Who Can Walk On Water?

[0:00] Have you ever noticed how it's possible to be amazed by the miracles of Jesus and still be completely oblivious to their true significance? Not only is that a possibility, but I think that it's actually more common than what we would hope it to be. Just think of all of these people that Jesus has encountered in the gospels up to this point and beyond. Thousands of people flocked to Jesus and his disciples wherever he went, but very few of them actually believed and followed him.

[0:37] They were eyewitnesses to his power, but they were utterly ignorant of his person. They loved to see what he could do, but they completely missed who he was. And even the people that were closest to Jesus, his 12 disciples in particular, still struggled to understand the significance of Jesus's identity and purpose. And despite all that they had seen, despite all that they had even partaken in as a result of the power and authority of Jesus, the disciples generally misunderstood what all of that was about. And such is the case here at the conclusion of chapter six.

[1:22] And it's for this reason that this miracle of Jesus walking on water of which probably all of us are so familiar is actually one of the most significant moments in the life of the disciples as they walked with Jesus. Now that might be a bit of a hard statement, but I think it's true because we look at all, all that they experienced with Jesus clearly the most significant moment was when the resurrected Christ appeared to these men. But this was such a massive turning point for these men in their acknowledgement of who Jesus was and they're beginning to understand exactly what his purpose was in all of this. They were following him in faith, but they just weren't getting it. All the things that they saw and experienced, it wasn't clicking. They weren't bringing these connections together to really understand what Jesus was doing until this point.

[2:21] And even at this point, they didn't quite grasp it, but something significant changed as we'll get to in beginning to understand this. And so when we come to the miracle of the walking on the water, it's not just meant to amaze us that Jesus did this really incredible thing, but I really think that we should view this particular story and miracle as a turning point in the life of the 12 disciples.

[2:46] We need to understand this event in tandem with the feeding of the 5,000, which is what we studied last Sunday. You will have difficulty understanding the purpose of Jesus walking on water without understanding first the purpose of Jesus feeding the 5,000. It's really not two different stories. It's really one story. This walking on the water is really the conclusion to the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. When you go to the Gospels, Luke is the only one that doesn't cover Jesus walking on water, but all four Gospels cover the feeding of the 5,000. Every time the walking on the water is mentioned, it is always, always directly linked to Jesus feeding all of those people in the desolate place near Bethsaida. And so you can't understand the two apart from one another.

[3:33] It's not just for continuity of narrative. It's not just about that. There's a reason that these two are linked together. And Mark, I think, lays out two particular reasons here that we want to cover today. The first one is this, that in verse 45, we see this urgency with which Jesus sent the disciples away. So he does this great miracle. He feeds all of these people. And then the very next verse, we don't see anything else happening except for Jesus hurriedly, urgently making sure that his disciples don't stay around. He's pushing them away. Go, get out of here, go get in the boat, go to the other side, and I'll catch up with you later. There's an urgency to what Jesus is doing here. So the question is, what's happening? What was happening in Bethsaida or near Bethsaida that Jesus had to so urgently get these disciples away? So it's not just about this continuity and narrative telling story in a particular order. There's a reason that these two are being connected. The second one is this. We read it a moment ago. Look again with me at, what is it, verse 52. They were amazed, but why were they amazed?

[4:47] Mark circles back around to the feeding of the 5,000. He says they were amazed because their hearts were hardened due to them not understanding what the feeding of the 5,000 was all about. They didn't understand the loaves. They hadn't considered that. Their hearts were hardened, which is a pretty important statement when we come to Mark's gospel. And that's why things weren't clicking for them before.

[5:12] That's why they were astounded. So after he gets all the way through this story of what Jesus has done, he circles back around. And so we have to ask that question, why was Jesus sending these disciples away with urgency? And what was it that they didn't get? What was it about this feeding of the 5,000 that wasn't clicking for these men that Jesus had to go walk on water in order to make it click? Because that's essentially what's happening. They've missed something massive. So Jesus, in order to demonstrate something very specific to these men, walks on water. And that's what becomes the turning point for the men.

[5:46] And it's these questions that I hope that we can answer this morning as we go through this chapter. Now, remember, we're coming to the close of this chapter that has focused specifically on the disciples. All of Mark's gospel is about Jesus. All of the Bible is about Jesus. But Mark is giving us this picture of Jesus and telling these stories of Jesus in Mark chapter 6 through the lens of his disciples, their training, and what it was that was going on in their minds.

[6:14] Let me ask you, when you got saved, when you were converted to Christ, did everything that you read in the Bible and everything that you had ever heard about the Bible just all of a sudden just click, and you just had it, and you were just like, you're a doctor of theology now, it all just makes sense?

[6:35] Of course not, right? Of course not. The character of God is infinite. You will never, you will never understand it all. You will never grasp it all.

[6:50] I was talking to Caitlin and Michaela this morning about a song I was listening to this week. It's a City of Light song called I Want to Know You. And there's a bridge in the song, it says, it says like wave after wave on the ocean, like all of the sand on the shore, your beauty and glory are endless. Oh Jesus, I must know you more.

[7:11] And I think the more that we actually begin to understand the Bible, and the more we begin to actually see who Christ is, we realize how little of Christ we actually understand. And for a believer, it should put this desire, this fire in your heart.

[7:24] Lord, I just want to know you more. I want to know more of who you are. I want to understand this more. So now let's put ourselves in the disciples' shoes. Yes, they've seen some amazing things.

[7:36] They had done some amazing things through the power of Christ. But they're not any different than us. Didn't mean that everything just clicked with them all of a sudden. There was a progression to their understanding.

[7:50] They grew in grace the same way that we grow in grace. And it wasn't that they didn't have faith. It wasn't that they weren't regenerate. It wasn't any of that. It was that this was just another step in their walk of faith.

[8:01] And it ended up being a monumental moment for them in this time that they were following Christ. So if you care to keep an outline, maybe next to verses 45 and 46 in those scripture journals, you'll write this, messianic misunderstanding.

[8:15] Messianic misunderstanding or misunderstanding the Messiah or however you'd want to phrase that. It doesn't really matter to me. But it's in verses 45 and 46 where we're going to see this.

[8:27] And one of the recurring problems with the crowds that followed Jesus was that they continually misunderstood the purpose of the Messiah. It wasn't necessarily that they denied Jesus as being a messianic figure.

[8:41] I think that was the point in the crowds following him is that they suspected that he was indeed at least a Messiah from God. What they misunderstood is exactly what that meant and exactly what the purpose of the Messiah would be.

[8:58] They expected this political leader, this military hero that would deliver the nation from oppression and would restore it to a former glory, like the glory of David's kingdom.

[9:11] And even those who had followed Jesus expected a physical kingdom that would be established in their lifetime. Now, Isaiah had prophesied that the coming of the Messiah would cause a few things to happen.

[9:27] That deaf people would hear, that blind people would see, that lame people would walk, that good news would be brought, that blessing would come upon the nation.

[9:39] And what have we seen Jesus doing as he's going throughout Galilee in Mark's gospel? He's preaching good news. He's bringing blessing to the nation. The deaf can hear, the blind can see, the lame can walk.

[9:54] All of these things that the prophets had foretold would be true of the Messiah are true in Jesus. And the crowds are starting to see that. They're seeing, okay, this might be the one.

[10:06] What they misunderstood is what the one was intending to do. But then Jesus even admitted that he was the one. Remember this from Luke chapter four. You don't have to turn there.

[10:17] Maybe write it in the margins of your notes and you can reflect on it later. Luke chapter four, Jesus's first visit to Nazareth after his ministry had begun. And he goes and he's allowed to speak in the synagogue.

[10:28] And it says that in the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written. The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

[10:42] He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.

[11:01] And he began to say this, Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. Okay, Jesus was clear. Sometimes we wonder that. Why wasn't Jesus more clear?

[11:12] That's pretty clear. And that's early on in his ministry. He's reading these prophets and he's saying, I am that one. And so it's not that the people didn't think he was the Messiah or a Messiah.

[11:26] It's that they misunderstood what his whole purpose was. Remember John the Baptist? Before he was executed, he's in the prison. And remember, he's confused. Because even John the Baptist thought that Jesus, though he knew Jesus to be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world, he thought Jesus was bringing a physical kingdom then in his lifetime.

[11:47] And he's confused because he is sitting in the prison. And he wasn't thinking that that was going to be a part of the plan of the Messiah and of his cousin, Jesus. He didn't think that's what was going to happen.

[11:58] And remember, he sends some of his own followers to Jesus. And they say, John wanted us to ask you, Are you the one or should we look for another? And what was it that Jesus said?

[12:08] You can read it in Matthew 11 or Matthew 14. One of those passages has this in context. And Jesus says, Jesus heals a few folks in front of John's disciples. And he does all these works.

[12:19] And then he turns to those disciples. And he says, Go and tell John that the deaf hear, and the blind see, and the lame walk, and good news is preached to the people.

[12:30] In other words, John, you know, you may not understand what I'm doing, but you know I'm the one to do it. So go tell John, Don't worry. Things are fine.

[12:41] So even the people that were closest to him didn't quite get it at this point. But he was doing all of these things. So with that in mind, look at verse 45. Immediately, I'm reading from the ESV now.

[12:54] Immediately, he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. So there's this misunderstanding.

[13:09] People aren't grasping exactly, even the disciples aren't grasping exactly what Jesus' purpose is. Something is now happening on the side of this hill, and Jesus forces these disciples to leave. You have to get out of here.

[13:20] Go get in the boat and go away. The feeding of the 5,000 had taken place, as we talked about last week, in a desolate place. It was in the region of Bethsaida, which is northeast Galilee.

[13:32] Probably, there's some confusion over what's happening in direction. There's no reason to be confused. Jesus is sending them away to go to the other side. Okay? He's sending them to go back to the other side, probably around the shoreline, the way that they had come.

[13:47] But why? Well, this particular area was known to be a stronghold for the zealot movement. You'll probably recognize that term because one of Jesus' disciples was a zealot.

[14:00] His name was Simon. In one passage, he's called Simon the Canaanite, which literally means zealot. That's what he was. He was a part of this zealot movement. Now, this tells you something about Jesus' mindset toward this group.

[14:13] Simon repented of and left that group in order to follow Jesus. Now, that was a messianic group. They cared about Israel. They cared about the Messiah.

[14:24] They cared about all those things. But that didn't mean that they had it all together. It didn't mean that they were thinking rightly about who Jesus is and what the Savior would do. In fact, they were a military group.

[14:36] They were hiding in the hills, training in order to kill, in order that they might free Israel from the bondage that they had experienced in Rome.

[14:46] So they were freedom fighters. They were revolutionaries. And what they expected the Messiah to do was to be a military leader that would lead them in their training in a fight, a physical fight, against Rome.

[15:01] Now, because this is the place where this feeding took place, some have suggested that this crowd was made up predominantly of zealots. He's in zealot territory.

[15:13] All four Gospels emphasized that it was 5,000 men. We know that there were women and children there too, but the emphasis is on the men. Could it be that this is basically a group of 5,000 zealots that have gathered on the hillside that now have witnessed with their own eyes Jesus do an incredible miracle?

[15:34] And now they think, okay, the Messiah is here. We've been training for this. It's time to go fight. And there's this messianic fervor that's misunderstood because they didn't really understand who Jesus was.

[15:49] And John tells us that they attempted to make Jesus a king by force. In fact, John chapter 6, verse 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.

[16:05] Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him a king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. So why is it that Jesus is sending the disciples away in such a hurried fashion?

[16:19] Because the disciples generally agreed with the messianic expectations of the people. And they were probably getting caught up in the zeal of the crowd.

[16:30] Zealots are ready to take Jesus by force, force him to be their leader. They're going to go fight against Rome. And here's the disciples on the other end who are gung-ho for that.

[16:41] That's what they thought this was all about. They thought, yes, this is it. We're going to be his right-hand men. And they're getting excited. And Jesus says, no, you need to get out of here.

[16:53] It's time for you to leave. The language in verse 45 indicates that Jesus had to force them out, that they were reluctant to leave.

[17:05] And now we begin to understand exactly why this was such an issue with the disciples. After everything they had witnessed Jesus do, after Jesus calling them to be apostles that were going to continue his kingdom, they were going to take his kingdom across the world, they didn't even understand what that kingdom was.

[17:25] They didn't even understand what that purpose was going to be. They were susceptible to the political enthusiasm of the crowd. So Jesus commanded them to sail to the other side.

[17:38] And it's just a reminder. There's always a danger in getting swept away by error when we fail to realize exactly who Jesus is and what he's meant to do.

[17:56] The errors that we can so easily get caught up in as Christians always come back to a misunderstanding of who Jesus is and what his purpose is should be mindful.

[18:11] Look at verse 46. After he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. It's always fascinating to consider the prayer life of Jesus.

[18:22] It's mysterious. Why would Jesus need to pray? I understand why I need to pray. Because I'm weak. That's part of our prayer, right?

[18:33] It's a surrender. It's, Lord, I can't do this. I need you. I need you to work on my behalf. I need you in this moment. But why would Jesus do this? It's mysterious to think about it.

[18:44] It pictures the intimate communion in the Trinity, the unity that existed between the Father and the Son and the Spirit. But while we often see Jesus praying in the Gospels, these private times of prayer in solitude, particularly in these mountainous places, we see these names specifically through the Gospels.

[19:08] They're always connected in some way to difficulty and temptation. Now think about this for just a moment. When's the first time that we see Jesus in this type of prayer?

[19:21] Well, it was right after his baptism. He was led of the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. And as he's praying and fasting, what is happening? For 40 days and 40 nights, he's being tempted.

[19:33] And what were those temptations about? Satan's, the goal of Satan's temptations of Jesus was to get him to go against the will of the Father. That was the purpose.

[19:44] Whether it was turning the bread into food or the stones into bread, or whether it was jumping off the pinnacle of the temple and having angels bear him up before he falls on the rocks, or whether it was to bow to Satan in order to gain the kingdom, all of those things were really for one purpose.

[19:59] Go against the will of the Father. Those were the temptations. Okay? When's the next time we see him being tempted? Mark chapter 1. This explosive popularity all of a sudden in Capernaum.

[20:10] Remember, all these people are coming all night to Jesus. Jesus slips away in the middle of the night to go pray, and his disciples hunt him down. And what'd they say? We need to go back because it's happening. It's happening, Jesus.

[20:22] And what does Jesus say? No, we're going to go to other towns now so that I can teach them because that's why I've come. And so this moment of prayer in Mark chapter 1, what is it?

[20:32] It's a reaffirming of the will of the Father. And the next day, he doesn't go back to follow the expectations of the disciples. He follows the expectations of the Father, and he goes, and he stays on track with what his purpose was.

[20:46] We're going to see it again the night of his arrest. He's going to go to the Garden of Gethsemane, and he's going to go a little further than the rest of them in this solitude at night.

[20:56] And what is it that he's going to pray in a moment of temptation, probably? He's going to pray, Father, not my will, but your will be done. And then we see him again on the mountain praying right after a group of zealots had tried to get him to circumvent the will of the Father, which was the cross.

[21:16] He could have had the leadership. He could have had the kingdom. He could have had the things apart from the cross, but that wasn't the will of the Father. And so he goes and he prays.

[21:30] It's important here because it's perfect as the Son of God was and is. He felt temptation in a way that we can never understand.

[21:42] Yet he never sinned even one time. Not one time. In fact, Hebrews reminds us of this. We do not have a priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

[22:02] Do you understand the importance of this? That Jesus couldn't be the Savior if he wasn't sinless. but he is sinless.

[22:14] He never went with the temptation. He never gave in to the messianic expectations of the people. Last night, Ashlyn and I were talking about this in a way.

[22:26] We were talking about this on the couch. I can't remember the context of what we were saying, but we were talking about how easy it is to worry about future sin. We want to please the Lord, don't we?

[22:36] We get worried sometimes that I don't want to mess up and I don't want to fall so badly that I'm alone and I feel distant from God and all of those kinds of things.

[22:47] That was kind of the context of the conversation that Ashlyn and I were having. We had to bring it back to the gospel because my acceptance with the Father is not on the basis of whether or not I can keep all the stuff.

[23:03] Whether or not he's close to me and I'm close to him is not about how good I can be. It's not about my righteousness. It's about the righteousness of Christ because if my acceptance is based on how well I can keep up this Christian thing, then I'm never going to be good enough.

[23:19] I'm never going to feel accepted. I'm never going to be loved to the Father, but that's not what it is. He doesn't look at me for how good I am or how well I can keep all the stuff. He looks at me for the righteousness that is his son.

[23:31] Perfection. Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free for God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me.

[23:43] And what is this all about in this prayer? Jesus is reaffirming his commitment to the will of the Father. He will not sin. He will not give into temptation and praise God that he didn't because it's only due to his sinlessness as our Savior that we can actually be saved.

[24:00] He's not about, look, you need to free yourself from this idea that I'm going to lose something, whether it be my salvation or whether it be my closeness to God if I don't keep all the rules and I don't do all the stuff and I'm just so worried that I'm going to mess up.

[24:18] And if it wasn't about how good you were to be saved, it's not going to be about how good you are to stay saved. And it's not going to be how good you are to feel saved. It's not any of that.

[24:31] It's the righteousness of Christ. What a freeing gospel he gives us. It's about him. Now we haven't even got to the walking on the water part.

[24:43] We need to probably get there, don't we? Write this down in the margins. Divine revelation. Divine revelation. This is verses 47 to 51. Let's look at verse 47.

[24:54] And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea and he was alone on the land and he saw that they were making headway painfully for the wind was against them.

[25:05] Now we've noted in the past about storms that tend to come over the Sea of Galilee in a sudden fashion. And the disciples had actually feared for their lives. I think it was at the end of chapter 4 where they had feared for their lives during such a storm.

[25:23] Another storm has developed as Jesus has sent them away on the lake. Mark's language is actually a little different this time though. It's not that they were in danger as much as they were miserable here in this passage.

[25:40] There's no indication that the boat was falling apart like before. They weren't terrified in this moment for their lives. They were just going through a really difficult time. They just couldn't make any progress. It's not that they were going backwards.

[25:51] It's not that it's not that they were falling apart. They weren't drowning. It's just that everything was against them in this moment and they couldn't make any progress because of this storm so that they're really miserable.

[26:03] They're miserable. They're toiling painfully to row and they're not actually getting anywhere. And ironically they were in that troubling predicament because of obedience.

[26:16] Right? We often think of it that way. We think well if I'm obedient to the Lord then blessing will come. Yeah and often it does. Sometimes you're obedient to the Lord and you just get more miserable.

[26:30] That's what's happening with the disciples here. Jesus says listen you guys need to go to the boat and you need to go to the other side knowing full well that they were going to struggle all night long.

[26:43] I mean it's just going to be a pain all night long. Kent Hughes said imagine what disobedience could have gotten these men that night. And we think obedience brings blessing.

[26:56] Disobedience brings problems. But that might not have actually been the case at least not immediately here. If they had disobeyed they probably would have had a nice place to stay for the night. Could have sheltered from the storm.

[27:08] Perhaps they would have had a host that fed them a good meal. Perhaps they could have amazed some people with the stories of what Jesus had done in their sight and all these kinds of things. They might have had actually a pretty good night had they disobeyed the Lord.

[27:20] But they would have missed out. They would have missed out on this monumental moment in their walk with Christ. sometimes Jesus sends us through a storm so that he might reveal himself more fully in the storm.

[27:38] Sometimes he sends us through a storm in order to reveal himself more fully in that storm. He knew where he was sending them and he knew what he was going to do and their obedience brought them hardship but it actually ended up being the greatest blessing that they could have experienced on that night.

[27:59] Notice Jesus was fully aware of everything going on. They couldn't see him but he could see them. John 6 tells us they were three or four miles out in the middle of the lake at this point.

[28:16] It's the middle of the night. There's a storm. Nobody's going to stand on the seashore and be able to see this boat out there. It just wouldn't have been possible. What's Mark telling us here? It's not that Jesus physically could see them.

[28:29] It's that he knew where they were. He knew what was happening. They couldn't see him at the moment. They couldn't tell what was going on at the moment but he saw them.

[28:40] He knew them. He knew what was going on and he sees us too. I don't know what kind of storm you may be going through today at this point in your life. Be careful before you wish it away.

[28:52] Because it may be that it's this particular storm that Jesus is planning to reveal himself to you in a completely unique way that you haven't experienced up to this point. And just know that no matter how dark it is and how difficult it is he sees you.

[29:09] He knows you. He knows what's going on in your life. Verse 48 About the fourth watch of the night he came to them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them but they saw him.

[29:22] walking on the sea. They thought it was a ghost. Cried out for they all saw him and were terrified. Now we see they're terrified.

[29:33] But it wasn't the storm they were terrified of. It was Jesus they were terrified of. Because they didn't know it was Jesus. First century Jews they organized their days into three hour periods.

[29:47] the early evening was the time that Jesus had fed the 5,000 that was between three o'clock and six o'clock in the afternoon. Then they had this thing called second evening. That's six o'clock in the evening to nine o'clock at night.

[30:00] That's the time frame that Jesus sends the disciples out on the boat. The fourth watch of the night is three to six in the morning. Think about that. think about how long Jesus let them struggle.

[30:17] He's controlling the storm here. He sent them into it. He's the one that's holding off on calming the storm right now. Six to eight hours maybe. Six to eight hours in the middle of the night.

[30:29] They were already exhausted. That was the point in going to Bethesda to get some rest that they never actually got. And they're paddling all night. I mean goodness grief. By the time Jesus got to them, it was early in the morning.

[30:47] They rode all night. But then Jesus came in a most peculiar way. Walking on the surface of the water.

[31:02] Now, familiarity with this story might cause us to take for granted what I just said. So let's take a moment to consider it. Jesus came to them by walking on water.

[31:18] I was talking to my dad yesterday. I was in a pool actually and he was sitting on the edge and I had this thought of water in my head and I was thinking I can't walk on this right now. And I told my dad, I said I wish that, I wish I could grasp maybe more emotionally what this was like.

[31:39] I can understand it factually, I believe it with my whole heart. It's hard for me to grasp it in the way that the disciples clearly would have grasped it. He walked on the surface of the water four miles in, in the middle of a storm.

[31:57] Now tell me, who can walk on water? I can't do that. You can't do that. Gus can do that. And he said he might give it a shot.

[32:11] I'll give it a shot. The disciples couldn't except Peter and it was only because Jesus allowed him. There's only one person that can walk on water and it's not the Messiah.

[32:27] It's the Son of God. which tells us something significant about what this moment was. They were misunderstanding Jesus' messianic purpose.

[32:41] And so Jesus comes to them in a way that they can't mistake it. This isn't a messianic expectation. This is an expectation that we would only see in God himself.

[32:54] It's easy to get a little confused in this verse when Mark says that he meant to pass by them. But there is a little bit of significance here. He doesn't mean that Jesus was walking past them as if he didn't want to be seen and they happened to notice him out there.

[33:09] It's the sense that he was walking beside them for the specific purpose that he would be seen. That's what's going on here. Now, some of us suggested that there's a correlation here in the language to when God passed by Moses in Exodus 34.

[33:27] Do you remember that story? Moses goes up on the mountain. He's getting the second go around for the Ten Commandment tablets. He says, God, I just want to see you. Will you let me see you?

[33:37] God says, I'll hide you in the cleft of the rock and I will pass by you. He was revealing himself. Understandably, the men were scared. Wouldn't you be?

[33:50] Why were they scared? The thought would have never crossed through their minds. I wonder if Jesus will come walking by on the water tonight. Who would even think about that? None of us would ever even imagine that.

[34:03] And they weren't especially superstitious people, the Jews, but these men, the only explanation they could come up with in that moment is this is a ghost and they were terrified. And then verse 50, they were going to go to them.

[34:17] And they said, take heart, it is I, don't be afraid. And he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased.

[34:30] They didn't recognize him at first, but they knew his voice. And the miracle wasn't over. That's what the amazing thing is here. It's unbelievable that Jesus walked on water.

[34:42] water. But did you notice? This time he calmed the storm without even saying anything. The last time he said, peace be still, and he harnessed creation, this time all it took was from climbing the boat and all of a sudden it's all over.

[34:59] It's amazing. And so we have to ask this question. Who can see the storm tossed in the middle of the night? I can't see that. You can't see that.

[35:11] Who can walk on water? I can't do that. You can't do that. Who can calm the wind and the waves? Not me.

[35:23] Maybe Gus. Only God can do this. Only God can do this. That's the point.

[35:35] That's the point of the walking on the water. Thirdly, write down authentic worship. verse 51, and they were utterly astounded for they did not understand the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

[35:51] They were blown away by what they witnessed. You know, there's a type of amazement that leads us to cheer or show appreciation for a person or for an action. Think going to a ball game.

[36:05] Julie and I were watching the Yankees and the Royals play the other night. The Yankees were down in the bottom of the ninth. Luke Voigt hit a walk-off single that won the game for the Yankees.

[36:16] And what happened, what ensued after that is what you might expect. The whole crowd goes crazy. All the players rush onto the field. They're jumping around. They're amazed in that moment. They're amazed at what Luke Voigt has just done.

[36:29] They're amazed that they got to experience this victory in the way that they did. It would have been a completely different type of amazement if after hitting that and winning the game, Luke Voigt started to flap his arms and fly around the stadium.

[36:42] That's a different kind of amazement. The men weren't in the boat saying, Jesus, you rock. That's awesome. Do it again.

[36:52] No, that's not the kind of amazement that's happening here. What's happening here is utter worship. it sends them to their knees.

[37:08] And how do we know that? Because Mark doesn't say it. We have to borrow from the other gospels. Matthew says it. Matthew chapter 14, and those in the boat worshipped him, saying, truly, you are the son of God.

[37:22] This is why this event matters. Remember the last time Jesus calmed the storm? What was it that the men said after? What kind of man is this that even the wind and the seas obey him?

[37:32] They were amazed, but they were asking the wrong question. What kind of man is this? What kind of Messiah is this? What power he has? Now they're saying the right thing. Truly, you are the son of God.

[37:47] That's why this matters. It's the first time they've made this confession in their time in following Christ in the gospels. This is the first time that the disciples acknowledge this thing about Jesus' identity.

[37:58] When Luke covers the feeding of the 5,000, he immediately follows it up with that great confession from Peter where Peter says, you are the Christ, the son of God. Matthew says, he gets in the boat and they said, truly you are the son of God.

[38:12] Mark's going to get there in chapter 8 with that same confession. Here's what John says. Remember the next day, the crowds find Jesus and he gives this lesson on how he is the bread of life and everybody left him.

[38:26] Everybody, even the disciples outside of the 12, they left him. They said, this is too fanatical for us and they left. Here's what happened. John 6, after this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

[38:40] So Jesus said to the 12, do you go away as well? Are you going to leave me too? And Peter said, Lord, to whom shall we go?

[38:53] you have the words of life and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.

[39:03] What's the difference between the 12 in John 6 and the crowds in John 6? The crowds were amazed at what Jesus could do. The disciples, even despite their misunderstanding, despite the fact that they couldn't make all the connections the right way yet, despite all of that, they believed that this is who he was.

[39:21] That was the difference. You know what will keep you faithful to Christ, faithful to the church, faithful to pursue godliness in your life? It's not a sheer amazement with Jesus. That won't get you very far.

[39:32] That won't get you very far. What will keep you going, even when you don't understand, is the fact that you believe that this is who he is. This is truly the son of God. This is the savior of the world.

[39:43] It is the only thing that will push you through. When he sends you into a storm, it won't be your amazement that will get you through the storm.

[39:55] It will get you through the storm. This is the son of God. This is the son of God. This is the son of God. And it's another reminder that proximity to Jesus doesn't always result in faith.

[40:10] Being amazed by him doesn't automatically mean that a person has come to terms with his true identity and purpose. There are plenty of people in churches this morning around Charlotte that are totally amazed by Jesus, but they do not have faith in Jesus.

[40:26] There's a difference. There's a difference. Let's wrap it up this way. Verses 53 to 56. When they had crossed, they came to the land at Gennesaret, moored to the shore, and when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was, and wherever he came in villages, cities, or countryside.

[40:50] They laid the sick, in the marketplaces, and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment, and as many as touched it were made well. So these closing verses of this chapter, they're really just a summary.

[41:06] Mark does these summaries periodically. It's when he's making a transition in the narrative. We're about to go into another transition in Mark chapter 7. We're going to see him confronting Pharisees in his teaching particularly.

[41:17] So he's transitioning away from this focus on the disciples for a moment. And he tells us here's what was happening. They made it to Gennesaret. They got off the boat.

[41:28] People recognized him. And they were bringing people from everywhere. Everywhere he went, towns, cities, villages, countryside, didn't matter. People were coming from everywhere. And he was healing many, many people, sometimes even by the simple touch of his clothes.

[41:46] And here's what I want to note as we close. I want you to notice how little detail there is in this summary. We know of no specific people.

[41:59] We really know of no specific place. Gennesaret was a region. We just know that that's the site of Galilee he was on. And that everywhere he went, lots and lots of people came, and he did lots and lots of things for them.

[42:13] There's a lack of detail here. here's what I take from them. There are thousands and thousands of miraculous moments in Jesus's ministry that we know absolutely nothing about.

[42:29] We have no idea. At the end of John's gospel, he mentions this. In John chapter 20, he says, now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book.

[42:42] But these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

[42:55] There's lots of things we don't know. The things that we do know are for the purpose of not amazingness at his power, but drawing us to a point of decision where we will believe in his name, and by believing in his name, we will have eternal life and escape eternal hell.

[43:11] That's the purpose of what these gospel authors have written. And then John says this. There are also many other things that he did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

[43:33] Here's the point. There is more than enough evidence for you to choose to follow Christ in faith. You just take your pick.

[43:47] Even one example is enough. Perhaps you just go with the walking on the water. That's enough. But then think about the fact that God has revealed to us all of these amazing things in the scriptures.

[44:02] And then on top of that, he said, and there's thousands and thousands more things that he did in three years. And if we were to write it all down, the world couldn't contain all the books that would be written.

[44:14] He's a wonderfully compassionate savior. There's enough evidence for here, for you. There's nothing else for you to find. The scripture is enough.

[44:26] Now you must believe. And if you don't believe, you will not have life. You will die in your sin. You'll spend eternity in hell.

[44:40] But if you will believe, you will have life in his name. Think of the compassion of this savior. Most of those people he healed did not follow him.

[44:56] Now, if you had some kind of power to help somebody, and they rejected you, you probably wouldn't be very inclined to help them. Not Jesus.

[45:10] They didn't believe him. He still healed them. He still taught them. He's a compassionate savior. Now, think of the amazing compassion that he shows to those who do believe.

[45:27] Because those who do believe, he takes your sin. And he takes it on himself. And he gives you his life. What's the walking on the water about?

[45:39] It's about who Jesus is. And when we really begin to understand who Jesus is, then we can actually truly understand what this is all about. What it's all about is the son of God taking on the sin of man.

[45:54] So that sinful man can have the righteousness of God in Christ.