Testing Peter’s Faith to Walk on Water

²² Right away, Yeshua made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. ²³ After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the hillside by Himself to pray. And when evening came, He was there alone. ²⁴ But the boat was already a long way^[a] from land, tossed around by the waves, for the wind was against it. ²⁵ Now in the fourth watch^[b] of the night, Yeshua came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It’s a ghost!” And they cried out with fear.

²⁷ But immediately, Yeshua spoke to them, saying, “Take courage! I am. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ Answering, Peter said to Him, “Master, if it’s You, command me to come to You on the water.”

²⁹ And He said, “Come!”

And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to go to Yeshua. ³⁰ But seeing the wind, he became terrified. And beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Master, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Yeshua reached out His hand and grabbed him. And He said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

³² When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ And those in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You really are Ben-Elohim!”^[c]

²² And when the days of their purification were fulfilled,^[a] according to the Torah of Moses, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present to Adonai. ²³ As it is written in the Torah of Adonai, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to Adonai.” ^{[b] 24} So they offered a sacrifice according to what was said in the Torah of Adonai: “a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons.”^[c]

^{[a] 15} Realizing that they were about to come and seize Him by force to make Him king, Yeshua withdrew again to the mountain, Himself alone.

The Savior on the Sea

¹⁶ Now when evening came, Yeshua’s disciples went down to the sea. ¹⁷ Getting into a boat, they set out to cross the sea toward Capernaum. By now it had become dark, and still Yeshua had not come to them. ¹⁸ A great wind began to blow, stirring up the sea.

¹⁹ After they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia,^[b] they catch sight of Yeshua walking on the sea, approaching the boat. They were terrified! ²⁰ But Yeshua says to them, “I am. Don’t be afraid.” ^{[c] 21} Then they wanted to take Him into the boat, and right away the boat reached the shore where they were headed.

The Bread from Heaven

²² The next day, the crowd remaining on the other side of the sea realized that no other boat had been there except the one, and that Yeshua hadn’t gone into the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away alone. ²³ Some other boats from Tiberias came close to the place where they had eaten the bread after the Master had given thanks. ²⁴ So when the crowd realized that neither Yeshua nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and set off for Capernaum to find Him. ²⁵ When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

²⁶ Yeshua responded to them, “Amen, amen I tell you, you seek Me not because you saw signs, but because you ate all the bread and were filled. ²⁷ Don’t work for food that spoils, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on Him, God the Father has put the seal of approval.”

²⁸ Then they said to Him, “What shall we do to perform the works of God?”

²⁹ Yeshua answered them, “This is the work of God, to trust in the One He sent.”

³⁰ So they said to Him, “Then what sign do You perform, so that we may see and believe You? What work do You do? ³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘Out of heaven He gave them bread to eat.’”^[d]

³² Yeshua answered them, “Amen, amen I tell you, it isn’t Moses who has given you bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is the One coming down from heaven and giving life to the world.”

³⁴ So they said to Him, “Sir, give us this bread from now on!”

³⁵ Yeshua said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But I told you that you have seen Me, yet you do not believe. ³⁷ Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and anyone coming to Me I will never reject. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of the One who sent Me.

³⁹ “Now this is the will of the One who sent Me, that I lose not one of all He has given Me, but raise each one on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and trusts in Him may have eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

⁴¹ Some of the Judeans^[e] started to grumble about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They were saying, “Isn’t this Yeshua the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

⁴³ Yeshua answered, “Stop grumbling among yourselves! ⁴⁴ No one can come to Me unless My Father who sent Me draws him—and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’^[f] Everyone who has listened and learned from the Father comes to Me. ⁴⁶ Not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God—He has seen the Father.

⁴⁷ “Amen, amen I tell you, he who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread, which came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

⁵² Then the Jews began arguing with one another, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”

⁵³ So Yeshua said to them, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. ⁵⁴ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

⁵⁵ “For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who eats of Me will also live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven—not like the bread your fathers ate and then died. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

⁵⁹ He said these things while teaching at the synagogue in Capernaum.

Fallout from a Hard Teaching

⁶⁰ So when many of His disciples heard this, they said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can listen to it?”

⁶¹ But Yeshua knew His disciples were murmuring, so He said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you see the Son of Man going back up to the place where He was before? ⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no benefit. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and are life! ⁶⁴ Yet some of you do not trust.” Yeshua knew from the beginning who were the ones who did not trust, as well as which one would betray Him.

⁶⁵ Then He told them, “For this reason I’ve told you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by the Father.”

⁶⁶ From this time, many of His disciples left and quit walking with Him. ⁶⁷ So Yeshua said to the Twelve, “You don’t want to leave also, do you?”

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life! ⁶⁹ We have trusted and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

⁷⁰ Yeshua answered them, “Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is the adversary!” ⁷¹ Now He was speaking of Judah, the son of Simon of Kriot—for he, one of the Twelve, was about to betray Him.

³¹ It was the Day of Preparation, and the next day was a festival Shabbat. So that the bodies should not remain on the execution stake during Shabbat, the Judean leaders asked Pilate to have the legs broken and to have the bodies taken away.

³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then the other who had been executed with Yeshua. ³³ Now when they came to Yeshua and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. ³⁵ He who has seen it has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. ³⁶ These things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, “Not a bone of His shall be broken.” ^{[a] 37} And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they have pierced.”^[b]

Warnings from History

10 For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea. ^{[a] 2} They all were immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³ And all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink—for they were drinking from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the Rock was Messiah. ^{[b] 5} Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.^[c]

⁶ Now these things happened as examples for us, so we wouldn’t crave evil things, just as they did. ^{[d] 7} Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” ^{[e] 8} And let’s not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day 23,000 fell. ^{[f] 9} And let’s not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were destroyed by serpents. ^{[g] 10} And let’s not grumble, as some of them did—and were destroyed by the destroying angel. ^{[h] 11} Now these things happened to them as an example, and it was written down as a warning to us—on whom the ends of the ages have come. ¹² Therefore let the one who thinks that he stands watch out that he doesn’t fall. ¹³ No temptation has taken hold of you except what is common to mankind. But God is faithful—He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can handle. But with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so you will be able to endure it.

Eagerness to Give

8 Now we make known to you, brothers and sisters, the grace God has given to Messiah’s communities in Macedonia— ² that in much testing by affliction, the abundance of their joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³ For I testify that according to their ability, and even beyond their ability, they gave of their own free will— ⁴ begging us with much urging for the favor of sharing in the relief of the kedoshim. ⁵ Moreover, it was not just as we had hoped, but they gave of themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will. ⁶ So we urged Titus that, just as he had made a start before, so he should also complete this gracious service for you. ⁷ But as you excel in everything—in faith and speech and knowledge and all diligence, and in your love for us—also excel in this grace. ⁸ I am saying this not as a command, but I am trying to prove by the diligence of others the genuineness of your love as well. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah—that even though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich. ¹⁰ Now I give my opinion in this matter, that it is a credit to you that a year ago you were the first to start—not only to do but even to be willing. ¹¹ But now finish doing it, so that just as there was eagerness to be willing, so also to finish it, out of what you have. ¹² For if the eagerness is present, the gift is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he doesn’t have. ¹³ For it is not relief for others and hardship for you, but as a matter of equality. ¹⁴ Your abundance at this present time meets their need, so that their abundance may also meet your need—so that there may be equality. ¹⁵ As it is written, “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”^[a]

Song of Moses to the Lamb

15 Then I saw another great and wonderful sign in heaven: seven angels who have seven plagues—the last ones, for with them God’s wrath is finished. ² And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had overcome the beast and his image^[a] and the number of his name standing by the sea of glass, holding the harps of God. ³ And they are singing the song of Moses^[b] the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying,