You Can’t Get There From Here (Jesus Walks On Water) Series

We continue our series of hearing from our Captain, the Lord Jesus Christ. We continue to study the gospel of John. I invite you to find your Bibles and find John 6 with me.

A Young Lady’s Story

A young lady from Delaware wrote me her story of faith some years ago. Chole trusted Christ as a young child. Chloe spoke of embracing Christ and the Bible at a young age when she was still in elementary school. She was holding her mother’s hand as she prayed to receive the Lord, and her mother led her in prayer. When she was but fourteen years old, her mother was diagnosed with a terminal disease. Looking back to this moment, she writes, “When I was about 14… I distanced myself from God and really didn’t have a relationship with Him.”1

There are a whole lot of Chloe’s in America today – Christians and non-Christians both. People hear that God loves them but soon experience tremendous hardship. They quickly abandon their belief in God. Why do so people’s faith fail? Why do some people’s faith in God turn to dust? I want to explore that question with you this morning.

Jesus performs back-to-back miracles in John 6. He feeds 5,000 men, and then He walks on water. Imagine being one of Jesus’ followers. In a matter of hours, you have witnessed a boy’s sack lunch feed the population of a small city. Now, Jesus walks on water. Your head would be spinning!

Invitation

After today’s message, you will be invited to respond to Jesus’ offer of a clean, fresh start. You can respond by going to the Encourager’s Room or a virtual room. If you would like someone to pray with you, we are here. We would love to meet with you personally.

Today’s Scripture

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 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. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus” (John 6:16-24).

We look at one of the most famous miracles Jesus ever performed, Jesus walking on water.

I want to answer three questions with you this morning:

Sermon Preview

1. The Story – What’s Going On Here?

2. The Question – Why Does Jesus Walk on Water?

3. The Storm – Why Did Jesus Allow the Disciples into the Storm?

Along the way, Jesus offers us the tools for a stormproof faith.

1. The Story

“When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them” (John 6:16-17).

What’s Going On Here?

1.1 The Scene

John picks up the story immediately following Jesus’ miracle of feeding thousands of people with only five loaves and two fish. Jesus has left the large crowds behind Him. As you can see in verse 22, the people are searching all over the area to find Jesus. They want to find the guy who can feed them from nothing. The Disciples get in a boat to make their way to the other side. John tells us that evening is on us and it’s dark outside in verse 17.

What the Bible calls a “sea” is really a freshwater lake. It’s the “the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias,” referred to all the way back in verse one. Remember, Jesus fed the multitudes on the eastern side of the lake, but now He is moving back to the western side. John shows you that Jesus has moved to Capernaum, which is really the home base for much of Jesus’ ministry. The Disciples row about three miles out onto the lake in verse 19.

1.2 The Sea of Galilee

Before Jesus arrives, John tells us: “The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing” (John 6:18).