46 After sending them away, he went into the hills to pray. 47 That night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on the land. 48 He saw his followers struggling hard to row the boat, because the wind was blowing against them. Between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water, and he wanted to walk past the boat. 49 But when they saw him walking on the water, they thought he was a ghost and cried out. 50 They all saw him and were afraid. But quickly Jesus spoke to them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind became calm. The followers were greatly amazed. 52 They did not understand about the miracle of the five loaves, because their minds were closed. ~ Mark 6:46-52
Today, we continue in our study of Mark 6 where the disciples of the Lord Jesus are being taught by the Lord. As pointed out before, a disciple is a learner. And, like the disciples, the greatest lesson we will learn as followers of Christ is He is the secret to our success. We cannot begin to understand today's passage until we see that our God-given trials are designed to help us to conclude more of Him and less of me.
In v.46 of today's passage we read, "After sending them away, he went into the hills to pray."
Essential to ministry is prayer. Essential to anything worth while is talking to God about it first. After the Lord sent the huge crowd back to their homes, He went up into the hills to pray. Prayer is the breath of the Christian life and because almost nothing decays so fast in the fallen human heart as the desire to talk to God. Therefore, we must make it our habit to talk with the Father about all things. Nothing is more vital than prayer, and few things are more vulnerable to neglect.
The disciples of the Lord Jesus had been successful in ministry. And, right on the heels of that success, they discovered they could not feed the 5000 men on the side of a hill next to the Sea of Galilee. It was in that moment they were at their best, but, they felt differently. They felt like losers. We are at our best when we are most convinced that we need God. We are at our best when we are most dependent upon the Lord.
In v.47-48 of today's passage we read, "47 That night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on the land. 48 He saw his followers struggling hard to row the boat, because the wind was blowing against them. Between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water, and he wanted to walk past the boat."
Right on the heels of yet another miracle performed by the Lord Jesus, the disciples found themselves in another intense trial. This test, like all of our trials, was designed of the Lord to deepen the disciples intimacy with Himself. And, this time He was not with them in the boat. He had sent them out alone, and He went up into the hills to pray. In like manner, the storms in our lives are made up of these same two elements: trouble, and the seeming absence of the Lord.
The storm arrived when the disciples were at the most vulnerable spot on the lake, in the the middle of it. And, as the storm blew in, at the darkest moment in the night, the Lord Jesus came to them walking on the water. Long before the disciples saw the Lord coming on the water, He saw them in their struggle. We often ask, "Lord where are you in this?," while we are in the middle of our trials. It is imperative that we struggle with such questions. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
When the disciples saw the Lord Jesus, they were scared, thinking He was a ghost. At the end of v.48, "He wanted to walk past the boat." The Lord would have gone past the disciples, but He did not. If He had, the disciples would have been given a more staggering view of God. But that didn't happen, because their fear in the moment was greater than their faith in the Lord Jesus. We miss out on much that God has for us because He, in our view, is smaller than our storms. To see Him from that more staggering vantage point, we must avail ourselves to much greater risks. Vulnerability is a must in these contexts.
In v.49-50 of today's passage we read, "49 But when they saw him walking on the water, they thought he was a ghost and cried out. 50 They all saw him and were afraid. But quickly Jesus spoke to them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid."
The Lord Jesus reassured the disciples with these words, "Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." The most repeated command in the Bible, "Don't be afraid", is held up with up along with the name of God, "I AM". "It is I" is the equivalent to "I AM" in the Old Testament. The contrast could not be more clear. The definitions of this world and the definitions of God are not in concert. The setting that dark night on that scary lake screams out, "Which is bigger, our storms or our God?"
It was at this point that the Lord Jesus got into the boat with the disciples, and, the disciples were absolutely blown away! It was not until the disciples heard His voice that they truly recognized Him. To that point, they were fearful because they depended solely on what they saw with their eyes. When the Lord Jesus spoke they recognized His voice. It was the Lord Jesus who said, "My sheep hear my voice and they follow me."
It was at this point that the Lord Jesus got into the boat with the disciples, and, the disciples were absolutely blown away! It was not until the disciples heard His voice that they truly recognized Him. To that point, they were fearful because they depended solely on what they saw with their eyes. When the Lord Jesus spoke they recognized His voice. It was the Lord Jesus who said, "My sheep hear my voice and they follow me."
For the disciples, this was a total failure. For the second time, their eyes were opened in a new way. What we think is failure is often seen differently by God. Trusting in the God of the Bible is never a mistake because He uses every ounce of our pain and seeming failure for our good and His glory.
In v.51-52 of today's passage we read, "51 Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind became calm. The followers were greatly amazed. 52 They did not understand about the miracle of the five loaves, because their minds were closed."
There are times when the Lord Jesus who gives us His promises and He sends us into awful situations. And, those situations are designed to hone our heart's to see Him more clearly. As a result, we see Him more clearly than we did before. And, at this point we find ourselves believing His promises more strongly because it is only in the midst of those horrible times that we discover the substance of His words. That night on that dark sea, the disciples initially concluded the wrong thing about the Lord, but, eventually they saw the Lord for who He was. The passing of time was necessary. Their failure was necessary. This is how He works with us, as He trains our hearts to see Him more deeply and more devotedly.
The Lord Jesus Christ, this holy God, stands in contrast to this unholy world where we live. Because of sin, we live in a world of death. Most of our lives are spent trying to get what we don’t have and trying to repair the damage of our brokenness. But the only cure for our brokenness is a revelation of a holy God who lacks nothing and who has promised to supply all our needs. It is on this basis of His promises and in the context of our trials that this process happens. We must be in the habit of trusting Him and watching Him as He works on our lives on a daily basis. And, as a result, we will discover that He is not only changing our ability to see Him, but, most importantly, we will discover He is changing our hearts.
