Twas A Dark And Stormy Night (Gospel of John Part 19)
Text: John 6:15-21
Please open your Bibles to the Gospel of John chapter 6:15 – 21… We’ve been studying this Gospel account for a while now… and if you remember from last time, Jesus had just fed over 5000 people, and they wanted to make Him their king… so that’s where we’ll pick up this morning, and we’ll also go to Matthew and Mark, because they both talk about this event as well, and it will give us a full picture of what took place that evening on the Sea of Galilee.
(READ TEXT)….
Now turn over to Matthew 14:22-27 (READ).
And now Mark’s account in Mark 6:45-52 (READ)
So here’s John showing us yet ANOTHER miracle of Jesus. It’s another thing that shows us that Jesus is God. I mean… who else can walk 3-4 miles out on the sea in the middle of a storm? So John is telling us about this event, so that we won’t have any doubt that Jesus is God…
Now the reason I had you look at Matthew and Mark’s accounts of this event, is because John doesn’t go into a lot of details. He just basically tells us about Jesus walking on the water, and that’s pretty much it. Because that’s what he’s focusing on… showing you the miracle of Jesus walking on water, and bringing them safely to land… in order to prove that He is God. So by looking at what Matthew and Mark say about it, it fills in the details a little better, and we get a fuller picture of what happened and what’s going on.
So let’s start with the obvious… Jesus has gone up the mountain the pray, and He’s sent the disciples across the Sea of Galilee and has told them He’ll catch up later. They head out, and run smack dab into a storm. And it must’ve been a bad storm. Because out of the 12 disciples, several of them were experienced fishermen… who made their living on the Sea of Galilee. They’d probably been through a storm or two in their day, but this one was causing them some real problems. They had been struggling against it all night.
Now that brings us to our first point… When you’re serving God, and trying to be obedient to Him… you will never face troubles in this life. Right? Isn’t that what the TV preachers say? Isn’t that what those false prophets, flying around in their private jets say?
It may be what “they” say, but it’s not what the Bible says.
The Bible says, “In this world – YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE.” You’re going to have storms come into your life… and granted… they come for different reasons. Remember the story of Jonah? He had a storm come into his life because he was in disobedience. It was a corrective storm, to get him back on track. God sent it, to correct him. And sometimes storms come into our lives as a consequence of our sin. If you’re being a dirt-bag to your neighbor… if you shoot his dog, and poison his garden… there’s a good chance that a storm is headed your direction. If you slander, or backbite, or gossip about your co-workers… there’s a good chance a storm is headed your direction. So sometimes… storms come as a direct result of our personal sin. And then sometimes the storms are instances where the devil outright attacking you… this is usually in the form of persecution. You know, not having a flat tire… not your boss coming down on you because you were late for work… but actual persecution… outright attacks against you personally BECAUSE you are a Christian, and BECAUSE of your stance on God’s Word.
2nd Timothy 3:12 – “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus WILL BE persecuted!” Jesus… when He was giving the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 says… I think it’s verse 20 or 2…1 that tribulation and persecution comes BECAUSE OF the Word… in other words, as you stand on God’s Word, and preach and proclaim God’s Word, the devil is going to take notice, and people are going to attack you, and slander you, and come at you. So that can be a cause for the storms we face in life as well… and the Bible says when you go through those, rejoice!
And then sometimes… because this world has been infected by sin… there are just storms that come. They aren’t a direct result of a specific sin you committed… and they aren’t a result of you standing on God’s Word. They just happen because there’s sin in this world.
And you might be living for God, and living for Jesus, and trying to be obedient, and faithful… and they just come… they would’ve come even if you weren’t doing those things.
The disciples… they were trying to obey the Lord and do what He had told them to do…But the storm comes anyway.
Go back with me to Matthew 14:22 and let me read that to you (READ)… and again Mark 6:45 (READ). The disciples were attempting to obey the commands of Jesus. The Lord had told them to go to the other side… They were trying to obey Him. They were doing what Jesus said. And the storm of the century comes upon them. The Bible makes it very clear, that just because you are a Christian, and just because you’re following Jesus. That does not exempt you from the storms of life. In-fact; we’re told to expect them.
Church listen to me… we follow a CRUCIFIED Savior! Jesus faced the storms Himself. We follow a Savior who suffered, and bled, and died. This notion that Christianity is all sunshine and lollipops, and free from trouble was unheard of for most of the Church’s history. From the time the Church began in 33 AD, until 313 AD, Christians were killed, torn apart by animals in the arena, beaten, beheaded, crucified, burned at the stake, stoned to death. For nearly 300 years, that’s what it meant to be a Christian. And even after Constantine signed the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, Christians in other places, outside of Roman jurisdiction, were being killed, and tortured, and imprisoned for their faith. During the Middle Ages… from about 450 AD, to about 1000 AD, more than150 million Christians were martyred. From about 1000 AD to 1500 AD another 50 to 100 million Christians were killed, for their faith. And it didn’t stop after the Reformation and Counter Reformation… Why did the Pilgrims come to America? To get away from Religious persecution… And even today, there’s between 150,000 to 300,000 Christians that are murdered for their faith every year.
That’s not counting the ones who lose their jobs, or are thrown in prison, or who are beaten. This teaching… this idea… that once you become a Christian, life gets easy, and it’s all wine and roses… it’s not Biblical. It’s not what we see in history. It’s not what we see even today in the lives of faithful followers of Christ. Jesus says, “Take up your cross, and follow Me.” Not, buy yourself a private jet, a 46 room mansion, and live in comfort and ease.
So Jesus comes to them, in the middle of the storm… And catch this… He comes in His time… not theirs. You know, John doesn’t record it, but I can’t help but think that at least one of those disciples asked Jesus… “Why did you wait so long? We’ve been struggling with this all night… why didn’t You come sooner Jesus?” The passages in Matthew and Mark tell us it was during the 4th watch that Jesus finally came to them… In other words, it was between 3 and 6 AM. And it wasn’t because He had to walk 4 miles on water to get to them. Jesus could’ve rebuked the storm from the mountain top. Mark 6:48 tells us that Jesus saw them struggling… But it’s in His time.
And there’s a purpose for that. There’s a reason that Jesus allows them to struggle in this storm. He’s teaching them something, even in the middle of the storm.
Look with me again at Marks’ account of this… Mark 6:48 (READ).
“He meant to pass by them.” That blows my mind!!!
So let’s put all the pieces together. Jesus had to slip away from the crowds because they wanted to make Him their king… they wanted the free food, the free healthcare, they wanted to be free from Roman rule… they had the wrong idea about what Christ was, and Who Christ was. Jesus sends the disciples across the sea, and tells them He will catch up later. He goes up the mountain and starts praying. The disciples are rowing across the sea… it’s about an 8 mile trip across… but a storm hits. They’re struggling… they are moving slowly… they’re trying to do what Jesus has told them to do, but getting no-where. Jesus sees them struggling from the mountain top He’s standing on… but doesn’t rebuke the storm…
And He doesn’t come to them until sometime between 3 and 6 AM… And as He’s walking on the water, He approaches them, and He’s going to go right on by them.
What’s the lesson?
Well maybe you’re sitting here today and you’re in a storm. It might be money problems. It might be health problems. It might be problems at work, or problems in the home. It might be a storm that’s come from the sins of your past, or it might be persecution because you’re standing on God’s Word, and standing on the truth. Whatever it might be… our text today will give you hope. Because what we see in our text here, is that right in the middle of the storm, Jesus comes to them. He could’ve rebuked it from the mountain top, but instead He comes to where we are… He comes into the middle of the wind and waves, in the darkness, with lightning flashing all around. In-fact; that’s the very thing He did by becoming a man… He will come right smack dab in the middle of what you’re going through. In the middle of your struggle and despair. He’s prepared to walk into the eye of the storm for His followers.
So yes… following Christ does not exempt you from storms. Following Christ doesn’t mean you’ll be wealthy, healthy, and famous. It doesn’t mean, free food, free healthcare, and freedom from Roman rule. It means taking up a cross. It means there will be storms. But He took up His cross first, and He’ll meet you in the middle of the storm, and take it head on.
The second thing we see is that He’ll come in His time… in His way… but also, as long as you are content to keep trying in your own strength, in your own way. He’ll let you struggle. It’s like the old song we sing here in church, “What a Friend We Have In Jesus.”… there’s a verse in there that says, “O what peace we often forfeit; O what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer.” So that particular storm that’s raging in your life right now… have you called out to Jesus? Have you cried out to Him in desperation? Or are you still trying to fix it in your own strength? Are you still trying to do it your way? Are you still saying, “I can do it myself”?
And ultimately; this is a picture of salvation. Here are these men… they’re in darkness. Their lives are in danger. They’re trying to be obedient to God… trying to “keep the Law”, but they can’t. Everything is stacked against them. It’s impossible. They’re struggling, they’re doing it in their own strength, and failing miserably. And maybe that’s someone here today. You’re thinking, that if I just work hard enough… If I am just more religious, and more pious, and more devout. Maybe I can earn salvation. Maybe I can work my way into a right standing with God. Let me tell you, it can never be done by you and me. But it has been done by Jesus. But you have to come to the end of yourself. You have to get to the point where you say, “God I can’t do it. I need your grace… and if Jesus passes me by, I’m done for. I’m doomed. I’m sunk. Have mercy on me a sinner.” And you come to Him by faith, and you trust in Christ’s finished work… not your own.
CLOSING
