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. . . He came to them, walking on the sea . . . (NASB) Mark 6:48b Some critics suggest that Jesus was not walking on the sea but along
the seashore, and the disciples were just confused. Such a suggestion
ignores facts recorded in the gospels: namely, that Jesus saw the disciples
in the darkness of the night through a storm when the disciples were
three to four miles away from the seashore. Therefore, we conclude that
the disciples would not have been able to see Jesus on the seashore It
is a miracle that Jesus saw them, and the fact that He walked on the
water was the second miracle. The first one might be the greater miracle.
Such critics need better explanations.
Jesus finally came near to the boat. Rather than coming
straight to the boat, He started to walk by them.
. . . and He intended to pass by them. (NASB) Mark 6:48c Why did He do this? We do not know because we are not told. But it appears
that Jesus was testing the disciples.
Response of the Disciples. How did the
disciples respond? Were they hooting and hollering and cheering Jesus
on because He was walking on the water? No! They had a different reaction.
But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified . . . (NASB) Mark 6:49-50a Matthew adds,
. . . they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” (NASB) Matt. 14:26 We could try to accuse the disciples of many things, but we should not
ever accuse these brave, burly, experienced seamen of being cowards.
They do not deserve such insults. They responded like this because they
had never seen someone walking on water. How would you have responded
if you had been one of the disciples in the boat that night with the
winds ripping through the rigging and across your face, with your clothes
soaked with sea water, and your muscles tired from trying to save your
life and your friends? Then in the middle of your struggle, all of sudden
you see someone walking on water. What would you think? When
Jesus heard their reaction, He tried to calm their fears.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” (NASB) Matt. 14:27 Peter Walks on Water. Hearing Jesus’ voice
was all that was needed to calm their fears. They knew His voice, and
they knew that He cared. With their fears calmed, all of a sudden Peter
had a wonderful and thrilling idea.
Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” (NASB) Matt. 14:28 In the Greek language, there are four classes of “if” statements
of conditions. When Peter said, “If it is You,” he was not
saying that he was not sure that the one walking on water was Jesus.
He uses what is called a “first class condition” or “if
statement.” It speaks of certainty. What Peter said was, “Since
it is You, command me to come to you on the water.” Peter had
confidence in Jesus. Just like a kid, Peter wanted to try walking on
water. Jesus indulged his wish.
And He [Jesus] said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” (NASB) Matt. 14:29-30 Peter walked on water for a few minutes, but his fun was soon to end
when he started sinking. Peter did not start to sink because he had an
evil heart. Instead of an evil heart, Peter had a great passion for Jesus.
Peter will promise to defend Jesus in the future. He will be rebuked
for not wanting Jesus to die. He will be told to put his sword away after
cutting off a servant’s ear when Jesus is arrested. He will be
invited to the Mount of Transfiguration. No! Peter had a good heart.
He was a good man. He was just short on faith! Jesus quickly told him
that was his problem.
Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (NASB) Matt. 14:31 Did you notice that Peter started sinking after he became afraid? Faith
and fear do not go together. When we are fearful, we are lacking faith.
Show me someone who fears, and you will find someone who is not trusting
God. Unfortunately, we all have this problem on occasions. I wonder if
any of the other disciples thought that Peter had a wonderful idea and
wanted to walk on water too? I doubt that any wanted to try after Peter
failed.
Hard Hearts. After Jesus rescued Peter,
they got into the boat together and the storm stopped.
Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened. (NASB) Mark 6:51-52 Even though they had confidence in Jesus, they were still astonished
by what happened. It is a strong indication of their lack of understanding.
We are told that the disciples had not learned any more about Jesus from
the feeding of the 5,000 men. They were absolutely clueless. We are told
that they had hard hearts. They just did not get it! If the disciples
could be eyewitnesses to the miracles that Jesus performed and yet miss
the truth about Him, then it is possible for you and me to read the Bible
and miss the same truth. If the disciples could have hard hearts, then
we can too! If those who walked and talked with Jesus missed the truth,
then we should not think that we are immune. They were thrilled with
the simple evidence but did not move to the next level of understanding
about what the evidence pointed to: that Jesus was God.
When the storm stopped, they were astonished. It was not
until the storm stopped that they understood some basics about Jesus.
Then they responded by worshipping Him.
And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!” (NASB) Matt. 14:33
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| Life & Heart of Jesus | |||||||
