Walking on Water – Mark 6 45 – 47

On Sunday we reflected on Mark 6: 45-52 which tells us about when Jesus walked out on a lake at night. If you were reading this for the first time you would most likely wonder about how this was possible and perhaps what Jesus was up to. You may be asking yourself what water-walking has to do with us today and what are we supposed to apply to our own lives from this text?

John Ortberg in his book If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat gives this insight into what was going on.

David explains that that Jesus intended to pass them by on the water, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost. Why did Jesus want to pass them by? Did he decide to race them? Did he want to impress them with a really neat trick?

Garland points out that the verb parerchomai (to pass by) is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament as a technical term to refer to a theophany, which are those defining moments when God made striking and temporary appearances in the earthly realm to a select individual or group for the purpose of communicating a message.
For instance, once God put Moses in a cleft in a rock so Moses could see while my glory passes by… The LORD passed before him. On another occasion, God told Elijah to stand on the mountain for the LORD is about to pass by.

There is a pattern to these stories. In each case God had to get people’s attention, i.e through a burning bush, or wind and fire, or walking on the water. With each person God was going to call them to do something extraordinary. In each situation the person that God called felt afraid. But every time that people said yes to their calling, they experienced the power of God in their lives.

So when Jesus came to the disciples on the water intending to pass them by, he was not just doing a neat magic trick. He was revealing his divine presence and power. Only God can do such a thing: He alone… treads on the waves of the sea. It is interesting that the disciples entered the boat in the first place at Jesus’ command. They would have to learn (as do we) that obedience is no guarantee of being spared adversity. But now that the storm had their full attention, Jesus decided it was time the disciples got to know a little bit more about the person who was in charge.

It’s as if Jesus is saying: You can trust me. You know my character and my competence. You can safely place your destiny in my hand. Take courage. It’s me.

• May you be both challenged and encouraged that the Lord of the Universe has shown Himself to His followers in the past and called them and us to His extra-ordinary mission.
• May He reveal His fingerprints to you and I this week as we look to see where He is at work and join Him.
• May we be fully convinced that the Holy Spirit is actively with us and that He is with us to the end of the Age.

God bless
Ray