"Then They
Willingly Received Him..."! Jn. 6.21
Why does John record this
odd miracle of Jesus (vss. 19, 20) here in the middle of this
teaching about bread? In fact, it's out of place, even though it was
important enough to have been mentioned by two other gospel writers.
Well, I think the Lord included it for you and me. You and I needed
to know that Jesus doesn't leave us alone in the dark, in the storm
and in fear! And that is just as true for you and I as it was for
the disciples aboard that ship on the stormy Sea of Tiberias
(Galilee), that night after Jesus had fed the 5000 plus.
This miracle was for His
disciples. He had told the multitude, back in 5.20, that He would do
"greater works than these, that ye may marvel", but this
miracle was reserved for those closest to Him...maybe for you, or
maybe not! You see, even the disciples were afraid, as we read in
vs. 19, so I guess that places us in good company. But let's look at
this short passage in some detail.
In the first instance we
have...
1. The mountain of
solitude, 6.15
Have you ever wanted to
just get away? You're overwhelmed by the cares of this world,
or by the crises of your life or by the crowds that want to crown you
king?! Every one of us has likely been there, whether it be a
camping trip on the back of the beach or a weekend at a resort,
sometimes our engine needs to be tuned-up, and the cobwebs need
clearing-out or the batteries need to be recharged...both physically
and emotionally and yes, even spiritually! You've been doing your
best not to run off the rails, but the strain just becomes too much
for you; you've been in the desert for too long; you're just plain
burnt-out, you're used-up, or you're too close to the edge when, all
of a sudden, you realize you need to go to the mountain alone.
What does the mountain
signify in the spiritual sense? Well, for Abraham it was a place of
sacrifice; for Elijah it was a place of victory; for Moses, a place
of glory; for Jesus, a place of prayer and rest and spiritual
regeneration....not another hurdle to overcome, like some of the
mountains in our own lives, but a place of retreat and seclusion and
of communion with the Father. And Jesus needed all that at that
particular time, just as each of us do from time-to-time; even just
to turn the t.v. off and rest for awhile without any interruptions
from anyone. That can be a pretty big thing in almost anyone's day!
Like my mother once said, through her many tears..."I don't even
have a hole to call my own!"
We're surrounded bu our
lives, and so was Jesus. His life was full of the needs of others,
and there are few things any more stressful than that...just ask a
"wannabe retired social worker"! The "people
business" can be a very rewarding business but it is mostly a
very stressful business, and Jesus had been conducting some pretty
stressful business on that day, for sure. So He went to spend a
night of prayer on "the mountain of solitude".
Next we see the disciples,
in the dark, and tossed about on...
2. The sea of despair,
6. 16-19
Matthew 14.22 sheds a
little more light on this point...the Lord desired to be alone so He
sent the disciples along ahead of Him. And not only was He
alone, but they were alone too, for perhaps the first time
since He called them into service. Maybe some of us can remember
some occasion when we felt as though the Lord had abandoned us, and
like the idols of the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 18
when they, in their contest between Elijah and the Lord God Almighty,
took time off to have a nap, or to go to the bathroom and were
"temporarily out of service". We can relate very well to
the way those godless prophets felt when they realized their prayers
were going unheard, not to mention, unanswered! And we
sometimes have our spiritual dry spells, when our prayers
(when we have the strength to pray!) keep bouncing off the ceiling.
The disciples were alone,
and they didn't know which way to row! That is the natural
response of even those who are closest to the Lord, when they find
themselves barely afloat on the "troubled seas" that are
our lives. When we board the ship of life and start out on a
seemingly innocent journey "over the sea toward Capernaum",
we often find ourselves in the dark stormy places where we would
rather not be; it's only then that we realize that we had set out on
their own, and that "Jesus is not come to us" (vs. 17)...at
least that's our perception. In effect, our faith is tested. Maybe
we have doubts about our ability to hold on; or to keep it all
together; or that it's Sunday and it's God's day off! Maybe the
disciples were thinking that if Jesus had been there, the storm
wouldn't have happened; even if He had been there, but asleep on a
pillow in the stern of the ship (Mark 4.38), just the fact of His
presence could have given them some emotional and spiritual security.
But He wasn't there, and the wind and the waves were.
Why does He sometimes make us wait (Isaiah 40.31, 30.18)? Well for
one thing, so we will appreciate His presence more when He is
revealed; not to destroy our faith, but certainly, to test it. And
we must sometimes remember that it's sometimes true that it is
sometimes us who withold ourselves from Him!
Well, Jesus was on the
mountain of solitude while the disciples were on the sea of despair,
wishing for...
3. The beach-head of
grace! 6.20-21
"If Christ be for
you, it doesn't matter who is against you!" Things sure get
better in a hurry when you bring Jesus on board your life! All those
quaking disciples had to do was stop rowing, invite Jesus aboard and,
Whoa! There they were, immediately at the beach. The Master knows
when the tempest is raging, and He is not unconcerned for us. We
needn't be dismayed when we see the Lord walking on our troubled
waters, like those troubled disciples were. Oh, we sure get
discouraged when we look around this world; and we get disgusted when
we look to our own resources; and we sometimes get disillusioned when
we look to the church. But never be dismayed when we finally come to
the realization of the gracious presence of the Lord! We often get
so occupied with the tempests of life that we sometimes forget that
our very lives belong to Him!
Jesus is, after all, the
Author of grace, and of peace, and of salvation, and His best and
most precious word to you is..."It is I; be not afraid!"
(6.20)
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