Good morning. The bullpen has been called and therefore I am back.
! So you're not our typical teacher, preacher, Nathan, this morning.
! Just me, Colson, a fellow church member.
So today we will be continuing our study of the Gospel of John, looking at 617b-22.
So we're not exactly following the ESV subheadings.
Those are not inspired, so that is totally okay.
If that makes you uncomfortable, you'll be okay.
So if you were here last week, don't worry.
There's plenty more to glean out of this text.
God's Word is an abundant source of wisdom for us,
is a gracious gift that we have it so readily available to us.
This story is familiar in our culture.
I've heard people say, you would have thought that he was walking on water
when they're talking about somebody awe-inspiring somebody else.
There have been many gadgets, gimmicks, video editing tricks to make people look like they're walking on water.
A story in our family actually has a similar thing where my grandfather recruited my dad and his brother
to help him repair some fence posts in the middle of his pond in Florida.
Kind of more of a muddy cesspool, but that's okay.
Their goal, or their idea rather, was to screw some plywood boards onto the bottom of some old boots
and walk out onto this muddy water.
As the story goes, my uncle made it a couple steps through the mud part and was fine.
And whenever things got a little more viscous, those planks created something of a vacuum,
and he was not really able to lift his feet anymore and started to sink and fall.
Humans were not made to walk on water.
This is a, very clearly, this is an idea that sticks in our minds as something that is supernatural.
But people who know this story, people that know this story know very little about the gospel
and don't know the reason why Jesus walked on the water.
So to cut through this familiarity, we will take an in-depth look at this story today
and understand that this was not a party trick to impress Jesus' friends.
This was an obvious demonstration and declaration of Jesus' deity.
Join me before we pray.
Join me as we pray before reading this text.
Dear Lord, thank you so much for this chance for us to gather together
to worship you through prayer, worship you through song,
and worship you as we read your word to us.
Help us to have clear ears and eyes to receive your wisdom
and clear minds to focus today.
Thank you for how much you love us.
Help us to love and revere you well
as we gather this morning and as we go through this week.
Please speak to us this morning through your word.
It's in Jesus' name that I pray. Amen.
So let's read John 16, 17b, starting with,
It was now dark, through the end of verse 22.
It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them, the disciples.
The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
When they had rowed about three or four miles,
they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,
and they were frightened.
But he said to them,
It is I. Do not be afraid.
Then they were glad to take him into the boat,
and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
On the next day, the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there
and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples,
but that his disciples had gone away alone.
At a couple different times this morning,
I will make some comparing and contrasting points
with the other accounts of Jesus walking in the water
that we have in Matthew and Mark.
So I think it would be helpful for us to kind of have those fresh in mind
so we don't necessarily have to be flipping back and forth.
So I'm going to read through those now.
This is a good bit of reading,
so if you want to go there with me,
we'll start in Matthew 14 in verse 22 through 33,
the end of that section,
and then after that we'll go to Mark 6 to read Mark's account.
So a good bit of reading.
Buckle in.
It's God's precious word to us,
so it's great to hear.
So starting first in Matthew 14, verse 22.
Immediately, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat
and go before him to the other side
while he dismissed the crowds.
And after he had dismissed the crowds,
he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When evening came, he was there alone,
but the boat by this time was a long way from the land,
beaten by the waves,
for the wind was against them.
And in the fourth watch of the night,
he came to them walking on the sea.
But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,
they were terrified and said,
it is a ghost.
And they cried out in fear.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying,
take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.
And Peter answered him,
Lord, if it is you,
command me to come to you on the water.
He said, come.
So Peter got out of the boat
and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid
and beginning to sink,
he cried out, Lord, save me.
Jesus immediately reached out his hand
and took hold of him saying,
oh, you of little faith,
why did you doubt?
And when they got into the boat,
the wind ceased
and those in the boat worshipped him saying,
truly you are the son of God.
Okay, quickly now,
let's go to Mark 6,
starting in verse 45.
So Mark's account of the same story.
Immediately, he made his disciples
get into the boat
and go before him to the other side
to Bethsaida
while he dismissed the crowd.
And after he had taken leave of them,
he went up onto the mountain to pray.
And when the 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.
And about the fourth watch of the night,
he came to them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them,
but when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost
and cried out,
for they all saw him
and were terrified.
But immediately he spoke to them
and said,
take heart in his eye,
do not be afraid.
And he got into the boat with them
and the wind ceased.
And they were utterly astounded,
for they did not understand about the loaves,
but their hearts were hardened.
Careful observers will note some differences here,
but these three accounts certainly agree
on the central details.
Each author has kind of turned this diamond
a little bit differently
to drive home particular points.
So today we'll focus on the distinctives
of John's account
and that ought to make us investigate further
what John is up to.
What is he emphasizing in his account
by looking at and turning things
this particular way?
As we go through our text,
I'll flag some of those particular distinctives
and we'll talk about the revealed emphasis
for each
and maybe a little bit of contrasting
about how that compares to Matthew or Mark.
So now that we know our text for this morning
and have some extra context
from Matthew and Mark,
let's consider our text this morning
in three-ish points.
The sea,
the disciples,
and the Lord Jesus.
So starting with point number one,
the sea.
So this is verse 17b through 18.
It was now dark
and Jesus had not yet come to them.
The sea became rough
because a strong wind was blowing.
So John writes this entire passage
in a way that reminds me
of three different camera focal lengths,
different levels of zoom and focus.
So here in this verse,
we have the widest angle,
so to speak.
Picture this with me for a second.
We have Jesus on the shore,
on the eastern side of the shore.
We also know that the disciples
are out here in the middle of the sea
and we know the storm is over all of them
and everything is dark.
So we have this really wide
amounts of information
that John is giving us for this.
And then let's look now at verse 17,
in particular verse B,
or part B.
from verse 15,
as well as the other accounts
of this pair of vents,
Jesus feeding the 5,000,
as Nathan covered last week,
and now Jesus walking on water.
We know that Jesus had withdrawn himself
from the crowds
and the disciples to pray.
But John includes a unique detail
about this retreat
by telling us in verse 15,
that's what he says in verse 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.
So he includes this detail
that the crowds wanted to take Jesus by force
and make him king
or leader of their rebellion.
Jesus had taken hours by this point
to be in solitude with God.
And if I was to employ
a bit of sanctified imagination,
as Nathan likes to call it,
I would suppose that Jesus
would have been redoubling his focus
on his perfect obedience
to the Father and his will,
submitting this temptation
that was brought to him,
that these people would force him
to be this rebellious king
apart from his mission
and submitting this temptation
to the Father.
Let's look at verse 18.
The sea became rough
because a strong wind was blowing.
The disciples are undoubtedly exhausted
by this point in the day.
They had been with Jesus all day
as he taught,
as he healed,
fed thousands of people
that were there.
The disciples gathered up
all that leftover bread.
And now after that long day of ministry
under our Lord,
I am sure they were hoping
for nothing else
than an easy sail
across the sea to Capernaum.
However,
Yahweh often uses
difficult circumstances
to sanctify us
and glorify himself.
The theme of dangerous waters
is present throughout the Bible.
From the unordered, chaotic,
lifeless waters in Genesis 1
that the spirit hovers over
to the predatory hunting waters
of the dragon pursuing the woman
in Revelation 12.
But concurrent within that theme
is the Lord preserving his people
through the dangerous waters
by bringing life into creation,
preserving Noah and his family
on the ark,
delivering Israel to the Red Sea
and the Jordan River,
escorting Jonah back to his mission
via the deep water and a fish.
The list goes on.
These dangerous moments
through scripture
are opportunities God has made
to exhibit his love,
his faithfulness,
and ultimately his glory.
Here, John has in view
Jesus on the shore,
the disciples on the sea,
the storm over them all.
But now we're kind of going to
zoom in a little bit
for the second point.
John changes focus to the boat.
So point number two,
the disciples,
looking at verse 19.
When they had rowed
about three or four miles,
they saw Jesus walking on the sea
and coming near the boat.
And they were frightened.
So we're now zoomed in
from that kind of extreme wide shot
that we started with
to focus on the labor and reaction
of the disciples to Jesus on the water.
The way it is written
is specific to say
what the disciples saw.
If this was a video,
I think we wouldn't necessarily
see Jesus in this shot,
but rather we would be looking
at the disciples
as they see Jesus.
So let's,
as they see him,
and now let's observe
what the disciples do.
So there's,
John gives three verbs
to describe the action
of the disciples here
in verse 19.
So first,
they had rowed.
So they had rowed
about three or four miles
at this point,
the shortest crossing
from that eastern shore
of the Sea of Galilee
that they started out
to Capernaum
up on that northwest edge of it
likely would have been
five or six miles.
So these tired men
against the wind
were about halfway
to their destination
and presumably slowing down.
They saw Jesus
as our second verb.
According to Matthew and Mark,
some of them thought
that the figure they saw
was a ghost,
but no matter what
they thought they saw,
John gives us their third verb,
they were frightened.
Certainly understandable.
They're in the center
of that large sea
in the middle of a storm.
If that was not enough
to not expect to see Jesus,
he was walking on the water.
That's a frightening thing to see.
They definitely would not
have expected to see him
like that.
So next,
John zooms in further
past the disciples
in their boat
and we get to our center frame
at our third point,
the Lord Jesus.
So here at the center point,
John has been zooming in
and in to get us here
so we ought to pay
close attention.
So let's consider verse 20
in three parts.
First,
but he said to them.
The inclusion of the conjunction
but connects this
to what was previously said.
It's answering something.
So I would suggest to you
that this is answering
the disciples' frightenedness.
Our second phrase,
it is I,
alternatively translated I am.
A little bit of awkward grammar
in English
for this to be translated I am,
but it is certainly
an appropriate translation.
I think it's getting
at a theological point
for us to translate
and understand this
this way.
So here in our center frame,
we get three phrases,
but he said,
I am,
do not be afraid.
And that center of the center
is that Jesus is Yahweh,
the I am.
This is not the only time
in John's gospel
that Jesus takes up
this divine name
which God revealed
to Moses in Exodus.
Another shiny example
occurs in John 8, 58.
Jesus said to them,
John tells us
the group of Jews,
truly, truly,
I say to you,
before Abraham was,
I am.
That third phrase
of verse 20,
do not be afraid.
Even with the meaning,
I believe Jesus and John
intend with the declaration
of Christ's identity,
him identifying himself
with God, Yahweh.
this sentence
or phrase,
do not be afraid,
does not seem to
immediately follow
in a worldly,
strict sense.
What I mean is this,
if Jesus was seeking
merely to comfort
his tired
and frightened disciples,
he could have said,
it's me,
Jesus,
God the Son.
I will make the storm stop
and bring you safely
to the shore.
Or,
good job rowing this far,
I'll take it from here.
I'm sure the disciples
would have loved to hear
those words.
And that would have given them
a kind of temporary
and shallow comfort.
Something that we
often may want
when we're going through
our own trials.
But Jesus said,
I am,
do not be afraid.
He did not assure them
that he would relieve
their discomfort.
He did not promise them
that their circumstances
would change.
He revealed to them
that he is God
and he is with them.
And because he was with them,
they did not need
to be afraid.
And this peace
that Jesus called them to
was not the first time
that Yahweh
had so encouraged
his people.
All through
the Old Testament,
we see a regular exhortation
to not fear
for the Lord
is with you.
We will look briefly
at two examples
that are too beautiful
for me not to read.
But before I get to those
in Isaiah,
I will list some other
references for you,
though this is certainly
not an exhaustive list.
Joshua 1.9,
2 Chronicles 20.17,
Jeremiah 30.10,
and then from
the worshiper's perspective,
Psalm 23
and Psalm 118,
verse 6.
So, let's look
at our examples.
So firstly,
Isaiah 41,
verse 10,
says this,
Fear not,
for I am with you.
Be not dismayed,
for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
I will help you.
I will uphold you
with my righteous right hand.
And second,
Isaiah 43,
verse 1,
through the first part
of verse 3.
But now,
thus says Yahweh,
He who created you,
O Jacob,
He who formed you,
O Israel,
fear not,
for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name,
you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you.
And through the rivers,
they shall not overwhelm you.
When you walk through fire,
you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am Yahweh your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
your Savior.
Wow.
Also,
while we're in Isaiah 43,
verse 16 says this,
Thus says Yahweh,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters.
This awesome description
of Yahweh in Isaiah
is typologically fulfilled
here by the Lord Jesus Christ.
This makes it clearer than ever
that this storm was not just
for the disciples
to have a hard time sailing back.
Rather,
it was a red carpet
for the king to declare
and demonstrate his authority.
Right before our passage today,
in verse 15,
John gave us that detail
about the crowd's desire
to force Jesus
into being the head
of this uprising.
Now,
the people were certainly right
to notice the kingliness
of Jesus,
but they missed the nature
of his kingdom
by a mile.
Here,
in the middle
of the Sea of Galilee,
Jesus shows
that his disciples
that he is a king
unlike any other.
Unlike Caesar,
Pharaoh,
Nebuchadnezzar,
Cyrus,
Ahab,
Hezekiah,
Solomon,
and David,
Jesus makes a way
in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
just like Yahweh.
Although Jesus
is the rightful king
of kings,
many did not receive him
then and do not
receive him now.
Let's read John 8,
59,
the verse after
Jesus tells the Jews
before Abraham was,
I am.
So they picked up stones
to throw at him,
but Jesus hid himself.
That's a sad verse.
They are not rejecting
a new governor
to oversee taxes,
trade,
and war.
They are rejecting
the king of the universe.
This ought to grieve us.
Jesus graciously reveals
to these people
that hate him
that he is God,
but they have hardened
their hearts
and closed their eyes
and ears.
Hebrews 3,
7 through 8
reads like this,
Therefore,
as the Holy Spirit says,
today,
if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as in the rebellion.
in verse 13,
But exhort one another
every day,
as long as it is called today,
that none of you
may be hardened
by the deceitfulness
of sin.
So not all receive Jesus
as we just read.
Some reject and rebel
against him.
But what do
the disciples do?
Let's zoom back out
to the boat
from Jesus
to see the disciples' response.
Then they were glad
to take him
into the boat.
John has a slightly
different angle
on this detail
than the other two accounts
in Matthew and Mark.
Matthew and Mark
both recount this action,
he, Jesus,
got in the boat
with them,
or in Matthew,
he says they
because Peter
is also with Jesus.
And I expect
some of you
are thinking,
what difference
does it make?
Jesus got in the boat.
What difference
does it make?
How exactly
it's written down?
I propose to you
that John is making
this slight change
in who is the subject
or actor
in this phrase
for more than
just to be quirky
or different
than his friends
Matthew and Mark.
Rather,
I propose to you
that John is being
very particular
in his language
and setting the story
within the macro argument
of his gospel
and as Nathan mentioned
last week,
the structure
of chapter 6.
So let's take
a closer look
at each of those two
aspects.
First,
that macro level.
We know John's
stated purpose
for his gospel
from John 20, 31.
These are written
so that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God,
and that by believing
you may have life
in his name.
I hope that by the end
of our study of John
we will all have this verse
deeply ingrained
in our memories.
John is quite concerned
not only with telling us
these miracles
and awesome deeds
and teachings
of Christ,
but with what our response
will be to them.
He has done this
by highlighting
and contrasting
the different responses
to Christ
that he saw
while he was serving
under Jesus.
In John 8,
when Jesus reveals
to the disciples
before Abraham
was,
I am,
what was their response?
They wanted to stone him.
So here,
I think John
is very particular
in his arrangement
to make sure
we notice
the disciples' response.
They gladly received him.
I would not be shocked
to learn there is
a literary structure
to make this contrast
between John 6 and 8
more clear than it already is.
Maybe we'll find out
when we all get
to the end of John 8.
As for the structure
of this chapter,
chapter 6,
in verse 13,
the disciples gather up
the remaining bread.
And just after our text
in verse 35,
Jesus says,
I am the bread of life.
Then,
in the middle
of those pieces,
you have the disciples
receiving into their boat
the I am,
the bread of life.
This is certainly
no accident.
For the rest of our shot
here from John
in verse 21,
he tells us
what is happening
with the boat.
And immediately,
the boat was at the land
which they were going.
So this is
a miraculous deliverance.
The great I am
has brought them
all the way
through the waters.
Praise God
for his Holy Spirit
inspiring brilliant minds
and revealing himself
to us.
This is more
than just John.
This is all
of the Old Testament
beauty working together.
This is Jesus
fulfilling again and again
these types,
these slots
that are made
from the Old Testament
and fulfilling them now.
There is a slot
or type
of who it is
that heals the sick,
feeds the multitude
in the wilderness,
makes a path
in dangerous waters.
And where God
filled that slot
throughout the Old Testament
now we see
Jesus doing
all these things
because he is God.
Very interestingly,
this is the second
miraculous demonstration
of Jesus' divinity
in our passage.
First,
Jesus is walking
on the water
in verse 19
and now second,
here in verse 21,
Jesus has immediately
delivered his disciples
through this dangerous storm.
Jesus' declaration
of his divine identity
is exactly between
those two powerful wonders.
This is an opportune time
to clarify
some possible misunderstandings
or maybe even
an apparent contradiction
of some earlier statements
that I made.
I said,
Jesus did not assure them,
his disciples,
that he would relieve
their discomfort.
He did not promise them
that their circumstances
would change.
And we just read
that he did in fact
relieve their discomfort
and change their circumstances.
So we have this concept
of God allowing
and using difficult
or dangerous circumstances.
So I think it's worth it
to briefly explore
this idea for just a bit.
A quick survey
of some picked
Old Testament examples.
There's many more than this.
Joseph was sold,
accused,
and jailed in Egypt,
but God was with him.
David fled from Saul
and later his own son,
but God was with him.
Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego
were thrown into the furnace,
but God was with them.
Daniel was thrown
into the lion's den,
but God was with him.
Paul was shipwrecked,
but God was with him.
Stephen was stoned,
but God was with him.
All of these examples
and many more
teach us that trial,
suffering,
and hardship
will come.
But Jesus is God
and he is with us.
Here,
Jesus did deliver
the disciples
through the storm,
yes,
but they did endure it
alone for miles.
God brought Joseph
out of jail,
yes,
but he did endure it
for many days.
Jesus did receive
Stephen into his presence,
but he was martyred.
While we are enduring,
it is tempting to believe
that we are on our own
and that God
is no longer
faithfully with us.
God cannot deliver you
through the storm
if he does not
first allow you
to be caught in it.
John ends this passage
by zooming back out
again into that
extreme wide shot.
So now we are
at point one prime,
the other side
of the sea.
Let's read verse 22.
On the next day,
the crowd that remained
on the other side
of the sea
saw that there had been
only one boat there
and that Jesus
had not entered the boat
with his disciples,
but that his disciples
had gone away
alone.
This verse
is most clear
what John is doing
in framing up
this passage
for us
as he is kind of
resetting
that first shot
that we got
in verse 17b
through 18,
but instead of
Jesus on the shore,
disciples on the boat,
storm above,
it's now the crowd
on the shore
and then he's giving
another description
that Jesus did not
get on the boat
with his disciples,
so he's kind of
restating all this
information that we
learned earlier
in the passage.
So this is kind of
that repeat of information
to follow the structure
to make us pay attention
of what did we miss
from A
to that repeat of information
in A prime.
So we would be wise
to ask how this section
relates back to that
center frame
that we talked about,
Jesus' declaration
of his divine identity.
So here,
the crowd noticed
and knew
that Jesus did not
get on the boat
with his disciples,
but they also knew
that he was no longer
with them
on that eastern side
of the sea.
The crowd is curious
as to how
Jesus crossed the sea.
This is the people
that knew their waters,
knew the sea well.
Some of them
most likely
would have been able
to surmise
that Jesus certainly
did not walk around
in that time.
So John explores
the interaction
between Jesus
and the crowd
through the rest
of the chapter,
which we will not
obviously get into today.
So now that we have
followed John
as he started wide,
zoomed in on the boat,
zoomed in on Jesus,
and then back to the boat,
and back to that whole scene,
let's consider
some closing applications.
Number one,
believe the declaration
that Jesus is God.
Every day,
as we work,
parent,
eat,
live,
and go,
we must not lose sight
of the truth
of Jesus' deity
verified by his resurrection.
Application number two,
believe Jesus' promise
that he is with us.
Because Jesus
has verified his divinity
through his resurrection,
when we hear his promise
that he is with us,
we get that from
Matthew 28, 20,
that he will be with us
to the end of the age
as we go.
We can have confidence,
trust,
faith in it.
If Jesus had given us
that promise to hold to,
but he did not come out
of the tomb,
we would be fools
to hold to it.
Praise God
that we do not have
to be those fools.
And application number three,
do not be afraid.
Because Jesus
has finished his work,
if we are in him,
we no longer have anything
to fear.
Embarrassment,
awkwardness,
persecution,
trials,
even death,
do not have any claim
over us.
The pastor of Hebrews
put it this way
in Hebrews 2,
14 through 15,
which reads,
Since, therefore,
the children share
in flesh and blood,
Jesus himself
likewise partook
of the same things,
that through death
he might destroy
the one who has
the power of death,
that is the devil,
and deliver
all those
who through fear
of death
were subject
to lifelong slavery.
That fear of death
was the means
the devil employed
to keep us
subject
to lifelong slavery.
But now,
in Christ,
we have the freedom
to not succumb
to that fear.
If you are not in Christ,
if you do not have faith
in the perfect life,
atoning death,
and glorious resurrection
of Jesus,
you cannot overcome
death in and of yourself.
You need the power
of another.
Stop trying to work
yourself to heaven.
You must believe
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God,
and by believing,
you may have life
in his name.
You may be thinking
that you do not fear death,
and that's good,
but consider,
when I'm selfish
with my time,
it's because I know
that death is coming.
I won't be able
to watch that movie,
play that game,
read that book forever,
so I ought to do it now,
says my sinful flesh.
But let's pick up
that exhortation
from Hebrews 3
that we read earlier.
We ought not
to allow one another
or ourselves
to be hardened
by this,
to naturally
prioritize ourselves
above other things.
We grumble,
fight,
and hoard
because we fear,
but our Lord
and Savior
has defeated death.
He is with us,
therefore,
we no longer
must be afraid
and we are freed.
So now,
we are to use
that freedom
to serve
and love one another
and so fulfill
the law of Christ.
Pray with me.