“Jesus Defies the Natural Order of Creation” John 6:16-24
We looked at Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5,000 men (probably close to 10,000 people in total) from five barley loaves and two fish. This miracle of Jesus demonstrated His creative power more than any other so far in His ministry and probably is one of the most outstanding examples of Jesus’ Deity. It also sets the stage for Jesus’ dissertation concerning Himself as the Bread of Life in verses 22-59, some of which we read last week leading to our participation at the Lord’s Supper. Signs in John’s gospel always point to a greater spiritual reality, and the reality is this: Jesus was not merely an earthly prophet/teacher or king, but Jesus is God come down from Heaven to announce the Kingdom of God and provide the only way into God’s Kingdom.
The Setting
Today we look at the account of Jesus’ Walking on the Sea of Galilee and we pick up the setting of that account in John 6:14: “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!"
They recognized Jesus was a prophet/teacher but did not accept His Deity. They did not understand the powerful signs and miracle pointed to Jesus as the Promised Messiah of the Old Testament, that Jesus was indeed the Messiah sent from the Father’s side to be the one and only Mediator for the sins of mankind to everyone who would believe and follow Jesus.
15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Two things on verse 15: First of all the word for “perceiving” is to KNOW. So Jesus possessed supernatural knowledge of the thoughts and intents of the people’s hearts. This goes back to John 1, that Jesus is the giver of all Life and then in John 3 and John 5 this principle of Jesus as the discerner of the human heart is taught again and again. Here it surfaces one more time. No mere man (part of the created order of God) will make God do anything: Finite Man cannot impose his finite will upon an infinite God who created Him. Jesus reigns in the hearts and lives of those HE chooses. (John 1:12-13: Receive (assent to), believe (continue to receive and follow), given heavenly authority (Humans are born of God into God’s family. Man never imposes His fleshly will upon God.
Isaiah 40:13-14 is quoted by Paul in Romans 11:34: “Who has understood the mind of the Lord or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?” God’s creatures have never given Him any counsel or convinced Him to do anything at all that He did not know or ordain. He IS GOD, we are creatures made by Him to bring HIM glory.
The second thing is that phrase: “Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” Jesus did this often times in His ministry: He withdrew to have fellowship with the Father. Our fellowship with God was broken at creation: Adam and Eve hid after they disobeyed God. They died to God morally and spiritually. It is only by the Lord Jesus Christ and the new birth from above that we again have a new spiritual heart that longs for fellowship with this great God who created us and saved us by sending His Eternal Son into the world to die for our sins and He sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts and gives us new life, He grants to us Heavenly Kingdom citizenship and desires by adopting us as His own Children, born not by the will of man or the flesh but by God. He gives us a new identity and eternal purpose IN CHRIST and for His Glory alone! Praise His Holy Name!
The Voyage
This account is an abbreviated account compared to the synoptic Gospels’ accounts. (Matt. 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52. There are synoptic comparative points from Matt. And Luke at www.gotquestions.org/walking-on-water.html) This study will only examine John’s Holy Spirit inspired words to us is this passage.
This Sign/Miracle was witnessed by the disciples alone and here are the things to notice:
1. Jesus transcended the limits of gravity and space.
2. Jesus’ “walking on water” is a declaration to them that He is “Lord of Creation”.
3. They will be the ONLY ones who witnessed the Feeding of the 5,000 who would not abandon Jesus, because Jesus had called them.
Look at John 6:16-21: “When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. (Capernaum was Jesus’ headquarters during His Galilean ministry, probably in the house of Peter, means “the act of glorying” Gr. Jesus was spending time in prayer with His Father. The disciples went out into the darkness of the night without the Savior’s accompaniment.)
Some statistics of the Sea of Galilee {Greek: “Circuit”). (Also known as Kinneret {Heb.,Meaning “harp” because of its shape. The east side of the lake is the fought over Golan Heights today where scholars think Jesus may have fed the 5,000.} Also called Lake of Gennesaret {Judeo-Aramaic: Harp or Harps, Heb. origin} or Lake Tiberias {Arabic, Tiberias is a Jewish settlement with a 1,000 people on the sw shore of the Lake today. "from the Tiber (as god-river) the second Roman emperor”}. It is 680 feet below sea level, the second lowest lake in the world (Dead Sea is 1400 ft. below sea level south of the Sea of Galilee). It is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. At its deepest point the lake is 150 feet deep, averaging about 25 ft. The fishermen whom Jesus called as disciples had practiced their trade around this lake and the majority of Jesus’ ministry was around this Sea of Galilee.
18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
Sudden storms on this below-sea-level lake were common, and they couldn’t check local weather on their cellphones or receive a stormy weather alert. The word for “Strong wind” comes from the root word “aer”; these strong winds were common particularly in lower and denser air as distinguished from the higher atmosphere. “Rough seas” in scripture are symbolic of the world of sin: It is the reality of living in a sinful world without the saving Grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The only other place in John that the word for “blowing” is used is in John 3:8; There it says: "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." This is no accident that the Holy Spirit inspired John to write these words! In a world encompassed by sin and darkness, with nowhere else to go and no other way to get there, the Spirit is not hampered from blowing and influencing peoples’ lives that are tossed about and ready to sink! The disciples were relying on their own strength and expertise to arrive safely on the other side but were making no headway without Jesus in the boat. It is a picture of humanity without Christ. (Just an OT note: the OT word “ruwach” is translated “wind, breath, spirit” in the OT. The Spirit in the NT blows like the wind where He wishes to blow.)
Most in the boat were brave experienced fisherman, men of the sea, now they became chickens of the sea, lost in the darkness of sin.
Listen to verse 19: When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.
Three or four miles puts them in the center of the Lake. It doesn’t say that they were frightened from the storm;) The Greek word for “frightened” is Phobeo- It means that they were “terrified”. The storm didn’t terrify them, they were terrified when they saw Jesus walking on the water and coming near the boat and the other Gospels say that they thought He was a ghost. Whether they did not recognize Him in the darkness accompanied by the wind and waves, or whether Jesus hid himself from them like He did after the resurrection until He spoke, we can’t say. The presence of the Holy sometimes is intriguing and inviting, but can also be frightening. But when Jesus, who is the Eternal Word from Heaven, speaks to us personally, we recognize Him for who He truly is!
20 But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Jesus uses the words “It is I; do not be afraid!” He would later use similar words to His disciples after His resurrection. The “It is I” phrase is translated as a common everyday expression, but in the Greek it literally would say this: “I, I AM.” (Jesus probably did not say it to them in the Greek, although John wrote it in the Greek.) I find that astounding. Jesus says this as an introduction to what He would say shortly in His discourse to the crowds when He would give to them the first of His “I AM” statements; He would begin by saying I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. Remember that a “sign” points to a greater spiritual reality and so Jesus’ Walking on Water is the prelude to the “I am’s” of John while it definitely speaks of Jesus’ Deity, declaring: “I, I AM”!
The disciples heard the Voice of Jesus, obeyed His command to “be of good cheer” or to NO BE AFRAID and we read in verse 21: Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” (The New American Standard has a better translation here: So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.)
It is only when Jesus reveals Himself to us that we are willing to RECEIVE Him into our lives. Just like justification itself, it is immediate that we are granted forgiveness, full immunity, and citizenship into God’s Kingdom.
The word “receive” is so important in John’s Gospel and elsewhere in the New Testament; Listen to God’s Word: John 1:12: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.
*John 1:16: For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
*John 3:27: John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
*John 3:32-33: "What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. "He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.
*John 4:43-44: "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?
*John 12:48: "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
*John 13:20: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."
*John 14:17: That is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
*John 16:24: "Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
*John 17:8: for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
*Rom. 8: 15: For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"
*James 1:12: Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
This sign only given to the disciples was given only to those He had chosen, and even to the one who would later betray Him. The spiritual reality was not seen immediately by them, but we can see that the choice of words in this private “miracle” is really a spiritual picture of salvation.
God comes to the sinful world in the Son, the Lord Jesus. He reveals Himself to those to whom He has chosen. All those whom He has chosen, He will certainly save. They will believe in Him and receive Him into their lives, and they will continue to follow Him. Praise God for the gift of new life in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
OUTLINE
Last Week: Significance of the Sign/Miracle of the Feeding of the 5,000
1. Demonstrated Jesus’ Creative Power as Deity.
2. Pointed to a Greater Spiritual Reality that Jesus was sent from God to announce God’s Kingdom and become the only way into God’s Kingdom.
Vs. 15a: Jesus KNEW the intentions of the multitude; no one makes God do anything: Man cannot impose his finite will upon an infinite God. Jesus reigns in the hearts and lives of those HE chooses. (Isaiah 40:13-14, John 1:12-13: Receive {assent to}, believe {continue to receive and follow}, given heavenly authority to be children of God {born of God}).
Vs. 15b: If Jesus could not survive without prayerful fellowship with the Father, how important is prayerful fellowship by “children of God”?
A. This Sign/Miracle was witnessed by the disciples alone.
1. Jesus transcended the limits of gravity and space.
2. Jesus’ “walking on water” is a declaration to them that He is “Lord of Creation”.
3. They will be the ONLY ones of the ‘5,000’ who would not abandon Jesus, because Jesus had called (chosen) them.
Vs. 18: In a world encompassed by sin and darkness, with nowhere else to go and no other way to get there, the Spirit is not hampered from blowing and influencing peoples’ lives that are tossed about and ready to sink.
Vs. 19: The storm didn’t terrify them, they were terrified when they saw Jesus walking on the water: The Presence of the HOLY can be intriguing but also terrifying.
B. (Vs: 20) A Sign points to a greater Spiritual Reality:
1. “Walking on Water” is the prelude to the “I am’s” of John.
2. “Walking on Water” definitely speaks of Jesus Deity.
3. Jesus’ declaration: “It is I” says literally: “I, I AM”!
Vs. 21: Another miracle: NAS: “So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” Receive Him…With Jesus in your boat, you can be assured to arrive at the place to which He is going.
