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return to Him empty, but will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent it(Isaiah 55:11) You will be refreshed. You will be revived, restored, and rejuvenated. Amen!
The story of Jesus walking on the water is written not only in the Gospel of Mark, but also in the Gospels of Matthew and John. So, by comparing these three Gospels with each other, I think we can see the big picture of this story.
First of all, let us take a look at Mark chapter 6. There is a story of Jesus feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. And then, Jesus told his disciples to get into the boat. Jesus sent them ahead to the other side of the lake. And Jesus sent the crowd away and stayed there alone. Do you know why? Jesus knew that the crowd wanted to make him their king. So Jesus went up to the mountain to spend time alone with God. He wanted to get away from people. He wanted to talk to God alone. Although Jesus was the Son of God, he had many problems. He faced many difficulties like us. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law opposed Jesus. Herod Antipas was a cruel man who was afraid of Jesus.
Jesus needed his alone time although he was the busiest man in the world who ever lived. Jesus was always surrounded by a large crowd as well as his disciples. So it was not easy for him to spend time alone. But Jesus knew how important taking a break was in his ministry. He knew how significant being alone with God was in his life.
Brothers and sisters, the truth is that the busier we are, the more we need quiet time. The more responsible we are, the more we need time with God. The more problems we face, the more often we need to go to God.
Let us go back to today’s passage… Let us take a close look at Mark chapter 6 verse 47. We can notice that when the evening came, the boat with the disciples was still in the middle of the lake. In other words, the boat was already a long way from the land. They traveled about 5 kilometers away from the land. They were having a hard time rowing the boat because the waves beat against the boat and the wind blew against it.
We can guess it’s between 6 and 7 o’clock in the evening. When we look at Mark chapter 6 verse 48, we can notice that Jesus could see that the disciples were struggling against a strong wind to reach the other side. It was near the time of Passover. I mean it was in April. So there was probably some light from the moon on the lake. Jesus knew that the disciples were in difficulties.
But interestingly enough, Jesus didn’t help his disciples quickly. From a distance, Jesus was just watching them struggling in the boat. In other words, he didn’t try to help them. It’s weird. Isn’t it? It seems like Jesus intentionally let them go through hardship.
Same thing… When we are in trouble, oftentimes God doesn’t help us quickly. It seems like God is watching us from afar. He is just crossing His arms. Have you ever experienced that? I have… I have experienced that many times in my life.
If Jesus intentionally had let the disciples have difficulty, when did they notice that he was coming to help them? When we look at Mark chapter 6 verse 48, we see that Jesus was walking to the disciples about 3 o’clock in the early morning. In fact, the disciples had been struggling against a strong wind and fighting against heavy waves from the previous evening(6 o’clock in the evening) to early the next morning (3 o’clock in the early morning). It’s about 9 or 10 hours. Jesus could have come to help them earlier. But he didn’t. It would have been better if Jesus had come to help them more quickly. Don’t you think so?
But Jesus didn’t do it. So the disciples had been completely exhausted. They had no power at all. At that moment, Jesus began walking to help the disciples.
Brothers and sisters, have you ever experienced that? In times of trouble, it seems like God is just watching us from afar. He is doing nothing for us. We pray and pray and pray persistently. But nothing happens. We wait and wait and wait patiently. But nothing happens. We feel frustrated.
Moreover, when we take a close look at Mark chapter 6 verse 48, we can find Jesus’ strange behavior. Did you notice that? When Jesus came to them, walking on the water, he intentionally tried to pass them by. Probably Jesus wanted to see how they would respond. Jesus might have tested their faith. Same thing… God wants to see how we would respond to delayed answers to our prayers. God would test our faith. God wants to see that we have faith to be saved. God wants to see that we have faith to be healed. God wants to see that we have faith to receive His blessings. Believe it or not, our faith must be tested for our benefit.
Hey you folks, how did the disciples respond to Jesus walking on the water? When they saw Jesus, they were terrified. No man could walk on the water. So they thought that they had seen a ghost. They were so afraid that they cried out in fear. But at once, Jesus said to them, “Have courage! It’s I. Don’t be afraid.” At that moment, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, if it is really you, talk to me. Tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus said, “Come!”
Brothers and sisters, if Jesus said to you, “Come!”, would you be able to get out of the boat? If you jumped into the water, you would die. But Peter jumped into the lake. I have no idea what prompted Peter to get out of the boat. His faith in Jesus was remarkable. Amazingly, Peter didn’t drown. Looking at Jesus, Peter began to walk on the water to go to him. Incredible! A miracle happened. Peter did what Jesus had done.
But when Peter walked almost to Jesus, he felt the strong wind. He saw the rough waves. Peter probably thought to himself, “What in the world am I doing here? What am I doing wrong?” He might have thought that he had done a foolish thing. In fact, his faith turned into doubt. When he doubted, he began to fear. When he feared, he began to sink. We don’t know how far Peter walked on the water. When faith is gone, miracles are gone, too. When we stop walking by faith, miracles stop in our lives,
too.
Brothers and sisters, we always have to walk by faith, not by sight. If you only look at your reality, if you only look at your surroundings, you will certainly fail. If you put limits on God’s power, you will certainly sink into the bottomless pit. Brothers and sisters, let your eyes look straight ahead. Fix your eyes on Jesus.
Fortunately, the moment Peter began to sink, he cried out to Jesus, saying, “Lord, save me!” For a time, we would make mistakes. We would fail like Peter. We also have to cry out to Jesus, saying, “Jesus, save me!” like Peter. If we call out to Jesus for help, immediately Jesus will reach out his hand and take hold of you. He will lift you up although you are heavy. He will save you!
Brothers and sisters, you know what? Jesus wants us to continue to grow in faith. Jesus wants our faith to grow as big as his. That’s why He allows suffering in our lives. Furthermore, he wants us to go through suffering by faith.
As we all know, Jesus was a man of suffering. Although he was the Son of God, he learned obedience from what he suffered.(Hebrews 5:8) Psalm chapter 119 verse 71 says, “It was good for me to suffer, so that I might learn your laws.”
I have no idea what season of your faith is. I don’t know what stage or what level of your faith is. I am sure God will continue to test your faith accordingly. I pray that we all would pass the test of faith on every occasion. Is there anyone who is walking on the water now? Look at Jesus. Don’t look around your environments, temptations or bad events! Fix your eyes on Jesus. Walk on the water by faith to the end.
Let us all pray
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