Introduction
We come to yet another miracle. Jesus the miracle worker keeps pulling out one miracle after another. Even if our modern day magicians really were performing miracles with their tricks of illusion, they would have nothing up on Jesus. They might have pizzazz, but their showmanship could not stand up to Jesus’ majesty. And this leads us to the point that will be developed in the sermon – the miracles of Jesus are significant, not because they reveal a miracle worker, but because they reveal the glory of the Son of God.
The Text
Have you ever read a mystery or a novel in which the opening paragraph seems to be insignificant, only to find out later that it had provided the clues to explain what would take place later? That is what is happening in the first two verses. They indicate that something significant is about to take place.
Look at verse 45: Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. What an odd action for Jesus to take. Why does he send off his disciples? He hasn’t done that before other than the mission trip. One could say that he wants to be alone to pray. But he does not need to send them away. He could simply have them wait along the shore while he goes up on the mountainside. Certainly the disciples are baffled by his orders, and, indeed, he has to make them go. It evidently is important to him that they get out on the water without him.
Verse 46 explains that he wants to pray. There is nothing unusual about Jesus praying, but it is rare for Mark to note it. Only three times in his gospel Mark records Jesus praying. The first time is in 1:35 at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The previous day and evening he had preached, healed and cast out demons, setting the pattern of his ministry. It was a spectacular start for him and the town of Capernaum, not to mention his disciples, was filled with excitement. He gets up early the next day and goes out alone to pray. When his disciples find him and urge him to come back into town, he announces his plan to go around the territory and preach. That prayer time seemed to be the moment of resolve to carry out his calling to preach. The third time is recorded in chapter 14:32ff where Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane. That we know is the time when Jesus resolves to fulfill his atoning work on the cross. It would seem then that Mark intends for us to see something of great significance about to take place in our present chapter.
Let’s return to the disciples in verses 47,48. Like good disciples, they obey their master and ship off. If they were hoping for smooth sailing, they didn’t get it. A wind had picked up against them, making it difficult to make headway. Indeed, after hours of rowing (and remember, there are at least four experienced fishermen on board) they are only in the middle of the lake, about three to four miles off shore, according to John’s gospel (6:19).
Try to get a handle on the state of the disciples. They have been shipped off by Jesus, not to go on a mission trip but basically to leave Jesus alone. Now that they are without him, trouble comes. They are not in a storm like the one that had caught them when Jesus was sleeping in the boat, but they are nevertheless in trying circumstances. I was caught out in a rowboat once on a lake when winds came on. I was about a mile from my home dock alone in the boat trying to row against winds that would continually blow me off course. I finally made it, but if I had left a trace in the water, one would have seen a zigzag course that showed how I had rowed twice the distance to get back to my destination.
Peter, no doubt, would have enjoyed the spectacle particularly since the mighty wind I struggled against would have seemed but a breeze to him. At best, he would have seen ripples on the water. But he and his companions are facing not a breeze, but a strong, steady wind that is creating waves. Again, it is not a storm and there is no mention of waves crashing into the boat, but it is enough to keep experienced fishermen in check.
They have been rowing for hours. They have gotten no sleep. Don’t forget, this is happening after a long day ministering to the crowd. And that day’s events happened only because the crowd foiled their attempt to get away for rest. Their muscles are strained, and their master is not with them. I bet they were thinking it would be nice if he had been. He calmed a raging storm before. This wind shouldn’t be a problem for him. But then, he is not here. He wanted to be alone. Now they are alone and seemingly going nowhere.
About the fourth watch of the night (about 3:00 a.m.) he went out to them, walking on the lake. A song immediately comes to my mind when I read this line.
“Here comes Jesus; see him walking on the water.
He’ll lift you up, and he’ll help you to stand.”
I do feel lifted up when that tune comes to mind. Here comes Jesus in the nick of time to pull me out of my troubles. It makes me smile.
Seeing Jesus made the disciples scream in terror. You would have thought they had seen a ghost! They did think they were seeing a ghost! The disciples were no more likely to believe in ghosts than we are, but then they were no less likely to believe in ghosts than we are when we get scared and are faced with something unexplainable. Their muscles and nerves are already strung; they need sleep; it is dark. Their response is natural. Jesus, as far as we know, did not tell them, “I’ll meet you out on the lake later on. Look for me. I’ll be the one walking.”
What was that walking like? I wonder. For some reason I’ve always pictured Jesus walking on a smooth lake, but it couldn’t have been with such a strong wind. There must have been sizable waves, and furthermore, the wind and waves must have been against him, just as they were against the disciples. And yet Mark contrasts the efforts of Jesus and the disciples. They are straining against the wind and waves; Jesus is taking a walk, and he has no difficulty catching up to them. Indeed, he is going to easily pass them by. That’s why I must have the mental picture of Jesus on a smooth lake. He acts as though he is on one. It’s as if the stormy conditions that are roughly handling the disciples leave him alone. Or perhaps the better understanding is that the wind and waves part for him as a crowd might part to let a king walk through.
So Jesus has to calm his disciples and reassure them that it is he, Jesus. He hops in the boat with them and the wind dies down undoubtedly at his command, and everything is okay again. Jesus has performed yet another awesome miracle.
So, what’s the point? What is the moral of the lesson? Is it, if you just trust Jesus in times of struggle, he will come and help you out? Are you struggling against the winds and waves of life? Don’t strain yourself. Look to Jesus to come. Invite him in your boat and he will take care of you. That’s not a bad lesson. We should look to Jesus to help us in the storms of life.
That’s pretty much John’s lesson in his telling of the miracle. He gives the briefest version (6:16-21) and shows through it how Jesus will come to us in our tough times and see us through to the “other side.” This story is also told in Matthew (14:22-33) who includes Peter walking on the water as well. That plays a significant part in the story and leads to the moral that we must keep our faith directed on Jesus in the “storms” of life.
But I don’t think either of those lessons is the point in Mark’s version. One reason is his ending. Matthew and John have happy endings. In Matthew the disciples worship Jesus. In John, they are glad to see him and immediately arrive on shore. But Mark is rather gloomy about the disciples. 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’m sure the disciples were glad to see Jesus and such a miracle ought to compel them to worship him as the Son of God. But Mark wants us to understand that something is still fundamentally wrong. It is fine to be amazed at Jesus. He is amazing! But it is one thing to be amazed with delight and another to be amazed from skepticism.
It would have been good if the disciples had exclaimed, “Wow! Look! Here comes Jesus! Isn’t he something! What will he come up with next?” But far from looking to Jesus to amaze them with another awesome miracle, it did not enter their minds that he would do something like that. It was more natural for them to believe in ghosts than to believe Jesus could, and would, walk on water. Yes, they had not seen Jesus walk on water before, but then, how many times had they seen ghosts? They had seen Jesus stop a raging storm, raise a girl from the dead, and miraculously multiply loaves of bread. Walking on the water might be unexpected, but it shouldn’t be surprising. They shouldn’t be “completely amazed.”
The miracle of the loaves specifically should have prepared them for this. The multiplying of bread and walking on the water are equally unexplainable in relation to nature. A sick person may get well without medical care, but bread will never multiply. Even a person who has appeared to die may restart breathing, but liquid water will never sustain a walking man, at least one with sandals. Personal faith might heal a sick person, but no amount of faith will make broken pieces of bread multiply or warm water become firm. These are miracles that contradict anything that nature would ever do. In a sense, they are creation miracles: they create new laws of nature, not merely manipulate them.
The disciples should have grasped this fact. It is understandable to be surprised by Jesus’ appearance, but not be incredulous. Indeed, what this miracle should have made clear to them was the glory of the Son of God, which was Jesus’ intention all along.
Indeed, looking back over the story, it becomes evident that Jesus had set up his disciples.
“You guys go on without me. I’ll catch up with you.” Did he already know how? And, oh, what a coincidence, a strong wind catches them on the water. Did he know that was coming on? Did he make it come on? Mark adds a line not mentioned in the other gospels – that Jesus saw them out on the lake struggling. Was he thinking, “Oh my goodness, my disciples need me!” or “Everything is working according to plan; now is the time to make my entrance”?
Then there is the odd phrase in verse 48: He was about to pass by them. Why would Jesus walk out to the disciples only to pass by? One thought is that he only seemed to be going on, like the time on the Emmaus road after his resurrection when he seemed to be going further than the two disciples walking with him. But in that case, he was keeping his identity a secret. Here he wants to be recognized. Another thought is that the translation is wrong. We ought to read the text this way: About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake, for he intended to pass their way. That is a possible reading, though I know of only one translation (Phillips) that uses it.
The third idea takes us to the Old Testament. Listen to this passage and see if you make a connection.
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
21 Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by (Exodus 33:18-22).
Moses wanted to see the Lord (Yahweh) in his glory. The Lord agrees to “pass by” in front of Moses. What does Jesus intend to do? Pass by in front of the disciples. Why? To reveal the glory of the Lord. This is the significant act of the water walk.
This is not just another miracle to wow the disciples. It is not just one more lesson about trusting Jesus to get us through tough spots. It is the revelation of Jesus’ glory as the Son of God. Matthew says that the disciples did worship Jesus as the Son of God after this, but Mark says, “not too fast.” Maybe after sorting it all through they did worship him, or maybe it was more reflex – worshipping and speaking out of emotional trauma than clear understanding, similar to what Peter will do at the transfiguration when Jesus’ glory overwhelms him.
Mark’s point is this. Here was the moment for Jesus to reveal his glory before his disciples and they missed it. They were so caught up in their terror that they missed the revelation. They should have understood from the previous miracle that this was Jesus coming, that he was in control, and that what was called of them was to behold the glory revealed. Instead, they needed to be comforted from their fears. Jesus was still too terrifying for them.
Mark then gives a brief summary of Jesus’ ministry after they land. Once again he is swamped by people desiring to be healed. Note what is missing: no teaching. Although Jesus declared that his mission was to preach the kingdom of God, what people really want is physical healing. Even so, Jesus graciously heals them all.
Lesson
The story of Jesus’ walk on the water is an unsettling one, at least the way Mark tells it. It is unsettling because the “good guys” are portrayed in the same way as the “bad guys.” Mark says that the reason the disciples did not understand about the loaves or the walk on water is that their hearts were hardened. That’s the kind of language used for people who reject God; these men are the closest followers of Jesus. They don’t have any motive for discrediting Jesus. They don’t mistrust or dislike him. They love him.
How could their hearts be hardened? As difficult as it is to imagine, we have to understand that until the Holy Spirit regenerates our hearts, we all have the same problem. We need more than a revelation; we need a transformation within our hearts as promised in Ezekiel 36:26: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. There are no “nice guys” who, if they just had a chance to hear about Jesus, would understand who he is. We don’t understand with our minds because we don’t desire to understand with our hearts. The heart and mind go together.
There is no one who is a begrudging Christian, who would prefer not to believe, but the evidence is too great for him to reject it. Likewise, there is no frustrated unbeliever, one who would like very much to believe, but cannot out of intellectual honesty. Unbelievers and believers are not separated according to intelligence levels or “intellectual honesty.” The difference lies in the work of the Spirit to change hearts. If you want your friend to become a believer, pray for the Holy Spirit to change his heart. All the good witness in the world cannot convert a hardened heart. And if you desire to believe, then pray for the Holy Spirit to change your heart that you will believe. You don’t need better evidence; you need a ready heart.
The disciples, but one, would eventually “get it.” The Spirit would give them full understanding of who Jesus was and the redemption that he had brought. Let us pray for ourselves that the Spirit would open our own eyes and hearts to the miracles Jesus works in our lives today. And let us pray for our neighbors, that the Spirit would give them faith and sight to see the glory of Jesus Christ coming to them.
