Did Jesus really claim to be God in Mark 6 when he stood on the waves during a storm? Some translators depict Jesus as using God's divine name "I AM" to identify himself, while others translated his words as "it is I." As it turns out, both are valid translations. In part 1 we discussed the context of this story and why it supports a depiction of Jesus as God. In part 2, we'll explain why Bible translators may have opted for the translation "it is I" instead of "I AM," and discuss questions surrounding the translation of Jesus' words from Aramaic to Greek. Did Mark pull a fast one on readers and change the story? Some say yes, but let's put this question under investigation!

Sources: Word Biblical Commentary 34a by Robert Guelich.

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This episode discusses questions about Jesus' use of God's name "I AM" to identify himself in Mark 6:45-54. A commonly-held belief is that only John, the author of the last gospel reported Jesus believing himself to be God, but here in Mark there are several statements of Jesus' divinity that are sometimes difficult to find. We'll help uncover them here and discuss common questions we receive.

Resources:

Michael Heiser's article on Jesus' most convincing I AM statements: https://drmsh.com/the-i-am-statements-of-jesus-a-slightly-different-approach/

Research Paper: A ghost on the water? Understanding an absurdity in Mark 6:45-52: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25610124

Research Paper: Oxford Scholarship article by Timothy Michael Law noting the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septuagint) as the primary version of the Old Testament used by the New Testament writers: https://academic.oup.com/book/6258/chapter-abstract/149903383?redirectedFrom=fulltext

This episode builds on the concept of the Angel of the Lord introduced in the previous episode; the idea that Jesus actually appeared in the Old Testament. We'll focus on where Jesus showed up in the book of Exodus and how it impacts the story where God's followers escaped from slavery in Egypt and became the nation of Israel. Plus, we'll explore what this story has to do with us! This episode features live audio from Nathan's presentation at Asbury Church on July 2, 2023.

Related scriptures:

Exodus 23:20-21

Jude 4-5 (ESV)

Matthew 16:24-25