Introduction
Believers' Experience
Believers who allow God's word access to their lives realize there are always new areas of obedience for which we struggle.
And though obedience is often a struggle, God is there to help us overcome our weaknesses and live in submission to his will -- this is our best life.
Our Passage
The bulk of our passage today concerns an amazing moment where Jesus walks on water to his disciples out in a storm. It all happened right after the feeding of the five thousand. You can only imagine the frenzy surrounding Jesus. John's gospel tells us they wanted to make Jesus king right then and there (John 6:15).
Perhaps the disciples got caught up in the crowds' nationalistic messianic enthusiasm. But Jesus came with the mission to die, so he had to deal with the groundswell of excitement. He knew just what to do:
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.
Made
For Jesus to get to the mountain alone for prayer, he had to send the disciples away. Mark says Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side (45). He made them. He compelled them, forced them, urged them to get into the boat. This was not their first instinct or idea, but Jesus made them go. And go, they did.
1. Go where he directs you. (45-46)
This is the first step. You'll never even struggle for obedience if you don't first launch out into Christ's direction for your life.
The disciples ventured out in the direction Jesus had for them. They were going to the other side (45). They got into the boat. They were trying to obey. This is the first step: you must go where he directs you.
Biblical Obedience
Now, there are two main areas of obedience to Jesus I want you to think about today. The first is biblical obedience. What I mean by "biblical obedience" is obedience to the basic, universal commands of Scripture.
His Leadership
Then there is his personal leadership of your life. What career path should I choose? Is it time to move? Should we try to have a baby? Who is Christ leading me to befriend? Should I serve in that ministry?
In other words, every believer should flee all forms of immorality, but only some believers should become dentists. Some forms of obedience are universal and Scriptural, while some are personal as he operates as the Lord of your life.
Start
But in all these areas, you must begin the process of going and doing whatever he directs you. You must not argue. You must not fight. You must get in that little obedience boat and start paddling.
Let's see what happened next.
47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48A And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.
This all occurred deep into the night. The crowds had been fed in the early evening, but now, in the complete dark on the water, the disciples struggled. I love Mark's phrase: They were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them (48).
Other translations are helpful here:
- They were straining at the oars. (NASB, NIV)
- They were being battered as they rowed. (HCSB)
- They were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind. (NLT)
Perhaps you've had a similar experience. You've read something in the Bible, an area to obey, and set out to do it. Good work. But, perhaps just as quickly, you discovered how hard it was to obey.
2. Learn how hard obedience is with only your strength. (47-48)
Having taken the first step, we will often learn it is easier said than done. But the disciples were like us -- they needed to learn how hard obedience would be if they only relied on their own strength.
In the same way, we need the Spirit's ability, and must learn how hard obedience is with only our strength. We need God. We need his ability to mix with our faith. Only he can produce the beautiful fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control in us (Galatians 5:22).
Abraham And Sarah
Before moving on, let me hold up the Old Testament characters of Abraham and Sarah. God told them they would have a son through whom God would unfold his plans. The years ticked by, and no human power or ingenuity or plan could produce the child. It felt, it was, impossible. They were far too old. Their strength was gone.
But God reaffirmed his promise. And God asked a wonderful question: "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14). Though obedience feels impossible with only your strength, God is able to help you obey, for nothing is too hard for him!
48B And about the fourth watch of the night 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.
Walking On The Sea
This miracle is so fantastic and otherworldly that many have tried to explain it away. But this is what happened, and if Jesus can rise from the dead and create the galaxies, he can easily walk on water.
And the way he did this is fascinating. First, he waited until the fourth watch of the night, which is the Roman way of indicating between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM. He had seen them while up on the mountain, perhaps in the moonlight, perhaps by supernatural telescopic vision, and now he comes to them.
God!
And the whole movement hints that this is a moment the disciples are interacting with the divine. How do we know this passage is meant to show us Jesus is God?
First, he walked on the sea. This defies the natural order in a significant way, indicating a miracle only God could perform. The one who parted the Red Sea and split the Jordan River now walks on water.
Second, walking on water and passing by his followers, just like Jesus did, is what God does in the Old Testament book of Job.
"(God) alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea. Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him. (Job 9:8, 11)
Third, when Jesus spoke to them, he said, "It is I." In the Greek, this is simply, I AM, which is the title God used of himself when speaking with Moses.
Fourth, Jesus told them not to be afraid. He was there. This is the kind of language the whole Bible uses to describe God. Don't be afraid. God is here. But Jesus says, Don't be afraid. I am here.
Fifth, the whole episode is the gospel message in miniature. The bread is full and abundant on the shore. The disciples head out. A storm comes. Jesus sees their tragedy. And he descends from his high place to save them. He did what they could not do by walking on water and consuming the storm. This is the gospel. The garden was abundant. God's people tried to live in obedience but failed. The storm of the curse came. And God descended to us in Jesus. He did what we could not do by living a perfect life, dying for us so that we could avoid the storm of God's wrath. Believe in him.
But there is one last way, a sixth way, this passage might point to Jesus' divinity. Notice how he meant to pass by them (48). It sounds comical to us, but what did Mark mean by the statement? Scholars have ventured many insufficient guesses. But, in light of everything I've just pointed out, could this also be a hint at the divine nature of Jesus? There was a time God put Moses in the cleft of the Rock on Mt. Sinai so he could pass by his man (Exodus 33:22). He also passed by Elijah when he was on Mt. Horeb (1 Kings 19:11). Jesus is greater than Moses and Elijah. God did not pass by Jesus, as he had for those figureheads, but Jesus passed by his men. He is imitating God because he is God.
3. Know who he is. (48-51)
It Is I.
This was not the first time the disciples had struggled at night on that lake. The last time they found themselves in a storm, with Jesus asleep in the stern. That night, after Jesus calmed the wind and wave, they asked, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 1:41). The question has gone unanswered until now.
On this night, Jesus answers their question. It is I. Or I AM. Again, it was a statement of deity. It was a way for Jesus to answer their question by saying, "I am God. I am divine. And I am with you and will never leave or forsake you."
And in our struggle for obedience, we must remember who we are dealing with. Jesus is fully man, and he is fully God. He became one of us, but he is also created us.
51B And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
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.
Our passage today ends with a summary report about Jesus' healing ministry. But notice the response of the disciples while on the boat. They were utterly astounded (51). They did not understand about the loaves (52). Their hearts were hardened (52).
4. Understand what he's done. (51-52)
Picture it. There they were. They might have even been seated in the midst of twelve baskets of bread Jesus had created (Mark 6:43). But because of the hardness of their hearts, they had no idea what those loaves signified (52).
And in our struggle, we must allow our hearts to be soft enough to understand what Jesus has accomplished. It's one thing to step out to try to obey, feel how hard it is to obey, and know he is powerful enough to help you obey. But it's another thing entirely to believe he wants to help you. How can we learn of his willingness to help us?
For this, we must remember the cross.
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31–32)
With the knowledge of the cross in our mind's eye, we can know with certainty our God wants to help us in the all things of life. He can help us overcome. He wants to help us obey.