“STRAINING AT THE OARS!”

Mark 6:45-52

INTRODUCTION:

            A young man heard a rumor that his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had all walked on water on their 21^st birthdays.  So, on his 21^st birthday, he took his best friend and headed out to the lake.  “If they did it, I can too!” he insisted.  When the 2 young men arrived at the lake, they rented a boat and began paddling.  When they got to the middle of the lake, he stepped off the side of the boat…and nearly drowned.  Furious and embarrassed, he and his friend headed for home.

            When he got home, he called his grandmother asking for an explanation.  “Grandma, why can’t I walk on water like my father, and his father, and his father before him?”  The feeble old grandmother spoke slowly on the phone, “That’s because you were born in July, dear.  Your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all born in January!”

            It doesn’t matter whether it is Jan/July, our Savior, Jesus Christ, can walk on water, anytime he wants.  And, that is exactly what he does do in our passage, this morning. 

            Let’s go back and review what we discussed last week because it has a direct bearing on what happens, today, in our passage.  Remember, Jesus’ disciples had been on a preaching/healing assignment.  We don’t know how long they had been on the assignment, but when they returned to Jesus, they were exhausted.  So, Jesus planned to take them away to a solitary place for a little retreat.  But, the crowds spotted them, calling short their R/R.  So, Jesus went back to work preaching/teaching/healing.  Jesus remarked that they were like sheep without a shepherd. 

            Late in the day, hunger pains developed.  Jesus, having compassion on them, decided to have a rather large picnic.  The only problem was a very small picnic basket—not enough food for the masses.  So, Jesus grew 5 barley loaves and 2 fish into a banquet, filling all who were there, with food left over.  Which brings us to our passage for today…

CONFLICT—Our faith sometimes falters:  (V.52)

            V.45 begins with a very hurried dismissal of his disciples after the picnic.  Do you wonder why Jesus wanted to get his disciples out of there so fast?  Well, Mark doesn’t tell us, does he?  He only says, “Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat…”  We all know that Marks favorite word is “immediately”.  He uses it a lot in his Gospel.  But, another one of the Gospel writers tells us why Jesus was in such a hurry to whisk them off. 

            John 6:14-15 tells the tale: “After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’  Jesus knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.”

            The people, seeing Jesus just do something that was totally impossible, wanted to grab him and make him an “earthly king.”  Jesus had a revolution on his hands—to make him king.  And, he knew that wasn’t in God’s “saving the world plan.” 

            So again, why did Jesus want his disciples out of there so fast?  He didn’t want his disciples caught up in this plan to make him king.  Our Scripture tells us that they were at a vulnerable time—their faith was faltering a bit, right then.  V.52 says, “For they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.”    

            These guys had been on a faith roller coaster ride ever since Jesus called them to follow him.  They had watched Jesus do wonderful things.  They had also seen the religious leaders tear into him quite regularly.  Remember, all these guys were good Jews and to Jews, the religious leaders were looked up to.  And, Jesus was bucking the system.  So, needless to say, their faith in Jesus, who they loved dearly, was up/down. 

            They had just been on a mission trip doing wonderful things on their own.  And, they came back thinking they had it all figured out.  And they had a plan to deal with all those hungry people—send them away to fend for themselves.  But, Jesus kind of rebuked them a little bit when he said, “You give them something to eat.”  And then they watched him miraculously multiply the food.  That is why Mark said, “They had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.”  We can just imagine, can’t we?

            Their faith had faltered some, didn’t it?  It was at a low point, and Jesus didn’t want them caught up in the people’s desire to make him king.  They were too vulnerable.   They weren’t really secure enough of who Jesus was, and why he had come.  So, in the boat they went, leaving Jesus to deal with the uprising. 

            Now, be honest.  You’re a pretty good Christian, aren’t you?  You love Jesus with all your heart/soul, right?  But, doesn’t your faith falter occasionally?  Of course it does.  You wouldn’t be human if it didn’t. 

            I’ve quoted Paul, many times in Galatians 5:17 when he wrote, “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”  In other words, even the best of Christians lose the battle to fleshly desires, once in a while.  And, when that happens, our faith is compromised.  We falter in our faith!  Like Jesus’ disciples, our hearts become hardened.

COMPLICATION—Jesus often lets us struggle for awhile when our faith falters: (V.47-48)

            Something very interesting happens next to our disciples.  As they were rowing to the other side, a really strong head wind came up—they were struggling.  Now, we certainly see this as a physical struggle going on—and it is.  But, don’t forget about the other struggle going on within—their faith struggle.  They are really in conflict—spiritually.  Who is Jesus, and what is he all about?  And, all those people fed with just 5 loaves/2 fish…

            Okay, they are in this struggle—physically and spiritually.  And, do you see what Jesus does?  Jesus knows they are struggling.  And, he just lets them struggle—for quite a while. 

            Do you see that?  We don’t know exactly what time it is when he sent them off.  But, it was before evening.  V.46 says that Jesus went up on a mountainside to pray.  And, then in V.47, when evening came, the disciples were already in the middle of the lake, and the wind came up.  Now, look when Jesus goes on his water walk—V.48 says about the 4^th watch.  Well, the 4^th watch is somewhere between 3:00 and 6:00 in the morning.  For several hours, Jesus sat on the mountainside praying and watching his disciples struggle. 

            We don’t know if Jesus could physically see them.  The Sea of Galilee is a fairly small lake.  And, there may have been a full moon.  And Jesus, being high on a mountaintop overlooking the lake, may have seen them.  But, even if he couldn’t physically see them, in his omniscience, he knew they had struggled for hours.  The whole point of that observation is that Jesus often lets us struggle for a while when our faith falters.

            He isn’t trying to be mean.  He loves us very much.  He knows we need to struggle at times to grow.  Listen to what Jesus’ own brother had to say in James 1:2-4, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” 

            Jesus knew that is what his disciples needed at that moment.  They needed to struggle—emotionally, spiritually, and physically—so they would lack nothing.  And, their faith would grow.  And, Jesus knows the same thing about us.  As painful as our struggles are at times, we need them. 

I challenge you to read through the Psalms.  Many of them are laments about God letting us struggle.  “Where are you, God!  I need you, God!  Help me, God!  My struggles are too much for me, God!”  We have all been through struggles when our faith falters.  The winds come upon us in the middle of the lake.  And, sometimes we feel we won’t make it.

SUDDEN SHIFT—Jesus eventually comes to us in our faith struggles:  (V.48-51)

            But, as we see in our passage, Jesus comes to us in our struggles.  Jesus will walk out on the water in the middle of a storm to get to us.  It was the 4^th watch of the night—early in the morning.  The wind was blowing; the waves were high; his disciples were struggling—tired, sore, confused, scared.  And, Jesus lovingly walked out to them.  He felt they had gone through enough. 

            When Jesus got to them, there were 3 things that happened:  The 1^st thing Jesus did was to speak compassionately to their fears. “Take courage! It is I! Don’t be afraid.”  Jesus uses the same words for us when he comes to us in our struggles.  The next time you are in a struggle, listen quietly for his voice calming you.  It is the same loving words that you use on your child when he/she is struggling.  “Don’t be afraid.  Mommy’s here to take care of you.  Everything’s going to be all right.”

The 2^nd thing Jesus did was to get into the struggle with them.  After he spoke to them, V.50 says, “Then he climbed into the boat with them.”  Jesus always gets into our struggles with us.  2,000 years ago, he 1^st got into the struggle.  He left his home in heaven; he walked out to us; and he got into this struggling world—taking on our suffering with us and for us.  If you have confessed him as Savior, he never stops being a part of your struggle. 

            The 3^rd thing Jesus did was to help them through the struggle.  The 2^nd part of V.51 says, “And the wind died down.”  In our struggles, he helps us until the wind dies down.  With Jesus in the boat with us, the wind will eventually die down.  We will find peace in our lives. 

UNFOLDING (CONCLUSION)—Our faith strengthens:

            So, what is the message in all this?  What is the end result of all this struggling and having Jesus come to us in our struggles?  The end result is OUR FAITH WILL GROW!  Our faith will become stronger each time it is tested.

            Our faith journey IS sometimes like a roller coaster ride—up and down.  But, when we let Christ into our lives, that faith ride is always upward.  There are peaks/valleys, but there will be an upward climb in our faith life. 

            I tried to think of a visual illustration to show this and last week it came in the mail.  This church invests in a pension plan for me for when I retire.  And, that pension plan is invested in a mutual fund.  Every year the mutual fund company sends a report of how they are doing.  And, it sends a bar graph that shows its earning history.  Well, since 1965 when it began, there have been good years and bad years—ups/downs.  But, you can see for 41 years the graph has climbed steadily upward.  I’m not saying this happens to all mutual fund companies—I just wanted to use this visual.  I believe most of our faith lives would look like this bar graph—good times and bad times, but on an upward climb. 

            I confessed Jesus Christ as my Lord/Savior and was baptized in 1959.  And, I have had a lot of ups/downs in my faith walk.  In fact, for many years, it was pretty low.  But, through all my struggles, and in all the times that Jesus came to me, my faith continues to grow stronger.  My faith is stronger today than in 1959.  And, I’m pretty sure it will be stronger 20 years from now if God has me stay here that long. 

            Just know that when you struggle, Jesus will walk out to you.  He will help you in your struggle.  And, through it all, your faith will grow stronger/stronger.