Why Did Jesus Walk on Water?
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Good Morning church!
I am so glad to see everyone this morning, it is my prayer that your day is going well, and that you came this morning with a heart longing to hear from God. Turn with me in your bibles this morning to the gospel of . we are continuing our study of the gospel of Mark and I hope it blesses your heart and speaks deeply to you.
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, this is Your day, this is Your church, and everything that is said and done here we eagerly hope it pleases You oh Lord. Please Lord guide my mind to the thoughts you would have me to share and gurad my mouth that i wont say anything lest it come from your heart first. I ask all of these things in Jesus name… Amen
Well last week we learned about the feeding of the 5,000 and we talked about how this feeding of the 5,000 is probably the most memorable miracle that is in the Bible. today were going to look at another really famous miracle of Jesus that’s the miracle of Jesus walking on the water and the reason why this is so important in 3 out of the 4 gospels right after telling the story of feeding the 5,000.
It goes straight into the story of Jesus walking on water. It really doesn’t matter if your in here and spent your childhood days in SS or if your in here and are an unbeliever I can almost guarantee that you have heard of Jesus walking on the water. In one of my favorite movies TOMBSTONE, one of the guys asks Doc Holiday “Hey wheres Wyatt, and doc Holiday says “He’s probably down by the creek walking on water.”
Its just a reference back to this story, but he just throws it out there to the general audience and were just supposed to know what he is talking about. That is how familiar this story is. Jesus walking on water is not just something that Biblical scholars know, or Bible preachers or SS teachers or even church members know. Its something that almost everyone knows or has at least heard of.
But heres the problem with really famous miracles like these, the problem with most famous miracles is that we focus on the act itself, because it is so famous we focus on the act itself. but everytime you read the Bible and you see a miracle, everytime you see Jesus doing something amazing like feeding the 5,000, like casting out a demon, like turning water into wine, or raising the dead.
You have to ask yourself “WHY DID JESUS DO THAT”
Why did JEsus do that? Because Jesus had a purpose and a reaosn for everything that He did, He had a purpose and reason for everything that He said, He had a purpose and reason for every miracle that He did.... He called them signs remeber?
He called them signs because they are pointing us to something.
They werent just done for viewers entertainment but they were meant to teach us a deeper truth. He is pointing out to us something about Himself, or something we need to understand about ourself.So what were going to look at today are 2 purposes, 2 reasons Jesus walked on water.
Why did He walk on water?
To Teach the Disciples Who He was.
To Teach the Disciples Who He was.
He desired to show His disciples and all who would read this story in the future that He was God. he wanted to show the disciples something that they still werent getting.
Jesus has just fed the 5,000 He has done all sorts of amazing miracles up until this point but there is still a disconnect between the things Jesus was saying and what the disciples were believing.
They agreed in theory to the things He would say but when it came time to put them into practice they still thought the wrong way. We saw this in the story of the feeding of the 5,000 the thought of a miracle hadn’t even crossed their minds and they were trying to take care of the problem using their logic. But Jesus wanted something more for them.
Because they weren’t grasping this truth Jesus sent them to school
Mark 6:45
Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
Now this lake takes about 4 hours to row across on a normal day. But the Bible says its about the fourth watch of the night which means its somewhere between 3 am and 6 am. the disciples had set out somewhere right after dinner and most likely they have been rowing for 8 hours and still haven’t made it to the other side.
The storm through which they were making their way through painfully was like a picture of what was happening in their hearts and their minds. They just werent getting it, they just didnt understand we see that at the end of this passage.
for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Mark 6:
In the midst of their not understanding, in the midst of their hearts being hardened Jesus walks on water to show them something.
Well first of all what was it they were just not getting?
Well they understood that He miraculously HE broke the loaves so that the hungry people could be satisfied but they did not understand yet, that He Himself was the BREAD OF LIFE that has come down out of Heaven and that HE must be broken so that weary and worn sinners can be filled.
you see they understood that Jesus had power but they didn’t understand yet that Jesus was power. They understand that Jesus is from God but they didn’t yet understand that Jesus was God. So the disciples found themselves in this danger, and it is a danger we all find ourselves in at some point in our lives.
Heres the danger: The danger is that to believe that these are words on a page written to live by, and not the revealing of a person and power that is meant to be had right here right now today by a risen Savior. These are not just words written on a page, cute little allegories for us to read and think about.
The danger is that the disciples were always around Jesus, they were always around His teaching, but they were still missing Jesus. Isn’t that the danger you and I face? We are constantly around Jesus’ teaching, maybe your here Sunday after Sunday and hear over and over again the word of God. Maybe you are here like the disciples and you have been serving Jesus and seeing miracles being done where you get to see lots of amazing things happen.
There is a way to always be around Jesus without ever really knowing Jesus.
This is the revelation of the Son of Almighty God who came in flesh and dwelt among us.
So Jesus knowing what was in their hearts says ok they are walking with me, they are serving me, they are intimately involved in a friendship with me. But they have no clue what I am trying to get them to understand. They need to know so He sends them out into these familiar waters, which become tumultous as they try to cross and they are rowing with everything that they have and they are stuck right in the middle of a lake they had crossed a thousand times.
How many of you have experienced this?
You come out of this amazing experience where Jesus really shows you how powerful He is and then not a day later you find yourself in this mess where you feel weary and worn down and tired and frustrated and your looking around like Lord are you even there?
But what you dont understand is that the God who satisifed you yesterday is the God who sent you into the storm today....So should we accept only good things from God or are we mature enough to realize that there are something we will never learn about Jesus until He sends us out into the right storm.
Thats exactly what He does here and it is exactly what He is doing to some of you right now.
Now Jesus knows exactly what is about to happen, and yet He takes His time.
Mark 6:
And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
Jesus retreats up on the mountain no doubt to call upon His Father to send the very storm that hits the disciples. This is Jesus teaching a difficult lesson, this is a beautiful truth to know that though the disciples thought they were in danger they were safe in the Masters hand and everything that was happening was a part of His eternal plan.
When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land.
Mark
Jesus has at this point come down the mountain and is watching the disciples struggle. Now some migt say well why would Jesus do that to those that He loves and the answer is really quite simple.
these disciples were serving Jesus, they were sharing Jesus with others remember right before the feeding happened they had just come back from a mission trip. They knew all about Jesus had heard Him teach but they had not yet realized just who Jesus was.
Maybe this is you this morning, maybe you are doing alot of things for Jesus or maybe you know alot about Him but you are not experiencing Jesus for who He is personally in your life. So you find yourself in the boat with the disciples. Struggling wondering whats about to happen to you. feeling all alone and maybe a storm has come on you again, and your asking yourself if this is what Christianity is all about.
As a pastor this is one of my greatest fears, that I would always be preaching Jesus but miss out on expericing Him daily like I ought.
We need something if we feel this way this morning, we need Jesus to walk on water.
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,
The disciples are wonr out from their rowing against the wind and the waves and they are spiritually drained from not understanding who this Jesus is, that has just fed nearly 20,000 people with 5 loaves and two fish, and its here in this struggle that Jesus came.
Walking on water and He meant to pass by them. Jesus came to them walking on the sea and He meant to pass by them. What in the world does that mean?
If we dont look for the reason why Jesus performed this sign we might think that Jesus was trying to show off. Jesus walks on the water in the midst of a hurricane and the disciples are rowing and strggling and Jesus comes walking by… Hey guys...
But is that what Hes doing?
NO Jesus is walking on water and He means to pass by them for a reason, but whats that reason?
TO SHOW THEM HOW DESPERATELY THEY NEED HIM, AND TO SHOW THEM THAT HE IS GOD.
The very truth the disciples were not yet understanding.
Jesus here is answering the question the disciples asked the last time they were in the boat… remember that…
The last time the disciples were on a boat in a storm and Jesus came and calmed the sea, and they asked the question: WHO IS THIS THAT EVEN THE WINDS AND WAVES OBEY HIM?
They asked this question and Jesus is answering this question by saying I am God. Makr is intentionally doing something here when He says that Jesus meant to pass by them, He is using the same language that was used back in
And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
Exodus 33:19
Moses is having a meeting with God, God tells Him that He has found favor with God and that He knows Moses by name and that His presence will go before Him and Moses makes an astonishing request. Moses says GOD WILL YOU PLEASE SHOW ME YOUR GLORY.
Moses asked god show me your glory and how did God answer?
God did two things:
I will make all my goodness pass before you
I will proclaim before you MY NAME
so he is going to make all His goodness pass by Moses and He is gonna tell him who He is He is going to tell Him His name. His name is Yahweh which literally means I AM
What does Jesus say to the disciples?
After He has past by them in His glory walking on the water and they see Him and they are afrad for their lives and they think He is a ghost?
but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out,
for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Jesus says take heart do not be afraid IT
“EGO AMI” in the greek literally meaning I AM Jesus by walking on water is not just showing off, He is letting all of His divine glory pass by the disciples just as God did for Moses Saying I AM, Jesus proclaims to the disciples take heart I AM.
So why did Jesus walk on water?
To show His disciples He was God
But is that all?
Is the only reason Jesus walked on water to show us He is God?
no Jesus walked on water to show us
He is Willing to Come Near to Us EVEN THOUGH HE IS GOD.
He is Willing to Come Near to Us EVEN THOUGH HE IS GOD.
When you look at what god did for Moses in and what Jesus did to the disciples its incredbly similar but its also wonderfully different. It’s wonderfully different how?
well in when did God reveal Himself to Moses?
God revealed Himself to Moses when Moses was walking in the best faith, obediecne that He knew how. But when did Jesus reveal Himself to His disciples? Not when they were believing but when they were unbelieving. When they just didnt understand when their hearts were hardened.
Thats good news for us church, some of us think that the only WAY THAT GODS GONNA REVEAL HIMSELF TO US THE ONLY WAY HE IS GOING TO MEET WITH US IS IF WERE IN PERFECT OBEDIENCE.
But here the disciples were functioning in unbelief
But what Jesus is showing us is that He will cross any barrier to meet with us not just when were living in the light but when we find ourselves in the darkest hours of hard heartedness and struggle. As the disciples were struggling with unbelief they thought He was a long way off.
When you feel impossibly seperated from God by what your going through Jesus shows you here that there is no barrier no shame no guilt so sin will seperate you from His love. God is willing to come near to you not just when were filled with faith and obediecne but when were full of fear and doubt.
for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded,
God showed Moses Himself from afar but told Moses that He could not see His face because no one could see His face and live but here Jesus shows the disciples who He is and then comes and gets in the boat with them. He is willing even though He is fully god to come and reveal Himself to them, but not just reveal Himself but climb right into the struggle with them!
So remember that Jesus has walked on water for you, it doesnt matter where you find yourself or what your struggle is He will come near to you and show His face He will climb into the struggle with you, He has crossed that barrier to come near to you.
What happens to a person who sees Jesus for who He is?
One of two things
We see in Johns gospel that after this event they reach the other side and the crowd is there waiting. Jesus says something thats kind of harsh. He says to the crowd you didn’t come to me because of who I am you came to me for what I could do for you. because i gave you food and your bellies were satisfied.
Listen to me church if you only come to church because of what you think the Lord can give you your in a dangerous place! WE MUST COME TO WORSHIP JESUS FOR WHO HE IS NOT WHAT HE HAS DONE OR WHAT HE WILL DO FOR US!
We cannot come to Jesus for what He will do for us, this is not called Christianity, this is called idol worship. When we come for the gift and not the giver we are merely idolizing our self. It is called hedonism, which is the practice of pleasing one’s self. COme to Jesus to get cars, clothes or success and I will show you the idols within your heart.
Give me JEsus, Give me JEsus You can have this world just give me Jesus
This has to be the heartbeat of our souls, Christianity is not based on gifts recieved but on love given. Jesus gives love unspeakable and we return that love. The true test of genuine conversion is love for Jesus!
(Peter/Judas)
Right here in this very story we see the same thing play out.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
John
I am the bread of life.
John 6:
Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
They said did you hear what He said He is saying that there some bread coming down from heaven that will give us eternal life, well where is it...
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Whoa, hold on there a minute Jesus we aint no cannibals around here now, what you talking about Jesus?
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
John
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
Can you imagine the crowd they are freaking out at this point, eat His flesh drink His blood? He is saying anyone who eats Him will live forever … We aint gonna be a part of this anymore.
Obviously Jesus wasn’t talking about eating His physical flesh, He is saying that you must accept that He is from Heaven, that He is God and that He is the only one who can satisfy your soul. You must accept the sacrifice He is offering in His flesh on your behalf. The people say “how can He say that He is the bread from Heaven? And they walked away, and Jesus let them walk away.”
They walked away and Jesus let them walk away.
The disciples out there on the ship with thier hearts hardened not understanding about the power of Jesus and the divinity of Jesus were essentially in the same place as these that walked away. BUT for those that are His for those who are His disciples, what did Jesus do?
HE DIDNT LET THEM WALK AWAY HE WALKED ON WATER AND HE COME TO THEM, AND HE REVEALED HIMSELF TO THEM!
I really think that we forget what a blessing this is, He could have let us walk away but He didn’t He pursued us, He softened our hearts to recieve the truth of the gospel! What a blessing! But for some who refuse to see He lets them walk away He never forces Himself on you!
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
Now all this is happening right after the storm and Jesus walking on the water and look at the exchange between the disciples and Jesus.
So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
John 6:
and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
John 6:
how did they come to know this?
Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”
Because Jesus revealed it to them
Jesus met those disciples on that stormy lake in such a way that caused those who were hard of heart to say Jesus where esle are we gonna go?
YOU ALONE HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE!
Jesus met His disciples on that stormy lake IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT CAUSED THOSE WHO WERE ONCE UNBELIEVING WHO WERE ONCE NOT UNDERSTANDING TO NOW SAY WE BELIEVE AND WE HAVE COME TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE THE HOLY ONE OF GOD!
Folks ifyuo are in Christ HE will not let you go.
HE WILL NOT LET YOU WALK AWAY
No matter what your going through, no matter if your walking in perfect faith and obedience or your living in disobedience and unbelief HE will come to you!
Even when He seems impossibly far off and there seems to be NO WAY THAT HE WILL COME TO YOU, HE WILL WALK ON WATER TO COEM TO YOU.
When He comes to you He is not simply offering you a glimpse of His back. HE is offering you a face to face realtionship with Him. When He does this for you, it doesnt mean your never going to struggle again it doesnt mean your never going to doubt again, even after this the disciples will continue to struggle and continue to doubt.
THOMAS
But our security is not dependant upon our ABILITY TO NEVER DOUBT, OR NEVER STRUGGLE BUT ITS BASED ON HIS ABILITY TO WALK ON WATER AND COME TO YOU OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN! if your in Christ He will reveal Himself over and over again!
In such a way that even when everyone else walks away you will never walk away.
Are you in here this morning needing for Jesus to climb into your sturggle with you?
DRAW NEAR TO GOD AND HE WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU!
ARE YOU IN HERE NEEDING A REFRESHED FAITH?
THEN BEGIN TO LOOK FOR HIM, SEK ME AND YOU WILL FIND ME WHEN YOU SEARCH FOR ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART!!!
Thus saith the Lord.
No matter hoe we feel we are not alone!
Let’s pray together