In "On This Day" by Carl D. Windsor, the page for Valentine's Day includes this anecdote: "Even the most devoted couple will experience a 'stormy' bout once in a while. A grandmother, celebrating her golden wedding anniversary, once told the secret of her long and happy marriage. 'On my wedding day, I decided to make a list of ten of my husband's faults which, for the sake of our marriage, I would overlook,' she said.
"A guest asked the woman what some of the faults she had chosen to overlook were. The grandmother replied, 'To tell you the truth, my dear, I never did get around to listing them. But whenever my husband did something that made me hopping mad, I would say to myself, Lucky for him that's one of the ten!' "
Mark 6:45 "Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd."
Immediately after what? Jesus had just fed 5000 plus people with two fish and five loaves. John's account tells us the people wanted to force Jesus into a ruling position, making Him king. Seeing the danger of this to the people, it was time to leave. Seeing the negative affect this could have on the disciples, he hurried them to the boat. Giving them instructions, He then turned and dismissed the crowd.
Mark 6:46-47 "And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land."
Now Jesus would be alone, through the night, to pray. The disciples would be alone, through the night on the sea. When you are feeling all alone, remember, you are never out of the sight of Jesus.
Mark 6:48 "And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,"
"making headway painfully" means working as hard as they could with little progress. What normally would have been a three hour tour had lasted from sunset to the fourth watch, about sunrise.
High upon a seaside mountain, Jesus watched the drama and then came to rescue them. The disciples were tired, exhausted, at the end of themselves when Jesus appeared walking on the sea towards them.
"He meant to pass by them" could be a unfortunately weak translation. Some commentaries say Jesus wanted to "pass by" like He wanted to let the cup pass from Him in Gethsemane.
Mark says Jesus sent the disciples to go to Bethsaida. One account had them heading to Capernaum, another to Genathera. After Jesus fed the 5000, John said the people wanted to make Jesus king, but He refused. This, some writers say, may have confused the disciples and they just wanted to give up. So like Jonah, Jesus said, "Go this way," and the disciples saw it as an opportunity to jump ship.
As God had told Moses in the wilderness, "Let's give up on this group of misfits and start over."
But as Jesus lived in obedience to the Father, He resolved, "Nevertheless, not my will but thine." If this is what happened, it is very encouraging. Once you get on Jesus' team, He won't let you quit.
I don't think this is the case at all. "He meant to pass by." The primary definition of the word translated for "meant" is desired. The primary definition of the word for "to pass by" means "to come up beside, approach from the side."
Dr. Kenneth Wuest makes a compelling argument that Jesus, seeing the toil and futility of the disciples labor, desired to come along side them. That is supported in scripture, as Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30).
However, Dr. John Grassmick, using the common translation, points to 1 Kings 19:11-12, and says, Jesus wanting to pass by is a prophetic statement about showing who He really is. "And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper."
There are other OT passages about God "passing by", such as when Moses wanted to see Him. Each case points to God wanting to reveal who He was to someone. Jesus, seeing the disciples in the storms, longed for them to know who HE was.
But instead, they thought He was a water phantom.
Mark 6:49-50 "but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
"It's me." Literally, "I am me." Recognize that? "I am who I am."
Mark 6:51-52 "And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened."
Interesting verses. Jesus gets in the boat, the wind stops and the disciples are amazed, utterly astounded, completely baffled. Why? Mark says, because they didn't get the message about the loaves. They didn't know who Jesus was. There were still some connections they had not made.
But this passage does give us some great encouragement when we face the storm. When your in the storm, remember....
I. Jesus sends us into the storm.
The disciples could have had a conversation that is common when we face the storm. Who caused the storm? In Job, Satan. In 1 Kings 19, God.
That is the wrong question. Perhaps we can ask, "Who sent the disciples into the storm?" Such a question focuses on the purpose of storms.
Let's make it clear, Jesus sends us into storms. I don't want to go into the storms, but Jesus is Lord. He is the one who decides.
(personal illustration)
II. Jesus sees us in the storm.
Jesus was watching them the whole way. There is never a time when you are out of the watchful eye of our loving Savior. Jesus sat on the mountain, watching them toil, praying for them.
Read vs. 48 "And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,"
Don't tell the little children around the supper table, but Jesus prayed with His eyes open. He prayed, but He had an eye on His disciples.
Psa 121:1 A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
What is Jesus doing right now? He is sitting High on the Hill of God, praying for you. Romans 8:34 "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."
It is natural to feel forsaken during our storms. The disciples felt so forsaken, they didn't expect Jesus, and didn't recognize Him when He came. Despite how it feels or how it looks, Jesus is there. He is watching over you.
(Illustration about watching silver being purified)
III. Jesus supports us through the storm.
They were sent into the storm by Jesus. Many of these were fishermen. This sea sailing was an area of strength for them.
We have become conditioned to depend on the natural with more confidence than we do the supernatural, for our explanations, for our security, and for our expectations. When we focus on the material, we miss the spiritual (including the power of deliverance).
Illus. They said on the radio the other day that coffee could extend your life. Coffee drinkers live longer than those who don't it, according to one report. Did you hear it on the radio? Well, it was on the radio. Do you have a radio? It was on one of 79 available stations in our area. Do you get 89.7 FM? OK, if you have a radio and you can pick up FM 83.7, and they said it on the radio on FM 83.7, what is your excuse for not hearing it?
The same reason most people do not hear God in their lives. They either don't have the radio turned on or it is tuned to another station. That is what is meant by having a hardened heart. They didn't have their radios tuned in to Jesus because their hearts were hardened. They didn't understand the loaves (52).
We want to be the answer to hungry people, but don't want to be broken. We want to be used by God, but we don't want to be broken. The fishes and loaves were broken and blessed.
We want to do it in our own strength and with our own resources. In that sense, we don't understand the loaves and fishes. Therefore, we miss the significance of Jesus rescuing us from the storm. And we miss the purpose of the storm.
Imagine one of the disciples: "When we fed the 5000, I handed out and picked up more than you did. We would have not had enough if it hadn't been for my gift of handing out food."
Imagine now one of the disciples in the boat: They were 3-1/2 to 4 miles out, had been rowing all night. Fearing death, immediately Jesus appears walking on water. Immediately the storm calms. Immediately they were at the destination (another miracle).
"If I had not been rowing we would have been 4.5 miles out and Jesus could not have saved us." Or, "If I had not thrown out those bags of dried beans, we would have sank earlier and Jesus would have been too late. Good thing I was there."
Still seeking to be our own sufficiency, we miss the message: JESUS IS ALL WE NEED IN THIS LIFE.
Ill. The year was 1820. A 6 month old infant girl had an eye infection. The only available medical professional was called and applied a salve to the child's eyes that permanently blinded her. Shortly after, her father died.
Her mother Mary and grandmother Eunice raised the little girl, doing their best to help her by memorizing where everything in the house was placed. To help her memory, they raised this girl memorizing lots of scripture.
With a heart full of scripture, at the age of 8, this girl wrote:
Oh what a happy soul I am, Although I cannot see;
I am resolved that in this world Contented I will be.
How many blessings I enjoy, That other people don't;
To weep and sigh because I'm blind, I cannot, and I won't.
She later remarked, " "It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me."
"When I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior".When asked about her blindness, Fanny Crosby was reported as saying that "had it not been for her affliction she might not have so good an education or have so great an influence, and certainly not so fine a memory".
She held no animosity for the so-called doctor. She saw her blindness as a divine opportunity to impact the world for Christ, praying often that God might use her music to bringing others to a saving faith in Jesus. “Don’t blame the doctor," She once said. "He is probably dead by this time, but if I could meet him, I would tell him that he unwittingly did me the greatest favor in the world.”
She used her memory of scripture and insights to write over 9000 songs. One of those songs says: "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh what a foretaste of glory divine."
Many years later not far from where Fanny Crosby was raised, a young mother sat in the pews of a church. She heard the Sunday School would have a good impact on her children. Week after week, she sat and listened to song and sermon.
One day, as the Church ended the service by singing Blessed Assurance, written by Crosby, the young mother walked the isle. "I just realized that I believe and that blessed assurance is mine," she said of her new faith.
Oh that we would face the storms of our lives like that of Fanny Crosby. Oh that we would pray that our legacy would direct souls to the cross nearly 200 years after our deaths. We can if during the storms, we grasp Jesus sends us into the storms, sees us in the storms and supports us through the storms.
