“45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into
the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida,
while He dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving
them, He went up on a mountainside to pray.
47Later that night, the boat was in the middle of
the lake, and He was alone on land. 48 He saw the
disciples straining at the oars, because the wind
was against them. Shortly before dawn He went
out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to
pass by them, 49 but when they saw Him walking
on the lake, they thought He was a ghost. They
cried out, 50 because they all saw Him and were
terrified. Immediately He spoke to them and said,
“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then He
climbed into the boat with them, and the wind
died down.”
They traveled on the lake. The wind blew and the
waves buffeted the boat. Most of the disciples
new how to handle a boat in all kinds of water
because they were fishermen. But the wind was
against them and they had to lower their sails
so that they wouldn’t end up back where they
started. They grabbed the oars and tried to get
across the lake. Try as they might they couldn’t
make it across the lake. They rowed for hours
through the night but to no avail.
The trouble they faced
was keeping them stuck out
in the middle of the lake.
Their trouble had taken its toll on them and their
strength. I imagine that they probably did some
praying. One of them was in charge of the rudder while the rest took turns on the oars. It was
just before dawn and they weren’t any closer to
making land than they were hours ago. In the
distance was Jesus who had started walking out
to them on the water.
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It says that “He was about to pass by them.”
That is when I started thinking why Jesus decided to walk out to them on the water. He could
have joined them in the boat just by willing it so
and immediately appear there. He could have
had the waves bring the boat over to the shore
where He was and they could’ve picked Him up.
He could’ve met them on the other shore when
they eventually arrived. But Jesus didn’t pick any
of those things to do instead He walked on water
and went out to them. Jesus wanted them to see
Him coming out to them walking on the water.
The same Jesus that multiplied the fish and the
bread to feed five thousand just hours earlier
was the same Jesus who came out to them walking on the water.
He wanted them to
know that the God of
the impossible was in their
midst.
He was about to pass by them when someone
saw Him and cried out in fear. That means that
Jesus didn’t head straight for them but came at
them more at an angle and was about to pass by
them. If they hadn’t noticed Jesus on the water
then the answer to their prayers would have
passed them by. The miracle that they so desperately needed showed up and His name was Jesus! When Jesus got into the boat the wind and
the waves settled down and they made landfall.
We go through the same thing. We will struggle, fight, swear at, lose our temper at, become
totally frustrated and angry with our problems
before we even consider turning it over to Jesus.
Tunnel vision takes over and we become so
Used with permission. http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprint-article-details.php?id=30448
Mark 6:45-51