Joh 6:16-21 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.
Good morning everyone.
This is the 6th sermon
on the seven signs in John.
Remember Johns stated goal
in writing this gospel.
That being to reveal who Jesus is
and in doing so
lead the reader to salvation.
Now this morning’s lesson
should probably be preceded
by a little background about the Sea of Galilee.
The Sea of Galilee lies
in the lower portion of the Jordan Valley
in a mountain range
that rises to 4,000 feet above sea level.
The lake itself is 700 feet
below the Mediterranean Sea.
Storms come in from the Mediterranean
and blow across the Jordon valley
into the mountains
surrounding the sea of galilee .
Then the cold air rushes down from the mountains, colliding with the warm moist air
rising off the surface of the water itself.
It is not unusual therefor
for the Sea of Galilee
to experience sudden and extremely violent storms.
Todays story starts
at the end of a busy day for Jesus ,
during the day he preached to,
healed and finally fed
some 15,000 men woman and children.
So now it’s near the end of the day,
and Jesus wants some alone time.
This is where we pick up todays lesson.
Even though our text this morning
is from the book of John
I will be using all three Gospel accounts
of this incident to make my points.
John says
6:16-17 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.
Mat 14:22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.
A storm is about to occur
on the sea of Galilee
and Jesus knew it.
What do we see him doing here?
He is sending his disciples out
into the heart of the storm.
He is not protecting them from it,
he is not warning them it is coming,
he sends them out into it.
Notice it says
“He made them get into the boat”
Do you think if they knew what was coming
that they would have been willing
to get into that boat.
Jesus never promised to protect us
from the storms of this world.
We see later in John, Jesus saying
Joh 16:33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
Not to many of us in this room
have had a life filled with
peace tranquility and comfort.
Jesus never promised that.
He may even send us out on a mission
knowing full well there is a storm out there,
My first point this morning is this:
Jesus allows storms in our lives and even sends us out knowing we are headed into them.
Lets continue reading our text:
Johns account reads:
John 6: (17b-19)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;
What we see here is that
the storm indeed comes up
while Jesus is up on the mountain praying.
But what John fails to mention
and what Mark makes clear
is the timeline of events.
Because the timeline of events
is very telling.
Lets read
Mark 6:46-48 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. (47) When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. (48) He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them,
The first thing we notice is
that it is daylight when he sends them out,
when he makes them get into the boat.
Let’s say 7 pm
Next he dismisses the crowd,
but they do not leave
they just settle in for the evening.
Next it says when evening came,
lets say around 9 or 10 pm.
Jesus has already made his way
up onto the mountain to pray,
and the disciples are now well out onto the lake
lets say 3 to 3 and a half miles into the trip across
and the storm suddenly comes up.
And it was at this point
that Jesus see’s the Disciples
straining at the Oars fighting the wind.
But then mark records a gap in time,
because the next thing Mark says
is that it is now about the fourth watch,
The Fourth Watch accurse
around 3:00 AM to 6:00 Am
So from around 10:00 pm when it says
Jesus see’s the disciples struggling
until around 3:00 am when he gets up
and decides to intervene on their behalf
the storm rages on all around the Disciples.
What does this timeline of events teach us about Jesus.
Jesus was aware for that whole four hours
that the disciples where in the storm.
But he chose not to physically intervene.
He was there with them in spirit
but they still had to endure the storm.
The disciples where very aware
for the whole four hours
that Jesus was nowhere to be found.
Does that mean that Jesus did not care, No.
Would Jesus have let anything
happen to the Disciples No
Just because the disciples did not see Him
does it mean that Jesus
was not there
and not intervening on their behalf….No
The early American Indians
had a unique practice
of training young braves.
On the night of a boy's thirteenth birthday,
after being taught hunting,
scouting,
and fishing skills,
he is put to one final test.
He is placed in a dense forest
to spend the entire night alone.
Until then, he had never been
away from the security
of the family and the tribe.
But on this night,
he is blindfolded
and taken several miles away.
He is set down on a stump
and told not to move.
He is also told
not to take off the blindfold
until he can feel the warmth of the sun on his face. So you can imagine every time a twig snapped,
or a bush rustled
he visualized a wild animal
ready to pounce.
After what seemed like an eternity,
dawn brakes
and the first rays of sunlight
plays across his face.
He takes off the blindfold
and looks around,
the boy sees flowers, trees,
and the outline of the path he came down.
Then, to his utter astonishment,
he beholds the figure of a man
standing just a few feet away,
armed with a bow and arrow.
It is his father.
He has been there all night long.
So Lesson number two is this
Even though Jesus is intimately aware of our trials and struggles in life he does not always immediately move to intervene in our circumstances.
Lets continue reading:
Johns account continues with:
John 6:19b they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified.
The other two gospels
say about the same thing.
They saw Jesus walking on the water
and did not recognize him and were terrified.
Dee liked to tell the story
about the two pastors
who were out on a leisurely canoe trip
down an unfamiliar river,
the river had been quiet and peaceful
until all of a sudden
they came around a bend in the river
and saw a huge waterfall ahead,
they where in the middle of the river
and it was wide
they would not be able to make it to shore
before they plunged over the edge
so one of the pastors
turns to the other and asks
do we paddle or do we pray.
Well the answer is both.
Had the disciples been rowing
and praying and seeking his help,
they might have been expecting his arrival
and recognized him for who he was.
But apparently
they were not looking for him
and so did not recognize him.
Lesson # 3 is this:
In our storms in life we need to consistently be paddling and praying. We need to be seeking his help, with an expectation of his arrival.
He will show up, he always does.
Lets finish reading this account from Mark:
Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." (51) Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, (52) for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
I think this last statement
sums up todays lessons nicely
and is the very reason
for the whole series of events
that had just occurred.
Lets read it again.
“for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.”
Why did Jesus chose
to feed the 5000 miraculously,
it was to show the disciples who he was.
He wanted them to recognize
that he was the Christ, the son of God .
But Mark says that they had not understood
and had let their harts be hardened.
So Jesus takes it one step further.
He Puts them into a boat,
he puts them into a storm,
they get no sleep,
they row for hours on end,
they fear for their very lives
and they see a ghost!
So now when Jesus shows up,
they are tired from lack of sleep,
they are weary from rowing all night,
they are terrified from seeing a ghost
and on top of all that
they are afraid they are about to die in the storm.
Do you think he has their attention…..I think so.
So when he shows up,
walking on water,
calming the storm and easing their terror
they start to get the point
and see him for who he really is.
Mathew says (32) And when they (Jesus and Peter, emphasis mine) climbed into the boat, the wind died down. (33) Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
I can just see Jesus little smile on his face,
saying to himself.
So this is what it takes,
I do miracles in your presence,
I heal people,
I turn water into wine,
I feed thousands with virtually nothing
and you refuse to see,
but I put your lives in apparent peril,
walk on water
and rescue you by calming the seas
and now you see me for who I am,
the Son of God.
Lesson #4 is this.
Don’t let it take a storm in our lives for Jesus to get our attention and for us to see and acknowledge him for who he truly is, the son of God.
Lets review
First
To get our attention, Jesus allows storms in our lives and even sends us out knowing we are headed into them.
Second
Even though Jesus is intimately aware of our trials and struggles in life he does not immediately move to intervene in our circumstances. He may let us endure the storm for a while if that is what it takes to get our attention.
Third
In our storms in life we need to consistently be paddling and praying. We need to be seeking his help, with an expectation of his arrival.
He will show up, he always does.
And finally
Don’t let it take storms in our lives to make us aware of who is in charge.
Let’s pray.
