Wrong Fear, Right Fear - John 6:16-21

Signs: How Do We Know?  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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Introduction

In 2017, I was struggling with debilitating headaches. Headaches have not been my most dangerous health issue, but they have certainly been my most chronic and frustrating issue. So, I began seeing a neurologist and going through the steps to be able to figure out some type of treatment plan for them. As part of the process, they did an MRI of my brain, which they assured me was perfunctory.
A few days after the scan, the doctor’s office called, and they said, “Something came up on your scan, and we need you to come in to discuss.” Of course, they weren’t able to see me until the next day. And, in a 24 hour period, I lived a thousand lifetimes. I played out every, possible scenario in my mind. I read on WebMD until I was completely hopeless. I remember singing the hymn, “It is Well” a thousand times during that time, trying to bring some type of calm. When my appointment finally came, the doctor came in and said, “A small birthmark (Dandy Variant) appeared on your scan, but lucky for you it’s too small to have any impact. You’re good to go.” I thought I was going to an appointment that was going to change the trajectory of my life forever; instead, I was at Arby’s within 10 minutes eating a roast beef sandwich.

God’s Word

We tend to forget the good times in our lives, but we never forget the scariest times in our lives. In our text, John is sharing with us one of the scariest nights of his life. And, he’s sharing it with us because he recognizes that all of us will face fear in our lives, and fear has a lot to teach us. So, he shares with us A Story of Three Fears: (Headline)

“Wrong” fear.

John 6:16–19 “When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.”
(possible pic of sea of Galilee or the boat they’re in) John tells us in verse 19 that the disciples “were frightened.” The passage seems to indicate that there were two different dimensions to their fear. First, we see the wrong type of fear. You have a group of disciples, and we know that at least four of them were experienced fisherman who had spent countless nights at sea. It would take quite a lot to scare them. I like to think of Peter piping down Matthew with a rough night on the water: “You’re just doing real work for the first time!” Well, John was one of the fisherman, and when he describes that night, he uses every word in his vocabulary to help paint the situation as being as ominous as possible. He says that it was a “dark” night, “the sea became rough,” and a “strong wind was blowing.” They’re half way across the Sea of Galilee, and it’s clear in their minds that they might not make it to the other side. They’re frightened.
They’re in a situation where only bad appears to be on the horizon. I often tell people in counseling that there is a time for you to plan for the future, and there is a time to just make it through today. And, when you feel like your whole world is crashing down around you, when you feel the fear of the circumstance pressing in upon you, when you can only see bad on the horizon, then that’s a time in which you just live by faith that Jesus is going to give you the grace you need to make it today, and then you trust that He’ll do it again tomorrow.
Life “huffs” and “puffs.”
Fear, in these situations, only shares bad news. It sees only the threat, danger, and potential for disaster. Fear projects forward only bad because it can’t see any of the hope. This passage is meant to bring us to another time in which only bad news appeared to be on the horizon. After the first Passover, Pharaoh relented, and he let Isreal go. But, then he had another change of heart, and he sent his army charging after Israel. And, there they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Egypt’s army on one side and the Red Sea on the other. Only bad appeared be on the horizon, and there fear was huffing and puffing to convince them that their house was about to fall. But, a “strong wind” came, and the sea stood up. And, Israel walked through on dry ground.
You see, the wrong fear, hopeless fear, fear of situations and circumstances tempts you to factor God out of the equation. It huffs and puff and convinces you that it’s going to blow your house down. And, our response is very often like that of the disciples…
We “row” and “row.”
We row and row. Powerlessness in the face of great fear leads to the deepest despair. And, that’s what you have when you have twelve men trying to row a boat in the eye of a storm three miles from shore. And, that’s what you have when you have a nation facing a mighty army on one side and an unassailable sea on the other side.
Goodness, that’s our impulse, isn’t it? Our impulse is to try to paddle faster and harder. We live with shame because of a decision that we’ve made or an action we’ve taken, so we’ll try to do more good or give more generously. But, it’s rowing in the eye of the storm. It’s futile. We blow up our marriage, so we’ll buy every marriage book and book every marriage conference and attend every marriage class. We’re rowing and rowing, trying to fix it. But, it’s futile. We face the loss of the person we loved most and admired most, so we smile bigger and brighter, we say all the right answers trying to convince ourselves. But, it’s futile.
Trying to row through a storm gets you no closer to safety and only leaves you tired. But, the point is that fearing the storm is the wrong fear. Fearing the storm will ruin your life. Fearing the storm will put only bad on the horizon. The answer to the wrong fear is the…

“Right” fear.

John 6:19 “When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.”
Job 9:8 “who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea;”
Psalm 77:16–19 “When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.”
In 2002, an artist named Clinton Boisvert made headlines for an impromptu art exhibit in NYC. This was just a few months after 9/11, and Boisvert took three dozen FedEx boxes, spray painted them black, and wrote “fear” on them. At first, people continued about their day without even realizing it. Then, someone noticed them, and a frenzy ensued. The trains were stopped. The bomb squad was brought in. Robots were used to disassemble the boxes. But, it turned out that they were all empty. Everyone was quite terrified of empty boxes. Scared of nothing at all.
That’s a picture for how our fears will finally appear when we stand in the presence of Jesus. They will seem silly and trivial as we stand in the presence of the Almighty. And, that’s in view here in verse 19. They are worrying themselves sick over rowing through this storm until a greater, more ultimate fear appears. There is Jesus walking steadily across 140 feet of water, three miles from the shore. It’s important that you realize that John isn’t just sharing how we can know that Jesus is the Christ. He’s sharing with us how he became convinced that Jesus is the Christ.
Jesus standing flatfooted on the water was a clear picture that He was God. In Job 9:8 it says of God: He “trampled the waves of the sea.” I’ve already made the case that this text is meant to connect us to the Exodus. Well, Psalm 77 is a reflection up on the Exodus and it says: Psalm 77:16–19 “When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.”
You see, in a moment the disciples who were so petrified about the storm stopped thinking about the storm altogether. They weren’t focused on the storm or the waves or the wind. They were seeing clear-eyed the One who scared what they were scared of. The waters “were afraid,” “the deep trembled;” “the earth trembled and shook;” “your path through the great waters.” In the Exodus, the sea answered to the almighty so that they were delivered, but you couldn’t see his footprints. But, here, in their presence, the sea was answering again, and He was right there to behold. It was an awesome sight that transformed their trembling. They were trembling because of the waves, but now they trembled because of their awe.
The wrong fear “terrorizes;” the “right” fear “calibrates.”
That’s why fear is often used to describe worship in the Bible. That’s strange to most of us because we associate fear with what’s bad. But, the Bible associates it with worship because fear reveals what you most revere. It reveals what your heart is compelled to bow to. But, the aim of the Bible as we see in these disciples is to recognize the right fear and to reject the wrong fear. The wrong fear enslaves, but the right fear liberates. The wrong fear terrorizes, but the right fear calibrates.
Martin Luther called the fear of the Lord a filial fear, the kind of fear that a son has for his dad. Two stories come to mind for me. I remember one time I was little and my dad was digging a fence for the dog. In the process, he dug up a yellow jacket’s nest. I’m right there with him, and I can still remember him just be swarmed by yellow jackets. And, he didn’t run away. He’s just getting stung, but he comes for me before he saves himself. He ran with me like a football in his arms. I remember thinking that he must be the strongest, most courageous man in the world because I thought of bees like they were nuclear warheads. I was in awe of him and knew in an instant this wasn’t someone to be trifled with — and I knew it was for my good. I can think of another time when my dad was a volunteer fireman. My mom worked second shift at the time, and so my dad always had his kids with him wherever he was. So, we’re with him at the fire meeting and one of the guys started popping off about us, making fun in some way. And, I remember a switch flipping in my dad that I hadn’t seen before where he just gets in the guys grill and explains that his kids are always off limits. It caused me sit back in awe. My dad was fearsome. But, it also made me feel safe.
The wrong fear “tells” you to run “from;” the right fear “invites” you to run “to.”
You see, the wrong fear tells you, “You better run and hide” The right fear tells you, “Here’s where you run and I hide.” That’s what I learned about my dad. That’s what these disciples were learning about Jesus. So, it’s not, “I’m afraid to be with him.” It’s, “I’m afraid to be without him.”
(story to tell about where to run — applications of various circumstances people are facing — season of anxiety, loss, uncertainty of God’s will) (Christ the Solid Rock — 3rd verse — “my anchor holds within the view”) So, it’s not, “I’m afraid to be with him.” It’s “I’m afraid to be without him.” And, when you have him, you no longer live frightened by mere storms or empty fear boxes. No, you can actually live with…

“No” fear.

John 6:20–21 “But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.”
Exodus 3:14 “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.’ ””
“Commands” need “facts.”
The climax of the story is verse 20. Jesus sees the fear in his disciples and is moved toward them to help. And, He gives them a command: “Do not be afraid!” But, telling a scared person not to be afraid is like to telling a hungry person not to be hungry. Unless you have a good reason for them not to be scared. So, Jesus gives them a command: “Do not be afraid.” But, it’s a command that is tethered an irrefutable fact: “It is I.”
The greek of this simple sentence is “eyw eimi.” “I Am; do not be afraid.” Oh goodness, do you see what John is showing us? The God of the exodus, the God who had appeared to Moses in the burning bush and assured him that He was going to deliver his people. What was his name? “I Am.” Who is this walking by their boat as the waves crash in? “I Am.” In fact, this is an introduction that John is going to build upon. He wants the disciples of Jesus to know that they have nothing to worry about so long as they have Jesus.
Are you worried about having enough and being sustained until the end? “I am the bread of life.” Are you worried about being overcome by the darkness of this world? “I am the light of the world.” Are you worried about being destroyed by wolves? “I am the door of the sheep!” Are you worried about the inevitability of death? “I am the resurrection.” Are you worried about being led astray or falling away? “I am the good shepherd.” Are you worried about not knowing which way to go or how to live? “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Are you worried that you’re going to wither and not bear fruit? “I am the vine and you are the branches.” Oh, brothers and sisters, here is John telling you all that you need to know to never worry again or live in fear again. Jesus has come. Jesus is God. And, Jesus is with you so long as you receive him.
I grew up as a small, scrawny kid. People made fun of me and would always come and measure themselves by me so that they could feel big. And, that’s really what all of our fear do. They huff and puff, and they cast their shadows upon us to make themselves look big and scary with us looking small and weak. That’s what your parenting failures do, isn’t it? They look so big, and they make you feel so small. That’s what the stress at work does, isn’t it? It seems so overwhelming and makes you feel like such a failure. That’s what the regrets you carry with you do, isn’t it? They seem insurmountable, like tattooed shame, and they make you feel undesirable. They’re huffing and puffing at you. But, you know, I never remember anyone measuring themselves by me or making me feel small when my dad was around. When he was around, I just stood with him, and when I stood with him, all of the bullies stood down.
“Fears” should “fear.”
(demons tremble — Legion “don’t torment us) That’s what John says Jesus does for us. He gives us someone to always stand behind. The world may huff and puff, and we may row and row, but Jesus says, “It is finished!” Every fear you have is afraid of him. Oh, I may not be brave, but I am bold when I’m standing behind Jesus. So now, like these disciples, gladness can live where fear once did.
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