When Fear Grips Your Heart
Mark 6:45-56
I can remember the events of Sunday, August 2, 2015 like it was yesterday. It was late afternoon, and we were wrapping up an outdoor 4H club meeting on our small hobby farm in Williamsburg. Some families had left. Others were standing around chatting. Kids were running around, playing on the climber, and talking excitedly about the upcoming fair. We were scheduled to haul animals in to the fair the following Saturday. There had been severe weather alerts issued earlier in the day, and the sky to the north and west didn’t look great, and we could hear some thunder, so I pulled out my phone to check the weather radar, and what I saw made my heart stop. You know how, on the weather radar, the darker the colors get, the more severe the weather is? Like green is rain. Dark green is heavier rain. Yellow is more of a light storm with maybe some lightening. Red is definitely a storm. Then if it gets really bad, it’s purple. When I opened by weather app and touched the icon for the radar, there was a massive cell almost on top of us, and it was all black.
I immediately yelled “There’s a massive storm almost on top of us! Either get out of here now or get in the house!” At the moment I yelled that, the winds hit the western edge of our property. It was still completely calm where we were all standing, but about 200 feet to my right, Poplar trees were shaking wildly and crashing down. Then the wind hit where we were standing. Most of the people ran for their cars and got out of there. We ran out to bring the horses in out of the pasture, and then we all ran into the house. And we stood there as straight-line wind gusts over 100 mph pummeled our house and barns and trees and rain came down in sheets, lightning everywhere and thunder that sounded like it was coming from inside the house. When we ran inside, our St. Bernard, Henry, ran outside and thought it was great fun to run around in the storm. My thought was, “Let the idiot drown,” but Aubrey, our sweet animal lover, ran outside to get him. So through the living room window we were watching our giant, idiot dog and our 15-year-old idiot daughter running around outside, one trying to catch the other, the other trying not to be caught.
She finally caught him and got back inside, soaking wet, and one of the families from the 4H meeting had turned around and came back because they couldn’t see to drive, and they came in the house to wait it out with us. I remember seeing the power pole in the yard blowing wildly, actually bending and writhing in an “S” shape in the wind. The wind gusts were so strong, they sounded like a locomotive … a sound often associated with tornados. It was definitely a scary storm. Our house and barns escaped with no damage, although the yard was a mess from downed branches. Miraculously, our power was back on less than 24 hours later, for some reason long before the power came back for any of our neighbors.
But there are some storms in life that are much scarier and no less real. Some involve illness and disease and addiction and death – our physical bodies. Others involve our minds and emotions – the stress and pain of broken hearts and broken minds. Or they’re environmental – homelessness and hunger and danger. They’re all spiritual – times when we wonder where God is and what God is doing, why we’re going through what we’re going through. How do we make it through those storms? Today we return to our sermon series from the New Testament gospel of Mark called “JESUS – His Life, His Mission. Turn with me to Mark 6:45-56.
The word “Immediately” does two things here. First, it ties this passage to the one immediately preceding it. No time has elapsed between the previous episode and this one. And what was that episode? It’s the text for our sermon on Sunday, November 12. You remember it right? You’re like, geez pastor, that was like four crises AND the holidays ago. AND it was like last year. Of course we don’t remember that. Ok, so let’s look back. It was Jesus feeding the huge crowd out in the wilderness with no McDonalds or Burger King or a commercial kitchen or anything. Mark tells us the crowd was 5,000 men, not counting the women and children. So we’re talking what, 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 people here. And Jesus fed them ALL until they were satisfied with just a small lunch and there were 12 baskets of leftovers to boot. And then “Immediately,” Jesus makes his disciples get into a boat and start rowing across the Sea of Galilee, which, remember, is an inland sea, but its nowhere near as big as Lake Michigan.
The second thing the word “Immediately” does is it gives us the impression that Jesus does this with haste and with purpose. There’s something jolting about it. Like “right away.” It’s stronger and more intentional than just saying “and then …” Telling your kids to “eat dinner and then pick up their toys” hits differently than “eat dinner and then right away you have to pick up your toys” doesn’t it? The “right away” and “have to” make it a stronger statement, and kind of hint that something big and important is soon to follow, like “eat dinner and then right away you have to pick up your toys so we can go get ice cream.” Mark’s “Immediately” and “He made his disciples get into the boat” have the same effect.
The weird thing is, Jesus then sends the crowds away himself and then goes up on a mountain to pray. Remember, they were already out in a remote area. That’s why the disciples were concerned about having to feed so many people. So Jesus is out in the wilderness, in a remote area, having just taught the people all day and then performed this crazy miracle, and then he puts his disciples on a boat in a rush, sends the crowds away, and finds a solitary place to pray.
John, in his Gospel, adds the detail that “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” (Jn. 6:15). Remember, the people, who knew the Old Testament prophecies like the back of their hands, were expecting God’s messiah to come. But the messiah they were expecting was a far cry from the messiah God sent. They were expecting a great warrior messiah, a great warrior and military leader like Judas Maccabeus, who would unite the people in rebellion against Rome and lead them to victory and restore Israel as an independent nation of the people of God, the descendants of Abraham, once again. And Jesus would, once again, refuse to fit into their box. Jesus refuses to fit into our boxes.
So when Jesus sees that the people, wowed by his teaching and the incredible miracle, are getting their emotions heated to fever pitch and may just take him to Jerusalem and try to make him king whether he wanted them to or not, he immediately gets his disciples out of there. He doesn’t want them caught up in this emotional potential riot. And then he sends the crowds away, likely quite confused. And then he finds a secluded, solitary place to pray.
And in Mark, when Jesus finds himself praying in the wilderness, it is always after a significant event, and it involves fighting temptation. The initial time of prayer in the wilderness recorded in Mark is when Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted after the incredible events and the spiritual high of his baptism in the Jordan River by his cousin, John the Baptist. The second time was after the hullaballoo created by his healing and teaching on the sabbath, when the people were amazed and the religious leaders were ticked off. The third time is here. The fourth would be in the Garden of Gethsemane, after the last supper and before his betrayal, trial, and crucifixion.
And what was one of the temptations Jesus had to resist in the wilderness when Satan tempted him there? The first temptation, interestingly enough, was to turn stones to bread to feed himself, to meet his physical needs, after 40 days of fasting and praying. Jesus didn’t turn stones to bread in the wilderness, but he did feed not himself but the huge crowds out of basically nothing. Not meeting his own need, but meeting theirs. Mark is kind of gesturing back to that time of tempting here. And the third temptation was what? Satan told Jesus, “Worship me, and I will give you authority over all the kingdoms of the world, and all of the power and wealth and security and comfort that comes with them.” Fame and wealth and power.
And that is exactly what the people wanted to drag him to Jerusalem to do. They wanted to make him king, by force. And again Jesus faces the same temptation to rule the world apart from God. To reject his mission on earth and rule here on his own. And so again, in the wilderness, he reaffirms his obedience to the Father and rejects the temptation to power and wealth. He came to do the will of the Father, and he will continue on that path, regardless of the consequences.
Sometimes we think that Jesus only faced temptation that one time in the wilderness after 40 days of fasting. That’s when, at the start of his public ministry, he stared his adversary in the face. Not Caesar or Herod or Pilate or the priests or the pharisees, but Satan. It was Satan, not Caesar, that he came to dethrone, and he did face Satan’s temptation there in the wilderness. But that wasn’t the only time Satan hit him. It was the only time it came without subtlety or masks. But Satan continued to come at Jesus, trying to distract him and derail him and God’s plan for him, using even his own success against him. Most of us, when the crowds sing our acclaim and tell us how great we are, would embrace it. Jesus didn’t. And he didn’t ignore it either. He shut it down. And he went and reaffirmed his obedience to the will of God.
- D. Gordon says this: “How much prayer meant to Jesus! It was not only his regular habit, but his resort in every emergency, however slight or serious. When perplexed he prayed. When hard pressed by work he prayed. When hungry for fellowship he found it in prayer. He chose his associates and received his messages upon his knees. If tempted, he prayed. If criticized, he prayed. If fatigued in body or wearied in spirit, he had recourse to his one unfailing habit of prayer. Prayer brought him unmeasured power at the beginning, and kept the flow unbroken and undiminished. There was no emergency, no difficulty, no necessity, no temptation that would not yield to prayer.”[i]
And then, having affirmed in his own heart and mind and to the Father his obedience to the Father’s will, he turned his attention to his disciples, who were facing a struggle of their own out on the Sea of Galilee. From his vantage point high in the mountains (and remember, the Sea of Galilee is really low), he could see them struggling to row against the wind. Now, neither Mark nor John mention a heavy storm. It isn’t that there’s a lot of thunder and lightning. It doesn’t appear that there was. But it was now night. It was dark. And while it wasn’t stormy per se, it was very, very windy. Ever driven by the bay on a really windy day. Even if the sun is out, the bay can appear almost angry can’t it? Waves pummeling the shore line, water spraying everywhere. Want to go out there on a small sailboat or rowboat. The waves were big, and the disciples, following Jesus’ instructions to row across the sea, are rowing INTO the wind. They’re straining. They’re struggling. They’re putting everything they have into it, and Mark tells us that while they were making headway, it was painful. Why? Because the wind was against them.
Ever feel like that? Like you’re doing your best to follow Jesus, you’re doing your best to be faithful, and it just feels like every step, every inch, maybe every centimeter, is a struggle, a fight? Like the winds are against you? Yes, you may be hanging in there, but it feels like that’s all you’re doing. And, like the disciples, who had been rowing this for hours now, you’re exhausted.
Here’s the thing to notice. Jesus saw them. He saw them in their struggle. He saw their exhaustion. He saw them fighting the wind and the waves. They aren’t scared. Yet. But they aren’t getting anywhere very fast. The first time the disciples were out on the Sea of Galilee together in less than spectacular conditions, Jesus was with them. He was asleep on a cushion, but he was with them. He was right there for them to cry out to and complain to.
Now, he isn’t. Or so they think. He’s back on shore. He just told them to get in the boat and start rowing to Bethsaida – Peter and Andrew’s home town. And by golly, they were doing that. But it was a fight, and they weren’t really getting anywhere. And they were exhausted. Muscles spent. The calories of sustenance from the miraculous meal in the wilderness had long ago been burned. And this time, it felt like Jesus was miles away.
So what happens next. Jesus leaves his perch high on the mountains, heads down to the shore, and walks across the top of the water, buffeted by the wind and the waves, and joins them. He sees them, and he joins them. One crazy miracle is followed by another. Jesus walks out to them on the water, and gets in the boat with them. But there’s way more here than just a cool miracle happening. Jesus’ miracles always reveal something to us about his nature and the nature of the Kingdom of God. He doesn’t do cool stuff just to do cool stuff. He has a purpose.
So we have to understand that in the Old Testament, walking on and manipulating water and controlling the weather were things only God could do. He is Lord of the sea, rivers, storms, and wind. Job 9:8 tells us that it is God “who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea.” Isaiah 43:16 says, “Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters.” And Isaiah 31:10, the prophet says to God, “Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?” So walking on water is something only God can do.
And Mark tells us that Jesus “meant to pass by them.” What in the world does that mean. Does it mean that he was going to go out there and walk right by them and beat them to the other side, like some kind of weird joke? Like they finally make it across and Jesus, having just wowed them by walking by them is already there, like “Bazinga! Here I am guys. What took you so long?” No, this was no sick or cruel joke. Look at the language. Jesus intended to “pass by” them. That specific language goes back to both Moses and Elijah, in the Old Testament. In Exodus 33 and 34, Moses asks to see God. Like to actually see God. And this is what happened. “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory PASSES BY I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I HAVE PASSED BY. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen” (Ex. 33:20-23).
And then in 1 Kings 19:11-12, the great prophet Elijah, fearing the repercussions of his words and actions by the Jewish queen Jezebel, flees Jerusalem and encounters God. “And he (God) said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord PASSED BY, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.” What language did Mark use? Jesus wanted to “pass by” them. That is Old Testament for what biblical scholars call a “theophany” – God revealing himself to someone AS GOD.
And then, when Jesus’ presence out there scared them, because they thought he was some kind of night spirit, and the people then viewed night spirits as bringing disaster, Jesus revealed himself to them as he got into the boat and said “Take heart, it is I.” “It is I.” Not, “Hey guys chill, it’s just me.” “It is I.” That word, “I,” points back to God’s first revelation of himself to Moses, in Exodus 3:14. “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” “It is I.” “I Am.” “I Am is with you, in the struggle.” Jesus is revealing himself to them AS GOD. Not just a great miracle worker and powerful teacher. Not the Messiah in the sense they were thinking, a great military leader. But as God himself, WITH them. But they don’t get it. Not yet. Why? Look at V. 52. “for they did not understand about the loaves.” This episode on the Sea of Galilee is completely intertwined with the previous one with the crowd in the wilderness and the multiplying loaves.
They were tired from the struggle. Then they were afraid. And then they were confused. Tired, afraid, and confused. That could describe most of us a lot of the time, couldn’t it. They still didn’t get it. But they knew that Jesus had seen them struggling, and then joined them in the boat. And then he would continue to use them. But they had to do something else first. Tired as they were, they had to keep rowing. Jesus didn’t, having made a very powerful point that they missed, suddenly “poof” them to the other side. He joined them in rowing, and they made it to the other side. Where they got right back to work.
Look at Vv. 53-56. Funny, they didn’t actually make it to Bethsaida, where Jesus had told them to go. They wound up in Gennesaret. We don’t know exactly where that would have been, but they had clearly been blown off course. Or had they? Jesus ministered to whomever he found, wherever he found them. And here, unlike in Nazareth, his own hometown, Jesus found many who were excited by his presence, and who brought everyone they could find who was sick or lame or needed deliverance to him and he healed them. He didn’t even have to touch them. All they had to do was touch him.
They were right back to the crowds and the busyness and meeting great needs. But know we, with the benefit of the full New Testament, knowing the ending before we read the beginning, know that it was “I AM,” the creating, redeeming God of the universe, who was with them. They didn’t get it yet, but they now knew that when even when they were exhausted, scared, and confused, Jesus was with them, even when he wasn’t.
If those three words – exhausted, scared, and confused – describe you this morning, I want you to rest in this: Jesus sees you in the struggle. He has joined you in your struggle. You do not struggle alone. And he will use your struggle for his great glory, taking you to the place he wants you to be to best be used by him. Let us pray.
[i] S. D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Prayer. Christianity Today, Vol. 30, no. 5.
