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Before we begin let me say that I hope I am correct in assuming that

the audience is composed entirely of skeptics, boys on the verge of manhood

and real men. If you are not in any of those groups you are at possible (I say

possible) risk and a turn of the page (or a turn to the exit) might serve you.

On the other hand, if you are accomplished in the true faith, I have nothing

you require. It is the skeptic who must intellectually unravel the wonderful

and terrible paradox of “walking on water” who requires an explanation.

Miracles – wonderful events from holy scripture, what would it be

like to witness one, to experience one in defiance of natural law? We all

have a personal decision to make regarding the miracles we find in the

Bible, don’t we? We can choose to believe in miracles and the suspension of

natural law, or not. We choose one path or the other. Each has its own

obligations. A miracle by definition is a suspension of natural law and

cannot be purposefully duplicated – except by God – so chances are you’ve

never actually witnessed a miracle and must make a conscious decision to

believe that miracles actually occur.

That decision takes faith.

On the other hand, if you choose not to believe in miracles, you must

then wonder what they really mean and how they function when you come

across them in scripture.

Belief takes faith. No questions are asked.

Skepticism demands further inquiry.

Take the case of “walking on water” as Jesus does in the gospel of

Matthew:

“…And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them,

walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,

they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But

straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, be of good cheer; it is I; be not

afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come

unto thee on the water. And he said, come. And when Peter was come down

out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the

wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord,

save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him,

and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And

when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in

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the ship came and worshipped him, saying, of a truth thou art the Son of

God.” 1

Jesus has faith. He doesn’t possess a shred of fear or doubt and walks

easily on the water. Peter wants to walk on the water, but he is afraid. Peter

has some faith, but Peter also has some doubt. Notice that Jesus must save

Peter from sinking beneath the waves because Peter’s faith is not absolute.

Sometime in 1994 I was driving up First Avenue in Manhattan and

had to stop for a red light at Sixteenth Street. I glanced to the left to see

police barricades at the main entrance of Beth Israel Hospital. A small group

of orthodox Jewish men, with their long side curls, black hats and black

coats stood within the barricades with their backs to the world rocking back

and forth staring down into their prayer books. I knew from the newspapers

that the highly regarded Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson was in

the hospital near death.

What might have been a few or many more weeks later, my eyes were

attracted by a full color brochure in a thrift shop on Third Avenue. I dug it

out from under some old paperbacks. The brochure had the now deceased

rebbe’s picture on the front cover. When I got it home I flipped through the

pages. The brochure declared the late rebbe “King Moshiach.” He had

fulfilled the Biblical prophecies regarding the messiah and he was a “master

of the Law” with a literary output in the hundreds of books. My attention

was drawn to a section titled Final Test which was entirely about faith in

God and the final redemption of the Jewish people. What drew my attention

particularly were two stories that had to do with some iteration of the

miracle of “walking on water.” I had never heard of these stories which

seemed to belong in the Bible but, when I looked for even a suggestion of

them in the passages where they would logically fit, they weren’t there.

The first story in the brochure contained additional information about

the patriarch Abraham, information I could not find in Genesis.

Abraham is on his way to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac at

God’s command but Satan becomes a wide rushing river that blocks

Abraham’s way. Upon reaching the river Abraham walks right into the water

and that might have been the end of the story except for one remarkable fact.

As soon as the water reaches Abraham’s head, the river vanishes. It is

a miracle.

The second story is set in Exodus. Ben Nachshon Aminidov is

standing beneath Moses on the shore of the Red Sea when God commands

1 Matthew 14:22-33 (King James Version)

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Moses to raise his staff and part the water. Nachshon, like Abraham before

him, walks right into the water until it is over his head.

At that moment, Moses raises his staff and the water parts. It is

another miracle.

Nachshon son of Amminadab (the Biblical variant of the name) who

walks into the water until it is over his head is mentioned in the book of

Numbers 2 as the nasi (prince) of the tribe of Judah. He is an ancestor of

David in a genealogy of Perez in the book of Ruth. 3 The story about

Nachshon walking into the water until it is over his head is a midrash, 4 an

ancient rabbinical commentary on the book of Exodus. That is why I could

not find it in the Bible. The Exodus commentary portrays Nachshon as the

only one of the Israelites who has the faith to walk into the water, even

before Moses raises his staff. The story is well known among Jews to whom

a “nachshon” is a courageous individual. As an ancestor of David, Nachshon

also figures in the table of descent of Jesus Christ at the beginning of the

book of Matthew. 5

When I compared these midrashim on Genesis and Exodus with

the phenomenon of walking on water from the New Testament the stories

appeared to hold absolute faith in an “embodied” oral tradition as a man’s

ultimate religious covenant with God.

Here is the comparison.

Abraham is a patriarch, a pastoral nomad, with the dual roles of king

and priest. He tithes to Melchizedek whose very name is king and priest. He

has faith. His faith causes the water to disappear. Since he is both king and

priest, he has no written law. The law is “written on his heart.”

Nachshon is the prince of the tribe of Judah. Jesus, like Nachshon, is

also of the tribe of Judah, “…a tribe to which Moses made no reference in

speaking of priests.” 6

If Nachshon’s tribe does not know priests, then

Nachshon, like the patriarch Abraham, also has the dual roles of king and

priest. The midrash deliberately leads us to wonder. Did the waters part

because of Nachshon’s faith or Moses’ staff? Given his bold behavior,

Nachshon’s essence is his faith. According to the book of Hebrews,

Nachshon’s tribe does not know a priestly caste. Therefore, the law must

be “written on his heart.” Moses, unlike Nachshon, often hesitates because

2 Numbers 1:7

3 Ruth 4:18-22

4 The Midrash on Genesis is from the Medrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22.2 The Midrash on

Exodus is from the Mechilta, B’Shalach 14:22 5 Matthew 1:4

6 Hebrews 7:14

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he lacks faith. God does not allow Moses to enter the Promised Land;

perhaps because Moses is a priest who offers a written law that is not

“written on his heart.”

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus walks on water. In the gospel of

Matthew, Jesus walks on water and Peter sinks. Then Jesus says to Peter,

“Why did you hesitate? How little faith you have.”

The law is not written on Peter’s heart.

Now, consider again the men who do have the law written on their

hearts. Abraham and Nachshon sink into the water until it is over their heads

and the water miraculously parts.

Jesus walks on the water. He doesn’t sink at all. His faith is assumed

to be absolute. He is of the tribe of Judah, “…a tribe to which Moses made

no reference in speaking of priests.” He is of the order of Melchizedek and

like Melchizedek whose name means king and priest, Jesus fulfills both

roles. He does not need a written law. The law is “written on his heart.”

Let’s take a closer look at these core characteristics of Abraham,

Moses, Nachshon and Jesus. They’re important enough to mention again

because these characteristics are the building blocks of the systematic

theology of the Torah’s principal redactor.

Abraham is a patriarch with dual roles. He has faith.

Without priests, he has no written law.

The law is written on his heart.

Moses is a priest. He doubts, like Peter. His faith is not absolute.

He has a written law.

The law is not written on his heart.

Nachshon, prince of the tribe of Judah which does not know priests

Has faith. Without priests, he has no written law.

The law is written on his heart.

Jesus, of the order of Melchizedek, has faith.

He is a priest and a king with no written law.

The law is written on his heart.

The stated purpose of the brochure which introduced me to the

midrashim on Genesis and Exodus was to present evidence that the late

rebbe was the messiah – “King Moshiach” – and now after having compared

these stories we can see what a messiah is and how God’s kingdom is

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psychologically and socially structured. Our comparison reveals that, by

definition, the messiah has the laws of God “written on his heart.” With the

law “written on your heart” (it logically follows that) you no longer need a

written law, a priest to teach you, or a warrior to protect you. In a world in

which all men are modeled on the messiah, every man is both priest and

warrior.

Therefore, the Kingdom of God is a kingdom of faith-full men on

equal footing without caste subordination and its demeaning consequences.

Like the priest/kings in the Torah: Melchizedek, Abraham, and

Nachshon, Jesus does not need a written law.

The law is “written on his heart.”

His will is certain.

His faith in the Law is intuitive and absolute.

His is the paradox at the heart of the parable; the self sacrifice at the

core of all personal religion from the Vedic hymns to Zen, captured for us in

the miracle of “walking on water.”

Can’t you see it?

If I have lost you, it is not because I have muddled the lines. You

might be a member of one of the risk groups who failed to turn the page (or

turn to the exit) when I made the suggestion. You’re here now. Steel

yourself. Here it is again, for skeptics, boys on the verge of manhood, and

real men.

In a state of absolute faith all considerations of immortality,

redemption, even miracles, are absent.

If immortality, redemption, and whether or not you can walk on water

are overriding considerations for you; that is a sure sign that the laws of God

are not written on your heart and the fathomless faith of Jesus Christ is not in

you!

The religiously illiterate skeptic who persistently argues that there is

no God, no redemption, and no miracles (because he has never actually seen

Jesus or anyone else walking on water), considers and critiques a common

notion of God; the very notion deeply religious men such as Abraham,

Nachshon, Jesus, Menachem, and you – assuming you are a real man –

never consider at all.

Richard Faussette © 2013 All Rights Reserved Words 2,044