This miracle is one of the hardest to believe, yet one that teaches the most about belief.
45) Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46) And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47) And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 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. (Mark 6:45-48)
Oh the questions!
- What did this look like?
- Did he just stride along calmly?
- Was he walking up and down the swells like moving glass hills?
- Did he use his arms to stay balanced?
- Did he get wet at all?
- Did the water bead up and roll off him like he was coated in Rain-X?
- Why did he walk?
- Why didn’t he fly?
- Or teleport himself?
- Or make ‘there’ become ‘here’ so he didn’t have to move at all?
So many questions, yet the water walking isn’t the strangest part. Look at the rest of verse 48. “And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them.”
He wasn’t walking on the water to help the disciples. He wasn’t walking on the water to join them or even display his glory to them. He meant to pass by them altogether. Why did the Savior cross the sea? To get to the other side.
49) [B]ut when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50) 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.” 51) And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. (Mark 6:49-51)
More questions:
- Why didn’t Jesus calm the winds when he first noticed how much trouble the disciples were having?
- Or why didn’t he get behind their boat and push?
- Why did he not seem interested in helping them until they saw him?
Here’s our questions finally find answers, but they’re not what we might expect. Verses 51 and 52, “And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.”
They were afraid and astounded because they didn’t understand about the miracle they had previously witnessed wherein Jesus fed thousands with a couple of loaves of bread and a few fish.
John 6 sums up what they had missed. The bread miracle was meant to point to Jesus as the Bread of Life, the Sustaining One.
35) Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36) But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. (John 6:35-36)
The disciples had followed Jesus, witnessed his miracles and even ministered in his name, but they did not yet understand that he was the Bread of Life.
It’s so similar to when Jesus calmed the storm in Mark 4:35-41. Jesus slept in the hull while the disciples struggled and fretted on the deck. After they roused him and he calmed the sea, he said, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” They were afraid because they didn’t believe in Jesus as the Bread of Life.
Sometimes Jesus sleeps while we’re in a storm. Sometimes Jesus walkes past us when we’re rowing against the wind. He does not always choose to calm the storm or stop the wind. Sometimes we are grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of our faith—which is more precious than gold—may be found to truly rest in him as the Bread of Life, and not merely as the Calmer of Storms (see 1 Peter 1:3-9).
In your current stressful situation, your best hope is not that God will resolve your circumstances, but that he will establish in you a belief in Jesus Christ as the Bread of Life. Not the calming of the seas, but the calming of the heart in the midst of the storm. Peace that comes from knowing that even if the worst case scenario comes to pass, you’ll be okay because in Jesus you have everything you need. This is the true miracle.
