Walking on Water
During my last four Bible studies I have covered the first four signs in the book of John.
I said that in the Gospel of John, he makes no secret of why he write his account of Jesus’ life.
John 20:31
... 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 wrote the Gospel so that people may know who Jesus is, that He is Christ, the Son of God, and so that people might have life by believing in Him. John therefore picks out events in Jesus’ life, and teachings that He gave, that display Him for who He is. These events are meant to show more than who Jesus is in Himself, but also, and just as importantly, who He is in relation to fallen man, to you and to me.
John himself admits, in the verse before the one that we have just read, and at the end of his book, that there are many other things that he could have included. But instead John includes those miracles and teachings he records as evidence of who Jesus is to the people. Included are seven miracles which John explains, are signs, to show that Jesus is the one the prophets spoke of in the old testament. Through these signs John displays how Jesus is the fulfilment of the old testament.
Just like the signature of a person is a sign upon a document that it has the approval of that person, these signs were the Fathers signature upon Jesus’ life, that He had His approval. They are the signature of God upon His new covenant.
In the first sign, the turning of the water into wine, Jesus revealed how He is able to take useless ritual, and turn it into an everlasting covenant. In the second sign, the healing of the officials son, Jesus demonstrates how He is the word of God. In the third sign, the healing of the man at the pool, we discovered that Jesus is the one who is able to forgive sins. In the forth sign, the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus reveals that He is the bread of life. We now come on to the fifth sign, the walking upon water.
John 6:14-26
14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.
15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,
17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.
18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough.
19 When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified.
20 But he said to them, It is I; don’t be afraid.
21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realised that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.
23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
24 Once the crowd realised that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, Rabbi, when did you get here?
26 Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
The first thing that you will notice about this sign is that it occurs almost directly after the feeding of the five thousand. It actually happens before Jesus has concluded His teaching concerning this sign.
In the other signs in this book, Jesus tests the people before the sign, reveals himself through the sign, and then gives further teaching. In this sign John doesn’t appear to have included any of Jesus’ teaching in regards to this sign, and so I am going to concentrate on the test, and then the revelation.
Before I do that I want to look at what’s missing in this account of this miracle that is included in the account of this same miracle contained in the book of Matthew. This account does not contain any reference to the fact that Peter got out of the boat and attempted to join Jesus on the surface of the water. Matthew 14:22-36 clearly makes reference to the fact that after Jesus has said ’It is I; don’t be afraid’ Peter then jumps into the water and has a go himself.
John would have seen this take place and so why doesn’t he include it in his account of the same story. To answer this we have to remember that the sole purpose that John wrote this Gospel was that, ’you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’ If John had included this fact, within his account, then he would have taken the attention of Jesus. You won’t here many sermons preached on this account, in Matthew 14, that don’t focus either in part, or entirely, upon Peters actions. It is almost as though we can forget that Jesus was walking on water and are just amazed that Peter was able to as well. We almost expect Jesus to, after all, He is the Son of God, and He did raise people from the dead... but Peter can do it as well!
John wants the focus of this account to be kept on what Jesus did and on what He revealed about himself.
The Testing.
Like the other signs Jesus tests the level of faith prior to the sign. This time Jesus tests the obedience of the disciples. I want you to remember what sort of day the disciples have had prior to rowing across the lake.
The disciples had been involved in a huge catering job. The had just been waiters to five thousand men, with their families, and so probably around ten thousand people in total. As Jesus had broke the bread they had had to organise the people and give out the food. They had then had to collect the left overs. This is like having to feed the entire crowd at a small football stadium. This was a mammoth task and Jesus and the disciples probably would have been tired. Jesus then retreats up a mountain and sends his disciples off to cross the Sea of Galilee.
This doesn’t appear to be such a great task at first, especially bearing in mind that several of the disciples are trained fishermen. But these disciples would know that Galilee is a place of storms due to its location between great hills on either side. They were going in their own strength. They would have wondered how on earth Jesus was going to get across as there was only one boat available. However, they were being obedient to Jesus’ command and went anyway.
It was now night time. The sea had begun to get rough and the wind was blowing strong. At this point the disciples have rowed for three and a half miles. The wind is against them and they are starting to get tired. They must be wet, miserable and very tired. Just when they thoughts it couldn’t get any worse, they see what looks like a ghost walking towards them.
I know that when you read the account in both the gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus rebukes the disciples for their lack of faith, but in simply being obedient to His command they had passed one big test.
The disciples had been struggling to obey Jesus’ command in their own strength, struggling against the circumstance that they found themselves in. Have you ever felt like that in your own lives? I certainly have. However when it all seems to get too much, that is the point where Jesus appears.
The disciples are terrified at the sight of Jesus appearing in the way that He does. Whenever Jesus appears in His miraculous power, it is often not the way people expect and they are terrified. Will we recognise Jesus’ voice when He says, ’do not be afraid, it is I.’ The disciples did and they let Jesus into the boat. What a different story this might have been if they had failed to recognise Jesus and not let Him into the boat. However they do let Him in and we read that they immediately reach the other side. They are only half way across at this point and yet with Jesus on board they immediately reach they other side.
The disciples are being obedient and Jesus comes in power and takes them across. The crowd who had been fed by Jesus however don’t even notice at first that he has gone from amongst them. They only notice when they become hungry again. This is quite different from the disciples for whom Jesus’ absence from the boat would have been only too noticeable. They were struggling being obedient but without any power.
What was the difference between the disciples and the crowd? Neither had got Jesus with them. However the difference was Jesus’ absence was noticed by the disciples and yet they were being obedient to His word anyway. The crowd on the other hand just wanted to see miracles and receive from God.
The same two attitudes towards the power and presence of Jesus are found in almost every church. There are those who are struggling in their own strength, trying their best to be obedient to Gods Word. They are trying at Home, at Church and at Work, to live their lives faithfully to Gods Word, and are active in obedience to Him. Like the disciples they can find themselves struggling, painfully aware that they lack the real power and presence of God they they need in their lives. There are others however who are like the crowd. The pew fillers, those who want Jesus to come in power, but for their own benefit. Those who don’t even notice the absence of his power until they need the next miracle.
Church, I believe that we really need to examine our own hearts to know what attitudes we have on this matter. There is a desperate lack of a true move of God in this area. I believe, and have done for a couple of years, that this church, and this area in general, is on the verge of seeing a new move of God. However we need to realise that when Jesus comes in revival bringing, He doesn’t just come to do the miraculous, instead He gives supernatural ability to those who are already struggling in their circumstance, but are being obedient to His Word. If you are like the disciples in that boat, He comes to complete in power, that that you have been faithfully trying to do in your own strength.
The Revelation.
What was Jesus revealing about Himself through this miracle? Was it just that He had the power to do miracles. For those that haven’t noticed this definitely was a miracle.
The nearest that I have ever got to walking on water is when I used to work as a life guard. Each night we would have to pull on the pool cover. It was about a quarter of an inch thick, made of a polystyrene/plastic material. One day somebody dared me to try and run across the length of the pool with the cover on. The pool was 25 metres. I have never been one to refuse a dare and so I had a go and sprinted like mad to the other side. Although I was sprinting it actually looked like I was going in slow motion as the water underneath would make waves. The moment you slowed down you would start to sink very quickly. After trying it on top of a pool cover, I can testify to the fact that it is impossible to walk on water.
This miracle however, like the others mentioned in the book of John, was so much more than Jesus just doing the impossible. John doesn’t even mention the fact that Jesus quietened the wind and the waves. What exactly did this miracle reveal about who Jesus was and what He came to do?
To answer the question I am going to delve into the old Testament and examine some of the great men in the Bible. What connects Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Elisha? The answer is that when the mantle passed from the teacher to his student, Gods anointing was in each case demonstrated on that person by the means of a miraculous crossing of water.
We all know that the people recognised that Gods hand was upon Moses when the Lord led them through the Red Sea when they were brought out of Egypt. When Moses had died the people then knew that the mantle had passed over to Joshua when he performed a miracle by crossing the Jordan river, on dry land, while it was in full flood. This is the point that the people knew that the Lords hand was upon Joshua.
Joshua 4:14
14 That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses.
The same miracle was repeated when the baton went from Elijah to Elisha. This is what happens on the day that Elijah is about to be taken off.
2 Kings 2:8-15
8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you? Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit, Elisha replied. 10 You have asked a difficult thing, Elijah said, yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours— otherwise not.
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.
12 Elisha saw this and cried out, My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel! And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.
13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah? he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha. And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
It is again this same miracle that confirms to the people that this is the anointed man of God that they should follow. But why had this miracle been used time and time again to show that Gods anointing was upon a person? This answer to this question goes back to the great flood. It was great water that had caused the destruction of nearly all of humanity. God shows that his anointing is upon a person by giving them power over the very thing with which He had brought judgement.
God saved Noah and his family from judgement in the ark. In the same way here we see Jesus saving his disciples from the deadly storm. Jesus reveals himself as the person who will take his people out of judgement. Jesus makes reference to the end times being like the days of Noah.
Luke 17:26
26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
Through this miracle Jesus reveals himself to have the power of judgement. Those who welcome Jesus into the boat will be like the disciples and immediately they will reach their destination.
Conclusion.
I want to conclude by encouraging those that are feeling like the disciples right now. You are trying to be obedient to God but you feel that you are rowing against the wind. The night has come and you are starting to feel disillusioned. I believe that there are many people who are feeling like that right now. You are feeling tired and exhausted. I want to encourage you that it is not long before he will empower you. All you have to do is to keep rowing in the direction that He sent you. If the disciples had been rowing to the wrong port then Jesus might not have walked to them. Keep rowing in the direction that He has sent you, and very shortly He will be joining you in the boat.
