Mark 6:45-52
45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night7 he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.];
Out in the middle of a storm, the disciples found themselves in a potentially dangerous, frightening, and dire situation. Mark says that they were “making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.” Ever been there? Making headway painfully?
They were not in this wearisome moment because they were unwise or unfaithful. This moment of terror was no surprise to God. Look in verse 45. “He (Jesus) MADE his disciples get in the boat”. They were in that moment because Jesus wanted them in that moment. Drawing some personal parallels?
One of the most amazing things about this passage is that at any moment Jesus could have stayed on shore and spoken that storm into silence. He could have heard their cries and instantly calmed the storm, immediately rescuing them from their painful situation. In His perfect redemptive love, Christ didn’t just stop their situation… HE WALKED ON WATER and said to them “It is I, do not be afraid.” Jesus didn’t just want them to be rescued from their situation; He wanted them to look to HIM. As Paul Tripp says “He’s not so much after your situation, He is after YOU.” Christ wanted these disciples to get something from this that they could get no other way. This is transforming, refining grace! “Jesus will take you where you never intended to go in order to produce in you what you could not do on your own.”
The end of this passage takes me to an entirely new level of conviction. It says about the disciples (who had just watched Jesus feed 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish)… “And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.” How many times have I seen God’s mighty hand at work and then shortly after that miracle cripple in fear the moment that I make “headway painfully” and the “wind is against me”.
Lord, please give me a heart of faith during the storm. Forgive my fear and disbelief. Forgive my focus on self. Please melt this hardened heart, which so easily forgets your miracles and your work. Thank you for your WORD that radically changes us from within. Thank you for the storms and for Your refining and sometimes painful grace.
To listen to an incredible sermon from Paul Tripp on this passage COPY AND PASTE this into your browser: http://hv.thevillagechurch.net/resource_files/audio/201012121115FMWC21ASAAA_PaulDavidTripp_StandAlone-TheDifferenceBetweenAmazementandFaith.mp3
