The
miracle of multiplying the bread
was for Jesus’ disciples
and also for the crowd. However,
the event on the stormy sea is for Jesus’ disciples only. His
disciples had to trust Jesus to multiply the bread and meat, and now
they must trust Jesus in a fierce
storm. In
this event on the sea, Jesus will show them that their walk will not
always be easy but they can trust Him.
Jesus
has commanded His disciples to get into a boat and cross over the Sea
of Galilee to the other side. Jesus
went up on a mountainside to commune with God.
In faith, trust and obedience to Jesus and His Word, His disciples
get into the boat and go to the other side.
The
disciples found themselves in the midst of the sea in complete
darkness fighting against a ferocious storm. I
am sure if you picture in your mind being in complete darkness with
huge waves and a powerful wind coming against your vessel, you can
imagine the fear in these disciples. They no doubt thought they were
going to die. Some of these
disciples were fisherman so they were well aware of the possibility
of a storm coming up. In spite of this knowledge, these disciples
obeyed Jesus’ instruction to cross over the lake of Galilee to the
other side. The disciples
rowed and rowed, but the power of the wind and waves was too strong
for their strength. Jesus,
who knows and sees all
things, saw that His
disciples were making headway painfully. At His appointed time, Jesus
will come to save them
walking on the water of the stormy sea.
Through
the event of this storm, Jesus
will teach His disciples
that without Him they can do nothing. They can, however,
trust Him to carry them
through any storm in life
and save them.
Jesus will also
reveal His divinity to them
through His authority over nature/creation
and His ability to walk on
water. His
disciples saw His miracles
and understood He had power
given to Him by God but they
did not understand that He is God. They
didn’t know Him in His fullness. Christians can also be around
those who teach, preach and serve without truly knowing Jesus
in all of His fullness.
Jesus,
who operates in the spiritual realm even while walking on earth, will
use this earthly rescue
mission to teach His disciples and us spiritual truth. Remember
that the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 15:48 says, “The
spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the
spiritual.” So Jesus who is
spiritual uses the natural to teach spiritual truth.
Fourth
Watch – Mark 6:48; Matthew 14:25
About
the fourth watch of the night He went out to them, walking on the
lake.
The
fourth watch is just before the break
of dawn of a new day – between 3 am and 6 am. It is always darkest
before the dawn. The
Light of the world will soon
come to save them. When
Jesus came into the world as a newborn babe, the world was in
darkness with no one to save humanity from the ruler of darkness.
God’s voice had been silent for over 400 years. In His time and
with the depth of His love, God sent His Son Jesus into the world to
save it from sin and the kingdom of darkness. God didn’t send Jesus
into the world to give us an “easy” life, but an eternal, holy
life. It
is by the ways of God and the Spirit of God in us that the kingdom of
darkness is defeated.
In
the Beginning – Genesis 1:6
And
God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate
water from water.”
At
creation, God separated the waters of heaven from the waters of
earth. Through His Son Jesus, He would bridge the gap. The waters had
to part for man – Moses and Israelites, Joshua, Elijah and Elisha
-- but not for Jesus because He created the waters with God and the
Holy Spirit at creation. Jesus,
by His death, resurrection and ascension, became the
bridge between the spiritual water of heaven and the waters of earth
for
all who come to Him for salvation.
This was indicated by His walking on the water. The
waters didn’t have to part for Him because He is God and has
authority over the heavens and the earth. When Jesus ascended back to
the Father, He paved the way for us to also bridge the gap between
heaven and earth. He paved the “highway
of holiness.”
(see Isaiah
35:8) We
can now come boldly to God’s throne of grace because of the
sacrificial blood of Jesus and the highway of holiness He provided
for us.
Jesus
Comes to His Own Walking on Water
Mark
said in 6:48-49,
“He went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by
them, but when they saw Him walking on the water, they thought He was
a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw Him and was terrified.”
In the Midst of Great Darkness, There Came a Great Light
Why
did they think Jesus was a ghost? He was full of light (glory)
in
the midst of this deep darkness. No
wonder He looked like a ghost! His
disciples didn’t recognize Him at first because of their fear.
What
is the spiritual message that Jesus is teaching by His walking on
water? Water in scripture represents the Anointed
Word. In other words, the water of the Word of God anointed by the living water of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Living Anointed Word of God from beginning to end. Jesus wants us to know through this event of Him walking on water that believers too are to walk on the water of the Anointed Word if we are to come to Jesus and bridge the gap between heaven and earth and defeat the kingdom of darkness..
A
few years ago, I was in a church one Sunday and the man of God giving
the sermon was preaching on Jesus and Peter walking on water. In his
talk, the man of God said, “I’m glad God doesn’t ask me to walk
on water. How about you?” As clearly as if God was standing in
front of me, the Lord said, “I do ask you to walk on water, Sandy.
I ask you to walk on the water of My Word.” Jesus
is the Anointed Word who walks according to the Word wholly and
perfectly. He wants those who love and follow Him to also walk
according to His Word with the help of the Holy Spirit. There are
many winds that will come against us: the wind of rejection or
unforgiveness, sickness, doubt, unbelief, etc. Jesus is showing His
own in this event that they can trust Him when a storm comes against
them. Jesus and the mighty wind of the Holy Spirit will save us,
sometimes even at the greatest extremity of our trial when our faith
is being tested to the max. Instead of preventing the trial, Jesus
used the trial of His disciples to increase their faith and trust in
Him. Jesus knew right where His disciples were and the circumstance
they were in. When His disciples came to the end of their own strength and it seemed that all hope was lost, Jesus came to save them. He did not leave them or forsake them.
His
disciples saw Jesus’ glory and light and then they heard His voice, "It is I,"
so they recognized Him. Believers
must also see Jesus as the full glory of God in a human body, and
hear His voice – His Word. It is knowing Jesus in the fullness of
His glory and Word that will draw us closer to Him and sustain us
through the storms of life.
(next
week: Peter walks on water)
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