Mark 6:45–56 Jesus Walks on the Water
45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night 7 he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
Focus: The point of the loaves the disciples missed and we often do too. Malady: It is easy to lose the awe of who Jesus is and what he came to do. Means: Jesus is our current help and walks with us through all daily life.
Have you ever had a week that just feels like it never ends?
Things manage to pile up one thing after another until you’re ready to flop on your bed exhausted. I have had a few weeks like that, I’m sure you have too. But I want to tell you about a week two medical interns named Thomas and Matthew had.
Thomas and Matthew had received a prestigious internship with an international aid organization. It was a very exclusive program with only a few hand selected students admitted. They had made it through the first part of their training and were just coming back from their first solo assignment as a team.
The work had been rewarding. They used the knowledge and experience they had gained in their time as interns and were finally doing what they had been trained to. But they had been traveling nonstop. In fact they barely had time to eat lunch as they bounced from one town to the next. They were helping people in ways they had only dreamed of when they first got into this line of work. Providing medical aid and resources people desperately needed.
Now they were finally coming back and were ready for a break. But they didn’t get the break they had hoped for. As they were headed into a debriefing with their supervisor, a crowd of people who had heard about the work they were doing in the surrounding area began to filter into the area they were sitting. More and more people began to show up desperately for assistance.
So off they went again, helping and distributing what their supervisor managed to scrounged up to give the people. Then after another long day they loaded up with their other classmates to finally head to home base for their debriefing and some rest.
But at the last minute their supervisor shoves them on the boat and stays behind. Confused, they start the journey back, but the long long week drags on. Just as the shore starts to look small behind them dark clouds begin to form above. Then the wind starts to blow harder and harder making the water choppy. The boat begins to rock up and down. What should have been a few hour ride across the lake turned into a painful slog. Hour after hour passes as the cold spray from the waves drench them, the wind making it almost impossible to get anywhere.
All through the night they sail like this. And as the first light of morning cracks over the horizon, shivering, exhausted, and delirious. Thomas looks over the side of the boat and rubs his eyes to make sure he sees what he thinks he does. He nudges Matthew and just points. He has no words to describe what he sees. A ghostly figure glides across the water completely unaffected by the wind and the waves. Unable to hold it in, they just scream. All the others hear the commotion and turn to see the same thing. All of them frozen in fear. As the figure is about to pass by them.
Then across the waves and the wind they hear a familiar voice. “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
And as Jesus steps into the Boat everything goes quiet.
The disciple may have not exactly been medical students, but in our reading these last few weeks they have acted like they were just another set of social workers. Last week Joel talked about the switch they tried to turn on and off. And as they sailed they still had that switch turned off. The words Luke uses is that their hearts were hardened.
They had seen well over five thousand people fed with just five loaves and two fish. And the whole situation just went right over their heads. “for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.” And when they saw Jesus walking on water they were completely caught off guard.
So what are we supposed to understand about Jesus that they were unable to see?
The disciples knew they were following a great leader but they missed the whole point. Jesus was giving them glimpses into just who He is. Food multiplied, wind controlled, even the physics of water completely at the will and disposal of Jesus.
Jesus is not just a prophet, or a strong leader, or a good person or a wise teacher. He is God incarnate.
We hear that assertion often enough that I think we forget how incredible it is. Jesus is God enfleshed, living among humans. The last time God walked side by side with humans happened all the way back in the garden of Eden.
For thousands of years the divide between humanity and God has been wide. Sin by its very nature separates us from God. But little bit by little bit God has taken the initiative to move closer and closer to us even in the depths of our sin and separation from Him.
God started by giving his promises to his faithful people like Noah, Abraham, and Joseph. God once again in relationship with Humanity. The journey back to Eden was finally started. But he didn’t live with them.
Four hundreds of years God’s people only lived only with the word of His promise until He brought the people of Israel out of slavery and established the tabernacle and eventually the temple. Finally God was living among His people once again. Yet still there was a separation, only certain people on certain days in certain ways can approach the place of God’s dwelling among His people. God lives with His people but still a far cry from walking side by side in the cool of the day.
Then after waiting many more generations God has finally come in the flesh. Living, breathing, standing next to His disciples. The long expected savior was not just a man but the one and only God Man. Perfectly and completely human yet also completely God. The separation finally closed between humanity and the divine.
There in that moment as Jesus walked across the water, the disciples witnessed the closest thing to Eden that had happened since Adam and Eve took a bite from the forbidden fruit. God walking alongside His people, but just like we sinful humans always do, the disciples lost it in the presence of the divine.
They were distracted by a million little things that they had missed the biggest thing. He had been standing right in front of them the whole time. They literally watched Jesus do miracle after miracle but still nothing. Jesus literally had to scare the beegeebies out of them for them to finally get the message.
Looking back it seems so obvious. Jesus is God. We have the benefit of hearing the whole story of what Jesus came to do and who He is. Hindsight is 2020, right? I used to think that saying was about eyesight but I’m pretty sure it’s about a year now. Anyways, hindsight is 2020, we see better looking back and as we look forward in our own lives we can miss Jesus just like the disciples.
Life has its way of sending us weeks that never end. And as the craziness of life piles up, the basics of what we believe can begin to fade into the background. So how do we avoid this? I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want to make Jesus shock me back to reality.
I met a lady who taught me about this. When I was in seminary, I worked in a nursing home as a server in their kitchen. I got to know the other staff pretty well. One of the dishwashers was a particularly inspiring individual.
Her name was Maria. She worked hard. I’m talking about three jobs at the same time kind of hard so that she could support her family after her husband passed away. She scrubbed more dishes in one night than I have in months. But even in the midst of her daily busyness she never lost an opportunity to encourage everyone around her. And loved to talk about Jesus. For her Jesus was not just someone she heard about on Sunday but someone she knew was with her all day every day.
We live all that much closer to eden. Jesus walks with us every day.
There is something more than just the next task in front of you
Jesus walks with us today through our daily grind