With Jesus in the Boat

You may have missed it. Last Sunday is when summer officially ended and autumn began. One thing that some people will miss about summer is being in or on the water. Folks love fishing, swimming, boat rides, cruises, or just sitting and looking at the ocean or a lake. I did not get to any major bodies of water this summer. However, I did see several beautiful waterfalls in the Great Smoky Mountains. On one hike, my son and I climbed over some slippery rocks to get a closer look at the stunning falls. As we navigated the plunge pool to return to the trail my foot slipped, and my shoe and sock were completely immersed in the cool water. I had to walk at least 30 minutes to the car with one dry shoe and a soaking wet shoe. From there, I drove about an hour until I was able to change. I was reminded of something I learned as a child. I cannot walk on water.

I do know one of the two in history who could walk on water. I am not talking about the Hindu guru who claimed he could. In 1966, Yogi Rao (no relation to Yogi Bear or Yogi Berra) sold tickets to over 600 celebrities and politicians who wanted to see him accomplish the amazing feat. When he immediately sank, he resurfaced and yelled at those in the crowd for not having enough faith.

About 2000 years before Yogi went down in front of hundreds, a dozen men in a boat saw the Son of God walk on water during a storm. The account is told in three gospels with some different details in each. For my purposes here I will mostly be looking at Mark’s account.

The first mention of a storm was in chapter 4. The disciples were in the boat along with a sleeping Jesus. At this point, they knew Jesus was special and could do amazing things. They heard him teach and were impressed enough to follow him when he called them. The Sea of Galilee is actually a lake, but because of its unique valley location and the fact that it is 700 feet below sea level it was more like an ocean when a storm hit. It was not uncommon for that to happen as cool mountain air would blow down into the warm valley.

This body of water was very familiar to Jesus’ followers, some of whom were fishermen. Some storms were worse than others.

The text states “the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped” (Mark 4:37). It was a human response to be afraid at this point. With Jesus still sleeping the disciples woke him with a strange question. “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (38). Notice that they called him teacher and not Lord. And of course, he cared if they drowned. He was going to have them carry out his earthly mission. He had plans for them. But for now, he was prepared to simply speak, and the wind would be calm. He then explained to his disciples that they had fear because they had no faith. Peter had faith ever so briefly (Matthew 14:28-30).

Lack of faith would show up again with the next storm, but a better result came of it. After seeing Jesus heal a demon-possessed man and raise a dead girl back to life they were commissioned by Jesus to go on a mission trip in pairs. They were able to do amazing things themselves through the power of God. Then came the feeding of more than 5000 as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish. By now Jesus and his disciples were tired and being pressed by the crowds. They even wanted to make Jesus king by force because they didn’t understand who he was and what his purpose was. They just saw that he was powerful.

Jesus would not allow the crowds to manipulate him, so he withdrew and told the disciples to get into the boat while he went up to a mountain to pray (6:45-46). Jesus needed to fellowship with God and withdrew on several occasions to refuel. And there is reason to believe that during this prayer time he was focused on the 12 disciples who were in the boat not far from shore. They only had a short distance to go that evening. But instead of being near the north shore the storm ended up placing the boat in the middle of the 13 x 7-mile lake.

By now they had to have been exhausted. Perhaps they had blistered, bloodied hands because they had been straining at the oars for up to 8 hours. They should not have been hungry because they had a big meal earlier and perhaps were carrying the 12 baskets of leftovers from Jesus’ miracle. Speaking of miracles…Jesus saw them, from a distance, in the dark. It was now the 4th watch of the night which is between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM. Jesus apparently wanted them to struggle through the storm for a long while.

He now was ready to act. Although he could have spoken and stopped the storm from the shore, walking on the water served a greater purpose. They all saw him but thought he was a ghost or phantom. Apparently, they did not know that there was no such thing as a ghost. There was a superstition at the time that spirits on the water would bring a bad fate. They were terrified. The Bible says that Jesus wanted to pass by them. This does not mean bypass them. Rather, we wanted to come alongside of them and show himself in all his glory. He demonstrated his power over nature and gravity.

The Son of God quickly spoke to them. “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (50). He wanted them to be brave and in good cheer. And the language here means he is not just saying who he is but proclaiming to be “I am”. This is the same language God used when he appeared before Moses. Jesus made multiple “I am” statements as he demonstrated that he was indeed God. He climbed into the boat and the storm stopped. The disciples were amazed. You and I would have been too. Matthew 14:33 notes that for the first time the disciples called Jesus the Son of God and worshiped him at this point.

There are lessons to be learned from this amazing story. Pastor David Platt makes several points of application about being with Jesus in the boat. Jesus calls you into the storm. He sees you in the storm. Jesus prays for you in the storm. Ultimately, the Son of God is our greatest need in the storm. Jesus is with us in the storm. He will lead us through the storm. And we must remember that Jesus is for others in their storms.