MORE ABOUT JESUS
Mark 6:45-56
We sing a hymn that says:
More about Jesus in His Word,
Holding communion with my Lord;
Hearing His voice in every line,
Making each faithful saying mine.
More, more about Jesus,
More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love Who died for me.
I don’t know about you but I cannot get too much of Jesus! For several months we have been walking through Mark’s Gospel account. During this time we have seen numerous occasions where Jesus performed great miracles. Mark spends more time on the miracles of Jesus than any of the other Gospel writers. Over and over again we have witnessed the mighty works of our Savior.
In Chapter 1 we saw Jesus cast a demon out of a man in the Synagogue.
(Mark 1:23-28) We also saw Him heal Peter’s Mother-In-Law. (Mark 1:29-34) In Chapter 2 Jesus healed a man who was paralyzed. (Mark 2:1-12) In Chapter 3 He healed a man who had a withered hand. (Mark 3:1-6) In Chapter 4 Jesus stood on a boat and calmed a storm with three simple words. (Mark 4:35-41) In Chapter 5 He delivered a man who was possessed by many demons. (Mark 5:1-20) He also healed a woman who had suffered from an issue of blood for 12 long years, and He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead. (Mark 5:21-43) Here in Chapter 6 Jesus fed well over 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two small fish. (Mark 6:30-44)
These are just a few of the specific miracles that Jesus performed. There have also been several summary passages where we are told of the great works that Jesus performed among the people. (Mark 1:32 At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.) (Mark 3:9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 10 For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God.")
As Jesus traveled and ministered throughout the region there are many examples of blind people receiving their sight, deaf people being made to hear, mute people gaining the ability to speak, and sick people being healed. Many lepers were cleansed, countless people were delivered from the power of demons and by this time two people had been raised from the dead. As we arrive in our selected text we find more of the same. But seeing the amazing works at the hands of Jesus never gets old!
In the previous passage we pointed out the fact that the Lord’s Disciples suffered from a lack of faith… even after seeing all of these miracles with their own eyes. Though their faith was small, each miracle that they had seen and the ones that they would see in the future were all part of their growth process. In the conclusion of Chapter 6, Mark reveals even more of Jesus’ miracles.
- I would like to walk through the remaining verses of this chapter and preach on the thought “More About Jesus”. In this passage we will see:
i. More About Jesus And The Father
ii. More About Jesus And The Disciples
iii. More About Jesus And The Crowds
- After we see these mighty works of Jesus I pray that you have a desire to learn and experience even “More About Jesus”. Let’s begin by examining:
I. MORE ABOUT JESUS AND THE FATHER
Mark 6:45 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 47 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.
John goes into greater detail about why Jesus left the crowds behind. (John 6:15 …Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.) The people hoped that Jesus would use His power to overthrow Herod and deliver them from Roman oppression. They were right in their assessment that Jesus was the Messiah, but they did not grasp the true purpose of His coming. There is coming a day when Jesus will indeed set up His earthly Kingdom. But the reason that He came the first time was be the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus purpose was not to be a political ruler; He came to be our Savior.
Recognizing the desire of the people, Jesus left the crowds and sought to spend some time alone with His Father. Jesus commanded the Disciples to get into a boat and head to Bethsaida. He sent them on their journey with the intention of joining them later on. When they departed, Jesus went up the mountain to pray. He longed for some quiet time away from the crowds and even His own friends and just to commune with His Father.
At this time Jesus popularity was at its highpoint. The people praised Him and desired to make Him their King. This had to be a tempting possibility; in fact Satan had used this as a means of tempting Jesus in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.") Jesus would not give into the temptation of Satan and He would not give into the desires of the people. He knew what His ultimate purpose was and He declared that purpose to the multitude on the following day. (John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.)
Jesus’ was not focused on earthly power or popularity; He was focused on doing the Father’s will. That should be our desire as well. The way for us to accomplish this is to live like Jesus. And for Jesus, it was important for Him to commune with the Father. This was not the only time that Jesus got away from the crowds and spent time in prayer.
In fact, there are several instances recorded in the Gospels where Jesus spent time in prayer. One example is found in - Mark 1:35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. Luke tells us that Jesus “often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” (Luke 5:16) Jesus spent time alone with God before selecting His twelve Apostles. - Luke 6:12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Jesus talked to God and God talked to Him. This is not hard for us to grasp considering that He was God’s only begotten Son. But we should stand in awe of the fact that we can commune with God anytime and anywhere! Because of our relationship with Jesus, we have the same privilege that He had. We can talk to God and He talks to us. Unfortunately, communing with God is a privilege that we often take for granted. The reason that we fail to do God’s will is because we fail to spend adequate time with Him. If prayer was a priority for Jesus, then it certainly should be a priority in our lives.
- As we move further we will see:
II. MORE ABOUT JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES
The next several verses tell us of a time when Jesus challenged, confronted and strengthened the faith of His Disciples. Understand that the storm that these men endured was not an accident nor a coincidence. It was all part of Jesus’ perfect plan for their lives.
v48 Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."
v51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 52 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened. 53 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.
Jesus commanded the Disciples to get in a boat and to head toward Bethsaida. While He was praying a great storm arose, and these experienced fishermen were fighting hard against the wind. This passage gives us a glimpse into the omniscience of God. Jesus could not physically see them due to distance, darkness and the storm. But He knew exactly where they were and what they were going through. In fact, Jesus put them in the midst of this great tempest as a means of increasing their faith. It was around 9 o’clock at night when the Disciples set sail for Bethsaida. When Jesus came to them walking on the water it was in the “fourth watch of the night”. This would have been sometime between 3 & 6 o’clock in the morning.
This shows us that Jesus didn’t just offer up a short simple prayer. He spent a great deal of time alone with God. It also shows us that the Disciples had been on the water, straining at the oars for close to 9 hours. This trip should have only taken an hour or two. But after they had only been on the water for a few miles the storm began. John tells us in his account that “when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. (John 6:19)The term “straining at the oars” speaks to the fact that these men were fighting to survive.
Remember that several of the Disciples were professional fishermen. They had much experience sailing in stormy seas. It is also likely that the boat they were on belonged to one of the Disciples. They were also in familiar territory; they had spent much time fishing in this area before surrendering to Jesus. Even with all of their experience the situation was beyond their control. They were fighting to survive and not having much success. In the midst of their struggle, the Disciples saw something amazing and terrifying at the same time. (v48b He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were troubled.)
With the wind raging and the waves crashing in, the boat was tossed to and fro. Thunder was crashing, lightning was flashing and they were surrounded by darkness and consumed with despair. In the midst of all this chaos, Jesus comes to the Disciples walking on the water. Throughout their struggle, Jesus knew exactly where they were and what they were going through. We cannot overlook the fact that Jesus allowed the Disciples to endure this storm for some time before He went to them. But also understand that they were never out of His reach!
This is a picture of the work that Jesus does in our lives today. Jesus will allow us to go through certain “storms” in this life. Not only does He allow us to go through storms, sometimes He is the one who puts us in the middle of them. Furthermore, He may leave us in a storm much longer than we would like. But understand that He knows all about our struggles and like those Disciples, we are never out of His reach! Jesus will use the storms that we go through to strengthen our faith in Him. And once we get to the other side, we will trust Him more than we did before.
When Jesus came walking to the Disciples, they thought He was a ghost. The scripture says that they were “terrified”. This word literally means to “throw into a panic” or “to strike with dread”. For a moment, these men thought that their situation had gone from bad to worse! But Jesus quickly calmed their fears, He said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." He called on His followers to trust Him and to look to Him instead of the storm. Jesus entered the boat, and when He did something amazing happened. (v51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.)
As soon as Jesus got in the boat the storm ceased. Why did this happen? It happened because the storm had served its purpose! The purpose of this whole event was to strengthen the faith of the Disciples. Mark points put the hardheartedness and lack of faith that the Disciples possessed at this point on their journey. (v51 And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 52 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.) Like the multitude, the Disciples had missed the significance of the miracle where Jesus fed the 5,000. They failed to comprehend the divine power that Jesus possessed. They failed to see Him for who He was.
Now that they have been delivered from this storm, they were convinced that they were indeed in the presence of God in the flesh. Matthew tells us that in response to what they had experienced, the Disciples worshipped Jesus. (Matthew 14:33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God.") Jesus used this storm to do a great work in the lives of His followers. There will be times when we face certain storms in this life, if those storms cause us to see the mighty power of Jesus and recognize that He is who He says that He is, then those storms are invaluable for us!
When you are in the midst of a great storm and you are tossed to and fro, look to Jesus and remember that you are never out of His reach, He has a plan for your storm and when the time is right, He can calm the storm!In this passage we have seen “More About Jesus And The Father”, and we have seen “More About Jesus And His Disciples” finally we will see:
III. MORE ABOUT JESUS AND THE CROWDS
v54 And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55 ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. 56 Wherever He entered into villages, cities, or in the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.
Jesus and the Disciples had originally set sail for Capernaum but they landed in Gennesaret. They likely landed here because the boat was thrown off course as a result of the storm. But this was no accident; it was part of Jesus’ divine plan. Capernaum was their ultimate destination and they would eventually arrive there by walking from Gennesaret. But there were many people that Jesus sought to reach on their journey. As they traveled, many people ran to Him and brought their loved ones to Him so that He could heal them. The people “laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.”
As had been the case many times before, Jesus encountered many desperate people and He healed them all. Mark tells us that some were healed simply by touching His clothes. Unfortunately, the majority of those who were healed by Jesus never turned to Him for salvation. Much like the multitude that was fed by Him in the previous verses, Jesus had compassion on many who would reject Him as the Messiah.
In much the same way, Jesus has compassion on people today who will never come to saving faith in Him. He is loving, gracious and merciful and He has extended the opportunity for salvation to an innumerable multitude who will reject Him. But thankfully there will be some who see Him for who He is. There were some who were healed physically and died spiritually. But there were others who were healed physically and transformed spiritually. I pray that you have experienced that true spiritual healing that is only found in Jesus.
The miracles that we have seen in this chapter show us that Jesus has compassion, power and a desire to transform lives. And He will transform you today if you will turn to Him. If you know that you belong to Jesus, then it is my prayer that you have a desire to learn “More About Jesus”.
