WALKING ON THE WATER John 6:16-21
Have you ever gotten a pop quiz?
(ELAB)
In todays text The disciples are about to get a pop quiz. John 6:16-21
• They have just been through an incredible day.
• After sitting at the feet of Jesus and hearing Him teach the multitude,
• They watched Him feed over 5,000 people with five bagels and two sardines.
• This wasn’t done with mirrors.
• There was no trick photography involved.
• They felt the loaves of bread with their own hands
• As they were passing them out to all these people.
• And when it was over and everybody had eatin as much as they wanted
• They picked up twelve bags full of leftovers.
That was the lesson for the day.
• It was a lesson about the power of Jesus
• And it was a lesson about His sufficiency.
• And Now that they have been exposed to the lesson,
• Iit is time for the quiz.
• And The quiz takes the shape of a strong wind.
DISCIPLES IN THE STORM
Jn 6:16 That evening his disciples went down to the shore to wait for him.
Jn 6:17 But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum.
Jn 6:18 Soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. (John 6:16-18).
Jesus and His disciples had been on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
• The disciples then got on their boat and start across to the northwestern shore
• It is a distance of about five miles.
• When we read this it may seem like that the disciples
• Had abandoned Jesus and left Him behind
• When we assume this what we are really doing is reading more into the text than is really there
• We have to compare this account with the account that we read in
• Mark 6:45-46 where it says
Mk 6:45 Immediately after this, (Talking about the feeding) that Jesus made his disciples get back into the boat and head out across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home.
Mk 6:46 Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray.
He sent them away.
• Jesus told His disciples to do something and they did it.
• And in the middle of doing what they were told
• They found themselves in the middle of a storm.
And the question for today is are you in a storm right now?
• You may be thinking to yourself, "Lord, what did I do to deserve this?"
• And sometimes what makes a situation even harder is that
• It’s possible that you haven’t done anything wrong (ELAB)
• And even though you have been faithful
• You still find yourself in the middle of a storm.
Are you reading this passage and thinking that it sounds familiar,
• And if so I want you to know that you are not alone.
• The disciples must have experienced this same sense of déjà vu.
• Even though it’s not mentioned in the Gospel of John,
• The other accounts show us that this wasn’t the first storm the disciples had encountered on the Sea of Galilee.
• They’d been out there before
• Maybe even in the same boat
• The first time this had had happened
• They had come to this same spot on the lake
• And the boat had began to sink
• So they woke up Jesus who had been sleeping in the back of the boat
• And Jesus calmed the storm.
And now it was happening all over again
• We can imagine Peters first response is
• No problem I’ll just go wake Jesus up
• He can turn the storm off!"
• And John answers, "Uhh Peter, we have a bit of trouble.
• We left Jesus back on the shore."
• And to make matters worse, They had taken the only boat.
So What do you do when you are alone in the midst of the storm?
• Well we know one thing and that’s Jesus knows what we’re going through.
• But no matter how hard you look you can’t see Him.
I believe that there was something in the boat
• That should have comforted the disciples.
• There were 12 baskets of leftovers
• Which showed the power and the compassion of God.
• And when they looked at those baskets,
• They should have realized that the God who provided for the needs of all those people
• Is the same God that wouldn’t fail them in the middle of this storm
And when it comes down to aren’t we guilty of the same thing.
• God blesses us in so many ways
• But whenever a storm comes along
• We forget.
• This is why we are instructed to remind one another.
• The world says, "Drink and forget your troubles."
• But Jesus says, “Remember."
Jn 6:19 They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified,
Jn 6:20 but he called out to them, “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” (John 6:19-20).
The disciples had found themselves dealing with a strong wind.
• Our translation tells us that they "rowed,"
• But when we think about the term oars
• We have to remember that these were massive oars that were used to pilot these ships through storms
• The point isn’t so much the method repetitive rowing
• But the fact that it involved heavy toil on the part of the disciples.(It was work)
The Sea of Galilee is 600 feet below sea level
• And It’s surrounded on the east and west by mountains and steep valleys.
• Because of this these mountains and valleys would act like a wind tunnel
• And it would direct the cold air rushing down from the heights above,
• And cause it to whipping across
• In the midst of these winds and the cold and the darkness of the night
• Because they didn’t have flood lights night,
• The disciples see Jesus walking on the water.
1The first thing we see is the Reason for the Walk:
• They see Jesus walking on the water (6:19).
• But Why did Jesus come walking on the water?
• And it’s more than the old chicken crossing the road answer
• Of He wanted to get to the other side.
Jesus was walking on the water because He wanted to teach the disciples something.
• But the question is what is it?
• Jesus wasn’t doing it so He could teach the disciples how to walk on water.
• Because we see that when we read our Bible they never
• Walked on water after this
• And most people running around today
• That claim they can perform miracles have a real problem with this one.
Jesus has walking on the water to prove to the disciples that He can.
• Jesus can always do the impossible.
• But why do the disciples need to know this?
• It’s because He is going to send them out to do the impossible,.
• Jesus is going to commission these very ordinary men to go out
• And make disciples of all men in every land.
• This sounds Impossible!
These men aren’t natural born leaders.
• They’re not seminary graduates.
• But these men will accomplish the impossible.
• Because With God, all things are possible
• Why do we need to know this?
• Because God has called each one of us to do the impossible.
• He has called us to live a clean life in a dirty world.
• He has called us to be a faithful witness of Him.
• He has called us to be Christ to the world.
• And He has shown us that this is possible because He is with us.
2. The second thing we see is the Fear of the Disciples:
• They were terrified (6:19). (Elab on would you be)
• It had been a long day.
• Because of the storm the disciples were wet.
• They were tired.
• They are ready for a break.
• But nowhere do we read that they had been afraid until now.
They had faced the storm in the past.
• It did not especially trouble them.
• But now there’s something else that’s troubling them.
• It is the sight of Jesus walking on the sea.
These disciples weren’t ignorant.
• They knew they were in some deep water
• They knew they had a big problem
• But in the middle of all this happening
• The one thing that they were sure about was that
• It’s impossible for a man to walk on water.
• There was something going on right in front of them went against
• Every bit of human reason and human experience.
• They could see Jesus doing the impossible.
And What is their reaction? They were frightened.
• They’ re frightened because they realized
• That there was something happening that was greater
• Than they could imagine
• They were frightened in a way that the storm could never frighten them.
But What frightened them?
• They were frightened by the Holiness of Jesus.
• But What does it mean to be holy?
• The term "holy" often brings up images of Divine goodness and serenity,
• But I think this falls short of the real meaning of the word.
• Holiness refers to the way in which God is holy.
• He is set apart and distinct from all the rest of His creation.
• The sixth chapter of Isaiah tells us of Isaiah’s heavenly vision of the Lord
Isa 6:2 Hovering around him were mighty seraphim, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with the remaining two they flew. Isa 6:3 In a great chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” (Isaiah 6:2-3).
Isaiah’ reaction to this vision is compelling.
Isa 6:5 Then I said, “My destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and a member of a sinful race. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD Almighty!” (Isaiah 6:5).
Isaiah realizes that He is in the presence of something
• That is way beyond him
• His vision shows him see his own unholiness in comparison.
• He realizes that he and the rest of humanity fall way short of such holiness.
• And this is the same thing that the disciples realize
• They realize that there is One in their presence
• That exceeds human understanding and it frightens them.
• Think about it hoe would you feel (ELAB)
C.S. Lewis captures the essence of this in his Chronicles of Narnia
• When he describes Aslan, the Christ-figure in the book:
• But as for Aslan himself,
• The Beavers and the children didn’t know what to do or say
• When they saw him.
• People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think
• That something cannot be both good and terrible at the same time.
• If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now.
• Because when they tried to look at Aslan’s face
• They just caught a glimpse of the golden mane
• And the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes;
• And then they found they couldn’t look at him and went all trembly.
These disciples saw Jesus doing what the ordinary man couldn’r do
• They saw it and it filled them with fear.
• And It’s at this point that Jesus calls to them and instructs them,
• Not to be afraid.
• The disciples had been laboring across the water.
• It was hard going and they would have been exhausted.
• Now they see Jesus walking on the water
• And, instead of seeing Him as the answer to their problems,
• They view Him with fear.
The 3rd thing we see is that they are TOGETHER IN THE BOAT
Jn 6:21 Then they were eager to let him in, and immediately the boat arrived at their destination (John 6:21).
• What we see here is that when we get past the fear,
• Then we can come to Jesus
• And when you come to Jesus, the other problems you face are not so bad.
So what’s your storm? What are you struggling with?
• The storm of acceptance?
• The storm of security?
• The storm of aging?
• The storm of significance?
• The storm of loneliness?
What we have to understand is that when storms strike
• We need to invite Jesus into our boat,
• And when we do this we realize that our problems aren’t so bad.
When we invite Jesus into our boat we find that we’ve been
• Accepted in Christ.
• Given eternal security.
•Given the opportunity to accomplish what we were designed to acomplish.
• Given the Promise that He will be with us both now and forever.
Looking back, each one of us can see that there was a reason for the storm.
• The storm was given as a test.
• The storm reveals what we are depending on
• Are you depending upon your own strength?
• Or are you depending upon the One who can calm the storm
As we close I want us to remember what we can learn from this passage.
1. If you follow Jesus, there will be storms.
• We need to be careful to make this clear to people.
• There are times when, we share the gospel,
• That we make it sound if we just trust in Jesus
• That there will never storms again.
• This isn’t true
• What is true is that we have the love and the care
• Of the One who is able to calmthe storm.
2. Jesus never denies the reality of the storm.
• He doesn’t say, "Don’t worry, the storm isn’t that bad."
• He doesn’t say anything to indicate that the storm is small.
• What He does is to show that He is bigger than the storm.
• God is bigger than any of our storms.
3. The purpose of the storm is to get us to realize that the Lord is God
• And that He is the Master of the storm.
