When Jesus Walked on Water: The “Other” Lesson
What an experience! Storms can be scary in their own right; but five miles from shore? That adds a new dimension. Waves, wind and spray pounded the twenty-five-foot fishing vessel. The seasoned crew knew the lake; thus, they understood the tight-rope they were inching across.
Suddenly, at the edge of their limited visibility, they saw an outline of a man, not in the water. Walking on the water! Do you remember this? It’s mentioned in three of the four gospels. What’s next? Peter asks for an invitation to walk to Jesus; and Jesus says, “Come on.”
Don’t switch channels! I want to talk with you about the “other” lesson. You’ve heard sermons and classes, read books and articles about how Peter fumbled his water-walking experience; or how he still holds the world record. You have pondered its faith applications. There’s another point made, in the boat, after Jesus and Peter completed their journey. We find it in Mark 6:45-52.
This other lesson … well … has a more profound meaning for us. The chances of our walking on water are kind of slim; the “other” application is a right-here-right-now possibility. It’s something followers of Jesus ought to seriously address.
“Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.”
The loaves? Backing up in context you will find that Jesus had just fed 5,000 men (add women and children and the crowd approached 15,000). Jesus’ hydro-stroll was the culmination of a very long day.
Search your memory banks for what you already know about that day and astounding miracle (it was an act of creation). It’s okay if you pause now and read about it. It is one of Christ’s powerful works and it is recorded in all four gospels. What was the role of Jesus’ disciples on that day?
Jesus involved them in anticipating a catering fee, searching for available food, crowd management, serving “tables,” clean up and storage of leftovers. Whew! He then changed gears and insisted that his disciples get into the boat immediately and head toward the other side. He, himself, would dismiss the crowd. (John 6:15 supplies insight here.)
That’s a hectic day when you take time to consider it. However, and this is what haunts me, our Lord’s closest followers didn’t take a moment to think. They didn’t grab the opportunity to meditate on what was happening. There were snatches of time on the long walk back for the next basket of food for delivery; the hungry groups were waiting patiently. The first couple of hours on the boat were tranquil enough to reflect on the day and what occurred. They opted out. Or what happened didn’t soak in.
What just took place? God the Son skipped the part of planting grain (seed) and allowing fish to spawn. He created more, already prepared, on the spot. So much more that a crowd of over ten thousand was totally satisfied and there were more leftovers gathered than what was on his original menu. We’re not dealing with an ordinary man!
This went right over their heads! “… for they had not understood about the loaves;” They missed it. How? Why? We’re given the diagnosis from their spiritual MRI: “their hearts were hardened.”
Our Lord’s most faithful followers were so busy and so focused on serving Jesus that they totally missed his real identity!
Logistics encroached on their minds and hearts and calcified them. They were willing and able to “do,” but too busy to meditate on the spiritual significance of their encountering “God with us.”
They are not alone. This is a malady that can infect modern believers. You and I would do ourselves a great favor to focus on our personal potential to come down with this type of hard heart.
Jesus brought up the problem of a calloused heart a little later; Mark 8 and Matthew 16 record the situation. Here’s the setting: The Jewish leaders met Jesus and forcefully “requested” a command performance. They wanted a miracle, now. Jesus rebuffed them and headed to his next appointment, across the Sea of Galilee.
In the boat, Jesus took time to give his men some sound advice. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and their cohorts.” The disciples latched onto the word yeast and morphed the discussion into their embarrassment (and accompanying blame, I’m certain) that they didn’t make good lunch plans.
Jesus confronts them with what I term “The Lesson on Leftovers.” (Mark 8:17-21; Matthew 16:8-12) He asks them, “Do you still not understand? Are your hearts hardened?”
Jesus was frustrated because he wanted to talk about spiritual things and warn them about potent, false philosophies. They wanted to argue a failure to arrange for their next meal, while occupying a boat with the One who catered for thousands!
Here’s our takeaway: We live in a physical world, yet we are spiritual beings. We are spiritually made in the image of God and are called to follow His Son. Yet, we have a pervasive problem of nearsightedness! Not the type that calls for corrective lenses! The spiritual kind. We tend to place high value on things, logistics and plans rather than on the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We often fail to recognize the spiritual pitfalls that are pervasive in our culture. We unwittingly diminish the value of our fellow disciples. Not because we aren’t serving Jesus. Rather, because we are – but totally locked in on the tasks before us instead of the person and desires of our Lord.
Buildings, budgets, programs and personnel issues flood our focus and attention; and, if we aren’t careful, petrify our hearts. If the men who could physically touch Jesus were susceptible, how can we avoid the potential? If those who assisted in a miracle missed the point entirely; shouldn’t we take warning?
Let’s commit to spending some serious time with this passage and ask the Holy Spirit to perform a heart analysis for us. Honestly, this needs to be a regular prayer request. Don’t let acts of service become blinders that prevent you from knowing Jesus and pleasing Jesus.