:21.280
It leads to guilt confusion when believers don't experience this

563
00:35:21.719 --> 00:35:25.039
so called victory, causing them to question their faith or

564
00:35:25.079 --> 00:35:30.079
they're standing with God. So why is all of this

565
00:35:30.199 --> 00:35:35.400
preaching problematic? It turns a unique historical event into a

566
00:35:35.599 --> 00:35:39.800
universal prescription for all believers. That's not what the text

567
00:35:39.880 --> 00:35:46.239
is trying to do. It sets up an unrealistic expectation,

568
00:35:47.559 --> 00:35:53.920
and then it will ultimately lead to guilt, confusion, disillusionment, discouragement, depression.

569
00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:02.239
So what's really happening? Well, most of Christianity acknowledges the

570
00:36:02.239 --> 00:36:05.639
impossibility of literally walking on water, but then swaps out

571
00:36:05.679 --> 00:36:10.679
the actual miracle for symbolic spiritual achievements. This approach makes

572
00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:16.320
the passage more palatable and applicable, but it also moves

573
00:36:16.360 --> 00:36:19.679
away from the text original purpose, which was to demonstrate

574
00:36:19.760 --> 00:36:25.039
Christ's divine authority, rather than provide a blueprint for the

575
00:36:25.159 --> 00:36:38.320
Christian life. So I was like, okay, all right, this

576
00:36:38.400 --> 00:36:42.960
whole prescriptive way is nonsensical. It's ridiculous. We play this

577
00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:45.960
little game where, well, we can't do it literally, so

578
00:36:46.039 --> 00:36:49.519
we'll do it metaphorically. And then metaphorically it's just well,

579
00:36:49.559 --> 00:36:52.079
you can have success, but we haven't out. We have

580
00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:54.760
an asp bur sleeve. If you don't have success, sorry,

581
00:36:54.800 --> 00:36:59.519
you don't get your money back. It's all your fault. Okay,

582
00:37:00.119 --> 00:37:06.480
Already the whole thing becomes problematic. So then I thought, well, okay,

583
00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:15.880
let's play along. Let's pretend that we could and should

584
00:37:16.920 --> 00:37:22.840
interpret the text metaphorically as some kind of spiritual picture.

585
00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:24.920
Maybe maybe we look at the text and like, this

586
00:37:24.960 --> 00:37:27.800
whole thing seems kind of nonsensical, you know, why would

587
00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:33.519
Why is Jesus walking on the water. Why why is

588
00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:35.920
Peter asking about going out on the water? Why does

589
00:37:35.960 --> 00:37:39.639
Peter go out on the water. Maybe maybe we just

590
00:37:39.639 --> 00:37:45.400
determined the text is so just so unusual, so different,

591
00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:49.119
that we think maybe there are clues in the text

592
00:37:49.199 --> 00:37:52.920
that kind of scream at us, hey, guys, this is

593
00:37:52.920 --> 00:37:55.440
a picture. This is supposed to be picturing something, not

594
00:37:55.519 --> 00:37:58.320
saying it didn't happen historically. But there's enough in the

595
00:37:58.360 --> 00:38:01.519
text that seemingly take us in a metaphorical way. But

596
00:38:01.559 --> 00:38:03.840
if we were to go in a metaphorical way, why

597
00:38:03.880 --> 00:38:06.519
don't we have to go the direction everybody else tells

598
00:38:06.599 --> 00:38:21.800
us to go. So I started trying to formulate maybe

599
00:38:21.800 --> 00:38:26.519
there's a different approach. So AI told me this. AI says,

600
00:38:26.559 --> 00:38:31.119
once the narrative is rewritten to be prescriptive and you

601
00:38:31.159 --> 00:38:35.119
center it on us, here's the way the typical interpretation goes.

602
00:38:35.400 --> 00:38:37.920
So once, so once you kind of read all right,

603
00:38:38.039 --> 00:38:40.639
So I'm gonna make sure you understand it's already being written.

604
00:38:40.639 --> 00:38:43.559
I'm gonna propose here a second, a way to rewrite

605
00:38:43.559 --> 00:38:47.159
it in a metaphorical way. But before we get to

606
00:38:47.280 --> 00:38:49.559
my way of rewriting it in a metaphorical way, I

607
00:38:49.599 --> 00:38:51.960
want to make it very clear. Already the majority of

608
00:38:52.039 --> 00:38:56.320
Christians already rewrite the narrative. They rewrite the narrative, they

609
00:38:56.320 --> 00:39:01.519
make it prescriptive, and it becomes about us. All right,

610
00:39:01.599 --> 00:39:06.320
So already there's already rewriting happening. So typically the way

611
00:39:06.360 --> 00:39:11.840
most Christians rewrite the narrative goes something like this, Peter's walk.

612
00:39:12.159 --> 00:39:15.119
Peter's walk on water becomes a metaphor for the Christian life,

613
00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:18.960
stepping out in faith, trusting God, and achieving spiritual victory.

614
00:39:19.159 --> 00:39:22.039
The wind and the waves represent the challenges, temptations, and

615
00:39:22.079 --> 00:39:24.400
difficulties we face in life. And when we take our

616
00:39:24.400 --> 00:39:26.800
eyes off Jesus and focus on our problems the wind

617
00:39:26.840 --> 00:39:29.320
and the waves, we begin to seek meaning, we start

618
00:39:29.360 --> 00:39:32.840
to struggle, fail or fall into sin. The message then becomes,

619
00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:36.320
if you're failing in your Christian life, it's because you're

620
00:39:36.360 --> 00:39:39.239
taking your eyes off Jesus. If you're sinking, it's because

621
00:39:39.280 --> 00:39:47.519
of your lack of faith. This interpretation and well a

622
00:39:47.639 --> 00:39:49.239
I said, there's a number of problems that makes the

623
00:39:49.320 --> 00:39:53.000
Christian life entirely dependent on our ability to maintain unwavering faith.

624
00:39:53.280 --> 00:39:57.199
It leads to guilt, self condemnation. It oversimplifies the complexity

625
00:39:57.199 --> 00:39:59.840
of Christian struggles, and it ignores the main point of

626
00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:03.360
the text, which is to reveal who Jesus is. It's

627
00:40:03.400 --> 00:40:05.840
not about giving us a step by step guide for

628
00:40:05.960 --> 00:40:15.119
navigating life's challenges. Ai says this interpretation has become the

629
00:40:15.199 --> 00:40:17.559
default message. This is what you get in almost every

630
00:40:17.639 --> 00:40:20.119
church if you keep your eyes on Jesus, you'll walk

631
00:40:20.159 --> 00:40:24.320
in the If you keep your eyes on Jesus, you'll

632
00:40:24.400 --> 00:40:27.920
walk on the waters of life's trials. But the moment

633
00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:30.920
you focus on your problems instead of Jesus, you'll start

634
00:40:30.960 --> 00:40:33.760
to sink. So keep your eyes on Jesus and you'll

635
00:40:33.800 --> 00:40:46.360
never fail. And so AI goes on to say, once

636
00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:48.880
this passage has turned into a lesson about Us, the

637
00:40:48.920 --> 00:40:51.960
explanation for felling becomes you're sinking because you're not looking

638
00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:55.840
at Jesus. This interpretation is widespread. It places the burden

639
00:40:55.880 --> 00:40:58.760
on believers faith rather than keeping the focus on Jesus.

640
00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:01.159
And then it says, would you like to break down

641
00:41:01.159 --> 00:41:07.280
this passage exegetically and offer a more faithful interpretation? But

642
00:41:07.360 --> 00:41:09.440
I said, well, wait, wait, wait, wait, let's not go

643
00:41:09.559 --> 00:41:12.400
there yet, all right, So I asked it some more questions,

644
00:41:12.440 --> 00:41:15.119
and AI said, the final step in this typical handling

645
00:41:15.159 --> 00:41:20.360
of this passage often becomes a form of moralistic prescription,

646
00:41:20.800 --> 00:41:23.400
where the focus shifts entirely to our lack of faith

647
00:41:23.559 --> 00:41:27.079
and the need to strength it through spiritual disciplines. So

648
00:41:27.199 --> 00:41:30.440
AI was like, Okay, you're right. This whole thing goes

649
00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:32.800
horribly wrong. It's all going wrong. It's the whole thing

650
00:41:32.840 --> 00:41:37.039
is problem problematic. The minute you go with this prescriptive approach,

651
00:41:37.440 --> 00:41:40.119
you ultimately put the blame on people for their feelings

652
00:41:40.199 --> 00:41:45.159
because well, they didn't look to Jesus. Ai said, Okay,

653
00:41:45.159 --> 00:41:47.400
here's kind of the common formula that you hear in

654
00:41:47.440 --> 00:41:51.440
most churches. All right, Peter walked on water because he

655
00:41:51.480 --> 00:41:54.960
had faith. Peter sake because as faith wavered when he

656
00:41:55.039 --> 00:41:57.719
focused on the wind and the waves. We live our

657
00:41:57.800 --> 00:42:01.840
Christian lives. We live. I'm sorry we fail in our

658
00:42:01.920 --> 00:42:04.480
Christian lives because our faith is weak, just like Peter.

659
00:42:04.840 --> 00:42:08.000
So what is the solution? You need stronger faith? How

660
00:42:08.039 --> 00:42:10.800
do you get stronger faith? Go to church, join a

661
00:42:10.840 --> 00:42:17.719
small group, read your Bible, memorize scripture, and pray. Well,

662
00:42:17.880 --> 00:42:21.000
what is the problem. Well, it shifts the focus from

663
00:42:21.039 --> 00:42:25.639
Christ to us. The miracle originally reveals Jesus divine power,

664
00:42:25.800 --> 00:42:28.400
but now it becomes all about us. It creates a

665
00:42:28.480 --> 00:42:33.840
workspace framework for spiritual growth. Faith becomes something we have

666
00:42:33.880 --> 00:42:36.920
to manufacture through effort rather than something that grows from

667
00:42:36.960 --> 00:42:40.079
God's grace and spirits. The spirit work in us. It

668
00:42:40.239 --> 00:42:45.719
fosters guilt and self reliance, and it oversimplifies complex struggles.

669
00:42:46.880 --> 00:42:49.800
The underlying message becomes if you're felling, it's because you

670
00:42:49.840 --> 00:42:52.079
haven't tried hard enough, and if you just did more,

671
00:42:52.199 --> 00:42:55.840
you would have the faith to walk on water too. Right.

672
00:42:56.679 --> 00:43:00.719
So AI, after we talked and said it says you

673
00:43:00.800 --> 00:43:04.719
have outlined the exact pattern most Christian teaching follows. Rewrite

674
00:43:04.760 --> 00:43:07.679
the narrative to be about us, blame our lack of

675
00:43:07.679 --> 00:43:11.320
faith when we fail, prescribe a list of spiritual activities

676
00:43:11.559 --> 00:43:18.039
to fix it. Right, So I was like, Okay, we

677
00:43:18.440 --> 00:43:21.840
now agree that this is the common approach. We now

678
00:43:22.000 --> 00:43:25.519
agree all of the problems of this prescriptive approach. We

679
00:43:25.639 --> 00:43:28.400
agree that this is what everyone does. Everyone follows the

680
00:43:28.400 --> 00:43:33.840
same formula. The formula has broken. It's problematic, it destroys

681
00:43:33.840 --> 00:43:38.599
the context of the passage. It is just it's wrong preaching.

682
00:43:39.039 --> 00:43:41.840
And I will argue that if you go in the

683
00:43:41.840 --> 00:43:44.079
sermon's two point oh app tonight and start looking at

684
00:43:44.119 --> 00:43:47.239
sermon after sermon on Matthew fourteen twenty two through thirty six,

685
00:43:47.400 --> 00:43:50.519
you're going to find that ninety eight percent of them

686
00:43:50.719 --> 00:43:54.920
will take this flawed approach. I could be wrong, but

687
00:43:55.039 --> 00:43:57.159
that's what I feel would be the case. I can't

688
00:43:57.159 --> 00:44:00.599
dogmatically assert that. But remember what happened when I said,

689
00:44:01.239 --> 00:44:04.480
how most of the sermons on Isaiah forty through fifty five,

690
00:44:04.719 --> 00:44:06.400
what they would do to the text, and what have

691
00:44:06.519 --> 00:44:09.159
we seen over and over? I have been right. I

692
00:44:09.239 --> 00:44:11.079
think I'm going to be right on this as well.

693
00:44:13.400 --> 00:44:18.159
But I decided, Okay, if you can't beat them, why

694
00:44:18.199 --> 00:44:23.360
don't we join them? Come on, right? I mean, hey,

695
00:44:23.519 --> 00:44:26.840
if we can just rewrite the narrative and we can

696
00:44:26.880 --> 00:44:30.000
make it a metaphor, if we can make it a picture, well,

697
00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:33.239
then who gets to determine who? Which are what are

698
00:44:33.239 --> 00:44:35.960
the elements of the metaphor? Who gets to determine what

699
00:44:36.039 --> 00:44:37.679
are the elements of the picture? I mean, once you

700
00:44:37.760 --> 00:44:39.840
say that you can just make it a metaphor and

701
00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:42.920
allegory and you can make it a spiritual picture, who

702
00:44:42.960 --> 00:44:45.440
gets to paint the picture? Who gets to decide what

703
00:44:45.679 --> 00:44:50.119
represents what? So I said, well, okay, then I'm going

704
00:44:50.159 --> 00:44:53.000
to rewrite, make it a picture, make it a metaphor,

705
00:44:53.159 --> 00:44:55.440
make it an allegory. But I'm going to fill in

706
00:44:55.719 --> 00:45:00.360
and write it my way. Tell me how this goes?

707
00:45:01.119 --> 00:45:07.280
All right? So I asked, Ai, Hey, what about my approach?

708
00:45:09.679 --> 00:45:13.719
What about my approach, and Ai was like, even if

709
00:45:13.760 --> 00:45:18.840
someone were to interpret the historical event as a spiritual picture,

710
00:45:19.320 --> 00:45:23.920
the more faithful and gospel centered reading would look like this.

711
00:45:24.400 --> 00:45:30.559
So I gave Ai my interpretation, and Ai they said, yeah,

712
00:45:30.639 --> 00:45:32.800
if we were to, if we're gonna make it a picture,

713
00:45:33.239 --> 00:45:37.360
it would look like this. It took my interpretive, my interpretation,

714
00:45:37.719 --> 00:45:39.440
and then it broke it down. So this is what

715
00:45:40.159 --> 00:45:44.679
how AI classified it. It called my approach a gospel

716
00:45:44.800 --> 00:45:49.679
centered picture. All right, So here is how it broke

717
00:45:49.719 --> 00:45:56.440
it down. Number one, Jesus commands Peter to come. This

718
00:45:56.639 --> 00:46:00.960
is law. Jesus gives a direct command, and much like

719
00:46:01.079 --> 00:46:04.039
the Law of God calls us to obedience, be perfect,

720
00:46:04.119 --> 00:46:07.480
as your heavenly Father is perfect justice. Peter was called

721
00:46:07.519 --> 00:46:11.519
to do something beyond human ability. The law demands perfect obedience,

722
00:46:11.639 --> 00:46:16.679
which we and our sinful nature cannot achieve. Peter was like,

723
00:46:16.880 --> 00:46:19.840
let me come to you, all right, Come, knowing that

724
00:46:19.920 --> 00:46:23.320
Peter can't do it, know it. The law says obey,

725
00:46:23.559 --> 00:46:25.840
The law says do this, The law says do that,

726
00:46:25.920 --> 00:46:28.639
The law says don't do this. We can't do it.

727
00:46:29.480 --> 00:46:32.960
So the first picture here, that's the law saying, come,

728
00:46:33.440 --> 00:46:39.480
come on, Peter, come to me, do it now. Justice.

729
00:46:39.480 --> 00:46:42.039
Peter was called to do something beyond human ability. The

730
00:46:42.119 --> 00:46:45.079
law demands perfect obedience, which our sinful nature cannot achieve.

731
00:46:45.239 --> 00:46:48.079
So number one, Jesus commands Peter to come. That is law.

732
00:46:48.239 --> 00:46:52.519
Number two. Peter attempts to obey, but fails. This is

733
00:46:52.639 --> 00:46:56.199
human weakness and sinfulness. Peter steps out, but quickly sinks

734
00:46:56.239 --> 00:46:59.199
due to fear and doubt. This reflects our own inability

735
00:46:59.280 --> 00:47:02.760
to fulfill God commands perfectly because of our sinfulness. All

736
00:47:02.800 --> 00:47:05.159
have sin and fallen short of the glory of God.

737
00:47:05.559 --> 00:47:07.760
Our failure to keep the law is not due to

738
00:47:07.840 --> 00:47:10.599
a lack of effort alone, but due to our inherent

739
00:47:10.679 --> 00:47:16.039
sin nature. Justice Peter's failure wasn't a merely elapse in focus,

740
00:47:16.199 --> 00:47:21.320
but a reflection of human frailty. Peter takes off trying,

741
00:47:21.679 --> 00:47:23.599
just like we may take We see the law and

742
00:47:23.639 --> 00:47:25.400
we're like, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it,

743
00:47:25.480 --> 00:47:27.719
I'm gonna try, I'm going to try to obey the law.

744
00:47:27.800 --> 00:47:29.360
I'm going to try to keep this and I'm going

745
00:47:29.440 --> 00:47:30.960
to try to keep this and I'm going to do

746
00:47:31.039 --> 00:47:32.880
this and I'm not going to watch this, and I'm

747
00:47:32.880 --> 00:47:34.320
not going to look here, and I'm not going to

748
00:47:34.400 --> 00:47:36.039
go here, and I'm not going to date them, and

749
00:47:36.079 --> 00:47:37.400
I'm not going to do this, and I'm not going

750
00:47:37.480 --> 00:47:39.400
to do I'm not going to do any of this.

751
00:47:39.480 --> 00:47:43.320
And next thing, you know, you seek not because you

752
00:47:43.400 --> 00:47:49.760
lost focus because of your own inherent morality, your own

753
00:47:49.760 --> 00:47:55.719
inherent immorality, your own inherent sinfulness, your own inherent weakness.

754
00:47:59.559 --> 00:48:02.679
So one, you have Jesus, the command of Jesus. That's

755
00:48:02.760 --> 00:48:05.920
law number two. You have Peter attempt but fails because

756
00:48:05.960 --> 00:48:08.920
of weakness and sinfulness. And number three, Jesus rescues Peter

757
00:48:09.000 --> 00:48:12.320
by grace. This is the gospel. Peter's salvation from drowning

758
00:48:12.400 --> 00:48:16.079
is not because he tried harder or suddenly regained perfect faith,

759
00:48:16.360 --> 00:48:19.320
is because Jesus reached out and saved him by grace.

760
00:48:19.679 --> 00:48:23.199
This is a beautiful picture of the gospel. Christ save

761
00:48:23.360 --> 00:48:28.639
sinners not based on their performance, but by grace and

762
00:48:29.360 --> 00:48:32.760
mercy Ephesians two eight through nine. For by grace you

763
00:48:32.800 --> 00:48:35.559
have been saved through faith. That is not your own doing,

764
00:48:35.960 --> 00:48:42.199
It is the gift of God. So number one, Jesus

765
00:48:42.280 --> 00:48:47.119
commands Peter to come. Law number two Peter attempts, but fails,

766
00:48:47.400 --> 00:48:53.599
human weakness and sinfulness. Number three. Jesus saves not based

767
00:48:53.639 --> 00:48:56.679
on anything Peter can do, could do, should do, but

768
00:48:56.800 --> 00:49:01.639
because Peter is drowning, he's sinking. Number four. This entire

769
00:49:01.719 --> 00:49:09.000
focus should then lead us directly to verse thirty three,

770
00:49:09.239 --> 00:49:15.159
which is, than they that were in the ship came

771
00:49:15.320 --> 00:49:20.480
and worshiped him, saying of a truth, thou art the

772
00:49:20.519 --> 00:49:27.519
son of God. The climatic moment of this story is

773
00:49:27.559 --> 00:49:32.639
not Peter's attempt. It's not Peter's success. It's not Peter's failure.

774
00:49:33.400 --> 00:49:38.840
It is the disciple's response and saying, truly, you are

775
00:49:38.920 --> 00:49:42.960
the Son of God. The entire narrative ultimately points to

776
00:49:43.039 --> 00:49:48.599
Jesus identity and power, not Peter's faith. The story doesn't

777
00:49:48.719 --> 00:49:51.159
end with a lesson on how Peter could have done better,

778
00:49:51.480 --> 00:49:54.880
but with worship of Christ for who he is and

779
00:49:54.920 --> 00:50:01.760
what he has done. Jesus, he walks on water because

780
00:50:01.800 --> 00:50:05.719
we can't walk on water. He walks on water perfectly

781
00:50:05.960 --> 00:50:09.880
because which is you could say, symbolic of keeping the law,

782
00:50:10.320 --> 00:50:16.559
because we cannot keep the law. Now why would my

783
00:50:17.079 --> 00:50:21.280
picture be important? Well, it keeps the focus on Christ,

784
00:50:21.320 --> 00:50:25.719
not on us. It highlights the gospel, not moralistic self effort.

785
00:50:26.039 --> 00:50:28.719
It acknowledges human weakness and the need for grace, and

786
00:50:29.599 --> 00:50:32.880
leads us to literally worship Jesus, not to fixate on

787
00:50:32.960 --> 00:50:35.679
improving our faith through going to church, reading a Bible,

788
00:50:35.719 --> 00:50:38.719
memorizing scripture, join a small group, run around in circles

789
00:50:38.719 --> 00:50:41.280
for seventeen hours, hit your head against a brick wall,

790
00:50:41.480 --> 00:50:51.079
or stab yourself in the eye with a fork. If

791
00:50:51.159 --> 00:50:54.840
the story is to be seen as a spiritual picture,

792
00:50:55.480 --> 00:51:01.400
then the real message is the law commands sinners. We

793
00:51:01.440 --> 00:51:06.280
attempt and we fail. Jesus and his grace rescues us

794
00:51:06.360 --> 00:51:10.159
despite our failure. And the proper response is not to

795
00:51:10.199 --> 00:51:14.880
focus on yourself, but it is to worship Christ for

796
00:51:14.960 --> 00:51:24.559
his grace and power Verse thirty three. Not Peter should

797
00:51:24.599 --> 00:51:29.480
be the ultimate destination of this passage. So then Ai said,

798
00:51:29.800 --> 00:51:31.960
would you like to explore how to teach or preach

799
00:51:32.000 --> 00:51:35.440
this passage from a gospel centered perspective? And I would

800
00:51:35.480 --> 00:51:39.400
be like, well, no, I don't need to do that,

801
00:51:39.440 --> 00:51:42.320
because I just gave you my interpretation. Okay, all right,

802
00:51:45.320 --> 00:51:49.079
now that's the way it should be approached. If you

803
00:51:49.119 --> 00:51:51.039
want to make it a picture. If you feel that

804
00:51:51.079 --> 00:51:53.599
the text is like this is just so odd. It's

805
00:51:53.679 --> 00:52:00.559
so weird. I think if we wanted to make it

806
00:52:00.599 --> 00:52:02.559
a picture. But I still don't even think that's the

807
00:52:02.639 --> 00:52:06.719
correct approach. But that just shows you if you look

808
00:52:06.760 --> 00:52:10.440
at it from a law gospel perspective, that's a better

809
00:52:10.519 --> 00:52:13.880
way to handle it. But I still think that's wrong

810
00:52:13.880 --> 00:52:16.079
because that's still somewhat well, that's at least not making

811
00:52:16.119 --> 00:52:19.880
it as prescriptive. That's still keeping it somewhat in the

812
00:52:19.920 --> 00:52:23.880
descriptive side. But I think the approach to this is

813
00:52:23.920 --> 00:52:28.199
fully a descriptive passage. So I asked Ai. I said, hey,

814
00:52:28.840 --> 00:52:33.280
give me a more accurate interpretation, all right, what would

815
00:52:33.320 --> 00:52:37.159
be a more accurate interpretation of Matthew fourteen twenty two

816
00:52:37.760 --> 00:52:42.679
through thirty six? And AI typed this out. Interpret it descriptive,

817
00:52:44.519 --> 00:52:53.760
not prescriptive. And AI goes on to say, there's a

818
00:52:53.800 --> 00:52:57.199
strong argument can be made that this passage is descriptive.

819
00:52:57.239 --> 00:53:00.960
It's not prescriptive. Why number one unique event. It's not

820
00:53:01.039 --> 00:53:04.800
a universal command. Jesus did not command all the disciples

821
00:53:04.840 --> 00:53:07.760
to walk on water only Peter. There's no indication that

822
00:53:07.800 --> 00:53:10.639
the event was intended to establish a pattern for all believers.

823
00:53:11.159 --> 00:53:13.480
Nowhere else in scripture or believers told that they should

824
00:53:13.480 --> 00:53:16.199
expect to walk on water or perform similar feats if

825
00:53:16.199 --> 00:53:19.719
they just have enough faith. The primary focus is on

826
00:53:19.840 --> 00:53:24.599
jesus divine authority. The passage highlights Jesus' power over nature,

827
00:53:24.880 --> 00:53:28.280
reinforcing his identity as the son of God. The disciples

828
00:53:28.360 --> 00:53:31.280
response in verse thirty three is to worship him, saying, truly,

829
00:53:31.320 --> 00:53:34.000
you are the Son of God. The miracle is more

830
00:53:34.079 --> 00:53:38.199
about revealing who Jesus is than about prescribing what believers

831
00:53:38.239 --> 00:53:41.559
should do. Number three, Peter's attempt is not presented as

832
00:53:41.599 --> 00:53:44.760
an ideal to follow. Peter walks on water is often

833
00:53:44.800 --> 00:53:46.760
seen as an act of faith, but it quickly becomes

834
00:53:46.760 --> 00:53:50.760
an example of human frailty. Jesus rebukes Peter's doubt, not

835
00:53:50.800 --> 00:53:55.239
necessarily commending his initial step. If this were a prescriptive passage,

836
00:53:55.280 --> 00:53:58.400
it would imply that the believer should expect similar miraculous feats,

837
00:53:58.519 --> 00:54:01.239
which contradicts the broader New Testament teaching on faith in

838
00:54:01.280 --> 00:54:05.400
the Christian life. The nature of biblical narratives. Many biblical

839
00:54:05.480 --> 00:54:09.679
narratives are descriptive, meaning they recount what happened without necessarily

840
00:54:09.719 --> 00:54:14.199
instructing believers to replicate the events. This passage fits into

841
00:54:14.239 --> 00:54:18.039
the category of highlighting jesus power and the disciples growing

842
00:54:18.079 --> 00:54:21.039
recognition of his divinity. It is not laying out a

843
00:54:21.079 --> 00:54:33.000
pattern of faith filled water walking for all believers. So

844
00:54:33.159 --> 00:54:36.000
the whole way that this is typically handled is just

845
00:54:36.440 --> 00:54:40.679
completely wrong. All right. So I continue to talk to

846
00:54:40.760 --> 00:54:43.159
AI and if I can get up here to the

847
00:54:43.159 --> 00:54:49.880
beginning of this. Okay. Wait, there was my interpretation that

848
00:54:49.960 --> 00:54:51.880
I gave it, and it said all right. So then

849
00:54:51.920 --> 00:54:54.519
I said, okay, create an in depth interpretation. All right.

850
00:54:54.599 --> 00:54:58.280
So I'm going to go through this relatively quick because

851
00:54:58.280 --> 00:54:59.920
I think this is maybe the way we should go.

852
00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:03.239
All I'm trying to handle it every perspective that we can.

853
00:55:03.320 --> 00:55:06.519
All right. So here's what AI said. Here's an in

854
00:55:06.599 --> 00:55:11.280
depth interpretation of Matthew fourteen from a descriptive perspective, considering

855
00:55:11.320 --> 00:55:17.199
the historical, textual, and philological context. All right. So AI

856
00:55:17.320 --> 00:55:20.280
says the passage comes after two significant events. Number one,

857
00:55:20.320 --> 00:55:23.800
the feeding of the five thousand Matthew fourteen thirteen through

858
00:55:24.280 --> 00:55:28.159
twenty one. What does this demonstrate? This demonstrates Jesus power

859
00:55:28.199 --> 00:55:32.840
over nature and his role as provider. Number two, Jesus

860
00:55:32.840 --> 00:55:36.400
withdrawal to pray, highlighting his communion with the Father, a

861
00:55:36.519 --> 00:55:42.400
reoccurring theme in the gospels. Matthew's Gospel emphasizes Jesus as

862
00:55:42.440 --> 00:55:47.840
the messionic king and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy,

863
00:55:48.239 --> 00:55:51.159
often drawing from the Hebrew scriptures to present Jesus as

864
00:55:51.199 --> 00:55:54.239
the divine son of God. So Matthew is going to

865
00:55:54.239 --> 00:55:57.880
try to demonstrate Jesus as the Messiah and he's the

866
00:55:57.880 --> 00:56:02.320
divine son of God. Keep that in mind, all right, Now,

867
00:56:02.599 --> 00:56:06.440
what is the historical and cultural context. The Sea of

868
00:56:06.480 --> 00:56:10.480
Galilee known for sudden, violent storms due to its geography,

869
00:56:10.719 --> 00:56:13.800
making Jesus' ability to walk on the stormy water even

870
00:56:13.920 --> 00:56:18.199
more miraculous. So the location here is important because it's

871
00:56:18.320 --> 00:56:21.400
known for these violent storms. For Jesus to be even

872
00:56:21.400 --> 00:56:23.159
to be able to walk on the water and any

873
00:56:23.159 --> 00:56:26.280
way shape or form is already impossible and improbable. But

874
00:56:26.400 --> 00:56:29.599
in the people would have known how violent those storms

875
00:56:29.639 --> 00:56:32.559
would have gotten. You know that it's impossible even to

876
00:56:32.599 --> 00:56:35.159
be in these storms. Would be the kind of the idea.

877
00:56:35.239 --> 00:56:40.199
Now this is important. Now if you add the cultural context,

878
00:56:40.559 --> 00:56:46.679
the Jewish perception of water and chaos and Jewish thought,

879
00:56:47.599 --> 00:56:51.920
the sea would be connected with chaos and disorder Genesis

880
00:56:51.960 --> 00:56:56.519
one two, Psalm seventy seven. Jesus walking on the sea

881
00:56:56.559 --> 00:57:00.840
would have signified his power over chaos and in creation,

882
00:57:01.639 --> 00:57:05.760
evoking images of God's sovereignty over the waters in the

883
00:57:05.920 --> 00:57:11.679
Old Testament Job nine to eight, who alone stretched out

884
00:57:11.679 --> 00:57:16.360
the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea. So

885
00:57:16.480 --> 00:57:20.280
from a Jewish context, this story would have demonstrated Jesus

886
00:57:20.719 --> 00:57:23.599
is walking on the water. Jesus is doing this. It

887
00:57:23.599 --> 00:57:28.719
would have demonstrated his deity. That's the point, his sovereignty.

888
00:57:32.719 --> 00:57:41.719
All right, you see here, Okay, he can't. I'm skipping

889
00:57:41.760 --> 00:57:44.079
down through some of this. It jumps down into the

890
00:57:44.119 --> 00:57:46.159
text where it says he came to them walking on

891
00:57:46.239 --> 00:57:50.480
the sea. The act is just not miraculous. It's theologically significant.

892
00:57:50.480 --> 00:57:53.360
In the Old Testament, God alone has authority over the

893
00:57:53.400 --> 00:57:56.679
sea Psalm eighty nine to nine. You rule the raging

894
00:57:56.719 --> 00:57:59.880
of the sea. When its waves rise, you steal them.

895
00:58:00.239 --> 00:58:05.440
Jesus' action signals his divine identity, not merely a demonstration

896
00:58:05.679 --> 00:58:09.760
of power. So the fact that Jesus is walking, it's

897
00:58:09.880 --> 00:58:14.400
demonstrating his deity. It's showing that he is so he

898
00:58:14.559 --> 00:58:19.280
is not just a man. He is God incarnate everything.

899
00:58:19.400 --> 00:58:24.760
Everything happening in this text is screaming Jesus is the

900
00:58:24.800 --> 00:58:31.760
eternal son of God. Then we see, in contrast to

901
00:58:31.880 --> 00:58:35.239
Jesus not being fearful, not being afraid of the storm,

902
00:58:35.480 --> 00:58:38.000
everyone in the boat is scared, and they cry out

903
00:58:38.039 --> 00:58:42.000
in fear right. And then what does Jesus say, take

904
00:58:42.079 --> 00:58:48.039
he it is I, do not be afraid. It is

905
00:58:48.280 --> 00:58:52.280
I is significant. It echoes the divine self identification in

906
00:58:52.320 --> 00:58:57.039
the Old Testament Exodus three fourteen, I am who I am.

907
00:58:57.519 --> 00:59:06.559
This is another subtle affirmation of jesus divinity. Now Peter,

908
00:59:08.760 --> 00:59:12.199
Peter here, then, Oh, if it's you, Lord, let me

909
00:59:12.239 --> 00:59:13.800
come to you. Now there's a lot of way we

910
00:59:13.800 --> 00:59:16.599
could break this down, but here's the point. It's offering

911
00:59:16.639 --> 00:59:20.880
a contrast. Jesus is the eternal son of God. He

912
00:59:20.920 --> 00:59:24.800
can walk on water. Peter is just a man. And

913
00:59:24.840 --> 00:59:27.760
no matter if you think he's courageous, no matter if

914
00:59:27.800 --> 00:59:30.519
you think he has faith nobody if you see him

915
00:59:30.559 --> 00:59:33.199
as as doing things in a way that nobody else can,

916
00:59:33.480 --> 00:59:36.840
what's the end result? He sinks because man will sink

917
00:59:37.119 --> 00:59:41.960
where the eternal son of God doesn't. The emphasis is

918
00:59:41.960 --> 00:59:50.960
that Peter can't Ultimately do what Jesus can, all right.

919
00:59:54.760 --> 00:59:57.000
The storm ceases when they get into the boat. The

920
00:59:57.239 --> 01:00:01.119
wind ceased, Jesus authority over nature again and highlighted mirror,

921
01:00:01.679 --> 01:00:04.679
mirroring earlier accounts like the calming of the storm in

922
01:00:04.679 --> 01:00:10.000
Matthew eight. Then the climax, those in the boat worshiped him, saying, truly,

923
01:00:10.039 --> 01:00:11.840
you are the Son of God. This is the first

924
01:00:11.840 --> 01:00:15.599
time in Matthew's gospel that the disciples explicitly acknowledge Jesus

925
01:00:15.599 --> 01:00:19.000
as the son of God. This is a significant theological moment.

926
01:00:19.239 --> 01:00:22.000
The miracle leads to worship, underscoring that the focus of

927
01:00:22.039 --> 01:00:26.079
the passage is on Christ's divinity. Oh, let me state

928
01:00:26.119 --> 01:00:28.599
it this way. That the focus of the passage is

929
01:00:28.639 --> 01:00:44.480
on Christ's divine identity, not on human faith. The passage

930
01:00:44.519 --> 01:00:50.079
is best understood descriptively, recounting a historical event that primarily

931
01:00:50.360 --> 01:00:56.039
serves to reveal who Jesus is. Well, it may have

932
01:00:56.079 --> 01:00:59.639
an implication for believers. The text itself is not prescribing

933
01:00:59.639 --> 01:01:02.519
a past veteran for Christian living step out on faith.

934
01:01:02.800 --> 01:01:06.000
It isn't said, this is what it's doing, displaying Christ's

935
01:01:06.000 --> 01:01:10.639
divine authority, highlighting human weakness and dependent on Christ's grace

936
01:01:10.920 --> 01:01:16.519
and culminating in worship of Jesus as the Son of God.

937
01:01:17.239 --> 01:01:25.639
That's what the passage is about. So we listen to

938
01:01:25.639 --> 01:01:27.880
a sermon where the whole thing.

939
01:01:27.840 --> 01:01:34.880
Was, Hey, if you just have the faith of Peter

940
01:01:35.960 --> 01:01:39.000
and you'll just get out of the boat, you get

941
01:01:39.079 --> 01:01:40.000
divine power.

942
01:01:41.079 --> 01:01:45.079
You get enabled to do the miraculous, you get enabled

943
01:01:45.239 --> 01:01:51.800
to do the impossible. That's not what the text is about.

944
01:01:52.519 --> 01:01:55.760
Even if you want to make it a picture. Jesus commands,

945
01:01:56.400 --> 01:02:01.559
Peter attempts to obey, Peter fails. You have law, you

946
01:02:01.599 --> 01:02:04.559
have man's weakness. Then you have Jesus saving, which is

947
01:02:04.599 --> 01:02:10.599
the Gospel, and then you have worship. The law condemns us,

948
01:02:10.719 --> 01:02:13.760
or the law tells us what to do. We fail

949
01:02:13.840 --> 01:02:18.480
because we can't do it. The Gospel saves us. And

950
01:02:18.519 --> 01:02:22.360
then we worship not as a requirement, not in order

951
01:02:22.440 --> 01:02:24.960
that we can possibly try harder, we can do better,

952
01:02:24.960 --> 01:02:26.800
and we can go try to walk on the water again.

953
01:02:26.880 --> 01:02:30.480
Later we worship simply at a gratitude and out of

954
01:02:30.480 --> 01:02:34.239
an acknowledgment of who Jesus is and what he has done.

955
01:02:34.320 --> 01:02:36.480
If you even want to make it a picture, that's

956
01:02:36.519 --> 01:02:38.800
the better picture. But The point of the passage is

957
01:02:38.800 --> 01:02:43.119
it's a descriptive passage describing in multiple ways that Jesus

958
01:02:43.320 --> 01:02:48.519
is God. The walking on the water, that's demonstrating deity,

959
01:02:48.320 --> 01:02:51.719
the uh you know it is I. All of this,

960
01:02:52.159 --> 01:03:03.280
everything is pointing directly to Jesus being God, being Deity. Now,

961
01:03:03.280 --> 01:03:07.639
why is it, once again we keep talking about this

962
01:03:07.679 --> 01:03:13.880
in twenty twenty five? Artificial intelligence knows that we should

963
01:03:13.880 --> 01:03:17.519
not be handling this in a prescriptive way. But church

964
01:03:18.440 --> 01:03:26.480
after church after church after church after church, devotional book

965
01:03:26.559 --> 01:03:32.800
after devotional book, sermon after Bible study after Bible study

966
01:03:33.760 --> 01:03:39.400
literally destroys this text, and it literally keeps people from

967
01:03:39.480 --> 01:03:43.000
finding the actual power and beauty in the text for

968
01:03:43.079 --> 01:03:50.320
this superficial, misleading, deceptive picture that gives you some kind

969
01:03:50.360 --> 01:03:57.320
of assurance and promise that you're never going to experience

970
01:04:02.400 --> 01:04:08.440
because you're taking a historical narrative that is descriptive and

971
01:04:08.480 --> 01:04:16.360
you're making it prescriptive and prescribing people something that is

972
01:04:17.119 --> 01:04:28.840
fake medicine. It's spiritual malpractice. Even the dog next door,

973
01:04:28.960 --> 01:04:31.760
if you just heard that in the background, he's agreeing

974
01:04:31.800 --> 01:04:36.559
with me right now, Okay, he's not literally, But yeah,

975
01:04:36.599 --> 01:04:38.559
there's all kinds of dogs barking right now. But I'm

976
01:04:38.559 --> 01:04:40.840
just gonna leave it right there. I'm gonna leave it

977
01:04:40.960 --> 01:04:43.880
right there. That's one hour. Thank you for tuning in.

978
01:04:44.000 --> 01:04:48.440
I hope everyone has a great Thursday, a great holiday weekend.

979
01:04:48.960 --> 01:04:52.800
Whatever you may do, hopefully it goes well great. How

980
01:04:52.840 --> 01:04:55.880
many do we get a lot of sermons posted on

981
01:04:55.920 --> 01:04:59.320
the sermon's two point oh? App about Valentine's Day and love?

982
01:04:59.400 --> 01:05:02.159
Do you think we get that? I don't know, I

983
01:05:02.199 --> 01:05:04.519
don't know. We'll see. We'll have to wait and see,

984
01:05:04.840 --> 01:05:09.679
all right. And currently, just to just to look, if

985
01:05:09.760 --> 01:05:13.440
we look here at the sermons, oh, there's six currently

986
01:05:13.480 --> 01:05:16.960
there are six live webcast underway. We have one in Ohio,

987
01:05:17.079 --> 01:05:21.039
we have one in Virginia, we have one in Tennessee, right,

988
01:05:22.039 --> 01:05:25.920
and we have one in Kentucky. So you've got a

989
01:05:26.039 --> 01:05:28.519
number of ones to go listen to if you so

990
01:05:28.880 --> 01:05:34.639
do so. All right, everyone have a great weekend. You

991
01:05:34.679 --> 01:05:37.679
can't walk on water. God bless