Deity on display

Deity on display

John 6:16-21

October 8, 2023

READ TEXT Matthew 14:22-33

INTRODUCTION:

After reading about this event, I am reminded of another sailor that some of you may or may not know about. In 1725 a young man was born to a slave trader. While his father was on a ship transferring slaves to various countries for profit, his mother passed away. He went to live with family and friends. Even at a young age, he was a rough kid. On countless occasions, he had brushes with death.

One time he was late to join a ship to join the navy, as his ride was leaving the port, he watched in horror as the entire vessel with his shipmates sank killing the entire crew. While he was in his teens, he was thrown from a horse and narrowly missed being impaled on a fence stake. Another time he was lost in the wilderness and if the moon had not come out, his entire hunting party would have died. The list continued as he obviously was living a charmed life.

At an early age, he was forced to join the navy where he actively tried and persecuted those who were religious. He made every effort towards cruelty. After being kicked out of the Navy, he followed his father into the slave trade and continued his cruel ways.

He found that he had a knack for this line of work and soon found himself a captain of his own ship. One night a violent storm took control of his ship. Moments after he left the deck of the ship to take the helm/wheel, the crewman who had taken his place was swept overboard along with many others. Although he manned the vessel for the remainder of the storm, he later commented that, throughout the storm, he realized his helplessness and concluded that only the grace of God could save him.

Later, after reflecting on this event, he would write of this event that this was “the hour I first believed…” He continued to write in his old age that “Only God’s amazing grace could and would take a rude, profane, slave-trading sailor and transform him into a child of God.”

That one line made up the backbone for one of the most powerful writings known to Christendom. After His wife's passing, he finished his writings and would be known in his old age for writing:

“Amazing Grace! (how sweet the sound)

That sav’d a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears reliev’d;

How precious did that grace appear,

The hour I first believ’d!

John Newton’s life is not uncommon for people who are far from God and, in His grace, call their hearts out of storms. We can sit here and question the methods all we want, but some people need big storms in their lives to recognize the value of mercy and grace. Today we will look closely at the sovereign power of Christ as He directs us to storms, protects us through storms, and ultimately saves us through storms to HIS glory.

1. Christ is Lord of the direction. (Matthew 14:22-23 Mark 6:45)

Immediately He made: (Mark 6:45) Sunset is at 5:56 pm

In both Mark and Matthew, the authors specifically use that word immediately with the verb made after it. These are not suggestive words. These are directives that prove the intentionality of Christ to put, compel, and or demand that His disciples get into the boat.

I looked up what time the sun sets in this region during the time of Passover, and the time that the sun should set is 5:56 p.m. These were experienced fishermen who would have not wanted to be on the water too late. Their destination was only four miles away back to Capernaum. So, it shouldn’t have been a hard sale to get them to just row the short distance back to town.

The adverb immediately: at once, and directly, without intervening

The verb MADE: means to compel, press, or force

The word GET: actually, means embark, step into

As I read these words and their Greek counterparts, it is an intentional act by our Lord, without delay, to make the disciples whom He loves to get into the boat. I think of a loving parent strapping their children lovingly into a car seat because they know what is going to happen next. The words show a picture of intentionality.

In another location we see the power of the word “Made”: Matthew 8:18 18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side[1]

The use of the same word phrase is employed here. Meaning, get you’re your tail in the boat.

We typically think of Jesus only as being nice. But there were times when He “made” things happen.

Why am I making a big deal of this? If we flip over to John 6:16, we learn that it was evening. I looked up the time of sunset in this region during the springtime (time of the Passover) and it is 5:56 pm. Now, they only had to row 4 miles but there was a sense of urgency of our Lord. He put them in the boat and remained while He dismissed the crowd.

Mark 6:45 “he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.”

Jesus dismissed 10-20,000 people on His own and sent His disciples ahead of Him. Think for a minute what kind of day these guys had just had. Think about the emotional roller coaster that they had experienced. They had just come off a massive mission trip. Jesus had sent them out to the entire region and now they had just come back to meet Jesus to share all that had happened.

The trip to the remote area was supposed to be time away, instead, they were met with 5,000 men with their families and instead of having a leader’s retreat, they had to serve all these people with divinely created sardines and crackers. Think how they felt about getting in the boat and leaving. I would have been the first one in the boat to bail.

Jesus remained to dismiss the crowd and pray on His own. Although His divinity was on display as he created and multiplied the fish and bread, His humanity was equally on display as even Jesus demonstrated the importance of time away with God the Father. He spent time praying and allowing the plan to come together.

2. Christ is the Lord of protection. (John 6:16-21; Matthew 14:22-33)

Mark 6:47,48

47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,[2]

We need to understand better the sea of Galilee to understand what happens next. The Sea of Galilee is an inland lake and is subject to violent storms. It sits six hundred feet below sea level, and it is situated in a wind tunnel. Wind blows off the Mediterranean and through the mountains stirring up the lake without warning.

The landscape is such that even today this lake has been known to throw even power boats around with little to no warning. Now, let’s do that at night and see how fun it is.

In Mark’s account, some translations say that the boat was in the middle of the sea. Normally in traveling across the northern end of the lake, they would not have gotten more than a mile offshore. The effects of the wind had put them off course more toward the middle of the lake. This would have even added to the fear.

The fourth watch was 3-6 am, they have been rowing for no less than 9 hours, and just spent the entire day working, and are now facing death from drowning. Imagine their exhaustion, they had been rowing for no less then 9 hours, were no closer to their destination, if anything, it was getting further away.

It is so important to not miss this in Mark 6:48 “And HE saw that they were making headway painfully…” Jesus was 100% aware of the situation and instead of coming to their aid when it was light, or when they had just started, He waited tell the 4th watch.

Then, when they were in a worse situation, in the middle of night, exhausted, and in the middle of the sea, He comes, walking on the water. The verb’s tense for “walking” means a steady progress, unhindered strolling. His progress was not affected by wind, waves or night. He just did it.

Look close at the last of verse 48: “He meant to pass by them…”. I had to do some research on this. Why do that? Why waste your time walking on water if you plan to go right by them? It seems like a mean trick to me. But after reading these words in the original it is rendered as “desired to come alongside of.” And, according to John MaCarther, it meant that Jesus’s intention was to further test the disciples’ faith, so He deliberately changed course and came alongside the boat to see if they would recognize Him and invite Him in the boat.

As you can imagine, and justifiably, this totally freaked out the disciples! I don’t blame them. It’s not like the boat had headlights or the lamp posts in the middle of the lake. They saw a figure and no doubt it would scare you all to death to. Take extreme exhaustion, fear, and frustration, and now a ghost walking on water.

In Matthew, we read: “But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified and said. “it is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I Do not be afraid.”

Then, Matthew records that Peter does something either incredibly cool or crazy stupid. Why say, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Maybe he thought, “I’m dying anyway, might as well be in the dream of walking on water.” Who knows, exhaustion and fear make us all do crazy things. But, the result is an amazing account of a loving Savior saving a guy who is willing to walk in faith.

The freakout was 100% justified but what we hear from the Lord is so important that I can’t over look it.

“TAKE HEART; IT IS I. DO NOT BE AFRAID.”

In all three gospels, we see similar language. It is the most powerful phrase in this entire account and I want all of us to see this. What Jesus said there is minimalized by the English language. What he really said proves our next point on our sermon outline.

3. Christ is the Lord of creation. (John 6:20)

“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

It is I; do not be afraid in the Greek is

I= ego emi: The word there “I” is two words and should be rendered differently. The writers of our English translations chose to render this “it is I” when the Greek language uses “ego emi”. The proper rendering should be “Take heart; It is “I AM”. This is so HUGE! We should not miss this.

Jesus’s primary and preferred descriptions of His office was the “I am” descriptions. Some examples include:

a. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

b. “I am the vine, you are the branches.” (15:5)

c. “I am the good shepherd.” (10:11,12)

d. “I am the door”. (10:9)

e. “I am the bread of life.” (6:48)

There are many others but the most important is when He said in John 8:58

“58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. [3]”

The great “I AM” is a direct reference and ownership of the first interaction God had with Moses at the burning bush where Moses asks God, who should I say who sent me. God responds in Exodus 3:13, and 14

What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ [4]

When Christ used these words, he was saying more than “it is me”, chill out. He was saying, look boys, I own all this, it is all mine and you are looking at the “I AM”. Church, we can’t miss this. In His sovereign plan, that storm was His storm. Those waves, His waves. That wind that drove them in the middle of the sea, His wind. The very water molecules that obey His will to walk on them, His molecules. He did not send them into something that He did not see coming or control. Christ is the LORD over it all. The very elements that He spoke into existence and they snapped in obedience to His direction also are in His palm as we all are.

I hear this all the time and it is a justifiable question for the critic or the believer who the storm clouds of life are drowning them, “why would God allow…” These are valid questions when we do not understand the word “sovereign”.

Sovereign means: “one possessing the supreme power and authority.”

It is one thing to define a word, but in application, the sovereignty of Christ is on full display in this event. The Word of God also demonstrates that His supreme authority is spoken about in other places. defined and applied:

Psalm 24:1 “1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,

the world and those who dwell therein,

2 for he has founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the rivers. [5]

So, if the storm is His, He then has every right to direct it.

Matthew 14:32 “And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.”

Or in another situation when he was asleep in the boat and they came to Him in a panic. He wakes up and rebukes the storm and goes back to sleep. The question never be, how could He, but rather, what are you trying to teach me Lord?

The lesson for the disciples was faith and trust. Their lesson is much like ours.

4. TRUST HIS SALVATION. (John 6:21; Matt 14:31-33)

Matthew 14:28-32:

“28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” [6]

Peter does a lot of dumb things and says a lot of crazy things. But, to his credit, this took guts. Like I said, he may have been thinking, I’m dying anyway so might as well get it over with. But that is not my opinion. When Jesus said, “I’M” I think he really believed it. I think that Peter honestly knew that Jesus could and would save him.

There are some key points I want to look at in these short verses:

a. Jesus immediately reached out his hand: He immediately saves those who call at the right time!

Psalm 50:14 and 15

14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and perform your vows to the Most High,

15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” [7]

b. He chooses to reach out to save the lost (His action). He could have allowed the boat to sink, the disciples had already given all that they had and were failing.

But, HE CHOOSES to come and save them. He will not guarantee you to be rich, fat, and happy. On the contrary, He guarantees the opposite here in a world that is not our home. But, He guarantees us HIMSELF. And that guarantee is enough!

Now before we say, that’s a mean God to send storms into our lives that take us to the point of death. I want to ask you, where was Christ in this storm? Where was He when Peter was sinking? Where was Christ in John Newton’s storm? Where is Christ in all of the storm? Right where Psalm 50:15! He is in that storm with HIS children and ready to answer when you “call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you…”

THE UNBELIEVERS ASIDE:

One day, all will recognize what the disciples recognized that night on the sea of Galilee. Every man, woman, or child who will not recognize who He is now, will come to the realization that HE IS the king of the storms. It is better to recognize who He is here than when you must upon His return. The Word of God says:

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.[8]

Philippians 2:9-11

Christ is sovereign over creation and that includes your life. He decides what storm comes and what happens in it. He also is the one who saves His children through them. That promise is reserved for those who have placed their faith and trust in Him.

What storms are in your life right now? Is God using those storms to draw you to Him? What does He offer in return? Jesus said in

Matthew 11:28-30

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.[9]

Imagine going through storms of life without the promise of this from our Lord? I would rather go into any storm with Jesus then on my own!

Conclusion: