I AM, Do Not Be Afraid
This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.
As we've seen through the study of the Gospel of John again and again, that John the Apostle wrote his Gospel, especially the miracles and the signs that He did, Jesus did. He tells us in chapter 20 and verse 31, “...so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” It's important that we believe in Jesus, the Christ of the Bible, for the right reasons, and that we grow to know Him as He is, not as we might wish Him to be, as He is revealed in Scripture.
John, Matthew, and Mark follow the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 men plus women and children with this miracle recorded here of our Lord Jesus walking on the water. However, John gives us a compressed version of it, a very condensed version of it. For example, John doesn't tell us that Jesus compelled the disciples to get into the boat. John doesn't tell us that Jesus sent the multitudes away and that He was praying on the mountain. John omits Mark's comment that Jesus saw the disciples straining at the oars or that He intended to pass them by when He came to them on the water. He doesn't say that the disciples thought that they were seeing a ghost, although he does say that they were frightened.
He doesn't mention this event related to Peter walking on the water, recorded in Matthew 14. He doesn't tell us that the storm was instantly stilled when Jesus got into the boat. And it's puzzling why John, who wants us to believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, omits the disciples' worshipful response, “‘...You are truly God's son!’” Matthew 14:33.
Also, John doesn't offer any comment on why he includes this story, this miracle. He just gives it to us in this compressed form.
And then following the narrative, really he goes back to the feeding of the 5,000 as Jesus expounds on His being the bread of life. He goes back to that theme. And so, reading this and comparing it with the other synoptic gospels, you have to ask, why did John include this sign in his gospel? What does he want us to take away from meditating on it?
Well, one clue to these questions is what John told us back in chapter 1 and verse 14, “And the Word - the ‘logos’ - became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John reports this miracle so that we too will see Jesus' glory and trust Him, especially in the storms of life.
Of all the promises Jesus gave us, heaven, eternal life, rapture, etc., probably among the most meaningful when we are out on the open sea in the darkest night, amidst violent storms are those promises where He says to us, “‘...I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5. “‘...lo, I am with you always…’” Matthew 28:20 and, “‘I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.’” John 14:8. Beloved, when the storms are real, and the winds are threatening, and the waves are pounding upon our lives, we have our Lord with us to help us, to guide us, watching over us. This truth is demonstrated in these verses.
Watching these men endure this time of testing and can teach us some truths, we need to know desperately, when you and I face our own storms of life- and we will face them. We all face them. No one is exempt. Regardless of where you might be today, you need the lessons taught here in this account to help you endure your time in life's stormy sea. This is a great word of comfort here.
For those who are even today, right now, going through the storms of life - there are physical storms, mental storms, emotional storms, spiritual storms, there are storms in homes, in marriages, in families, at work, and even at church. There are storms that rage publicly, and there are storms that manifest themselves in the secret places of the heart. And storms touch every single part of our lives. We all find ourselves in stormy situations from time to time.
And these verses here, this account, really helps us and gives us hope for those of us passing even right now through life's stormy seas. As we consider this account, I want us to do so under several headings. I want us to see first of all, the Susceptible Disciples.
The Susceptible Disciples. Look at verse 16, “Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea.” You recall it had been a busy day for Jesus and His disciples. He had ministered to the multitudes all day long who followed Him. Jesus had taught them the Word of God all day, and when it was late afternoon, Jesus manifested His power and glory by feeding the multitude, thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two little fish.
And we can easily, as you remember, estimate between 20,000 and 25,000 people were fed by Jesus when there was no food. He created enough food, not just to feed them minimally, but the text tells us, literally they were satisfied, that’s the Greek word that is used. And they were not only that, they were also 12 baskets full, left over to feed the 12 disciples.
Now evening is approaching fast, and Jesus, the Scripture tells us, sends His disciples away by boat to the other side of the lake, Mark 6:45 tells us. In fact, Mark tells us, Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and the verb that he uses is a strong one. It's a verb that means to constrain, to necessitate, to compel, to force, to drive, ‘anagkazo’ is the Greek word, the verb, to drive or to force. He compelled them. He made them go. They did not want to go, but Jesus literally drove them into the boat, and He made them leave. Why? John 6:15 tells us that the people were so excited, you remember, they were so excited by the miracle of the bread and fish, that they tried to make Jesus king. They want to take Him by force and make Him king. They are ready to lift Him up on their shoulders and install Him as king.
And the disciples, they are susceptible. They are easily caught up in the euphoria of this potential rebellion. They are weak, they are susceptible to the crowd's passion and zeal.
They have been waiting a couple of years for this to happen, and they have such a susceptibility to this passion and zeal of the crowd that Jesus knows their vulnerability. And He knows that they need to get away. And so, He made them go. And by the way, the people only wanted to make Jesus a king because He gave them bread, as we will see in verse 26. Warren Rissvey makes a great point concerning this. Listen to what he writes in his commentary, and I quote, “As you read the gospel records, note that our Lord was never impressed by the great crowds. He knew that their motives were not pure, and that most of them followed Him in order to watch His miracles of healing. Bread and circuses was Rome's formula for keeping the people happy, and people today are satisfied with that kind of diet. Give them food and entertainment, and they are happy. Rome, - he goes on to say - set aside 93 days each year for public games at government expense. It was cheaper to entertain the crowds than to fight them or jail them. We must never be deceived by the popularity of Jesus. Among certain kinds of people today, very few want Him as Savior and Lord.” And he closes with this, “many want Him only as a healer or provider, or the One who rescues them from problems they have made for themselves.” And he closes with this, with the words of Jesus, where he says in John 5:40, “‘you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.’”
Beloved, Jesus does not want followers who use Him for their own purposes. He's seeking followers who grow to know Him and trust Him for who He is. But what we must note at this point is that Jesus operates all, everything in our lives and ministries by His perfect wisdom.
He operates all in our lives and ministries by His perfect wisdom.
According to conventional wisdom, He should have stayed there with the 20 plus thousand people and established strong, prosperous ministries. But Jesus establishes His ministry by a different criteria. How strange, at times, the ways of God to our own understanding. And so it is with you and me, as He directs our steps in our lives, and I want you to know that Jesus knows exactly, beloved, what He is doing. All of His plans for our lives are perfect. They're good. They're perfect. Though outward circumstances sometimes would indicate that He would lead us in the most obvious directions, there are times by God's providence Jesus chooses to do that which is inscrutable in our lives. And His ways are made known to himself, and this requires, beloved, great trust and great faith on our part to know that He knows what He's doing. As HB. Smith said concerning the wisdom of Christ, he says, and I quote, “It is that attribute of God whereby He produces the best possible results with the best possible means.”
This leads us to The Stormy Sea. This episode occurs with Jesus' disciples by themselves on the Sea of Galilee in a boat. The previous one taught them with the great crowd, but the real lesson was for them and not the crowd. Now this is their second lesson, and there's no crowd, they're alone in the boat. Look at verse 17, “...after getting into a boat, they began to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them, and the sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.” So they get into the boat.
Jesus makes them get into the boat, and they're heading back to Capernaum, and it wasn't really too far of a journey from where they are, and they would have skirted the coast. They wouldn't have tried to get in the middle of the lake, but as we read here, they're way off course because the wind has blown them. Instead of being near, they're in the middle of the lake, six to seven kilometers into the lake, the Sea of Galilee.
And though they're rowing against the wind, the wind had just blown them further and further in. And this is one of those great storms that can hit the Sea of Galilee just like this, out of nowhere. The mountain area around the Sea of Galilee acts like a funnel. It captures the wind, it accelerates it, and then drops it onto the lake just like that. And we're told that even sometimes they used to get 10 feet high waves on a little small lake. And without a cloud in the sky, suddenly, the winds from the northwest can pick up and become just as deadly as any violent storm can be on the surface of the lake, and even the sky can be clear.
And so the disciples now are facing some serious waves. And they are in the pitch dark. And then they've begun to cross the Sea of Galilee. They're moving across the sea in the darkness, and the sea becomes violent. The Sea of Galilee is 21 kilometers long. Its widest point is 13 kilometers and the narrowest point is less than 8 kilometers. And so it is that on that sea, with which they were familiar, they are making their attempt now to get to their destination. And after rowing, verse 19 tells us about 25 or 30 stadia, that's about 6 or 7 kilometers, Mark tells us it was about the fourth watch of the night. The fourth watch of the night, that is between 3 and 6 a.m. And so it is pitch dark on a boat, on a violent sea, with the wind hitting them straight on, really pounding the boat. They are in a very dire situation. And it's around and between 3 and 6.
Now, if you think about it, let's say if it's 5 o'clock and they left around 8 o'clock, the previous night, then you can calculate they've been out there on the lake in the storm for nine hours. Nine hours. They're in some serious trouble. It's deep darkness all night long, and the fourth watch of the night, and it was when they were most in danger, that Jesus really came to them. They had a long day prior to that storm, attending to the needs of 20 plus thousand people. And no doubt, it doesn't take much to really figure this out, that they must be exhausted, tired, no doubt disoriented, most depleted.
And you know, when someone is in that state, judgment is most vulnerable. And they're prone to fall, to fear, very easily. Back in verse 17, John makes a statement, “It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.” This tells us that he anticipates the rest of the story. Jesus would come to them shortly, but He hadn't come yet.
And so the disciples were on the lake, in the dark, in the storm, without Christ. And not only was Jesus not with them, He also let them struggle against the storm for many hours.
And at that point of great need, dire need, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. And now, let us behold the Sovereign Saviour. The Susceptible Disciples, the Stormy Sea and the Sovereign Saviour, verse 19, “Then, when they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened.”
Jesus showed up. He comes. He came to them, walking on the sea.
That's how He came, no doubt, flattening its turbulence with every single step. And though there was no way for the human eye to see them in the dark, the darkness of night, far from shore, He knew, Jesus knew exactly where they were. He knew precisely where they were, because He always knows where His own are. The eye of Yahweh is set upon those who belong to him, the righteous. So He comes to them in that hour of their desperation. He sees them. He sees them and he comes to them.
Beloved, I don't know about you today but that's a great encouragement to my own heart. Isn't it exactly the opposite of what we feel when we find ourselves in trouble? When we find ourselves in the storm, it feels like God doesn't know, God doesn't care, God is distant. “How long, O Lord?” “How long?” “Where are you Lord?” “Why are you distant from me?” “Why do you hide your face from me?” But that's not true, it isn't. Our Lord's response to us in the storm is the same today as it was then. He sees, He knows, He cares, and in His own perfect time, He comes.
That's rather, a dramatic coming. He comes to them walking on the water with a note of triumph, with a note of supreme authority, with a note of supreme absolute sovereignty. Jesus came with omnipotence as vividly displayed by His walking on the waves to them. He did not come in another boat. He did not come swimming. He did not show up in their boat just like this, and strained at the oars with them as if to say you were in this together. No, no, Jesus came as the one and only Sovereign Saviour, and here's the message loud and clear, loud and clear- “what is about to go over your head is already under My feet.” Walking is in the present tense, by the way. He was progressing toward them, walking on the water, and the waves, walking on the waves, and walking toward them unhindered, unhampered by any of it. It's not like He was struggling, and the wind was blowing. No, no, He was just simply walking, unhindered, unhampered
Here is the all-powerful Christ. No storm, but that it is under His feet. No situation, but that it is under His control. Here is our Lord. Here is our Master, triumphantly walking to them, planting His feet on the angry waves as He comes to their rescue. Beloved, so it is with you, so it is with me. There is no storm, no situation that we find ourselves in, but that it is under His feet, but that it is under His control. And He draws near to His disciples when they find themselves in the darkest watch of the night, when it seems as if all hope is gone, no help to be seen. He comes walking to us, and His timing, oh, it's perfect. Not one minute or one second early, not one second late- perfect.
This little phrase, walking on water or walking on the sea, screams with His absolute sovereignty over all of life, all things being subject under His feet. That's what we see here.
All things under His feet. All things. You know what all means in Greek? It means all. Not one thing is outside of His control. Beloved, it's not just the angry waves that are under His feet.
It's every single situation, every single circumstance, every single possibility, every single equation, every event, every trial, every storm, every up and every down in life. They are already under His feet.
And though you may fear and panic, and though you may find yourself in the darkest watch of the night, the Word of God assures us that all is under His dominion and all is under his control. So call upon Him, turn to Him, cry out to Him and cling to Him, cleave to Him. This is His perfect power. No power greater than His power. No storm is beyond His sovereignty. No wind or wave is able to hamper His coming to our aid and to our rescue in the storms of life.
This is Messiah, God in the flesh, displaying total Lordship over creation. He has Lordship over gravity, Lordship over liquidity, Lordship over matter. With sanctified imagination, as Jesus walks through choppy water, I don't imagine Him being thrown and being tossed to and fro. I imagine the water hardening, flattening several meters ahead of Him, and as He walks, the choppy waves bouncing off the pathway like frightened animals as God in flesh walks on His creation. The word for walking there in this text, commentators tell us, highlights the effortlessness with which He comes to them. He was, we might say, strolling over the waves untroubled, totally at ease, and it was eerie, uncanny, totally beyond the experience and the expertise of the disciples.
You see, boats, they knew. The Sea of Galilee, well, they knew very well. Most of them were fishermen, right? But here is Jesus coming to them in a manner for which they simply had no categories. What do you do with this? Back in verse 15, after the feeding of the multitude, we learned that the crowds wanted to seize Jesus, make Him king by force, as I mentioned earlier. Then later in verse 26, the next morning, as we will see next time, Lord willing, as Jesus interacts with the crowds and they finally catch up with Jesus and the disciples, Jesus puts His finger on the real issue, the real motives. He says, “‘...you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.’”
They want Him, in other words, because they can use Him. This is Jesus who gives him stuff, a useful Jesus, who supplies needs and offers quick fixes to life's dilemmas. “I'll take that Jesus,” is what they're saying. “That's the Jesus that I want.” But that night in the boat, Jesus reveals Himself to His disciples in an altogether different light. He shows Himself to be untamable and terrifying, no one's puppet, never subject to the whim and the appetites of the crowds. Here's Jesus, of whom Psalm 77 speaks. Psalm 77 reflects, reflecting on the Exodus story, a theme that we'll come back to in a few moments. And yet here, it seems also, also redolent of this moment as Jesus comes walking through the storms to the disciples.
Listen to Psalm 77:16-19, I love this, “The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You, they were in anguish; the deeps also trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth a sound; Your arrows went here and there. The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea and Your paths in the mighty waters…”
And now the text tells us the disciples are terrified. They're terrified. Not just by the danger of the waves, not just by the darkness, but they seem threatened by the supernatural.
Mark 6, in fact, verse 49 tells us, when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost and cried out. The Greek word translated ghost, ‘phantasma,’ from which we get our English word phantom. They thought it was a phantom. They assumed this was a phantom, and here's their reaction. It says ‘anakrazo,’ the Greek verb. They cried out.
To cry, it means from the depth of the throat. A very intense word. These are grown men.
These are rugged men, and probably by now, they've been doing a lot of yelling because of the storm, right? But this is different. This is the shrieking scream of someone who's in sheer panic.
They thought He was a phantom. This couldn't be Jesus in their mind. They just couldn't imagine this. I mean, sometimes He's like, you see the disconnect, I mean, they just saw Him feed 20 plus thousand people. Why couldn't it be Jesus? But Mark also tells us that they were ‘terasso,’ terrified, distressed, deeply disturbed. They are in a state of panic. They are shaken, deeply troubled. They are frightened. This verb means to throw into panic. They were literally thrown into panic. There was no way to process what they saw. A person walking on water in the storm. They are in despair.
And now to compound the terrors of the storms and the straining against the waves, now you have this phantom appearing to terrify them all the more. But Jesus quickly helps them to see what the circumstances are. He's gracious. Our Lord is not intending to frighten them, but He desires to deliver them. So He spoke with them on that dark night, and what they could not perceive with their eyes, they could recognize that soothing familiar voice, the voice of their Shepherd. Jesus speaks words of assurance or reassurance and comfort and tenderness and understanding, and immediately they had the desired effect. Fear is gone. Look at verse 20, “But He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’” Mark adds prior to that statement, “‘take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’” Take courage, ‘Tharseo,’ take courage, implies that they had become filled with terror, discouragement, despair. And here, he tells us, here, Jesus is the source of our bravery in the midst of deadly circumstances.
And then I love those words. And the English language doesn't do it justice, “‘...It is I; do not be afraid.’” Literally in the Greek, ‘Ego Eimi’ “I AM.” “I AM.” “Do not be afraid, I AM.” This is the only reason they could be of good cheer. This is the only reason they could take courage and be comforted. If it was someone else that night, they would have had no hope, no help, and they would have all perished. The entirety of their courage and confidence and rest and hope is entirely based on this second statement by the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘Ego Eimi.’ “I AM.” “I AM.” He is. The self-existent, self-sufficient, self-sustaining One. He does not depend on anything or anyone outside of Himself, and everything and everyone depends on Him to exist.
“I AM.”
And throughout John's Gospel, again and again and again, we encounter those words, ‘Ego Eimi.’ ‘Ego Eimi’ appears on the lips of Jesus many, many times. “I am the bread of life,” “I am the light of the world,” “I am the door,” “I am the good Shepherd,” “I am the resurrection and the life,” “I am the way, the truth and the life,” “I am the true vine.” Suffice it to say that, He is.
When the I AM comes to your aid and rescue, you can go through the darkest of night and the most difficult storm because it is all under His feet. It is the very Master who has called you and chosen you and guided you step by step. Those words, ‘Ego Eimi,’ “I AM,” are the Greek translation of the divine name.
Exodus chapter 3, God meets Moses. You remember, Moses asked, “‘what shall I tell the people is your name?’” And God tells him, “‘Tell them I AM has sent me to you.’” Yahweh. I AM is the name of the Lord. And on that occasion, we're told that Moses was overcome with fear. Remember? He hid his face. He was afraid to look upon God. And later on, when Israel meets with God in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, the Lord displays his Shekinah glory, His glory, and proclaims His name. I AM. And the mountain trembles. The people are terrified in the presence of the great I AM.
And you remember not too long ago, we saw it together, the prophet Isaiah encountered a vision of the Lord in the temple, the sixth chapter of his prophecy. He cried out in despair, “‘Woe is me…I am ruined! - undone - For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh, - I AM - of Hosts.’”
And throughout the history of God's dealing with these people, the presence of the great I AM strikes fear into the hearts of all of those who repent. Unmediated glory, unmediated holiness, unmediated majesty, when it meets human finitude and sin, it puts us in the dust. And so here in John 6, as Jesus comes through the night and through the storm and over the waves, as Yahweh, the great I AM, the Lord, as Nahum, chapter 1:3, puts it, “in whirlwind and storm is His way, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.” As Jesus comes, and He comes close to them, you're like, “let's brace ourselves for impact. The great I AM is coming.” We expect an explosive reaction knowing biblical history, but look at what happens. His presence doesn't put them in the dust of despair as it did the prophet Isaiah, or as it did the children of Israel in the wilderness, filling them with terror at Sinai. No, no, this time, Jesus says to the disciples, ‘Ego Eimi,’ “do not be afraid.” “Fear not.” “Have no fear.” This is after all why Jesus came, so that sinners, the likes of you and the likes of me, might meet God in him, and the terror of unmediated glory might be replaced with comfort and gladness of His delivering saving grace and mercy.
He came to make the unbridgeable God immanent. In Jesus, God comes to us not in stunning displays of power, not in shaking the mountains and blocking out the sun. In Jesus, God comes to us united forever to human nature, that we might know Him and draw near Him the great I AM.
“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail th’incarnate Deity, pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel.”
In Jesus, God comes to us that we might know Him. The unknowable made Himself knowable. That's what John himself says in chapter 1 and verse 18, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has - exegeted - Him.” “He has explained Him.” In Jesus, the unknowable I AM comes to us that we might know Him. One in whom we can rest our trust knowing that He understands. One who was touched with the feelings of our infirmities. One who is not unable to sympathize with us in our weaknesses. One upon whom everyone here can rest for hope and for peace in a world that is filled with fears.
The presence of Jesus ought to make us tremble, but if He is with us nothing else can.
Clement of Alexandria beautifully put it this way, I love it, He said, and I quote, “Christ turns all our sunsets into dawns.” That's it. “He turns all our sunsets into dawns.” When Jesus is with us, when we rest on Him, we can begin to take ourselves in hand as it were, and speak to ourselves in the wonderful words of that beautiful hymn. We can begin to say to ourselves, you can begin to say to yourself,
“Be still, my soul, thy God doth undertake to guide the future as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake, - nothing, nothing, let nothing shake - all now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul, the waves and the winds still know His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.”
What are you afraid of? Maybe you're here this morning, living under the tyranny of so many fears in your life. May I lovingly, with the love of a servant of Christ, tell you, maybe it's all because your view of Jesus is far too small. He is the great I AM made flesh, the God who “moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform, Who plants His footsteps in the seas and rides upon the storm.” The disciples that night understood, didn't they, that Jesus loved them, cared for them. They had, as it were, strayed out of sight of Him. They left Him at the shore, back at the shore. Here they know, as He comes to them, however far they have wandered, they have never wandered out of His sight. Never, never wandered out of His sight.
Like Job who said in Job 23: 8-10, “‘Behold, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot discern Him. When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him. He turns on the right, I cannot see Him, but He knows the way I take…’” He knows. You will never wander out of His sight, beloved. His eyes are upon you. Never forget that.
And the fact that you don't see the way, and you don't see the circumstances, and you don't know what's happening, and the whys behind it doesn't mean He doesn't see. You can never, beloved, in Christ, you can never, never stray beyond the sight nor the grip of the grace of Jesus Christ. He brings them safe to the far shore, the text says. The disciples understood two things about Jesus that night. They understood that He was the Lord sovereign over the elements, and they understood that this sovereign Lord loved them, and it dispelled their fear, replacing it with calm.
You and I have a greater demonstration of those truths, don't we? Remember that night in the Garden of Gethsemane? The soldiers, the armed mob came to Him, they came looking, and Jesus asked them, “‘whom do you seek?’ And they answered, ‘Jesus, the Nazarene!’ And He said to them, - ‘Ego Eimi!’ - ‘I AM.’” Now you know what happened. The soldiers, to a man, fell to the ground, it flattened them with the majesty of His person, revealed, He's the Sovereign Lord and yet because He loves us, He was bound and tried and tortured and crucified, the Sovereign Lord who loves us, who gave Himself for us, He rules over all things and He bleeds to make us His.
What fear have you that trusting Him cannot dispel? Do you perhaps need to repent of a too small a view of Jesus, and far too big a view of your circumstances? It's a good day to do it.
The Lord Jesus this morning is calling you to look again to the One who rides over the storm and Who comes to you and says, “I AM.” “I AM.” “Stop being scared. Trust Me.” Like a weaned child on his mother's lap. Go to sleep.
Finally, and I must hasten, the Suitable Response, verse 21, “so they were willing to receive Him into the boat…” Jesus identifies Himself to the disciples. “‘It is I…’” “I AM.” “It is your Master, your Sovereign, your Saviour, your Protector.” “I'm here.” Isn't that the ultimate comfort? God the Son says, “I AM.” “I'm here.” “You can't be in mortal danger if I'm with you.” If Jesus is with you, there can be no issues, no problem, no fear. You see, earlier, He just showed them upon the mountain an abundance of provision, but here He is showing them abundance protection. You see it? You see, He didn't calm the storm from a distance, which He could have done very easily, by the way. But they wouldn't have known. Or He didn't, as He did in other times, accompany them in the boat and then calm the storm. Instead, here, in this moment, He is visibly showing them, I have total absolute authority and lordship over the storm. The very thing that's threatening you, I'm walking over it, it's under my feet, you cannot be harmed if the threat is under my feet. And He's showing them that their fear of being harmed is misplaced because Jesus never lost sight of them. He never intended any harm to come to them.
He rules the circumstances that seem so threatening and so the next thing that they hardly do is bring Him into the boat even though obviously they weren't thinking clearly, He didn't need a boat. But that wasn't the point. The point was the presence of Jesus drives away all fears of harm and danger. Mark tells us in chapter 6 and verse 51, “He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly amazed.” ‘Thaumazo,’ they were utterly beyond themselves, astounded. The waves and the winds laid down at His feet like little puppies, if you will. Psalm 89:9, “You rule the swelling of the sea, when its waves rise, You still them.” Psalm 107:29, “He caused the storm to stand still, so that its waves were hushed.”
Look again, verse 21, “so that they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and - ‘eutheos’ - immediately, - right away,- the boat was at the land to which they were going.” And beloved, this is really a third miracle. In the pitch dark, no idea where they are, the great I AM miraculously moves the boat to land to their destination instantly. One moment, you're in the middle of the sea, the sea just went calm. And then the next moment, your little boat is sitting next to the land of your destination. Their fear of being lost, being in the dark for another few hours, instantly gone, relieved.
Now, I'm going to ask you to do something with me at this point. Can you put your scientific hat with me for a moment? Put your scientific hat with me. Matter, as we know it, exists in three states. It exists in three states. It exists as solid, that's with a fixed volume and shape. It exists as liquid, fixed volume, but it adapts to the shape of the container in which it is. And it exists as a gas to expand, to fit whatever volume is available. That night, Jesus showed His power over all three. All three. Think about it.The solid- He transported a boat and His disciples in a moment of time to land. Liquid - He walked across the surface of the Sea of Galilee in a storm, Gas - He immediately quieted the wind and it was calm. He was the Lord of Matter. But what He did even goes beyond proving that He is sovereign over matter. He also proves Himself to be Lord over matter, space and time because by transporting the boatload of people several miles, several kilometers into, in an instant of time, He identifies Himself as the one who controls matter and time and space. He is the Sovereign Lord over all creation, all of it.
It shouldn't surprise us, should it? Because we know that the scripture tells us that Jesus Christ, the second member of the triune God, created it all. On the first day of creation, God spoke into existence time, space and matter. And John tells us in chapter 1 and verse 3, that that happened through Jesus Christ speaking, the speaking of the Word, the ‘Logos’ of God, the Son of God. He says, all things that came into being, came into being through Him, the ‘Logos,’ the Son, the Word. “...And apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being.” And in chapter 1 and verse 10, “...the world was made through Him…” You fast forward to Hebrews 1:2, God has spoken to us through His Son, “... through whom also He made the world.” Beloved, everything you see, every piece of matter, all time, all space was created by Jesus Christ our Lord. All of it.
Not only Jesus made it all, He sustains it all. Acts 17:28, “In Him we live and move and exist…” But notice 1 Corinthians 8:6 puts it more personally of Christ, “...there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, He created all things, and we exist through Him.” He sustains our lives. He sustains everything. Colossians 1:17 says, “...In Him all things hold together.” More than that, not only did He make all things, He sustains it all, but it also exists all of it, for Him. For Him. Colossians 1:16 puts it like this, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities…” It doesn't matter what you can name, He made it, and all things have been created through Him (and there's creative responsibility) and for Him.
The universe exists for the glory of Jesus Christ. But let's make it more personal. Let's make it more personal. You exist for the glory of Christ. I exist for the glory of Christ. He's the One who made you. He's the One who sustains your life, even this very moment as you're sitting in that uncomfortable chair. Your heart beats because Jesus Christ wills it to beat. Right now, this moment, He wills it to beat. Your lungs continue to process oxygen because He wills your lungs to continue to process oxygen. Your life is dependent on him every single moment. You exist to bring glory to Him. And Jesus proved His deity that night beyond all question.
You know, when I think about Jesus' absolute sovereign power over matter, space and time, all over creation, it really reminds me of how weak our faith is. How feeble it is. How often do we become afraid of something that's created? Think about it. Another person, disease, cancer, finances. “What are we going to eat?” “What are we going to drink?” “What are we going to wear?” Storms, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires. And the list goes on and on. Whatever it is that we fear, our Lord is sovereign over all of that. He may leave you in the storm for a while, like He did the disciples, but He sees, He knows and He cares. He cares. He cares.
You want to ever doubt that? “He who did not spare His one and only son, but delivered Him up for us all, how can He not, together with Him, give us all things” that we need, that he knows that we need? If He did not spare the best, the most precious, His son, why do we doubt Him when it comes to lesser things that don't even come close? He will seek you out in that trial, just as He came to be with His disciples, and He will deliver you in His own time, in His own way.
Beloved, this account teaches us that there isn't anything around us that our Lord isn't sovereign over. He is in control. He may have you in the storm, but He sees, He knows, and He's with you every single minute, every single second. May God give us the courage to trust our Lord like that today. Now, this kind of protection that we see here in our text is supernatural, isn't it? It's miraculous. It's unusual. Unusual. Miraculous. Just like the feeding of the multitude, 20,000 plus people from a boy's lunch is supernatural. It is unusual. It is miraculous. Jesus is not displaying how He normally provides, how He normally protects. He is displaying just how much power and abundance lie behind normal provision and normal protection.
The lesson is this, “No, I'm not always going to do a miracle of feeding 20,000 plus people, but if I can do that, will I not take care of you, every day?” “I can do this level of miracles for provision and protection, what do you think I will do for you on an everyday basis?” If God can feed over 20,000 plus people just like that, should you worry and stress and fret over provision? Should you work hard, trust God and then look forward to that abundance taking care of you instead? Should you stress and worry and fear over protection? Or should you take sensible precaution, trust God, look forward to the abundance of protection protecting you?
You see, because worry over protection, fear over protection and provision, ultimately speaks about God's willingness or God's ability. If God doesn't want to provide for you, if God doesn't want to protect you, then you should worry. But He had said He does. And He said it many times. If God wants to protect you and provide for you, but He isn't able to, then you should worry. But He has shown He is. He's more than able. Miraculously so, here in our text, that He has abundant power to provide and protect, He is able. So you have a God who is abundantly able and He's abundantly willing. How do we glorify Him? As a response, hearts of trust.
Hearts that step forward for God's glory, hearts that say my God is a God of abundance, so I'm going to take steps of faith for Him.
My mind at this point in time goes to sheep. Sheep need two things from human shepherds.
Provision and protection, right? Provision and protection. And that's why David wrote these familiar words.I pray that you will hear them and listen to them in a new light today. “Yahweh is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me… You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of Yahweh forever.”
Why? Because Yahweh is his Shepherd. And so we finish with this x-ray question.
Who's your shepherd today? Who's your ultimate trust? Where do you find refuge? Safety?
Comfort? Security? Pleasure? If you're abiding in the God of Abundance, it has to, it has to change your approach to protection and provision. It has to. If you find yourself this week fretting and fearing, like unbelievers do, you must ask yourself, have I come to know this God of abundance? And if I have, do I trust Him?
And I want to close for anyone who is here and still yet outside of Christ. My heart is very heavy for you. Jesus came to those who are His own. In the storm, they're about to perish. He came to rescue them. Let me tell you this morning, one day, one day, and this is an appointed time coming. Until and unless you repent and turn to Jesus, one day you will face the greatest storm in your life. The storm of the fury of the wrath of God. And the billows of the wrath of God will overwhelm you and will drown you into the deepest pit of hell. And it will be forever. And there is no one to save. And there is no one to rescue.
The only way for you to be saved from the wrath of God is to turn to God, not to run away from God. Turn to Jesus, the Sovereign Saviour. Cry out to Him in repentance. Give your life to Him, confess your sin, and say, Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me, the sinner. He is the one on Calvary's cross, took upon himself all the torrents and the billows of the wrath of God when He drank that cup of wrath upon himself, and He paid the price and He paid the penalty so that you and I can drink that cup of mercy, so that you and I never ever ever have to face the storm of the wrath and fury of an angry God.
Today, if you hear His voice, I beg you, do not harden your heart. Turn to him and be saved. Turn to him, turn to the one revealed in the Scripture, God's own Son, the Son of God, God the Son, who paid the price, and with outstretched arms, with one hand holding, holding on to a holy God, and the other hand to rebel sinners who are alienated from God, and brings the two together in the glorious Gospel of Reconciliation. Why will you die in your sin? Why will you continue down the path, thinking that you're in control over your life, and that tomorrow is in your hand? As we mentioned earlier, even the lungs that you have that process the oxygen that you're breathing right now as you sit there in that chair, it is so because He wills to give it to you. He can take it just like this. Turn to Him. Give your life to Him. Come to Him with the empty hands of faith, and tell Him, “nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.” Give your life to Him, and you will leave this place a forgiven, reconciled, embraced and accepted sinner. Become one of God's saints. Let's pray.
Our Lord, we praise You for your boundless and abundant provision and protection this morning. Oh, Lord, help us to live there. Help us to remember that You're not a tight-fisted God and a limited God, a weak God but as, as we do Your work and as we live in You, Father, we can expect provision and protection even in lean times and in difficult and stormy times. We trust that You will take care of us. You love your own.
So help us to live as children protected by such a father, provided for by such a father, and may we never be filled with disputing and murmuring and complaining and negativity and pessimism and unbelief and worry and anxiety. Help us to trust You even in the midst of the storms. Grumbling and complaining truly brought great judgment on Israel and can bring discipline on us. Help us, Lord. Lead us to live lives of thankfulness and hope and expectation.
And forgive us Lord, for holding two small views of our God. Help us to trust You and see You as You revealed yourself in Scripture. When we do that, we know that everything else will grow strangely dim. In the light of Your glory, in the light of Your greatness, in the light of Your sovereignty. And this morning, O Lord, I plead for any lost soul in this place, in every lost soul, that You would open eyes, that You would draw them to yourself, that they may come to believe and be saved.
We pray this in His powerful, amazing name.The name which is above every name. Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
John, Matthew, and Mark follow the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 men plus women and children with this miracle recorded here of our Lord Jesus walking on the water. However, John gives us a compressed version of it, a very condensed version of it. For example, John doesn't tell us that Jesus compelled the disciples to get into the boat. John doesn't tell us that Jesus sent the multitudes away and that He was praying on the mountain. John omits Mark's comment that Jesus saw the disciples straining at the oars or that He intended to pass them by when He came to them on the water. He doesn't say that the disciples thought that they were seeing a ghost, although he does say that they were frightened.
He doesn't mention this event related to Peter walking on the water, recorded in Matthew 14. He doesn't tell us that the storm was instantly stilled when Jesus got into the boat. And it's puzzling why John, who wants us to believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, omits the disciples' worshipful response, “‘...You are truly God's son!’” Matthew 14:33.
Also, John doesn't offer any comment on why he includes this story, this miracle. He just gives it to us in this compressed form.
And then following the narrative, really he goes back to the feeding of the 5,000 as Jesus expounds on His being the bread of life. He goes back to that theme. And so, reading this and comparing it with the other synoptic gospels, you have to ask, why did John include this sign in his gospel? What does he want us to take away from meditating on it?
Well, one clue to these questions is what John told us back in chapter 1 and verse 14, “And the Word - the ‘logos’ - became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John reports this miracle so that we too will see Jesus' glory and trust Him, especially in the storms of life.
Of all the promises Jesus gave us, heaven, eternal life, rapture, etc., probably among the most meaningful when we are out on the open sea in the darkest night, amidst violent storms are those promises where He says to us, “‘...I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5. “‘...lo, I am with you always…’” Matthew 28:20 and, “‘I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.’” John 14:8. Beloved, when the storms are real, and the winds are threatening, and the waves are pounding upon our lives, we have our Lord with us to help us, to guide us, watching over us. This truth is demonstrated in these verses.
Watching these men endure this time of testing and can teach us some truths, we need to know desperately, when you and I face our own storms of life- and we will face them. We all face them. No one is exempt. Regardless of where you might be today, you need the lessons taught here in this account to help you endure your time in life's stormy sea. This is a great word of comfort here.
For those who are even today, right now, going through the storms of life - there are physical storms, mental storms, emotional storms, spiritual storms, there are storms in homes, in marriages, in families, at work, and even at church. There are storms that rage publicly, and there are storms that manifest themselves in the secret places of the heart. And storms touch every single part of our lives. We all find ourselves in stormy situations from time to time.
And these verses here, this account, really helps us and gives us hope for those of us passing even right now through life's stormy seas. As we consider this account, I want us to do so under several headings. I want us to see first of all, the Susceptible Disciples.
The Susceptible Disciples. Look at verse 16, “Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea.” You recall it had been a busy day for Jesus and His disciples. He had ministered to the multitudes all day long who followed Him. Jesus had taught them the Word of God all day, and when it was late afternoon, Jesus manifested His power and glory by feeding the multitude, thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two little fish.
And we can easily, as you remember, estimate between 20,000 and 25,000 people were fed by Jesus when there was no food. He created enough food, not just to feed them minimally, but the text tells us, literally they were satisfied, that’s the Greek word that is used. And they were not only that, they were also 12 baskets full, left over to feed the 12 disciples.
Now evening is approaching fast, and Jesus, the Scripture tells us, sends His disciples away by boat to the other side of the lake, Mark 6:45 tells us. In fact, Mark tells us, Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and the verb that he uses is a strong one. It's a verb that means to constrain, to necessitate, to compel, to force, to drive, ‘anagkazo’ is the Greek word, the verb, to drive or to force. He compelled them. He made them go. They did not want to go, but Jesus literally drove them into the boat, and He made them leave. Why? John 6:15 tells us that the people were so excited, you remember, they were so excited by the miracle of the bread and fish, that they tried to make Jesus king. They want to take Him by force and make Him king. They are ready to lift Him up on their shoulders and install Him as king.
And the disciples, they are susceptible. They are easily caught up in the euphoria of this potential rebellion. They are weak, they are susceptible to the crowd's passion and zeal.
They have been waiting a couple of years for this to happen, and they have such a susceptibility to this passion and zeal of the crowd that Jesus knows their vulnerability. And He knows that they need to get away. And so, He made them go. And by the way, the people only wanted to make Jesus a king because He gave them bread, as we will see in verse 26. Warren Rissvey makes a great point concerning this. Listen to what he writes in his commentary, and I quote, “As you read the gospel records, note that our Lord was never impressed by the great crowds. He knew that their motives were not pure, and that most of them followed Him in order to watch His miracles of healing. Bread and circuses was Rome's formula for keeping the people happy, and people today are satisfied with that kind of diet. Give them food and entertainment, and they are happy. Rome, - he goes on to say - set aside 93 days each year for public games at government expense. It was cheaper to entertain the crowds than to fight them or jail them. We must never be deceived by the popularity of Jesus. Among certain kinds of people today, very few want Him as Savior and Lord.” And he closes with this, “many want Him only as a healer or provider, or the One who rescues them from problems they have made for themselves.” And he closes with this, with the words of Jesus, where he says in John 5:40, “‘you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.’”
Beloved, Jesus does not want followers who use Him for their own purposes. He's seeking followers who grow to know Him and trust Him for who He is. But what we must note at this point is that Jesus operates all, everything in our lives and ministries by His perfect wisdom.
He operates all in our lives and ministries by His perfect wisdom.
According to conventional wisdom, He should have stayed there with the 20 plus thousand people and established strong, prosperous ministries. But Jesus establishes His ministry by a different criteria. How strange, at times, the ways of God to our own understanding. And so it is with you and me, as He directs our steps in our lives, and I want you to know that Jesus knows exactly, beloved, what He is doing. All of His plans for our lives are perfect. They're good. They're perfect. Though outward circumstances sometimes would indicate that He would lead us in the most obvious directions, there are times by God's providence Jesus chooses to do that which is inscrutable in our lives. And His ways are made known to himself, and this requires, beloved, great trust and great faith on our part to know that He knows what He's doing. As HB. Smith said concerning the wisdom of Christ, he says, and I quote, “It is that attribute of God whereby He produces the best possible results with the best possible means.”
This leads us to The Stormy Sea. This episode occurs with Jesus' disciples by themselves on the Sea of Galilee in a boat. The previous one taught them with the great crowd, but the real lesson was for them and not the crowd. Now this is their second lesson, and there's no crowd, they're alone in the boat. Look at verse 17, “...after getting into a boat, they began to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them, and the sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.” So they get into the boat.
Jesus makes them get into the boat, and they're heading back to Capernaum, and it wasn't really too far of a journey from where they are, and they would have skirted the coast. They wouldn't have tried to get in the middle of the lake, but as we read here, they're way off course because the wind has blown them. Instead of being near, they're in the middle of the lake, six to seven kilometers into the lake, the Sea of Galilee.
And though they're rowing against the wind, the wind had just blown them further and further in. And this is one of those great storms that can hit the Sea of Galilee just like this, out of nowhere. The mountain area around the Sea of Galilee acts like a funnel. It captures the wind, it accelerates it, and then drops it onto the lake just like that. And we're told that even sometimes they used to get 10 feet high waves on a little small lake. And without a cloud in the sky, suddenly, the winds from the northwest can pick up and become just as deadly as any violent storm can be on the surface of the lake, and even the sky can be clear.
And so the disciples now are facing some serious waves. And they are in the pitch dark. And then they've begun to cross the Sea of Galilee. They're moving across the sea in the darkness, and the sea becomes violent. The Sea of Galilee is 21 kilometers long. Its widest point is 13 kilometers and the narrowest point is less than 8 kilometers. And so it is that on that sea, with which they were familiar, they are making their attempt now to get to their destination. And after rowing, verse 19 tells us about 25 or 30 stadia, that's about 6 or 7 kilometers, Mark tells us it was about the fourth watch of the night. The fourth watch of the night, that is between 3 and 6 a.m. And so it is pitch dark on a boat, on a violent sea, with the wind hitting them straight on, really pounding the boat. They are in a very dire situation. And it's around and between 3 and 6.
Now, if you think about it, let's say if it's 5 o'clock and they left around 8 o'clock, the previous night, then you can calculate they've been out there on the lake in the storm for nine hours. Nine hours. They're in some serious trouble. It's deep darkness all night long, and the fourth watch of the night, and it was when they were most in danger, that Jesus really came to them. They had a long day prior to that storm, attending to the needs of 20 plus thousand people. And no doubt, it doesn't take much to really figure this out, that they must be exhausted, tired, no doubt disoriented, most depleted.
And you know, when someone is in that state, judgment is most vulnerable. And they're prone to fall, to fear, very easily. Back in verse 17, John makes a statement, “It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.” This tells us that he anticipates the rest of the story. Jesus would come to them shortly, but He hadn't come yet.
And so the disciples were on the lake, in the dark, in the storm, without Christ. And not only was Jesus not with them, He also let them struggle against the storm for many hours.
And at that point of great need, dire need, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. And now, let us behold the Sovereign Saviour. The Susceptible Disciples, the Stormy Sea and the Sovereign Saviour, verse 19, “Then, when they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened.”
Jesus showed up. He comes. He came to them, walking on the sea.
That's how He came, no doubt, flattening its turbulence with every single step. And though there was no way for the human eye to see them in the dark, the darkness of night, far from shore, He knew, Jesus knew exactly where they were. He knew precisely where they were, because He always knows where His own are. The eye of Yahweh is set upon those who belong to him, the righteous. So He comes to them in that hour of their desperation. He sees them. He sees them and he comes to them.
Beloved, I don't know about you today but that's a great encouragement to my own heart. Isn't it exactly the opposite of what we feel when we find ourselves in trouble? When we find ourselves in the storm, it feels like God doesn't know, God doesn't care, God is distant. “How long, O Lord?” “How long?” “Where are you Lord?” “Why are you distant from me?” “Why do you hide your face from me?” But that's not true, it isn't. Our Lord's response to us in the storm is the same today as it was then. He sees, He knows, He cares, and in His own perfect time, He comes.
That's rather, a dramatic coming. He comes to them walking on the water with a note of triumph, with a note of supreme authority, with a note of supreme absolute sovereignty. Jesus came with omnipotence as vividly displayed by His walking on the waves to them. He did not come in another boat. He did not come swimming. He did not show up in their boat just like this, and strained at the oars with them as if to say you were in this together. No, no, Jesus came as the one and only Sovereign Saviour, and here's the message loud and clear, loud and clear- “what is about to go over your head is already under My feet.” Walking is in the present tense, by the way. He was progressing toward them, walking on the water, and the waves, walking on the waves, and walking toward them unhindered, unhampered by any of it. It's not like He was struggling, and the wind was blowing. No, no, He was just simply walking, unhindered, unhampered
Here is the all-powerful Christ. No storm, but that it is under His feet. No situation, but that it is under His control. Here is our Lord. Here is our Master, triumphantly walking to them, planting His feet on the angry waves as He comes to their rescue. Beloved, so it is with you, so it is with me. There is no storm, no situation that we find ourselves in, but that it is under His feet, but that it is under His control. And He draws near to His disciples when they find themselves in the darkest watch of the night, when it seems as if all hope is gone, no help to be seen. He comes walking to us, and His timing, oh, it's perfect. Not one minute or one second early, not one second late- perfect.
This little phrase, walking on water or walking on the sea, screams with His absolute sovereignty over all of life, all things being subject under His feet. That's what we see here.
All things under His feet. All things. You know what all means in Greek? It means all. Not one thing is outside of His control. Beloved, it's not just the angry waves that are under His feet.
It's every single situation, every single circumstance, every single possibility, every single equation, every event, every trial, every storm, every up and every down in life. They are already under His feet.
And though you may fear and panic, and though you may find yourself in the darkest watch of the night, the Word of God assures us that all is under His dominion and all is under his control. So call upon Him, turn to Him, cry out to Him and cling to Him, cleave to Him. This is His perfect power. No power greater than His power. No storm is beyond His sovereignty. No wind or wave is able to hamper His coming to our aid and to our rescue in the storms of life.
This is Messiah, God in the flesh, displaying total Lordship over creation. He has Lordship over gravity, Lordship over liquidity, Lordship over matter. With sanctified imagination, as Jesus walks through choppy water, I don't imagine Him being thrown and being tossed to and fro. I imagine the water hardening, flattening several meters ahead of Him, and as He walks, the choppy waves bouncing off the pathway like frightened animals as God in flesh walks on His creation. The word for walking there in this text, commentators tell us, highlights the effortlessness with which He comes to them. He was, we might say, strolling over the waves untroubled, totally at ease, and it was eerie, uncanny, totally beyond the experience and the expertise of the disciples.
You see, boats, they knew. The Sea of Galilee, well, they knew very well. Most of them were fishermen, right? But here is Jesus coming to them in a manner for which they simply had no categories. What do you do with this? Back in verse 15, after the feeding of the multitude, we learned that the crowds wanted to seize Jesus, make Him king by force, as I mentioned earlier. Then later in verse 26, the next morning, as we will see next time, Lord willing, as Jesus interacts with the crowds and they finally catch up with Jesus and the disciples, Jesus puts His finger on the real issue, the real motives. He says, “‘...you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.’”
They want Him, in other words, because they can use Him. This is Jesus who gives him stuff, a useful Jesus, who supplies needs and offers quick fixes to life's dilemmas. “I'll take that Jesus,” is what they're saying. “That's the Jesus that I want.” But that night in the boat, Jesus reveals Himself to His disciples in an altogether different light. He shows Himself to be untamable and terrifying, no one's puppet, never subject to the whim and the appetites of the crowds. Here's Jesus, of whom Psalm 77 speaks. Psalm 77 reflects, reflecting on the Exodus story, a theme that we'll come back to in a few moments. And yet here, it seems also, also redolent of this moment as Jesus comes walking through the storms to the disciples.
Listen to Psalm 77:16-19, I love this, “The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You, they were in anguish; the deeps also trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth a sound; Your arrows went here and there. The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea and Your paths in the mighty waters…”
And now the text tells us the disciples are terrified. They're terrified. Not just by the danger of the waves, not just by the darkness, but they seem threatened by the supernatural.
Mark 6, in fact, verse 49 tells us, when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost and cried out. The Greek word translated ghost, ‘phantasma,’ from which we get our English word phantom. They thought it was a phantom. They assumed this was a phantom, and here's their reaction. It says ‘anakrazo,’ the Greek verb. They cried out.
To cry, it means from the depth of the throat. A very intense word. These are grown men.
These are rugged men, and probably by now, they've been doing a lot of yelling because of the storm, right? But this is different. This is the shrieking scream of someone who's in sheer panic.
They thought He was a phantom. This couldn't be Jesus in their mind. They just couldn't imagine this. I mean, sometimes He's like, you see the disconnect, I mean, they just saw Him feed 20 plus thousand people. Why couldn't it be Jesus? But Mark also tells us that they were ‘terasso,’ terrified, distressed, deeply disturbed. They are in a state of panic. They are shaken, deeply troubled. They are frightened. This verb means to throw into panic. They were literally thrown into panic. There was no way to process what they saw. A person walking on water in the storm. They are in despair.
And now to compound the terrors of the storms and the straining against the waves, now you have this phantom appearing to terrify them all the more. But Jesus quickly helps them to see what the circumstances are. He's gracious. Our Lord is not intending to frighten them, but He desires to deliver them. So He spoke with them on that dark night, and what they could not perceive with their eyes, they could recognize that soothing familiar voice, the voice of their Shepherd. Jesus speaks words of assurance or reassurance and comfort and tenderness and understanding, and immediately they had the desired effect. Fear is gone. Look at verse 20, “But He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’” Mark adds prior to that statement, “‘take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’” Take courage, ‘Tharseo,’ take courage, implies that they had become filled with terror, discouragement, despair. And here, he tells us, here, Jesus is the source of our bravery in the midst of deadly circumstances.
And then I love those words. And the English language doesn't do it justice, “‘...It is I; do not be afraid.’” Literally in the Greek, ‘Ego Eimi’ “I AM.” “I AM.” “Do not be afraid, I AM.” This is the only reason they could be of good cheer. This is the only reason they could take courage and be comforted. If it was someone else that night, they would have had no hope, no help, and they would have all perished. The entirety of their courage and confidence and rest and hope is entirely based on this second statement by the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘Ego Eimi.’ “I AM.” “I AM.” He is. The self-existent, self-sufficient, self-sustaining One. He does not depend on anything or anyone outside of Himself, and everything and everyone depends on Him to exist.
“I AM.”
And throughout John's Gospel, again and again and again, we encounter those words, ‘Ego Eimi.’ ‘Ego Eimi’ appears on the lips of Jesus many, many times. “I am the bread of life,” “I am the light of the world,” “I am the door,” “I am the good Shepherd,” “I am the resurrection and the life,” “I am the way, the truth and the life,” “I am the true vine.” Suffice it to say that, He is.
When the I AM comes to your aid and rescue, you can go through the darkest of night and the most difficult storm because it is all under His feet. It is the very Master who has called you and chosen you and guided you step by step. Those words, ‘Ego Eimi,’ “I AM,” are the Greek translation of the divine name.
Exodus chapter 3, God meets Moses. You remember, Moses asked, “‘what shall I tell the people is your name?’” And God tells him, “‘Tell them I AM has sent me to you.’” Yahweh. I AM is the name of the Lord. And on that occasion, we're told that Moses was overcome with fear. Remember? He hid his face. He was afraid to look upon God. And later on, when Israel meets with God in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, the Lord displays his Shekinah glory, His glory, and proclaims His name. I AM. And the mountain trembles. The people are terrified in the presence of the great I AM.
And you remember not too long ago, we saw it together, the prophet Isaiah encountered a vision of the Lord in the temple, the sixth chapter of his prophecy. He cried out in despair, “‘Woe is me…I am ruined! - undone - For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh, - I AM - of Hosts.’”
And throughout the history of God's dealing with these people, the presence of the great I AM strikes fear into the hearts of all of those who repent. Unmediated glory, unmediated holiness, unmediated majesty, when it meets human finitude and sin, it puts us in the dust. And so here in John 6, as Jesus comes through the night and through the storm and over the waves, as Yahweh, the great I AM, the Lord, as Nahum, chapter 1:3, puts it, “in whirlwind and storm is His way, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.” As Jesus comes, and He comes close to them, you're like, “let's brace ourselves for impact. The great I AM is coming.” We expect an explosive reaction knowing biblical history, but look at what happens. His presence doesn't put them in the dust of despair as it did the prophet Isaiah, or as it did the children of Israel in the wilderness, filling them with terror at Sinai. No, no, this time, Jesus says to the disciples, ‘Ego Eimi,’ “do not be afraid.” “Fear not.” “Have no fear.” This is after all why Jesus came, so that sinners, the likes of you and the likes of me, might meet God in him, and the terror of unmediated glory might be replaced with comfort and gladness of His delivering saving grace and mercy.
He came to make the unbridgeable God immanent. In Jesus, God comes to us not in stunning displays of power, not in shaking the mountains and blocking out the sun. In Jesus, God comes to us united forever to human nature, that we might know Him and draw near Him the great I AM.
“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail th’incarnate Deity, pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel.”
In Jesus, God comes to us that we might know Him. The unknowable made Himself knowable. That's what John himself says in chapter 1 and verse 18, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has - exegeted - Him.” “He has explained Him.” In Jesus, the unknowable I AM comes to us that we might know Him. One in whom we can rest our trust knowing that He understands. One who was touched with the feelings of our infirmities. One who is not unable to sympathize with us in our weaknesses. One upon whom everyone here can rest for hope and for peace in a world that is filled with fears.
The presence of Jesus ought to make us tremble, but if He is with us nothing else can.
Clement of Alexandria beautifully put it this way, I love it, He said, and I quote, “Christ turns all our sunsets into dawns.” That's it. “He turns all our sunsets into dawns.” When Jesus is with us, when we rest on Him, we can begin to take ourselves in hand as it were, and speak to ourselves in the wonderful words of that beautiful hymn. We can begin to say to ourselves, you can begin to say to yourself,
“Be still, my soul, thy God doth undertake to guide the future as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake, - nothing, nothing, let nothing shake - all now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul, the waves and the winds still know His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.”
What are you afraid of? Maybe you're here this morning, living under the tyranny of so many fears in your life. May I lovingly, with the love of a servant of Christ, tell you, maybe it's all because your view of Jesus is far too small. He is the great I AM made flesh, the God who “moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform, Who plants His footsteps in the seas and rides upon the storm.” The disciples that night understood, didn't they, that Jesus loved them, cared for them. They had, as it were, strayed out of sight of Him. They left Him at the shore, back at the shore. Here they know, as He comes to them, however far they have wandered, they have never wandered out of His sight. Never, never wandered out of His sight.
Like Job who said in Job 23: 8-10, “‘Behold, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot discern Him. When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him. He turns on the right, I cannot see Him, but He knows the way I take…’” He knows. You will never wander out of His sight, beloved. His eyes are upon you. Never forget that.
And the fact that you don't see the way, and you don't see the circumstances, and you don't know what's happening, and the whys behind it doesn't mean He doesn't see. You can never, beloved, in Christ, you can never, never stray beyond the sight nor the grip of the grace of Jesus Christ. He brings them safe to the far shore, the text says. The disciples understood two things about Jesus that night. They understood that He was the Lord sovereign over the elements, and they understood that this sovereign Lord loved them, and it dispelled their fear, replacing it with calm.
You and I have a greater demonstration of those truths, don't we? Remember that night in the Garden of Gethsemane? The soldiers, the armed mob came to Him, they came looking, and Jesus asked them, “‘whom do you seek?’ And they answered, ‘Jesus, the Nazarene!’ And He said to them, - ‘Ego Eimi!’ - ‘I AM.’” Now you know what happened. The soldiers, to a man, fell to the ground, it flattened them with the majesty of His person, revealed, He's the Sovereign Lord and yet because He loves us, He was bound and tried and tortured and crucified, the Sovereign Lord who loves us, who gave Himself for us, He rules over all things and He bleeds to make us His.
What fear have you that trusting Him cannot dispel? Do you perhaps need to repent of a too small a view of Jesus, and far too big a view of your circumstances? It's a good day to do it.
The Lord Jesus this morning is calling you to look again to the One who rides over the storm and Who comes to you and says, “I AM.” “I AM.” “Stop being scared. Trust Me.” Like a weaned child on his mother's lap. Go to sleep.
Finally, and I must hasten, the Suitable Response, verse 21, “so they were willing to receive Him into the boat…” Jesus identifies Himself to the disciples. “‘It is I…’” “I AM.” “It is your Master, your Sovereign, your Saviour, your Protector.” “I'm here.” Isn't that the ultimate comfort? God the Son says, “I AM.” “I'm here.” “You can't be in mortal danger if I'm with you.” If Jesus is with you, there can be no issues, no problem, no fear. You see, earlier, He just showed them upon the mountain an abundance of provision, but here He is showing them abundance protection. You see it? You see, He didn't calm the storm from a distance, which He could have done very easily, by the way. But they wouldn't have known. Or He didn't, as He did in other times, accompany them in the boat and then calm the storm. Instead, here, in this moment, He is visibly showing them, I have total absolute authority and lordship over the storm. The very thing that's threatening you, I'm walking over it, it's under my feet, you cannot be harmed if the threat is under my feet. And He's showing them that their fear of being harmed is misplaced because Jesus never lost sight of them. He never intended any harm to come to them.
He rules the circumstances that seem so threatening and so the next thing that they hardly do is bring Him into the boat even though obviously they weren't thinking clearly, He didn't need a boat. But that wasn't the point. The point was the presence of Jesus drives away all fears of harm and danger. Mark tells us in chapter 6 and verse 51, “He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly amazed.” ‘Thaumazo,’ they were utterly beyond themselves, astounded. The waves and the winds laid down at His feet like little puppies, if you will. Psalm 89:9, “You rule the swelling of the sea, when its waves rise, You still them.” Psalm 107:29, “He caused the storm to stand still, so that its waves were hushed.”
Look again, verse 21, “so that they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and - ‘eutheos’ - immediately, - right away,- the boat was at the land to which they were going.” And beloved, this is really a third miracle. In the pitch dark, no idea where they are, the great I AM miraculously moves the boat to land to their destination instantly. One moment, you're in the middle of the sea, the sea just went calm. And then the next moment, your little boat is sitting next to the land of your destination. Their fear of being lost, being in the dark for another few hours, instantly gone, relieved.
Now, I'm going to ask you to do something with me at this point. Can you put your scientific hat with me for a moment? Put your scientific hat with me. Matter, as we know it, exists in three states. It exists in three states. It exists as solid, that's with a fixed volume and shape. It exists as liquid, fixed volume, but it adapts to the shape of the container in which it is. And it exists as a gas to expand, to fit whatever volume is available. That night, Jesus showed His power over all three. All three. Think about it.The solid- He transported a boat and His disciples in a moment of time to land. Liquid - He walked across the surface of the Sea of Galilee in a storm, Gas - He immediately quieted the wind and it was calm. He was the Lord of Matter. But what He did even goes beyond proving that He is sovereign over matter. He also proves Himself to be Lord over matter, space and time because by transporting the boatload of people several miles, several kilometers into, in an instant of time, He identifies Himself as the one who controls matter and time and space. He is the Sovereign Lord over all creation, all of it.
It shouldn't surprise us, should it? Because we know that the scripture tells us that Jesus Christ, the second member of the triune God, created it all. On the first day of creation, God spoke into existence time, space and matter. And John tells us in chapter 1 and verse 3, that that happened through Jesus Christ speaking, the speaking of the Word, the ‘Logos’ of God, the Son of God. He says, all things that came into being, came into being through Him, the ‘Logos,’ the Son, the Word. “...And apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being.” And in chapter 1 and verse 10, “...the world was made through Him…” You fast forward to Hebrews 1:2, God has spoken to us through His Son, “... through whom also He made the world.” Beloved, everything you see, every piece of matter, all time, all space was created by Jesus Christ our Lord. All of it.
Not only Jesus made it all, He sustains it all. Acts 17:28, “In Him we live and move and exist…” But notice 1 Corinthians 8:6 puts it more personally of Christ, “...there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, He created all things, and we exist through Him.” He sustains our lives. He sustains everything. Colossians 1:17 says, “...In Him all things hold together.” More than that, not only did He make all things, He sustains it all, but it also exists all of it, for Him. For Him. Colossians 1:16 puts it like this, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities…” It doesn't matter what you can name, He made it, and all things have been created through Him (and there's creative responsibility) and for Him.
The universe exists for the glory of Jesus Christ. But let's make it more personal. Let's make it more personal. You exist for the glory of Christ. I exist for the glory of Christ. He's the One who made you. He's the One who sustains your life, even this very moment as you're sitting in that uncomfortable chair. Your heart beats because Jesus Christ wills it to beat. Right now, this moment, He wills it to beat. Your lungs continue to process oxygen because He wills your lungs to continue to process oxygen. Your life is dependent on him every single moment. You exist to bring glory to Him. And Jesus proved His deity that night beyond all question.
You know, when I think about Jesus' absolute sovereign power over matter, space and time, all over creation, it really reminds me of how weak our faith is. How feeble it is. How often do we become afraid of something that's created? Think about it. Another person, disease, cancer, finances. “What are we going to eat?” “What are we going to drink?” “What are we going to wear?” Storms, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires. And the list goes on and on. Whatever it is that we fear, our Lord is sovereign over all of that. He may leave you in the storm for a while, like He did the disciples, but He sees, He knows and He cares. He cares. He cares.
You want to ever doubt that? “He who did not spare His one and only son, but delivered Him up for us all, how can He not, together with Him, give us all things” that we need, that he knows that we need? If He did not spare the best, the most precious, His son, why do we doubt Him when it comes to lesser things that don't even come close? He will seek you out in that trial, just as He came to be with His disciples, and He will deliver you in His own time, in His own way.
Beloved, this account teaches us that there isn't anything around us that our Lord isn't sovereign over. He is in control. He may have you in the storm, but He sees, He knows, and He's with you every single minute, every single second. May God give us the courage to trust our Lord like that today. Now, this kind of protection that we see here in our text is supernatural, isn't it? It's miraculous. It's unusual. Unusual. Miraculous. Just like the feeding of the multitude, 20,000 plus people from a boy's lunch is supernatural. It is unusual. It is miraculous. Jesus is not displaying how He normally provides, how He normally protects. He is displaying just how much power and abundance lie behind normal provision and normal protection.
The lesson is this, “No, I'm not always going to do a miracle of feeding 20,000 plus people, but if I can do that, will I not take care of you, every day?” “I can do this level of miracles for provision and protection, what do you think I will do for you on an everyday basis?” If God can feed over 20,000 plus people just like that, should you worry and stress and fret over provision? Should you work hard, trust God and then look forward to that abundance taking care of you instead? Should you stress and worry and fear over protection? Or should you take sensible precaution, trust God, look forward to the abundance of protection protecting you?
You see, because worry over protection, fear over protection and provision, ultimately speaks about God's willingness or God's ability. If God doesn't want to provide for you, if God doesn't want to protect you, then you should worry. But He had said He does. And He said it many times. If God wants to protect you and provide for you, but He isn't able to, then you should worry. But He has shown He is. He's more than able. Miraculously so, here in our text, that He has abundant power to provide and protect, He is able. So you have a God who is abundantly able and He's abundantly willing. How do we glorify Him? As a response, hearts of trust.
Hearts that step forward for God's glory, hearts that say my God is a God of abundance, so I'm going to take steps of faith for Him.
My mind at this point in time goes to sheep. Sheep need two things from human shepherds.
Provision and protection, right? Provision and protection. And that's why David wrote these familiar words.I pray that you will hear them and listen to them in a new light today. “Yahweh is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me… You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of Yahweh forever.”
Why? Because Yahweh is his Shepherd. And so we finish with this x-ray question.
Who's your shepherd today? Who's your ultimate trust? Where do you find refuge? Safety?
Comfort? Security? Pleasure? If you're abiding in the God of Abundance, it has to, it has to change your approach to protection and provision. It has to. If you find yourself this week fretting and fearing, like unbelievers do, you must ask yourself, have I come to know this God of abundance? And if I have, do I trust Him?
And I want to close for anyone who is here and still yet outside of Christ. My heart is very heavy for you. Jesus came to those who are His own. In the storm, they're about to perish. He came to rescue them. Let me tell you this morning, one day, one day, and this is an appointed time coming. Until and unless you repent and turn to Jesus, one day you will face the greatest storm in your life. The storm of the fury of the wrath of God. And the billows of the wrath of God will overwhelm you and will drown you into the deepest pit of hell. And it will be forever. And there is no one to save. And there is no one to rescue.
The only way for you to be saved from the wrath of God is to turn to God, not to run away from God. Turn to Jesus, the Sovereign Saviour. Cry out to Him in repentance. Give your life to Him, confess your sin, and say, Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me, the sinner. He is the one on Calvary's cross, took upon himself all the torrents and the billows of the wrath of God when He drank that cup of wrath upon himself, and He paid the price and He paid the penalty so that you and I can drink that cup of mercy, so that you and I never ever ever have to face the storm of the wrath and fury of an angry God.
Today, if you hear His voice, I beg you, do not harden your heart. Turn to him and be saved. Turn to him, turn to the one revealed in the Scripture, God's own Son, the Son of God, God the Son, who paid the price, and with outstretched arms, with one hand holding, holding on to a holy God, and the other hand to rebel sinners who are alienated from God, and brings the two together in the glorious Gospel of Reconciliation. Why will you die in your sin? Why will you continue down the path, thinking that you're in control over your life, and that tomorrow is in your hand? As we mentioned earlier, even the lungs that you have that process the oxygen that you're breathing right now as you sit there in that chair, it is so because He wills to give it to you. He can take it just like this. Turn to Him. Give your life to Him. Come to Him with the empty hands of faith, and tell Him, “nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.” Give your life to Him, and you will leave this place a forgiven, reconciled, embraced and accepted sinner. Become one of God's saints. Let's pray.
Our Lord, we praise You for your boundless and abundant provision and protection this morning. Oh, Lord, help us to live there. Help us to remember that You're not a tight-fisted God and a limited God, a weak God but as, as we do Your work and as we live in You, Father, we can expect provision and protection even in lean times and in difficult and stormy times. We trust that You will take care of us. You love your own.
So help us to live as children protected by such a father, provided for by such a father, and may we never be filled with disputing and murmuring and complaining and negativity and pessimism and unbelief and worry and anxiety. Help us to trust You even in the midst of the storms. Grumbling and complaining truly brought great judgment on Israel and can bring discipline on us. Help us, Lord. Lead us to live lives of thankfulness and hope and expectation.
And forgive us Lord, for holding two small views of our God. Help us to trust You and see You as You revealed yourself in Scripture. When we do that, we know that everything else will grow strangely dim. In the light of Your glory, in the light of Your greatness, in the light of Your sovereignty. And this morning, O Lord, I plead for any lost soul in this place, in every lost soul, that You would open eyes, that You would draw them to yourself, that they may come to believe and be saved.
We pray this in His powerful, amazing name.The name which is above every name. Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
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