ice

The New Testament says that Jesus walked on water (John 6:16-21), but Professor Doron Nof believes there could be a less miraculous explanation -- he walked on a floating piece of ice. Nof, a professor of oceanography at Florida State University, said on Tuesday that his study found an unusual combination of water and atmospheric conditions in northern Israel which could have led to ice formation on the Sea of Galilee. 

A drop in temperature below freezing could have caused ice thick enough to support a human to form on the surface of the freshwater lake near the western shore, Nof said. It might have been nearly impossible for distant observers to see a piece of floating ice surrounded by water. Nof said he offered his study as a "possible explanation" for Jesus' walk on water. 

It's nothing new. There have been attempts to "explain away" the miracles of Jesus ever since -- well, ever since the time of Jesus. Every now and then, though, these attempts rise to preposterous levels. 

William Barclay, a well-known commentator, has attempted to come up with a possible "natural" explanation for many of Jesus' miracles as well. My favorite is probably his explanation of the feeding of the 5,000 (also found in John 6). According to Barclay, many of the people in the crowd had food to eat, but they selfishly kept it to themselves. But when Jesus smiled and shared the loaves and fishes that the little boy brought him, the crowd was moved with remorse. So, when the basket of food passed, they each put in some of their own food so that, in the end, there was plenty for everyone. The miracle, then, according to Barclay, was not the multiplication of food, but the changing of peoples' hearts. Jesus "turned a crowd of selfish men and women into a fellowship of sharers." (The Gospel of John, Volume 1, p. 206) 

But, back to Nof's theory. Let me get this straight. The disciples got into a boat and started to cross the Sea of Galilee. It was dark. Jesus conveniently stepped onto a piece of ice which then floated across the sea. While this was happening, "a strong wind started to blow and stir up the sea." (John 6:18, GOD'S WORD). Apparently Jesus had excellent balance because the wind and the waves were not enough to cause him to fall off of this piece of ice as it drifted several miles directly to the disciples' boat. I don't know about you, but it seems to me that may have taken a bigger miracle than walking on the water! 

Why would anyone go to such great lengths to try to discount what happened? I can only think of one reason. If the miracles are indeed true, then they force a person to an undeniable conclusion -- that Jesus was indeed who he claimed to be (the Son of God): 

"Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30-31) 

Thanks be to our God who time and again demonstrated his power over nature, disease, Satan, death, and ultimately his own death. We praise Him for His power, and humbly submit ourselves to His will!

-alan smith