One of my favorite locations on my recent journey to the Middle East was the region of Galilee. This area is a beautiful, hilly countryside highlighted by the Sea of Galilee (also known as the Sea of Tiberius). Many of the stories we read about in the Gospels took place around this large body of water. Incidentally, the Sea of Galilee is one of the few places I visited where there is no doubt with regards to authenticity: the Sea I was on, was the same one Jesus walked on.

One of the more spectacular stories about Galilee is when Jesus walked on the water. Immediately after the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus commanded the disciples to get in the boat and go to Bethsaida. Jesus stayed on to dismiss the crowd and then went up to the mountain to pray. It was still dark – in the early morning hours – when Jesus descended and saw the disciples having trouble. The headwind was strong and they were having trouble making it across the lake. Here the story gets interesting.

Mark 6:48 – 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,

The winds were prohibiting the boat from moving along, yet had no hindering effect on Jesus. He was able to make progress. Let us not forget that He was also miraculously walking ON the sea. I can affirm that this body of water is just like any other body of water. Walking on it is not possible. This truly was a miracle. While we were slowly making our way across the sea in a boat, I imagined what it would be like to be a stormy night and seeing someone walking across the sea.

What I find interesting is that Jesus meant to pass them by. Would He have been waiting on the Bethsaida shore for them in the morning? They would have certainly been appalled. If Jesus really wanted to pass them by unnoticed, He could have. Why did He let them see Him?

Mark 6:49-51 – 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; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded.

Instead, they saw Him. They witnessed the miracle first-hand. And they were utterly astounded. I wonder if this parallels our life. Are there times when we are hanging out trying to make it through life, but making little headway? Do we look up and see Jesus? Do we respond to Him? It is almost like He is speaking to us without words, “Hey. I’m here. You need anything?” My dog, Abbey, will routinely want to go outside and play. She will sit patiently by the door for a while. When nothing happens, she will wander over to the couch, where I am sitting, and walk in front of me. Sometimes she will sit and wait for me to make eye contact with her. Then she will casually walk over to the door and wait. She is saying, “Hey, did you notice me?”

The disciples did not recognize Jesus, nor did they ask for His help. They simply cried out. Suddenly, Jesus was in the boat with them. “How can I help?” What happens next is a lesser-known miracle that we can read about in John’s account.

John 6:21 – Then they were glad to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

When Jesus entered the boat, the boat was suddenly at the destination. Earlier in John’s account, we read that the disciples had made it out three or four miles. That puts them somewhere in the middle of the lake. The disciples witness a miracle with Jesus walking on the sea. Then, after He gets in the boat, they witness another miracle. They are at their destination. The sea is calm. The sun is coming up. The worries of the night are suddenly gone.

Is this another parallel to our life? When we see Jesus during our struggles and cry out to Him, does the situation we were so worried about suddenly necessitate no more worries?

I see this story as much more than simply recognizing that Jesus did some pretty amazing things while He lived here 2000 years ago. I see this story as recognizing that Jesus CONTINUES to do some pretty amazing things in our lives. He is alive (Happy Easter) and at work in our lives. This does not mean that every struggle will have what we consider a happy ending. I promise, though, that turning to Jesus will always be a wiser choice than trying to do it on your own.

Cry out to Him. Trust in Him. Be utterly astounded.

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This entry was posted by zac on Thursday, April 5th, 2007 at 6:53 am and is filed under Israel, Weekly Jib Jab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.