Is Jesus in Your Boat?

The Basilisk lizard has been nicknamed the Jesus Christ lizard; once you see footage of its trademark walk (or run) on the water, then you understand why it is so labeled. Found in the tropical rain forests of central America, from Mexico to Panama, this lizard is identified by its special run. Especially when it is escaping from predators, it uses its special feet to glide across the water using its tail as a counter balance. It can do this for approximately 15 feet before gravity begins to take over. Though the lizard eventually has to give in to gravity, there is someone who has the power over the natural law of gravity and he proved it to his disciples in John 6:16-21. Since Christ had withdrawn to the mountain to pray, the disciples found themselves without him as evening came which brings us to our story.

The disciples were having difficulty rowing the boat

If you've ever been in a boat with the wind blowing, you know the problems it creates. On more than one occasion at the lake behind the house of this writer, the wind would pick up strongly enough to have to abandon the boat on the other side of the lake because of the inability to paddle against the wind.

The disciples were put in an even greater windstorm on the Sea of Galilee. When the disciples got out in the boat, they were having a terrible time fighting the wind and the waves which were caused by it. Imagine if you will the disciples out in a boat with no outboard motor to help speed things along (in case you're puzzled, they didn't have 200 horse Mercury motors in that day and time). Rowing can be strenuous enough when there is no wind, but it would become extremely difficult when the wind would blow hard. Jesus saw them from the land as they were beaten by the waves and made headway painfully (Mt. 14:24; Mk. 6:48). They were having a really hard time without the Lord.

It is difficult to row the boat without Christ in it. There are a lot of times in our lives where we try to do things on our own without the Lord. Jesus said "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5).

The disciples saw Jesus walking on the water

Nature itself shows us you can't walk on water. Albeit the Basilisk lizard is a pretty cool sight, that only lasts for a few seconds. If you try to walk on water you will sink. My middle son, Chandler tried it one time. We had gone to my parents' house when he was about 18 month old. My oldest son, Conner and I were in the boat just about ten feet from the bank when Chandler got away from my dad and decided he would walk out to us, but when he hit the water....you guessed it, down he went. Dad picked him up by his britches and the look of total shock was on his face. Conner erupted in laughter as it was very entertaining to him. If dad had not been right there it wouldn't have been so funny!

The disciples were frightened when they saw Jesus coming to them walking on the water. They had rowed about three or four miles from the shore. To give you a visual, the Sea of Galilee was approximately 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. Matthew and Mark provide some additional details in their accounts. They say it was the fourth watch of the night, which was roughly 3-6 a.m. and that they thought he was a ghost (Mt. 14:25-26; Mk. 6:48-49). Imagine how you would have felt if you were in the middle of a windstorm in a boat at 3:00 a.m. and you see someone standing there in the pitch black! I believe this would have been enough to rattle anybody's cage!

It wasn't a ghost; it was Jesus and he had come to them in the boat by walking on the water.

Though Jesus doesn't walk on the water anymore, he is still available to save us. "...he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him..." (Heb. 5:9).

The disciples were not afraid anymore

As scared as we get sometimes, we know that it's only temporary. Think of the times you've been to see a scary movie where scenes from the film almost make you jump out of your skin. It is quite horrific for just a moment, but then that moment has passed. There is a commercial on tv for a law firm where a group of people are ghost hunting. When the girl in the commercial supposedly gets attacked by a ghost, all fears are put to rest once someone turns the lights on.

Once Jesus reassured them that it was he, they were glad to take him into the boat. Matthew's account follows this with Peter's walking on the water. Mark's account add some other things: Christ got in the boat and the wind ceased; they were utterly astounded, they did not understand about the loaves and their hearts were hardened. Though we get some other perspectives on this story, the fact remains that Christ calmed their fears by showing he wasn't a ghost.

Perhaps you've had a time when the Lord's presence calmed your fears. Zephaniah 3:17 says "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." It has been said "the Lord will either calm your storm...or he will allow it to rage while he calms you"

Are you in the middle of a storm where you're struggling to navigate through the rough waters? Jesus is the answer. If you'll bring him on board, he'll calm your fears!

A Meal for the Multitudes

The story is told of a young man who just got out of Bible college and prepared to preach at his home congregation. He studied real hard and even memorized his lesson. Banging his hand on the podium in the middle of the sermon, he told the congregation that Jesus took 5,000 loaves and 2,000 fish and fed 5 people. With a dramatic pause he asked the congregation if they could do that. A roar of laughter filled the auditorium, and the young preacher couldn't figure out what was going on. One man even raised his hand which caused the preacher to ask why he thought he could do what only our Lord could. The gentleman kindly corrected the preacher telling him what was wrong with what he said. The young preacher was at a loss for words, and he sat down in humiliation without even being able to finish the sermon.

The people of the congregation were very supportive of the young man even encouraging him to preach it again next Sunday, so he did. That next Sunday morning he correctly stated that Jesus took 5 loaves and 2 fish and fed 5,000 people. Again he asked if anyone could do that, and to his surprise the gentleman in the audience raised his hand again. Very upset again, the preacher questioned the man who then replied that would be possible because he could use the leftovers from how he preached it last week.

In the gospel of John we do find what is referred to as the fourth sign, the feeding of the multitudes. With the Passover at hand and a big crowd on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus saw an opportunity to provide for the people. Here we see that Christ provides a meal for the multitudes as he indeed uses 5 loaves and two fish proving that he is the master of quantity (Tenney). Follow along with me in John 6:1-14.

Jesus tested the faith of the disciples

There are opportunities in life which test our faith. Sometimes we grow as we go through these tests and trials if we bear up under them and hold fast. However, sometimes we buckle under the pressure and fall away from our faith. Different people react in different ways; each situation is going to be different.

Jesus asked a question to test the disciples' faith. He asked Philip where they could get bread for these people to eat. There were two responses from his disciples. The first came from Philip who seemed to be a pessimist. Philip immediately knew that it would be hard to feed this many people. By the way, there weren't just 5,000, as that was besides women and children (Mt. 14:21). It seemed it was his way of saying two hundred denarii (a denarius was a day's wage) would hardly be enough to provide appetizers for all these people. On the other hand, the second response came from Andrew who found a boy with five loaves and two fish. Even though he did ask how this would be enough for so many people, he still found something that the Lord could use. Andrew seemed to be an optimist. By the way, every time we see Andrew he is bringing somebody to Jesus. Think about it!

Jesus multiplied the meal for the multitudes

Remember the creatures in the movie, Gremlins where both the furry kind and the ugly, monster kind multiplied when they got wet? That was pretty cool for a movie, especially when Stripe jumped in the swimming pool as Billy watched in horror. In this story from John 6, Jesus doesn't use water to multiply the loaves and fishes; he does it himself as he takes the five loaves and two fish and multiplies it for the multitudes.

After Jesus gave thanks, he distributed the food. The bread was barley, which supposedly was one of the least desirable breads, even as it was the least expensive of that region. The fish were probably small fish which were dried or pickled, very similar to our version of sardines. Though this was a very small amount, Jesus took this and distributed it to those in the grass and they ate as much as they wanted. Who would ever think that five loaves and two fish would turn into an all you can eat buffet? It seems as though it did in this case.

Jesus taught a lesson on leftovers

In 2010 more than 34 million tons of food waste was generated. We are truly throwing away so much food that goes to waste, which is not a good thing. In our text, Jesus took this time to teach a very valuable lesson on waste. He commanded that the disciples gather up the leftovers so there would be nothing lost. If he was saying this just to have them clean up, it seems as if he would convey the idea of not making a mess, but instead he said so that there's nothing lost. It appears as if they would reuse the leftover food, according to his wording.

There were twelve baskets of leftovers from the miraculous feeding. How often are you going to wind up with more food after you're done that what you started with? Who knew Jesus could do so much with so little. Merrill Tenney says that Jesus is the Master of Quantity!

Though we see what Jesus did by providing such a miraculous meal in the feeding of the multitudes, there are still some great lessons for us today.

The testing of our faith is a good thing - 2 Cor. 13:5

There is no job too big for the Lord - Mt. 19:26

The Lord can do greater things than what we can imagine - Eph. 3:20

Was the Old Law abolished or fulfilled?

Remember the Cash for Clunkers program that was set in motion by the Obama administration? If you participated in that program, you were getting rid of an older vehicle to make way for a new one. In fact, when you turned that old vehicle in, you knew what was going to happen to it. They would pour a mixture in the engine to make sure it would never run again. After the motor was destroyed, the vehicle was put through the compactor, destroying any resemblance to a motor vehicle. What was old in this program was destroyed.

When Jesus was giving His famous sermon on the mount, it seems as if the Jews listening to Him were thinking that Jesus was going to destroy the Law of Moses. Jesus plainly tells them that He did not come to abolish the Old Law, but to fulfill it. He would shortly thereafter make statements contrasting the commandments with the expectations under the new covenant which would take effect with the death of Christ on the cross. Jesus knew unless he prefaced this discussion with an explanation of His purpose that the Jews would be in a tizzy.

I've posted the latest sermon audio from Sunday night. I hope it is beneficial to you.