Jesus Walks On Water: The Deliverance From Fear Series

If we know Jesus Christ in a personal way, we know that He will deliver us from many things. How many testimonies have we heard from people who have been delivered from something? Illness, death, financial situations, relationships, etc. Tonight, we see Jesus’ deliverance from yet another peril, fear.

When was the last time you were afraid?

• Afraid of losing your job.

• Afraid of losing a loved one.

• Afraid of being alone.

• Afraid of becoming dependent on someone.

Tonight’s passage is just a short episode of Jesus walking on the water. But in this episode Jesus shows us that He is Someone that we can count on when fear grips our lives.

We stopped last time with Jesus feeding the 5,000. The people wanted to make Jesus their king, their earthly Messiah but Jesus wanted no part of that. He went to the top of a mountain to be by Himself. Now we pick up the story. READ v. 16.

Now it’s evening time. It’s getting dark. The disciples set sail to cross the Sea of Galilee. As I just said, the crowd was about to take Jesus by force and make Him a king. There was a danger that the disciples might be swept up in the excitement of the temptation, so Jesus instructed them to set sail. They obeyed Jesus, doing exactly what He said; they fled and escaped the temptation.

READ v. 17. Note the words: “Jesus had not yet joined them.” Apparently, Jesus had told them to row out some distance and then to turn and pick Him up at some other point on the shore. But they were not to wait for Him beyond a certain time. Mark’s account of this tells us that Jesus was going to send the crowd away and withdraw to pray. The violent winds caught the disciples by surprise and apparently pulled them out into the lake.

READ vv. 18-19. I tried to put myself in the boat with the disciples and imagine this scene. You’re in this boat, the wind comes up, the waves start to dash against the boat, and then you look through the darkness and see someone standing and walking on the top of the water. That had to be a strange and scary sight. In these verses we find 4 causes of fear. Let’s talk about them.

1. Being in the dark will cause fear. How many are afraid of the dark? It was now dark, so the disciples couldn’t see. The threat and danger and the emotional strain of the storm was probably more intense because of the dark.

Let’s think about that for a moment. A person in spiritual darkness cannot see. That person’s blindness is a strong threat and emotional strain on them. The threat is strong because they don’t know what lies ahead (trouble, sorrow, difficulty, loss, death).

The danger is strong in that they will definitely face some difficult times ahead. Being in darkness, they will be caught unprepared. They’ll be in the dark about God, about how to call on Him and receive strength and help from Him. Being in the dark spiritually is a strong emotional strain in that fear will swarm over a person, covering them with a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.

2. The second cause of fear comes from being without Jesus. At this point in our passage, Jesus had not yet joined the disciples. So, they didn’t have His presence or His help. They were left alone to fend for themselves. They had to rely on each other and their own strength. There was a possibility of them dying in this storm. So, they had every reason to be afraid. These guys were honest men and they knew deep down inside that their strength was limited and would eventually fail.

3. Another cause of fear comes from being caught in one of the strong, violent storms of life. A strong wind and a violent storm arose. Notice that when they had launched out, it was calm and peaceful. They thought their journey would be successful with no trouble whatsoever. They never expected a violent storm, but the winds and the clouds DID COME. The terrible storm DID STRIKE and threaten their lives.

It’s the same way with the strong, violent storms of life. Trouble, trials, sickness, death, financial problems, and a host of other storms strike everyone. They strike unexpectedly when we are the least prepared. That causes a fear to set in and gets our lives out of sorts.

4. Being tired and gripped with a sense of impending death, will cause fear. The disciples had been struggling against the storm for six to nine hours, and they had only gotten three or four miles.

Now let’s note what happens. The disciples saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water. It scared them to death. These guys were physically exhausted and mentally drained from the exertion. Their lives were at stake. They were struggling for survival.