John 6:16-21 “16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.”
There are two significant points to recognize about this miracle that we can learn from:
1# By the time Jesus came to His disciples, they were totally exhausted from rowing against the storm. No matter how we feel, we can see that Jesus always comes to us in the storms of life. It is like what God says in Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” He has promised to be with us, no matter when or where. We often forget this.
Now, the Lord may not come at the time we think He should come, because He knows when we need Him the most. Jesus had waited until the boat was as far from land as possible, when all their hope was gone. In essence, Jesus was testing the disciples’ faith, and this meant removing every human prop.
Why did Jesus walk on the water? To show His disciples that the very thing they feared, the raging, seething sea was merely a set of steps for Him to come to them. Often we fear the difficult experiences of life such as illness, loss of loved ones, and financial hardships only to discover that these experiences can bring Jesus closer to us.
Then we might ask why the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus? Because they were not looking for Him. If they had been waiting by faith, they would have known Him instantly. The lesson here is fear and faith cannot live in the same heart. For fear often blinds the eyes to the presence of the Lord. We get so focused on the storms in life we don't see Jesus standing calmly in the midst of them.
2# The next significant point is Jesus proves Himself to be in command of the elements, something that only God can do. He revealed this truth to the disciples who recognized His divinity and responded with a confession of faith in Jesus as God and their worship of Him: “And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’” (Matthew 14:32-33). This was the first time Jesus was called the Son of God by the disciples, which, in fact, built on what they had said earlier about Him in Matthew 8:27: “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him.” Here they answer their own question: “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Think of it this way. The disciples had just come from a meal with the Lord where he fed them and a multitude with leftovers, so they were quite full and content. They were following Christ's direction and had set out when the weather was nice and the sea was calm. When things are going well and are sunny, one should prepare for hardship, never expecting the sunshine all the time. You cannot stand on the mountain top all the time if you want to get to the next one, you have to walk through the dark valleys before you start uphill again.
With their full bellies and calm rowing, up came a violent and scary storm, one which I am sure upset more than a few stomachs and made them panicked. Their master was not with them, what would they do? They started to worry, and be afraid, and they rowed. And rowed, and rowed, and rowed. Their fear was multiplied when they saw Jesus coming. Do you not find odd their imaginations made it all the more worse for them when they saw him?
How did Jesus calm them? "It is I, be not afraid". Wow, how awesome that would be to hear Jesus say that directly to us, but he does over and over again in the Bible for us to read. Eight times he said those very words in the gospels and the Acts.
Something to remember - we can row and row and row as hard as we can when we are in trouble, but we will never reach the shore without Christ.
Here is a powerful quote from Matthew Henry, "Nothing is more powerful to convince sinners than that word, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest; nothing more powerful to comfort saints than this, "I am Jesus whom thou lovest; it is I that love thee, and seek thy good; be not afraid of me, nor of the storm.' When trouble is nigh Christ is nigh." When trouble is nigh, Christ is nigh. That is a powerful lesson.
In the 1800's a Chicago, Illinois businessman in America named Horatio Spafford lost a son to scarlet fever, then lost his fortune in the great Chicago fire and resulting economic collapse. He sent his family to Europe, unable to join them due to business complications, but planned to follow. In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean their ship collided with another and sunk. All four of Mr. Spafford's daughters died in the collision, with only his wife surviving. He followed her as soon as he could, and the caption of the ship stopped on the spot where his daughters had died.
Mr. Spafford penned the following hymn where his daughters died. His words are powerful, and something we should remember when we remember what he went through and then what he wrote. The Hymn is "It is Well With My Soul". May it be well with your soul in your storms of life, just remember to look up and see Jesus waiting for you to notice him, and be not afraid.
- When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.- Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
- Refrain:
- Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul. - My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! - For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul. - But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul! - And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
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