Encouragement in a Crisis

John 6 verses 16-24 Encouragement in a Crisis

Do you remember the advertisement a few years ago with the slogan "We won't make a drama out of a crisis"? I am sure you all could recall stories of times of crisis in your life. I am sure as well there were both helpful and unhelpful words of advice during those times. Sometimes people come out with glib statements, meaning well, but being more irritating than helpful at the time. Sometimes people quote Bible verses to you, meaning to be comfortable, and it is all you can do to keep your hands from locking around their throats.  I want to take an incident in the life of the disciples and see what we can learn about encouragement in a time of crisis. I have chosen a familiar passage - Jesus walking on the water. This incident is recounted in Matthew, Mark and John's gospel. Read John 6.
  if you look at the beginning of this chapter we have the 'miracle', or 'sign' as John calls them, of Jesus feeding the 5000  Having worked this miracle which demonstrated his authority and power over material things we read in verse 15 that Jesus withdraws from the crowd, because they want to make him king, and goes on his own up the mountains that surrounded the sea of Galilee.
Verses 16-17 the disciples must have followed him up the mountain because John says that when evening came they descended to the lake side. The disciples desire to make the journey from Bethsaida to Capernaum whilst there is still daylight. They had no desire to be rowing across the lake in darkness. Their plan, no doubt, was to get to Capernaum under their own strength and whilst they themselves could see the way ahead. It may well have been a journey that they had made many times before, after all these are experienced, seasoned fishermen. A short row on a lake in the early evening would not be too taxing for them.
I want you to note two simple statements by John in verse 17, simple and yet important for the remainder of the story.
1. Darkness had fallen

2. Jesus had not yet joined them.

In John's gospel 'darkness' and 'light' are not just words which describe the physical world but also point to spiritual issues and conditions. So for example in John 3 you have Nicodemus, the supposedly religiously enlightened, coming under the cover of 'darkness' to Jesus 'the light of the world.' In the upper room you have Judas leaving Jesus the light of the world and going out into the 'darkness' to betray him. Here is a picture of discouragement in the physical description of what is going on around these disciples. As if to emphasise his point, about the darkness, John states 'Jesus had not yet joined them.' I think it is fair to deduce that they were waiting for Jesus to join them. Maybe, just maybe, as darkness fell some of them, probably Simon Peter, have become impatient waiting and so they set off on this journey without their Lord and master in the boat with them. Maybe they waited until the very last minute, hoping he would join them but for whatever reason they head off without him. They head off without the light of the world and out they go into the darkness. A symbol of discipleship with no discernable presence of the Lord. Friends, isn't that so true of all of us as followers of Christ? We become impatient waiting for Jesus to show up and so we put to sea in our boat without his discernable presence. After all it is such a short journey. We know where we are going and we can get their under our own strength. But darkness is falling all around us but our eyes have become adjusted to the darkness and so we set off confidently that we can make this journey. Jesus, well Jesus can make his own way to Capernaum.
Isn't it amazing that they do not wait for Christ? Yet isn't it also so true that after something amazing happening with Christ that a crisis immediately follows. They had just seen him feed 5000 with a small lunch and now they are about to enter a crisis. Remember that spiritual lesson. The scriptures are full of such incidents - Elijah sees fire fall from heaven on Mt Carmel and the prophets of Baal destroyed and immediately he is fearful of his life and asking God to let him die.  Jacob cannot wait on the promise of God and so tricks both his brother Esau and his father Isaac and has to leave home. Moses, through the work of God, leads the people out of slavery in Egypt but they grumble at the Lord and a generation dies in the wilderness, never to enter the Promised Land.
Verse 19 John tells us that the disciples had rowed about 3-3.5 miles out across the lake when a storm hits. Apparently such storms were common on the Sea of Galilee. It is 600 feet below sea level, surrounded by mountains and in the evening the cold air is funnelled down into this bowl and very quickly a storm can hit the water. In Mark 6.48 we are told that Jesus has been watching the disciples from the mountain top. He has seen them straining at the oars, fighting against the wind and the waves. Interestingly in all three accounts we do not read of the disciples calling out to Christ for assistance. I was struck by that fact. Here are men who have just witnessed a miracle with bread and fish, in peril on the sea and yet they do not call out to the Lord for help. Yet when I sat back and thought about that I wondered how true that was of many people, many followers of Christ, today. Why is Christ the last resort? Why do we strain at the oars, fighting against the wind and the waves in the darkness? Why do we have to be going down for the third and final time before we even consider calling on Christ?
Listen also to what Mark says in verse 49 - they thought Christ a ghost and they were terrified (John 6.19). They, his disciples, were not expecting him to come walking on the water. They did not expect him to be able to overcome nature. They were not expecting him to be there because they had left him on the mountain side and what good could he do from the mountain side. Even though he had gone from their sight, they had never left his sight. Remember that when a crisis comes. Just as on a cloudy day the sun still shines above the clouds, but we cannot from our perspective see it, it still shines. Just because we cannot see, or more likely 'feel' God, is no ground for saying he is absent or he does not care.
Mark also tells us that He, Jesus, was going to pass them by until they cried out to him. Does Christ not care for his disciples? He was going to walk on past them. He does care but they need to learn a lesson - they need to cry out to him. Until this point they had had no thought for him - after all they left without him. They strained at the oars hoping their own strength would get them to the shoreline and their destination. Jesus never entered their head and when he did appear they initially did not recognise him, in fact they were frightened by him. The waves, the rain, and the wind were battering them and yet it is on these very things, and through these very things that Christ comes walking towards his disciples. Is that not an amazing picture that the evangelists paint? The contrast of the storm and yet Christ walking, not straining but walking on the water towards them. The contrast of the panic of the disciples and the calmness of Christ in the midst of this storm is there if we would only open our eyes and see. He is in control of all things and he wants them to know he is in control of all things.
Verses 20-21 - Christ calms their fears by speaking to them. When they recognised his voice, (my sheep know my voice), then they were willing to take him into the boat. Listen to what Christ says to them "It is I, don't be afraid." In the Greek it is "ego eimi…" can be translated as "It is I,…" or it can be translated as "I AM…" which is the divine name. Again in John we have a twofold teaching point here. It is Christ declaring to his disciples that it is him but it is also a claim to be God. It brings to the fore again the deliverance of the people of Israel from the slavery of Egypt and here the deliverance of the disciples from the slavery of the storm. John then tells us that immediately, note that 'immediately', that Christ is in the boat they reach their destination - another miracle within this miracle. Another sign that with Christ in the boat the destination is assured. You know if Christ had entered the boat and they had still had to fight against the storm to reach their destination then it would have been a pointless exhibition of power by Christ.
  Read- Psalm 77.16,19 and Psalm 107.29-30. This miracle, sign, was no chance accident because of the folly of the disciples. Christ was not taken unawares or by surprise by the disciples leaving without him or of the storm that arose. Long before these men were even born the Psalmist had written of such an incident as the sign of the deliverance the Messiah would bring.
Encouragement in a crisis - you might be wondering what on earth is there in this incident to bring me encouragement in a crisis? I don't need nice little stories of how Jesus walked on water and rescued the disciples. I need something practical which touches me now where I am. Well, if you would, allow me to point out some of the key lessons from this passage.
It is possible to be a follower of Christ and yet to set out without Christ in your boat. Darkness is falling all around you but your eyes have adjusted to the darkness and you still think you can make the destination on your own strength. So you set out, rowing across the lake as darkness continues to fall and as the wind begins to whip up a storm. Your destination becomes unclear, whereabouts unsure and your strength is all but gone as you battle against the prevailing storm. You can't go back and you cant go forward, you are now at the mercy of the wind and the waves - tossed this way and that and in real danger of capsizing. Yet you do no cry out for Christ - you continue to struggle under your own strength.
Then your eyes are lifted off yourself and off the storm for a moment and you see 'a ghost' because you do not expect to see Christ in the midst of this storm. You do not expect to see him because you have not been looking for him and maybe, just maybe, because you have believed the lie that your feelings are a good measure of your spiritual life and spiritual insight. May I say to you, seriously, there are so many of you and your spiritual life depends more on your feelings than it does on the truth of the Word of God. 
And so you are afraid because in the midst of this storm you really do not know what to believe or what to trust. You see some people, like the disciples initially, are more afraid of Christ than they are of the storm. Then it happens - above the noise of the storm you hear the voice of Jesus - it may be only faint but you hear it and you hear his voice speak peace into your soul. He calms your fears, not the storm. He quietens your heart, not the wind. He stills your soul, not the waves. His presence brings renewed hope and power to his dispirited disciples, and it will to you. He comes on board and immediately safety is reached. The storm is not calmed but a haven is reached in the midst of the storm. The wind and waves still beat upon the boat but the destination is assured and safety guaranteed. Their peace came when they were willing to have Christ as a companion on the journey.
I think we all need to take on board - even though Christ has been out of their sight and thoughts, they were never out of his (Mark 6.48). His commitment to them, and to us, is unconditional. His promise never to leave them nor forsake them is fulfilled in the midst of a storm. We need to take that on board. Christ has not taken his gaze from us. Does he see us rowing out on a lake as darkness descends and a storm on the horizon? Yes! Will he allow us to row out into that storm? Yes! Does that mean he does no care for us? No! Some lessons can only be learnt in the midst of a storm.
Finally - can I recommend to you  a book. If there is one book, apart from the bible, that I think many of you should read and take on board it is this book - "Too good to be true", by Michael Horton. It takes a bit of reading but I want to say to many of you - if you read such a book and take on board the biblical teaching of it I think many of you will grow spiritually and many of you will recognise the false understanding of God and his actions in this world, your life, that you have for too long accepted and which have stunted your spiritual growth.