Pentecost 9B

What do we see when we look upon Jesus?

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers & sisters in Christ: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

What do we see when we look upon Jesus? I think this is an important question to ask ourselves as we read the Gospel lesson today. In Mark’s telling of this event, Jesus has just finished feeding 5000 men and their families with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, - and the leftovers took up 12 full baskets - a true miracle by any measure, as we heard Pastor Weaver preach about last week.

Where Mark picks up the story from there, he leaves out a key point, so we’re going to borrow from John’s Gospel account to get some clarity. The people who were fed, and who had seen or heard of Jesus’ other miracles, were “about to come and take him by force to make him king” (John 6:15). Jesus, of course, is aware of this. And he can tell that the disciples feel the same way. They are caught up in the enthusiasm of the crowd and would have been pleased if their Teacher were to be crowned king at the Passover, which was not far off from this day. So the first thing Jesus does is separate the Twelve from the crowd. It wasn’t time yet for them to see him as a king…that would happen later, when he would reveal to them “the kind of king he really is.” [R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 270.]

After putting his friends on the boat, which helped to diffuse the mounting excitement, he then dismissed the crowd. And, as Jesus does so very frequently, he goes “up on the mountain to pray.” (Mark 6:46, ESV) This week at Confirmation Camp we spent time with some of the young teenagers in our area from several different NALC congregations, and one of our lessons was all about prayer. We talked about something I think all of us have probably wondered at some point: if Jesus is God (and we know that he is) then why does he pray? Does he have to pray? Needless to say, we had some very good discussion about that. Jesus, the Son of God, is closer to the Heavenly Father than any other human being in history has ever been. Let me ask you a different question: does Jesus pray so often because he’s close to the Father, or is he close to the Father because he prays so often? I’ll let you stew on that one.

One scholar I like describes Jesus’ prayer this way: “That multitude’s wanting to make him king was one of Satan’s temptations for Jesus, and the sending the multitude away shows that the temptation was overcome. And thus the prayer in the dark that stormy night may well have been an outpouring of his heart to the Father for the renewed victory, a glorifying the Father by his obedience in facing the cross, and an interceding for the Twelve and all his disciples that they might not be led away by these false Messianic conceptions. We thus catch just a glimpse of the deep inner life of Jesus. His praying was perfect, pure, and exalted communion with his Father.” [R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 271.]

And Jesus didn’t just pray the prayer he taught his disciples, which takes all of about 75 seconds; he started praying somewhere between 6 & 9 pm, and kept praying until the “fourth watch”, which means somewhere between 3 and 6 am. So he could have been praying for as long as 12 hours. When I look at Jesus’ in prayer, I see an example for all of us. A tough one to live up to, for sure, but certainly an example to strive for.

The next time someone sees Jesus, he is walking on the water toward the boat, which is in the middle of the storm. If we’re going to tell this story right, it’s important to note that Jesus saw them first. He noticed their trouble and moved to come to them. Their situation wouldn’t have allowed them to see him if he hadn’t moved closer. Remember, they’ve been on the boat longer than he’s been in prayer, and they’ve been fighting a powerful storm for quite some time. They’ve been rowing against the wind and not making any progress, and they’re worn out from the effort. Jesus saw their distress. He knew they needed help. Another scholar suggests that Jesus sent them out there to test them and learn their weakness: “Christ allows them to struggle all night to arouse their faith, while looking upon them not as an idle spectator but in praying hope, ready to help.” [John A. W. Haas, Annotations on the Gospel according to St. Mark, ed. Henry Eyster Jacobs, vol. III, The Lutheran Commentary (New York: The Christian Literature Co., 1895), 118–119.]

Again, he saw them first. “Jesus sees us when we think Him far off.” (Ibid.) And he comes to them exactly when the time is right… just when they really need him. But notice he doesn’t actually come straight to their boat, as though he would just hop in on his own. He comes alongside the boat and waits for their invitation. “He meant to pass them by” Mark tells us. Let’s think about this scene for a moment. The apostles are on their boat on the Sea of Galilee in the middle of a raging storm. Jesus is walking on water from the shore straight to them. Have you ever thought about this? Do you think he’s walking on turbulent, violent waves? Or do you think the ocean where he’s walking is calm and flat? I’m sorry…that was truly a leading question. We all know the answer: the Lord of Sea and Sky is certainly walking on a calm path to their boat. And as he gets closer, I envision the waves getting calmer with his approach, until the calm surrounds their vessel while the storm rages around them.

So, how do they see him here? I’ll give them some credit that they don’t recognize him at first. After all, I’d be pretty freaked out seeing someone walking on water in the middle of a storm. And since it was dark - before 6 am - they likely couldn’t see his face anyway. All they saw was a figure walking on top of the water…something which shouldn’t be possible. And let’s not forget their exhaustion from rowing against the wind for several hours. It’s no wonder they flipped their lids.

Again, Jesus saw their need. They couldn’t see him for who he truly was…just like so many other times in the Gospel narrative. So he helped them out - “immediately” - by telling them: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” That verse can actually be translated a few different ways. It could mean “Be courageous!” or it could also mean “Cheer up!” Ancient Greek, in its funny way, probably means a little bit of all of that: be brave and cheer up. Then he says the most important thing: “it’s me” you know, your friend, the one you call “Teacher”. And by the way, I’ve already calmed a storm (as we read back in Chapter 4), so there’s no reason to be afraid.

When Jesus says “it is I” - it’s very nearly the same phrase that equates to the name of God - “I AM WHO I AM” - the Greek is very close. Certainly this is part of what Jesus is telling them. The God Who gave you life and delivered your people, who established His Law for you to live by…who set His Bow in the sky to remind you of His Covenant with you… that’s who Jesus is.

“Do not be afraid” can also be translated as “stop being afraid”, which I think is more appropriate here. “Don’t be afraid” is something you tell someone who you think might soon become afraid. These disciples were ALREADY afraid. The way the Greek reads here, Jesus says it in such a way that it means to stop doing what you’re already doing, and end it permanently.

And then Jesus “got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased.” (Mark 6:51, ESV). And the apostles were relieved and they grew in their faith in him, right? Yeah, if only that were so. Even after all that, they were still struggling to understand the feeding of the 5,000 and their “hearts were hardened”. This is a phrase we just don’t use outside of church. It has an element of stubbornness to it, but it’s more than that. These disciples are still working out how Jesus fed such a huge crowd of people with just 5 loaves and 2 fish…and now they witness him walking on water and calming a storm. They’re overwhelmed. And because they’re overwhelmed, they’re not able to understand something that they should. It’s not that they are like the Pharisees who don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah…it’s that the apostles should have understood all this better than they did, after all that they had seen and heard being so close to Jesus up to this point. Their trouble was in their heart… which is a problem all of us have. The heart is where sin starts. “What they lacked was that clarified understanding of the heart which expects Jesus to act as the Son of God in all things and is thus delighted to see him act thus and is no longer amazed.” [R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 277.]

So they don’t really see him as the Son of God, even while he’s in the middle of doing something - several things - that only the Son of God could really do. Instead, they are scared by his appearance, because they relied on their own senses instead of Jesus’ teaching…which led them to respond not in faith but in fear.

The next scene, Jesus’ reputation has preceded him. He no sooner steps out of the boat, then people recognized him as a miracle-worker and healer, and they began to bring in the sick from all around that area seeking his healing touch. If you’re paying close attention, you may have noticed the phrase “...that they might touch even the fringe of his garment.” There were so many that they just put the sick people down on the street where they expected Jesus would walk by and they would just reach out and touch his clothing and be healed. I hope this sounds familiar to you…because it should. Remember the woman who had a 12-year illness who said the same thing? It’s the same hope that she had. The KNOW that if they touch his garment, they’ll be healed. And that’s exactly what happened.

So how is it that these crowds…these strangers…that they can see Jesus for who he is, but his closest followers cannot? All of these people who flock to him as he arrives on the shore know instantly that he can heal the sick. They believe that he has the power to save them from their illness…and he does exactly that. Part of me just questions this whole scenario; it just doesn’t make sense.

But if we take in all that has happened here…the people really aren’t ready for who Jesus TRULY is…and neither are the disciples. Remember how this all started? They wanted to force him to be their king. They were amazed because he was able to feed them when they were hungry. They were grateful because he was able to heal them when they were sick. But were they ready to FOLLOW him? As Mark tells us in his account of the Gospel, that’s a resounding “no” to that question. None of them were really ready to follow him.

People have seen Jesus as king, as a scary figure with supernatural powers, as a savior who calms the storms, as a teacher, as a living example, as a healer…we could even argue that some have seen him as the Son of God. Now the hard question: how do YOU see Him? Does one of these views sound familiar to you? Do you see him the way he’s seen in this story? Or do you see him in another different way?

Most of us have been in a boat on a storm for many months now. The situation in our country is simply nuts. People are getting violent with each other simply because of how they vote. Our economy more turbulent than it’s been in a while. We’re still dealing with a pandemic. Racial tensions are as high as they ever were during the Civil Rights movement in the 60s. The enemies outside our borders often seem less threatening than the enemies inside our borders. The last 18 months have been absolutely crazy. It’s been quite a storm.

As we’re sitting in this boat, and we look at Jesus, what do we see? Do we see him as the Son of God Who has complete authority over the earth and the forces of nature? Do we see him as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world? Do we see him as God-in-flesh who was born of the Virgin Mary, who came to be among us to teach us and reconcile all of us to God and to each other? In other words, do we believe that Jesus is who HE SAYS HE IS?

I saw this earlier this week and I want to share it with you: where Jesus is, there is peace. So don’t forget where Jesus is: he is in the Scriptures. He is in the Sacraments. He is in the hearts of your brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. And he is calling all of us to share him with our neighbors. If you’re not seeing Christ because you’re exhausted from rowing against the wind, or for any other reason, remember that Christ sees YOU. As he makes his way toward your boat being tossed about in the storm, look for him…see him…and invite him into your boat. Let him remind you why you don’t need to be afraid. And then follow him and help others to see him too. Help them see him for who he truly is.

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.