John 6:16-21 Jesus walk on water BT L4L

If we have received Christ Jesus the Lord, have received him willingly, though the night be dark and the wind high, yet we may comfort ourselves with this, that we shall be at shore shortly, and are nearer to it than we think we are. Matthew Henry, John, 943

[T]his … should convince [the disciples] that, in virtue of the glory given him by God, no darkness was too deep, waves too high, or sea too wide for him to find them and be with them in the midst of that tumult. Herman N. Ridderbos, John, 217

BURNING BUSH SCENE

-How big this guy really is. He is fully man and he is on the ground doing signs and wonders for the crowds. He is experiencing the human condition. A man’s son is dying, a man has been paralyzed for year. Corruption in the temple, there is no wine at a wedding, there is a woman longing for a true messiah. And jesus meets them each where they are and bring healing and renewal.

So he is this Jesus we know who has divine power.

IN this scene he reveals himself to his followers as the I AM! - I’m not just a guy with some divine power. I’m not the best human who god annoints - I AM one with the father.

Their Story - Exodus Burning BUSH

This is who Jesus is John 1, Colossians 1:15-20, John 13-16 passages about being one with the father.

THIS IS TERRIFYING. AND WE SHOULD NOT BE TERRIFIED!

THIS IS TERRIFYING - one with real power and authority came among us. The guy can walk on water - Fear him. The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. Know this, as if i need to tell, if you are in a terrible storm and you see someone who is more powerful than that storm - be terrified of that one! AND AND

AND

DO NOT BE TERRIFIED - HE COMES TO BE IN OUR BOAT. HE HAS CONTROL OF THE STORM AND HE WILL GET US SAFELY TO SHORE.

THE I AM! THE I AM. THE GUY! THE ONE. THE WORD - GOD has immense power and authority - He walks on Water - but he uses that power to walk on water to save people in the middle of a storm and get them safely to the other side.

“I AM” is the great divine Name ever since Moses’ Burning-Bush experience (Exod. 3:14). Jesus now claims the name for himself. It is full of majesty. In our Age of Terror, “I AM, don’t be terrified,” is particularly relevant. The Father gave Jesus authority over all things (Matt. 11:27; 28:18; Luke 10:22; John 17:2). Here Jesus exercises his gifted universal authority in an unusual story

What is the point of this miracle? LORD OF ALL! - Genesis 1 - hovering over the waters. The waters obey him. The water obey him. The oceans obey him - The ocean was the end of the world - it was deep chaotic terror. It was the realm of chaos and destruction.

The point seems to be to teach the Church (since this event happens exclusively for disciples) that Jesus is Lord of all, including nature, and that he comes to his Church amidst her varied storms.

Then the sea, driven by a great wind, became very rough.” The scene is now set for the miracle—darkness, stormy wind, rough water, mid-sea, and absent Jesus

When we are terrified.

When it is dark. When there is a storm and when we are far from shore

None of that is too far away from Jesus. He can come to us.

He is the I am. He is above the storm. And when he is in our boat we will get to shore safely (psal 139 -even on the farthest reaches of the sea

b) The Psalms: Psalm 77:19 provides the most specific parallel to our text, referring to the Exodus in retrospect: “Your way, [O Lord], was on [or in] the sea; your path was on the many waters; yet your footsteps were not seen.” Psalm 107 provides the broadest parallel to both our specific passage and our entire chapter, as brought out nicely by Brown, 1:255,

Psalm 107