S5 Episode #19 - Summer Update with Jes
THE ONE WITH JES in the summertime
In this episode, Jes is flying solo to share a message of encouragement about Jesus walking on water (Mark 6:45-56). We will see that the disciples had an inaccurate view of Jesus, which led them to sitting in a place of fear and uncertainty in the storm. Tune in to learn how Jesus responded to the disciples and how he charted a new course of fertility and beauty for his followers. Jesus did it for the disciples then, and he can do it for you today!
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This summer my church is studying the book of Mark. A few weeks ago we focused on Mark 6: 45-56… when Jesus walks on water after feeding the 5,000. I loved what the speaker had to say about this passage– I was frantically taking notes and I was excited to dive in more later that week. As I have followed many rabbit trails in this verse I became super excited to share it with you! We are nowhere near done studying all the rich names of God from the Old Testament, but I’m excited for a quick shift to the New Testament to learn a little bit about the character of our Savior and Lord, Jesus, today!
Jesus Walks on the Water // MArk 6:45-56
45 Immediately after this, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
Ok, let’s break this down verse by verse and see what we can glean from this story about the character of Jesus.
THE CHARACTERS
Before we get started, I need to introduce you to the cast of characters. In this story we will be looking at Jesus, the disciples, the wind, and two key cities: Bethsaida and Gennesaret. I’ve become rather obsessed lately with the beautiful spiritual lessons that we can learn from geography. Even if geography is not your thing, please stick with me and I promise it will be worth it.
FEEDING THE 5,000
Verse 45 starts out, “immediately after this…” After what? Well Jesus had just fed 5,000 people with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. The disciples had just witnessed a miracle, and yet many commentaries that I read tend to believe that the disciples didn’t recognize that a miracle had indeed taken place. There is a notable absence of admiration at the end of Mark 6:30-44 which gives an account of the story. We also read in verse 52 that they did not understand the loaves because their hearts were hardened. So right from the get go, we can read this story with the understanding that the disciples did not yet have an accurate view of who Jesus was and what He was coming to do.
AFTER THE MIRACLE
The disciples get in the boat and are headed to Bethsaida, without Jesus. There is our mention of Bethsaida, keep this location in your brain because we will come back to something significant about this place later. Spoiler alert… it's pretty dang cool!
The disciples travel on without Jesus, and Jesus goes to the mountainside to pray. What stands out to me here, is that Jesus has been ministering, performing miracles and engaging with crowds all day, he also recently learned about the execution of John the Baptist. He must be exhausted, processing, grieving. YET, in his times of greatest need and weariness, he ALWAYS turns to prayer. I find that so often when I’m weary, wiped out or worn down, the last thing I want to do is find the energy to pray. Yet I know from past experience that in those moments, even a simple prayer is the very thing my soul needs to begin to move toward rest and refreshment.
Earlier that same day, we read in Mark 6:31, “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” For the toiler, the one always on the go, Jesus is the Rest-Giver. He gives permission and space to lie down in green pastures. He gives rest to the weary soul.
THE WIND IS AGAINST THEM
The next part of the story is where things get really interesting! It’s about 3AM and Jesus can see the disciples rowing hard against the wind and waves. Verse 48 says that ‘the wind was against them’. The wording of that really stuck out to me. Have you ever felt like everything was against you… even nature itself seems to be pushing you back? Last weekend Jon and I went paddle boarding in the Catawba river, and when we were paddling against the current, each stroke with a struggle, and if we stopped to rest for even a moment, all the progress we had made was quickly destroyed as the current pulled us back toward where we had started. Does this speak to anyone right now? Is this how your life feels? Like you just can’t catch a break? If so, I get it, and please stick with me because I truly believe that God has encouragement for you in this story today!
WHEN ‘PASSING BY’ DOESN’T WORK
Back to the story… Jesus sees the disciples struggling on the boat. Jesus walks on water with the intention of passing by the disciples – this is the SAME TERM used when God passed by Moses on the mountain and Moses was changed. Just as God was revealing His glory to Moses, Jesus also intended to show the disciples His glory, thus leaving them changed. Leaving them with a longing for and deeper understanding of the power and presence of the Messiah.
BUT the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus… They thought Jesus was a ghost. They didn’t recognize who He was, and their inaccurate view led them to sitting in a place of fear and uncertainty in the storm. The disciples saw Jesus walking on water, but they were still afraid because they expected Jesus to change their circumstances, but He came to change their hearts!
So what does Jesus do when he realizes they missed his glory? Does He keep walking, disappointed in his hard-hearted followers? Did he give up on them when their hearts didn’t immediately change? No, Jesus stopped and stayed with them. He gets in the boat and His presence stays with them. The disciples were no longer enduring the wind and waves on their own, and today you are not on the waves all alone!
Jesus is about the condition of our hearts. Jesus may not stop the wind and waves, but this story reminds us that He is kind and He is present. He will show His glory and He will get in the boat and stay with you. Jesus’ main purpose is not to change your circumstance, but to change your heart.
WIND
When Jesus got into the boat with the disciples, he did also calm the wind. One commentary states, “Wind in the Bible is also positively connected with God’s breath and his ultimate authority over the world. In Hebrews, the word for “breath” (ruah) can also mean “wind.” God created with his breath (Gen 2:7). We see the play with these words in Ezekiel 37:9: “Then the LORD said to me, . . . ‘Come from the four winds, Breath, and breathe on these people who were killed so that they will live.’ ” “Specifically, the collected image of the “four winds” (east, west, north, and south) signals the comprehensiveness of God’s power (Dan 7:2; 8:8; Zech 2:6). “I’ll bring the four winds from the four corners of heaven against Elam and scatter its people in every direction” (Jer 49:36). Revelation 7:1 pictures the angels holding back the “four winds of the earth.” Throughout the New Testament, Jesus demonstrates control over the wind (Matt 8:26; Mark 4:39-41). This is yet another proof of his identity as the Son of God.” From JesusWay4You
The wind is particularly significant in this story, because it not only shows the power of the Son of God, but it also changed the direction that the disciples were heading. As we saw in the beginning of the story, the disciples originally set out to travel to Bethsaida, but at the end of the passage, we see that they landed in Gennesaret and began healing people there.
GEOGRAPHY FOR THE WIN!
And now for the geography lesson that I promised! I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath! In Luke 10:13-15, Jesus said, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades." We see here that
Bethsaida is now most remembered for its stubborn lack of faith.
In contrast, Gennesaret means “garden of the prince, valley of riches”. It was known as the “paradise of Galilee” because of its fertility and beauty. And it was in this place, this unplanned for diversion, that Jesus and the disciples were met with people with fertile hearts, ready and willing to accept Christ, healing and the gospel.
So often in life, the storms that seem to come up out of nowhere will chart us on a new path. God can use these storms to get you to the new place that He has for you. A place of open-hearted healing, restoration and miracles! I believe that today God is trying to move someone from Bethsaida– a place of stubborn lack of faith– to Gennesaret (jen-sr-ay)-- a place of fertility and beauty. And God may be using a storm to change your direction, but even in the storm, Christ will never leave you and He offers rest for your soul.
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The Collected Podcast is produced by Jes Biondo and edited by Jacob Early. Cover art designed by Ben Biondo.