The Duck Test

TOPICAL --- Main Idea/Direction

Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, who feeds his people and walks on the waves.

What truth do students need to hear most?

Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you

Three Supporting Ideas within the passage

God feeds his people

God provides rest for his people

God walks on the waves and stills the storm

Additional Scriptures for Cross Reference

Exodus 16

Exodus 33:14

Job 9:8-11

Background Info / People / Places

We already mentioned last week that the Sea of Galilee is prone to sudden and violent storms

Alternate 3 Point Outline

Rest in the Sovereignty (45-47)

Recognize the Identity (48-50)

Respond with Humility (51-52)

IMAGE:

The Duck Test: If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

Occam’s Razor: When there are two competing theories, the simpler one is usually correct

NEED:

Some of you haven’t started following Jesus because you don’t trust that he really is who he says he is. You don’t trust that he can really take care of you. You don’t trust that he really wants what is best for you.

SUBJECT:

Jesus does the impossible to reveal his identity to the disciples. And the identity of Jesus changes everything for us.

BIG IDEA:

We can trust Jesus because Jesus is God.

TEXT ADDRESS:

Mark 6:45-52

SET UP:

Feeding the 5000

TEXT:

Mark 6:45–52 CSB

Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After he said good-bye to them, he went away to the mountain to pray. Well into the night, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land. He saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Very early in the morning he came toward them walking on the sea and wanted to pass by them. When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke with them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded, because they had not understood about the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened.

POINT 1:

Jesus Feeds His People Like God

What Does It Mean?

In order to really understand what is happening in the passage we just read, we need to look back on what just happened in the story.

Jesus just got done miraculously feeding 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Most people think when we see the number 5000, that they’re only counting men, so if you added in women and children, it might have been as many as 20,000 people in the crowd listening to Jesus and miraculously being fed.

Can you think of a time in the history of God’s people where God miraculously feeds his people?

Exodus 16 is the passage that comes to mind. Where the Israelites are wandering in the desert after being freed from slavery in Egypt. And God sends manna, literally rains down bread from heaven to miraculously feed his people.

Why is This Important?

So why does this matter? It matters because forever after Exodus 16, God is known to his people as the one who feeds them.

Psalm 78:24–25 CSB

He rained manna for them to eat; he gave them grain from heaven. People ate the bread of angels. He sent them an abundant supply of food.

It’s either a coincidence that Jesus is doing something that God is known for, or it’s on purpose...

What Can We Do About It?

I get that it can be hard to trust God with the things you need. I do. I have to daily choose to trust God because my normal sinful disposition is to be untrusting and I try and do things all on my own.

You and I are needy people. I’ve talked about this before from up here. There are 4 core needs of every single one of us needs to have filled:

We need Pleasure - things that make us happy.

We need Approval - things that make us feel loved

We need Security - things that make us feel safe

We need Significance - things that make us feel like we matter

In the Bible, one of the names of God is Jehovah Jireh, the God who Provides. We get into trouble when we start looking for Pleasure, Approval, Security, and Significance in places where it can’t be truly found. When we try and fulfill one of those 4 core needs in a way that God hasn’t allowed us to, that’s called sin.

Illustration:

Transition:

Provision is an important part of the identity of God. And here in Mark 6, we have someone who is doing the same thing God did in the Old Testament.

So if it looks like a duck...

POINT 2:

Jesus Gives Rest to His People Like God

What Does It Mean?

So after the food miracle, Jesus sends the disciples in a boat to the other side of the Lake again. Jesus wants to make sure his disciples can get some rest. So Jesus is going to finish up with the crowd while the disciples get away.

Interestingly enough, Jesus also needs some rest too. After the crowds leave, he goes up the mountain to pray. Jesus himself needs time alone with God in order to sustain him.

Why is This Important?

This is so important because we keep seeing Jesus do things that God is described as doing in the Old Testament.

Exodus 33:14 ESV

And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Much of Israel’s thoughts around who God is come from the experience of their ancestors when God led them out of Egypt. We just saw that God fed them when they were in the Wilderness, and now we see that God also gives them rest because of his very presence. Wherever God is, there also is opportunity to rest.

It’s either a coincidence that Jesus is doing things God is described as doing, or it’s on purpose...

What Can We Do About It?

I just said a minute ago that it can be hard to trust God to provide the things we need. Rest is another exercise in trust.

When you’re resting, what are you not doing? Working!!

When you’re resting you have to trust that God is taking care of things behind the scenes.

I think I could have titled this message “Trust Issues” because I think this is one of the biggest problems that you have in your life. You don’t ACTUALLY trust God. You say you do, but the way you live your life tells me the opposite. So often, I’ll ask one of you how your week has been and you know the answer I get ALL THE TIME? Busy. I’ve been busy.

Fist i have school, then practice, then all these other extra curricular activities, and then I still have to make time to run Warzone with the homies, and then I just picked up a summer job… do you see the problem?

You are not resting. And if you’re not resting, you’re not trusting God. One of the best ways you can actively trust God is to talk to him and read his word when you rest. Wherever his presence is, he gives rest

Illustration:

Transition:

God wants to give you rest! And here in Mark 6, Jesus him rests and he gives the opportunity to rest to his disciples.

If it walks like a duck...

POINT 3:

Jesus Walks on Water and Stills Storms Like God

What Does It Mean?

This is where this scene gets crazy. The disciples are caught in the middle of a violent storm out on the lake, and they’re rowing like crazy trying to make it to shore.

And here comes Jesus, walking on top of the water. He gets into the boat and the storm stops. Just like that.

and remember that Mark is writing down Peter’s version of events. Which part of these events is mysteriously missing in the account that Peter tells Mark?

If you want to see the part Peter left out, Matthew writes it down in his Gospel account, you can go to Matt 14 to check that out.

Why is This Important?

But why should we care that Jesus is walking on water? Once again Jesus is doing things that God is said to do in the Bible.

Job 9:8–11 CSB

He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He makes the stars: the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky. He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number. If he passed by me, I wouldn’t see him; if he went by, I wouldn’t recognize him.

Psalm 77:19 CSB

Your way went through the sea and your path through the vast water, but your footprints were unseen.

Do you see the similar language to what Jesus is doing here? He’s walking on the waves. He’s passing by and they don’t recognize him.

He tells the disciples, to not be afraid, why? My bible says “It is I.” Literally what is written in Greek is the phrase “I AM”. The same introduction that God gives to Moses in the burning bush.

When Jesus walks on the water and stills the storm he is dropping the most obvious hints of all time as to who he really is.

What Can We Do About It?

We all have storms in our lives. You might feel like you’re in the middle of one right now. You might feel like the waves just keep coming and boat just keeps rocking and if something doesn’t change soon you’re going to drown.

But you’re forgetting that Jesus walks all over those waves and makes the storm stop by his very word.

Once again, TRUST. Do you trust Jesus in the middle of your storm?

One commentator put it like this, and it just floored me when I read it:

When Jesus is doing things like feeding a bunch of people using almost nothing, we’re good with that. Even though that’s a miracle, it seems like a safe miracle. You might even have an experience in your life where it’s almost like God did something along those lines - providing for you when it seemed like there was nothing there.

But “how different it is in the middle of the night, when the wind is high, the rowing is hard, and our safety is threatened.” It seems like Jesus is more like a ghost passing us by while we’re struggling then the God who provides for our every need.

But remember this truth: God, who feeds his people, stills the storms, and walks on the waters will never leave you or forsake you.

Illustration:

Transition:

If it quacks like a duck...

SUMMARY:

So if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. If Jesus feeds his people like God does, and gives out rest like God does, and walks on water and calms the storms like God does - then the simplest answer is probably right: Jesus is God.

BIG IDEA:

And if Jesus is God, we can trust Jesus.

CLOSER:

If you need some help trusting Jesus tonight, I’d love to talk with you and pray for you.