Our Savior Comes to Our Aid
Truth Taught- Jesus sees our need and will always come to our aid regardless of where we are.
Mark 6:45-52
Our Savior Comes to Our Aid
Truth Taught- Jesus sees our need and will always come to our aid regardless of where we are.
2We learn very quickly here in this text that with man no lasting good is possible but with God everything good is a reality for all whom God loves. Our Lord does not wait for His people to do everything they should and even know everything they should know before He connects Himself to them. He loves His people and is very patient with us.
Jesus comes to our aid in loving us before the foundation of the world and then in time and space, saving us.
Mark 6:45–52 (ESV)
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 night 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.
1. The Quick Exit of the Disciples and Dismissal of the Crowd (6:45-46)
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.
The feeding of the 5,000 was the miracle the searching crowd was looking for. Not only could Jesus heal their sick but He could also feed them. Their attitude was, this is the One we want to be our King.
John 6:13–15 (ESV)
13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Our Lord and the disciples make a quick exit because the crowd was wanting to make Jesus their King. The King they had in mind was a military conqueror with supernatural powers. What nation could withstand such a King? Rome would be theirs and any other nation that came up against them. They would be in an even better state than in the days of the glory of King David and King Solomon.
The reality however, is that’s not why Jesus came…so He and the disciples make a quick exit.
The quick exit of the disciples and the dismissal of the crowd prevented them from being able to proclaim Jesus as their King. Jesus refused to be the Warrior-Messiah of popular expectations. He did not come for that. Jesus came to die on the cross and to give His life as a ransom for many not to make everyone’s life better by giving them freebies while on earth.
John says that after He had done the miracle, the people wanted to take Him and make Him a king, John 6 verses 14 and 15. They were ready to start a revolt, a revolution, a rebellion. Jesus would be their leader.
After the crowd had left, Jesus goes to a remote place to pray.
he went up on the mountain to pray.
Many times, when Jesus had accomplished a great sign or miracle, He would then, very quickly retreat to a solitary place to pray. Each time His purpose was to remain focused upon the Father’s will and to not get sidetracked by the popularity of the crowd or to give in to their will.
We see just how different our thinking is to that of Jesus. Most people would use that opportunity to spur the crowd on and even add to their excitement and giving in to their desire to make us king. Give this opportunity to a politician and the crowd would have been made many promises of a better life. However, Jesus is not a politician.
Rather than seeking power and popularity the way Satan would have Him to do, Jesus is going to accomplish the will of the Father. So, each time our Lord goes off by Himself to pray it’s a precursor to the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed God’s will be done.
2. Jesus’ Love for His Own (6:47-50)
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 night 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.”
The disciples, the ex-fishermen, were rowing and rowing and rowing. After they set out from shore a storm kicked up and they were in trouble. They were too far away to turn back and every cycle of the oars only inched them a little closer to their destination. The storm was bad. Many accounts remain about the fierce and quick storms that come about on the Sea of Galilee. They were right in the middle of one now. Mark tells us that it was the fourth watch of the night which means it was between 3-6am. They had been rowing for hours, probably since the evening the day before. They have been at it all night. They were very tired and very afraid. Then to their surprise a ghost appears above the waves.
There is a point here, and that is it seems every time Jesus and His disciples are away from Jesus, there is distress. Here, it is no different.
The storm is great, they are very tired from rowing, their faith is sinking about as quickly as their boat.
Jesus is praying and the disciples are rowing. I’d like to ask, which is doing more good?
I want us to see that there are miracles occurring here and these miracles have meaning…
The first miracle, one that we may overlook, is that Jesus sees His disciples…
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.
Now remember, He’s up in a mountain and they’re in the middle of the lake, four miles off shore. How far away from the shore they are, we don’t know, but He was up a hill, up a mountain. How can He see them? He can see them the way God always sees, with His omniscience – with His omniscience. Walking on the water is not the only miracle in this account. He always sees His own. They are deep into the dark night – deep into the dark night – well after the storm began. They’re three or four miles in the middle of the lake. And Mark says, “It is about the fourth watch of the night.”
Though there was no way to see them in the dark night far from shore, Jesus sees them. He knew exactly where they were. He knew precisely where they were because He always knows where His own are so that He can come to them in the hour of their desperation. And I love this at the end of verse 48, and you can misunderstand it if you’re not careful, “He intended to pass by them.” That does not mean that He intended to just go right on by them. That’s not a good translation. “He intended to pass by them,” sounds like – what? Literally, He desired to come alongside them.
It’s not a coincidence, like He was on the way to somewhere else. He had no intention of leaving the Kingdom in that little boat to drown. He had come for this purpose. He knew exactly where they were. He knew exactly when He needed to arrive. And He walked across the lake at a supernatural speed to arrive precisely at the right moment alongside the little boat.
Listen beloved, Jesus our Savior sees us. He knows where all His people are and what they are going through at all times. Take heart that our Lord is fully aware…He sees His own even when we are far away even in the middle of a storm at sea.
Their trip was only about a 4-mile trek across the sea but according to the text, if we do a little math, we can determine they have been at it for 8 or 9 hours, it’s after 3 am.
These fishermen are in another mess out at sea.
Mark 4:35–41 (ESV)
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Now, we look at the next miracle…
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.”
Not only did Jesus see them but now we see He comes to them. Beloved, our Savior comes to our aid. Sometimes we can get ourselves into great messes. Our Lord sees us and comes to our aid.
For us as with these disciples that day, Jesus comes to us at the right time.
Notice the fear of the fishermen here. They were greatly afraid of the storm, the wind and the waves and now this figure they see standing on the waves.
This time Jesus was not with them.
Then they see a man out on the sea in the midst of these waves and are afraid even more because they think it’s a ghost. Literally, they thought it was one of the rumored Sea or Water Spirits they had heard so much about. Great tales of ghosts seen at sea right at the point the boat sinks and all are drowned.
Here, the ghost cries out to them…“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
When the disciples fear the One they see walking on the water, our Lord speaks words to give them assurance and courage.
Take heart-Be courageous…gather your courage men!
It is I- This is the emphatic I which literally mean I AM that I AM. This is the Great Almighty God who has come to them. This is the Burning-Bush God who spoke to Moses. This is the Creator God who made the very waves they are so afraid of. You see these are the things the disciples are desperately needing to learn but unfortunately, it won’t be till after the resurrection that they will finally understand who Jesus really is.
3. The Disciples Miss the Point (6:51-52)
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.
Here the disciples miss the point. They were astounded at the miracle. When they saw what had happened with the loaves and fishes, they were amazed but they did not connect the dots as they should have. They thought it was just a great miracle and, on that level, they were not really any better than the crowd who wanted to make Jesus King.
The point is that the OT promises that the Messiah will make a meal for His followers in the wilderness. So, when Jesus made a meal for His followers in the wilderness, He is proving that He is the Messiah. When the Messiah comes, He will most importantly bring salvation with Him.
Here’s one of the Prophecies…
Isaiah 25:6–9 (ESV)
6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7 And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Because the disciples new their Bibles, they should have made this connection. They should have believed Messiah things about Jesus and not only that but they should have also connected the dots that the Messiah is also the Sovereign Lord and so everything the Bible teaches about the Sovereign Lord then, is true of Jesus…
Job 9:8 (ESV)
8 who alone stretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the sea;
The disciples failed to grasp that the feeding of the 5,000 pointed to the Great Person of Jesus Christ. Rather than displaying fear when they saw Jesus walking on the water, they should have known it was Him because of all the things the Lord is said to do, Jesus does them all.
This type of understanding comes by faith. Their lack of understanding comes from their unbelief or as Mark writes, their hardness of heart.
We are blessed far beyond the disciples. They missed it but we have the full account before us. We can connect the dots because we have the NT as well as the OT.
We have been shown through the NT that Jesus has the power over the seas because He is the very Creator of the seas. It is nothing for God the Creator of the seas to tread upon them. Jesus walks on water as Sovereign Lord, Son of God, and Creator of heaven and earth.
He is subduing the hostility of fallen creation. When Jesus treads upon the waves it is to come to the aid of His people. He will save His disciples, even though they still don’t fully grasp who He is completely. Jesus will also come to us in our fear and save us who are His.
Jesus is Savior for all who believe.
We thank You God for our Savior Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Creator, the Son of God who will walk on water to save us, who will die on the cross to save us. Thank You for such a great salvation. Do you know Jesus? The Sovereign Lord who saves His people? Will you trust in Him today?
Resources Used:
Mark by William Lane
Words of grace
We make this confession: You, O God, chose us, drew us and Christ received us and keeps us and will one day raise us. We offer our praise and our heart gratitude. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we worship. That’s why we obey. That’s why we rejoice. That’s why we live in peace. That’s why we celebrate the fellowship of those of like precious faith. That’s why we love the Word of God. That’s why we love You…Amen
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