Bible Passage: Mark 6:45-52
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: August 4, 2024

Bulletin August 4, 2024

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

The account before us this morning is well known to most Christians.  The story of Jesus walking on the water is part of just about every Sunday School curriculum there is.  Just about every preaching pericope includes the record of Jesus walking on the water.  It is at the same time simple and profound.  Every child can understand that Jesus walked on top of the water out to his disciples.  That is simple.  But there is also something very profound about this event.

When Jesus speaks to the disciples, he gives them two commands.  In grammatical terms we call these “imperatives.”  He commands, Take courage and Don’t be afraid (v. 50).  They are afraid.  Jesus wants them to have courage.  How are they going to get there?  How are they going to move from fear to courage?  Well, Jesus said something else to them.  He said something between “take courage” and “don’t be afraid.”  Between those two commands he said, It is I (v. 50).  That is one way to translate the Greek.  In Greek, Jesus says, “Ego eimi.”  “Ego” means “I.” And “eimi” means “am.”  Jesus literally said, “I AM.”  That is the LORD’s name in the Old Testament.  That is Yahweh!  Jesus means to say so much more than just, “It’s me.”  He wants the disciples to know that he is the LORD God.  That’s why they don’t need to be afraid, in that moment, or ever!  That, my friends, is the Bridge between Fear and Courage:  “I AM.”

The shadows were growing long.  It had been quite a day!  It had ended with Jesus miraculously feeding the crowd of over 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two small fish.  As evening came, Jesus insisted the disciples get into the boat and return to the western shore.  He remained.  He dismissed the crowd.  Then he went up on a mountain by himself to spend some time talking to his Father.

Mark tells us this, He saw them straining at the oars because the wind was against them. (v. 48)  Mark uses a vivid word for “straining.”  It is a word that has in it the idea of “torture.”  This was torture!  They are really struggling to row against the headwind!

This goes on for hours.  Somewhere between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. Jesus walks out to them on the water.  At this point, the disciples panic.  They think it is a phantom.  There was even a Jewish legend that in the moment before death, you would see an “angel of death” coming for you.  Maybe this contributed to their terror.  They howl in fright!

At this point, let’s you and I take a step back.  The disciples were trying to process all of this in “real time.”  Let’s you and I slow down and take a deeper dive into this event.  First of all, the disciples were making this trip because Jesus had insisted they get in the boat and go back.  This was after Jesus had just miraculously fed them!  Did they really think Jesus was setting them up to die at this point?  Was he perhaps “setting them up” for something else?  Perhaps a very important lesson about who he really is?  There is a hint of this in Mark’s words, He was ready to pass by them. (v. 48)  Those words used to bother me.  Jesus was just going to walk right past them?  Literally the verse reads, He wanted to pass by them.  There is a hint there of what the LORD did with Moses when Moses wanted to see the Lord’s glory.  The LORD told him, I will cause my goodness to pass in front of you…And [the LORD] passed in front of Moses. (Exodus 33:19, 34:6)  This “passing by” is a display of the LORD’s goodness and glory! 

There is something else the disciples would have known.  They would have been familiar with the book of Job.  They would know the words Job spoke in chapter 9 of his book where he says this of God:  He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. (Job 9:8)  Job says the LORD God is the one who “treads on the waves.”  He walks on water!  And now Jesus comes to his disciples, treading on the waves of the sea!  He must be the LORD!

The lesson for the fearful disciples was driven home in what Jesus said to them.  Take courage!  I am!  Don’t be afraid. (v. 50)  There, wedged between the command to take courage and not be afraid was the REASON they could take courage and not be afraid!  The LORD was walking out to them.  To the Jews the sea was often symbolic of disorder and chaos.  And here, marching over the top of the tossing and crashing disorder and chaos, comes Yahweh, the Great I Am, treading the waves of the sea, coming to help them!

Many times when we are frightened, the sight of the right person makes all the difference.  If there is an accident or medical emergency, the arrival of the paramedics brings comfort.  When there is a fire, the arrival of the fireman is a relief.  When there is threat of danger, the arrival of the police brings a sense of peace.  Kids, seeing mom or dad come into your bedroom when you have had a nightmare makes you feel better, doesn’t it?  The arrival of Jesus is like rolling all of these things into one!  Whatever is chaotic and scary in your life, he walks calmly upon it all and says, “Take courage!  Don’t be afraid!  I Am!”

There’s only one time Jesus walked away from you.  It’s when he took your sin and guilt from you and walked away with it to Calvary.  There he faced the scariest thing ever.  The wrath of God over sin and the pain of hell.  He faced it for you, in place of you, so that in him, you never have to be afraid of God again.  You never have to be afraid of ANYTHING again!

It is through the LORD Jesus that we have the bridge from fear to courage.  It is through LORD Jesus that the words of Isaiah 43 are spoken to you:  Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Holy One of Israel, your Savior (Isaiah 43:1-3)  Amen.