Stormy Days - John 6
Writer Author Jerry Lee Kay Sr.
Christian Article
:
Bible Teaching
- Fiction No
When Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 men plus women and children, the Jews wanted to make him king. Jesus realized their intentions and immediately departed. But before he left, he sent his disciples, by boat, to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then he withdrew to a nearby mountain to spend time alone. In John we read that Jesus joined the disciples by walking on the water to overtake their boat. The next day, on the other side of the lake, it looked very much as if Jesus' plan had worked. After all, they had the Sea of Galilee between the eager multitudes and themselves. Or did they? The multitude had boats too, and before long they too reached the other side and began questioning him, saying, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" The crowd was not to be turned away. They liked the bread he had provided. They wanted a Savior who met their material needs. Our Lord's response is a penetrating indictment of religion without personal faith in Christ.
"I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill."
They continued seeking him only because they wanted a Savior who would supply material gifts. They did not want a spiritual Savior who would redeem them from their sins. Jesus did not deny that he was able to give material blessings, but he explained in the Bread of Life discourse that he was essentially a Savior who could give them unimagined spiritual gifts. How would his hearers react to his loving but strong words?
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
Humanly speaking, the possibility of losing those disciples was very real. But Peter responded in a way we should all emulate when he said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life".
Why did Peter respond that way when most of the others were deserting Christ? The key is found in the crisis of the preceding night when Peter and the rest of the Twelve were struggling to sail across the lake and our Lord came to them walking on the water and met the discouraged disciples and ministered to them. That made the difference in Peter.
By comparing Matthew, Mark, and John, we get the full picture of that awesome night.
This event has had many interesting, and many false, interpretations as theologians have attempted to explain away the miracle. One theory claims there were stones in the water and since Jesus was walking close to shore, he was walking on the stones. So why did Peter begin to sink? Another explanation translates the word "on" as "around," claiming Jesus walked around the lake. Neither the original text nor the obvious intent of the author supports this view. What happened was presented in the Gospels as a miracle, and it is meant to be treated as such. Jesus intended for this miracle to teach the disciples deeper spiritual realities, and it can do the same for us. Note also that it is called a "sign" (see John 19:25), "signs," apparently referring to the feeding of the multitude and to Jesus' walking on water). Whenever John speaks of a "sign," he is pointing us to deep spiritual truths. That night of struggle on the stormy sea is a picture of those who follow Christ through the storms of life.
Matthew 14:22 gives us the setting for this miracle:
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.
We can understand our Lord's actions. He was tired, and he needed to be alone for communion with his Father. But also, in Scripture a mountain is often used as a symbol of a place of authority. The picture of our Lord praying in a place of authority as his disciples struggled on the mission he had given them pictures his relating to those who faithfully follow him. In fact, it is a picture of God interceding for us while we, at his direction, are battling the storms of life.
This is a story of faith from beginning to end. Matthew 14:22 tells us Jesus "made the disciples get into the boat." The word "made" could also be translated "compelled"! "To compel by force or persuasion or to constrain." The picture Scripture paints is one of disciples who did not want to go to the other side but who were persuaded, even compelled, by our Lord. He probably gave the boat a shove to get the Twelve going in the right direction. He deliberately sent them out into the lake.
The disciples were well on their way when the storm came. "But the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it" John 6:24. The disciples were several miles from shore, and their boat was being "buffeted" literally, "tormented." Scripture is very graphic at this point. "The wind was against" them. That is, they were sailing straight into the wind. What terror they must have felt! The great preacher Clarence Edward Macartney described it like this:
Peter, no doubt, took command; (and I am sure that he did) and you can see him there holding the tiller with his stalwart arm, and his beard anointed with the foam of the sea, as in stentorian tones he commands the disciples to trim the ship, lower the sails, and take to the oars. Where all was calm a little while ago, now all is tumult and confusion. As the tempest rages over the lake, the ship tosses like a cork up and down in the great waves, the white foam of the great rollers gleaming in the blackness of the night like the teeth of some monster of the sea.
They were in trouble! Once I was on a supply boat working offshore in the Gulf of Mexico when a hurricane blew in, the boat was designed for 60 foot waves, and we were experiencing 75-80 footers. Abject terror!
But why were the disciples in trouble? Because they had pointed their boat in the direction the Lord had told them to take. They would not have been in danger in the middle of the lake if they had disobeyed. Because they were obedient to Christ, they were in serious peril. How can this be?
The disciples were in trouble because they had steered their boat into contrary winds. What is the meaning of this? Our Lord is saying, "Those of you who have decided to follow me as your Savior are going to be sailing your vessel into the winds of life. You are going to have trouble. But obey anyway." There are two ways to get into storms. One is to flee God's will, like Jonah did. A great storm blew up, and he ended up in a fish's belly. That is different from the disciples' situation. They were in the midst of a storm because they were obedient to God. Those who decide to follow Christ and give him their allegiance will face contrary winds, no doubt about it. Moses would never have felt rejected by a complaining people if at the burning bush he had decided not to obey Jehovah. Daniel would never have had to face a lion's den if he had not decided to be faithful to God. Just think of how much persecution Paul would have avoided if he had just stayed in Tarsus. But then these great men would have never known the refreshing winds of the Holy Spirit flowing through their lives. Yes, following Christ will take us into some fierce storms, but the rewards are even greater.
So there were the disciples, battling the gale, wondering if they would make it to shore. The storm was raging. The waves were immense. The spray kept dashing over the ship. The masts had begun to crack, and water was sloshing in the dark hold of their beleaguered ship. The disciples probably wondered, "Has the Lord forgotten us?" But Jesus had not forsaken them, even though it looked as if he had. Mark, in his parallel account (6:48), says Jesus "saw" them. Now, John 6:17 says, "It was dark." We do not know if Jesus saw the disciples in the midst of lightning or if he saw them because of his omniscience. Whatever, the point is, he knew their plight. In this dark age things can be so obscured by the secular winds of life and its problems that it looks as if Jesus has forgotten us, but he has not. He knows, he cares; he will come to our aid. As Psalms 139: 7-10 tells us:
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me; your right hand will hold me fast.
Wherever we go, our Lord is there, and he knows all the details of our situation. When we are going through dark storms, it is easy to think he has forgotten us. But he is cognizant of it all. He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground, and he certainly knows the difficulties we are going through. Christ saw the disciples toiling and rowing helplessly, and yet he delayed coming to them. He knew their thoughts, he knew they were wondering where he was, and yet he chose to let that storm batter them for a while. Finally he came to them. Why did he delay? I do not think we can say for sure, but there is a hint in John, the story about Lazarus. Mary and Martha sent for Jesus, asking him to heal Lazarus because he was on the verge of death, but Jesus delayed and allowed him to die. Then Christ came, wept, and raised Lazarus back to life. Why? Perhaps to take his children to the very end of their strength, so they would rely fully on God. We cannot always know why God waits, but we can be sure that he knows everything and that he is ministering and caring for us and will never abandon us.
Matthew 14:25 adds another dimension to our story: "During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake." Our Lord came to the disciples; evidently taking the same course the boat had taken. After he had finished praying, he strode down that mountain to the same point on the shore and somehow, at least partially, followed the path they had taken. That is an incredibly encouraging aspect of Christ's incarnation! He understands our situation, he feels what we feel, he walks where we walk. So when we are being tossed about, he understands everything we are going through. Jesus experienced what the disciples were experiencing. What a scene to keep before us! Our Lord walking across those waves, the angry waves the pavement for his feet.
Verse 25 also tells us that Christ came to the disciples "during the fourth watch of the night," between 3 and 6 in the morning. Jesus came to his threatened followers during the darkest part of the night, when the disciples were exhausted, miserable, and tired, wondering if they were going to survive. Only then did the Lord come.
You may know Christ, but you will never know him deeply until he comes to you in the midst of the storms of life. Is that not what Job said when he had suffered everything? In 42:5 Job said, "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." Christ comes to us in the midst of storms.
Unfortunately, we also see the perverseness of the human heart in this event. Matthew 14:26 says, "When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It is a ghost' they said, and cried out for fear." The disciples' fright is understandable. It was dark, the wind was blowing, and they were barely hanging on to their lives. Then they saw an apparition. A water demon, coming across the waters, looking like the Ancient Mariner without his ship! The disciples were ready to dive overboard. They were "terrified" by the help coming to them in Christ. Often the perversity of our hearts causes us to push God away when he comes to us in the storm. Perhaps this is partly because he often comes in ways we do not expect and that we (inexcusably) reject. Maybe his aid comes to us through someone we have rejected or through occupational tragedy or through a member of the family to whom we have felt superior. We must guard against rejecting what he is trying to do for us, whether through fear or pride or ignorance. Is he trying to help us in a storm but we are pushing him away!
As the disciples quaked with fear, some almost paralyzed, others falling over themselves, a voice pierced the storm. "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid" John 6:27. In an instant the disciples' attitude changed 180 degrees. A moment before, they had feared for their lives. Then they heard the voice of Christ. Note that he did not say, "Don't be afraid" before he said, "It is I." When we focus upon Christ, we begin to find and receive his help.
When the disciples saw it was Jesus, they became venturesome. Peter asked the Lord to call him, then stepped out and began to walk on the water. That is what faith causes us to do. Sometimes Peter is bad-mouthed by preachers, but how many of us have put a leg over the side of the boat and stepped onto water? Peter walked on water because of his faith and sank only when he began to take his eyes off Jesus. Fortunately, Peter had been around the Lord long enough to know what to pray at such a moment: "Lord, save me!" Then Jesus and Peter walked radiantly back to the boat.
"And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down" John 6:32. This is when Peter really got the point. Jesus had turned down the people's request that he be their Savior in the material world. He did not allow them to make him king, though he was obviously King over the material realm. Otherwise, how could he have walked on water and calmed the storm? Seeing all that gave Peter the grace to say, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." "To whom shall we go?" That is the question for all of us. Only Christ has the words of life.
"Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God!'"
"Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading". Was that a miracle? Did the boat hydroplane frantically to shore? I do not think we can answer that with certainty, but I will make a suggestion. The times we spend with the love of our life fly by, and I think the disciples were so caught up in worshiping him that time ceased for them, and suddenly they found themselves on the shore. How wonderful to be so preoccupied with our wonderful Savior!
Following Christ will certainly bring us into contrary winds. That is inevitable. That is a promise. But it is comforting to know that he sees all. He understands and cares!
Are you going through the storms of life now? He sees. Believe that, rest in it, appropriate it. Rejoice that understanding help is on the way. Help was on the way for the disciples long before they saw it, and the same is true for you.
Are you filled with darkness? Do you wonder if there is a way out? Keep expecting him to come because he often comes in the fourth watch. Be open to the hand of God in your life. Focus the gaze of faith upon him.
Is your life filled with occupational uncertainty? Why not invite him into the boat? Insecurity? Invite him into the boat. Interpersonal struggle? Conflict with other believers? Invite him into the boat. An ethical dilemma? Invite him into the boat.
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God Bless You!
Poppa
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