The Book of John - 36

Introduction - In verses 16-18, we are introduced to the second of demonstration of the Lord’s Power in Miracles, the walking on the water.

In this, we saw the Disciples descent to the sea—- in verses 16-17 and secondly, the darkness and despair they faced in verses 17 and 18.

In verse 19, we now read about:

The Drawing Near of the Savior vs. 19

John 6:19 “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.”

“John (19) states that they had rowed over not more than thirty furlongs, or three and three quarters miles, from their point of departure in a period of nine hours, more or less. Threatened with exhaustion, they would have been at the mercy of the waves if help had not come soon. Apart from Jesus they were lost.”

Merrill C. Tenney, John: The Gospel of Belief, The New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 114–115.

It was at the disciples deepest moment of fear that we see the drawing near of the Savior.

Now notice with me, verse 17.

The Bible says in John 6:17 “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.”

John—- really the Holy Spirit helps us to understand that Jesus had not yet come to them.

Let’s ask the question,

Was the Lord late?

Perhaps from our perspective— we might think if the Lord would have been there from the beginning, they would not have had to deal with the storm at all.

But yet we know from what God has revealed to us in His Word, that He is never late— meaning when God meets us in the storm it is absolutely the right time every time.

And further, if it is that I am allowed to go through the storm—- is it not that the Lord has a purpose in the storm?

Let me ask a further question, Did the Lord forget about the disciples?

Or maybe ask it this way, was there a purpose in the disciples going through the storm?

Hold your finger there and turn with me for a moment to John 11.

In verses 1-15, we read of a peculiar incident in the life of Lazarus, Mary and Martha.

These folks were the friends of the Lord. They were close to the Lord.

And yet as we read this record, we discover that the Lord purposely waits for Lazarus not only to succumb to illness— but to die so that He may be raised from the dead.

Verse 15 explains to us the greater purpose—-given by God for sending Lazarus, Martha, and Mary through the storm.

Verse 15 tells us these marvelous words, (John 11:15) “15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.”

The Lord Jesus Christ was— notice the words, “glad for your sakes that I was not there….”

That sounds pretty terrible doesn’t it? And perhaps if we did not have the rest of the verse 15 it would sound terrible.

But the Bible tells us the reason, “..to the intent ye may believe;…”

The intent of God is good.

Mark 10:18 tell us, “…there is none good but one, that is, God.”

The intent of God is right.

The intent of God is full of His glory…

Oh my friend, understand what Paul states by way of testimony to the Lord’s intent in Philippians 1:12 “12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;”

Our purpose is His purpose.

And the Lord is working in your life to bring you to an expected end.

Here they are—- the disciples in the midst of troubled seas… and here comes the Lord to them walking on the sea.

In Mark chapter 4, we have a similar account—- we will look at it in just a minute, but that brings us to verse 20 and 21 of this chapter.

And it is here that we see:

The Dispelling of Fear vs. 20-21

John 6:20–21 “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.”

We see a vital principle given by the Lord.

Notice the words of the Lord…

He states in verse 21—-notice what He says— “It is I…”

Have you every considered what the Lord is saying?

Now if you found yourself on the Sea of Galilee and I called out to you from another boat —- in the midst of a storm where perhaps you think we are not going to make it—- and I called out to you—- It is I—- boy I bet that would set you at ease… would that be a help to you?

Would that give you peace…

Would if I further said this, “It is I… Be not afraid!”

Suppose I add the tag—- “be not afraid”— I am sure that would help you…

No the truth of the matter is… as much as I would love to be able to impart peace in your life… I cannot do it.

I do not have the power to calm the storm— to calm your heart—- and certainly not to make the ship go immediately to land.

F.B. Meyer had this to say, “He knew when he pressed the disciples into the boat, that the night would be full of storm, but He did not hesitate to expose them to its peril; he was conscious of His ability to turn that storm to the highest use by coming to their help.”

This past week at junior camp we looked at the phrase found in Romans 8:37, “…we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.”

And for the young folks, I presented to them a list of opposing words — on the one side of this were Bible words which spoke to the conquering Christian— the one that reckons that Bible to be true.

But then on the other side, we have a list of opposing Bible terms that spoke to ‘not conquering.’

The first set I presented to the young people is pertinent to our passage here in John 6 is also seen in Mark 4— a record very similar to this record.

It is the words fear and faith…

I would just like to read it to you — because it pertains to what we see here.

Mark 4:35–41 “35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Do you see the two words in verse 40?

The Bible says in Mark 4:40 “40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”

What is so wonderful about this statement by the Lord, is He did not just state the facts.

The Lord could have just told them, you disciples are full of fear, you have no faith… but instead… by His divine wisdom He asks them to consider two things…

He asks, Why are you so fearful?

Why are you full of fear?

And then he asks, How is it you have no faith?

The Lord lovingly instructs these followers of His, He connects together this matter of fear and faith.

Perhaps—-it is that they do not understand who He is.

Remember in John 6— the Lord begins by declaring, “It is I…”

Why are you so fearful Christian?

That is the question, is it not.

Is God in control?

Then to follow up with the first question, How is it ye have no faith?

The antidote to fear — is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord says to the disciples in John 6, it is I be not afraid.

We sing a blessed hymn —- it is entitled Faith is the victory… verse 2 of that hymn says

His banner over us is love,   Our sword the Word of God; We tread the road the saints before   With shouts of triumph trod. By faith, they like a whirlwind’s breath,   Swept on o’er every field; The faith by which they conquered death   Is still our shining shield.

Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory! O glorious victory,  That overcomes the world.

Fear seems to overtake the disciples.

Both here in Mark 4 and also John 6, a storm overtakes the disciples without notice.

There have been some that have given credit to the Prince of the Power of the Air for the storm that threatened the lives of these disciples.

In the Mark account we find that on that occasion the Bible is careful to let us know that it is a storm of wind (vs.37).

And since the Devil is called the Prince of the Power of the Air in Ephesians 2:2, they see a connection to this event.

But whether this is an event on the order of Job—- where the Devil has permission to put the disciples in distress or not, the fact is that in both occasions, God is still God.

Job my friend, was never out of the hands of God.

And so it is with the disciples, and so it is with you and I.

What is needed in the life of a Christian is to know the Lord.

The dispelling of fear came from the revelation of the Lord— It is I—- be not afraid.

The cause for not being afraid—- is in “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith...” (Hebrews 12:2)

Without the Lord, surely there is cause for fear…

Without the Lord, rightly we should be afraid…

I want you to notice their response to the Lord.

This miraculous display of power is concluded with verse 21.

The Bible says, John 6:21 “21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.”

Those are such beautiful words, the Bible records for you and I, that the disciples willingly received Him.

Are you willing to receive Him?

There are some, who need to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior— your boat is adrift, you have no direction.

No doubt you are in peril and in danger… receive the Lord jesus Christ.

Are you willing to receive Him?

That is the question— you might say well I am a Christian, I have already received Him. Well, thats good.

Are you going to continue to yield to Him.

Yielding to God and His Word is that moment by moment process found in Romans 6.

Romans 6:11–14 “11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

I believe I have gone over this with you all before, but I believe it might be beneficial for us to revisit.

The first key to success is found in verse 11.

Think like a Christian. vs. 11

Paul tells us first of all to think like a Christian. He states, Romans 6:11 “11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

A Christian needs to declare to themselves——on the authority of God’s Word—- I am dead to sin… I am alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Bible says you are dead to sin, but further, a Christian can declare themselves to be dead to sin because they are dead to sin.

I believe that this is where most Christians fail.

You say, how so Pastor James.

I believe Christians give themselves excuse. They use their knowledge of the Bible to allow them excuse to fail.

It goes something like this, well I realize that I have this sin cursed body—- and I know that this side of heaven I will be a sinner struggling with sin. So, therefore I just accept the fact.

Do you realize that the Bible nowhere condones sin?…

It may tell us about the fact of the struggle, the old man versus the new man. It may declare, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” (Romans 7:18)

My friend, we are to reckon ourselves to be dead to sin, and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Fight like a Christian. vs. 12

Romans 6:12 “12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”

The word ‘reign’ means to rule.

This verse is not saying that any sin as long as it is not reigning is ok in the life of a Christian.

What is being said here is that you must fight like a Christian.

Fight against the old nature and yield to the Holy Spirit.

The conquering Christian should not allow sin to reign —-to rule.

When we receive Christ as our Savior, we are born-again.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The Holy Spirit comes and dwells inside us.

“The … desires of the [fallen human nature] are contrary to those of the Spirit. They draw us away in an opposite direction, and while the Spirit of God would lead us one way, our carnal nature would lead us another, and thus produce the painful controversy”

Because we are more than conquerors, we must think like a Christian— understand the truth that we are dead unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ,

We must fight like a Christian—do not allow sin to reign in your life by giving in to temptation.

But then lastly in verse 13 tells us we must Act like a Christian.

Act Like A Christian vs. 13

Romans 6:13 “13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

When Paul says members, he is speaking about the body that God has given you.

What He is stating is that the conquering Christian uses their bodies and all that God has given us as instruments of righteousness unto God.

The word instruments means tool.

A tool is for getting a job done. In other words, all the God has given me, especially my body ought to used as a tool of right action for God.

Philippians 2:13 tells us, “13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Victory is for the Christian. vs. 14

Romans 6:14 “14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

Let’s go back to our passage in John 6.

Notice with me the result of the reception.

After they received Him we see that they made it to their destination.

And then as if to exclaim the fact that God will bring us to our expected end—- the Bible tells us the ship was at land whither they went.

We might say it this way, having the Lord received by them—- they made it to God’s determined destination for them.

It is terrible for me to think about how often I try to pilot my own ship without the Lord on board.

One of the good indicators of our need to get back into the Word of God and draw close to the Lord is if fear begins to grip us and we find ourselves drifting away from God’s design for us.