“You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.” (Psalm 65:5-8 NIV)
The story of Jesus feeding 5000 men (in addition to women and children) is found in Matthew 14, Mark 6, and John 6. In each of these stories Jesus does a miracle with a very small amount of food and feeds a vast crowd. At the end of these stories Jesus sends his disciples away in a boat, dismisses the crowd, and goes away by himself to pray.
“And as night fell he was there praying alone. But the disciples, who were now in the middle of the lake, ran into trouble, for their boat was tossed about by the high winds and heavy seas.” (Matthew 14:23-24 TPT)
This is not the same story where Jesus who had been asleep in the boat woke up and told the storm to quit. Instead, Jesus needed some time away from the crowds, and even the disciples, so he’s not even with them. Suddenly we hear that the disciples in the boat were “struggling with the oars, the wind having come up against them.” (Mark 6:48 MSG) About half the disciples were fishermen by trade. What was so unique about these particular “high winds and heavy seas” that they had “run into trouble” as they rowed against the wind? The Bible doesn’t tell us. Maybe there was nothing unique. Maybe these were normal waves and winds but, for whatever reason, something was different this time.
Stop a second and put yourself in that boat. You’re used to being on boats, but not doing well this time. Probably you have a queasy stomach from the waves. Maybe you have a queasy feeling about the whole situation. Likely, you have some fear that this might not end well. Being “tossed about by the high winds and heavy seas” probably wasn’t what you signed up for when you agreed to follow Jesus.
Now pull out of your imagination into your reality. Are you experiencing any “tossing about” in these days? Are the tossing waves and blowing winds of life pushing you in ways you never expected? Do you find yourself wondering if this is what you signed up for when you decided to follow Jesus? Yes? Well, welcome to the Kingdom.
If we just stopped the story there, we would be stuck in bad weather, seasick on a boat. Sometimes in life we feel like that. But you probably know what happened sometime later that night – Jesus was walking on water to get to them!! Mark 6:48 puts it succinctly: “Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake.” (NIV). Uh…..really, Jesus? You just walked on the water to get to us?? That must have freaked the disciples out. (It did; the next verse tells us the disciples thought he was a ghost and were terrified.) How does one “walk on water”? Unlike certain insects whose weight and design are such that they can take advantage of water’s surface tension, humans are too heavy to take advantage of that. We have to decide to accept this as a miracle and not get bogged down in explaining this “how.”
Instead of “how,” probably the better focus would be on the who of this story. Jesus could see that they were struggling. He sees us, too, when we struggle. Jesus could see that they weren’t doing well – maybe even knew they were seasick. He knows when we aren’t doing well and are seasick. Jesus wanted to come to them and comfort them. He comes to us, often in the form of Holy Spirit’s presence or the presence of other Believers, to comfort and encourage us.
As you realize, the story doesn’t end here. But before we rush to the Grand Finale of Peter walking on water, take a moment to let this fact sink in: Jesus chose to come to his people when they were in distress. Just like God delivered the children of Israel when they were slaves in Egypt; just like he cared for a poverty-stricken foreign woman, Ruth, and her Hebrew mother-in-law; just like he rescued the three Hebrew boys from the fiery furnace; he is not ignoring our plights. He loves us and is present with us in our distress.
God,
Thank you for these stories in your Word that show us your heart for your people. Thank you for the Truth that you are always present with us, even when the waves and winds in our lives seem ferocious. Help us to quiet ourselves and trust you when we are queasy and fearful. Help us to know that we are your children, your heirs, sharing in your suffering and in your glory. Help us to recognize you in the mist of life, and to honor you with our worship. We ask in Jesus’s name, AMEN.
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.” (Romans 8:17-19 NIV)
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:1-3 NIV)
“Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
“Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 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, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified.
“Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 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.” (Mark 6:45-52 NIV)