Delayed Rescue

‘Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. ‘

Mark 6:45-48 NKJV

Our text today tells us a very familiar story. We’ve heard it a couple of times – the disciples got on a boat, when they were in the middle of the boat, they faced a storm, Jesus came walking on water, and as He was walking on water, Peter said, ‘I want to walk on water with You.’ He told Peter to walk on water, and Peter walked on water, and he doubted. Then, he started to sink because he looked at the waves and not at Jesus.

Yes, we’re very familiar with the story, but let’s back track a bit. Before Jesus asked His disciples to get on the boat and cross over to the other side, they had just finished feeding five thousand men, not counting women and children. If we’re going by normal statistics, children are usually more than adults. Especially in times when there were no contraceptives or the ‘count the number of your children’ philosophy that we have today. We can make a rough estimate of fifteen thousand to twenty-five thousand people. You don’t need a prophet to tell you that these twelve men were tired. This was their state when they got into the boat and started heading to the other side.

Turning A Blind Eye

You’d think that since Jesus knew all this when He saw them in the middle of the sea struggling, He’d immediately go to them running on water or speak to the waves from a distance, but no. He left them to struggle from evening till the fourth watch of the night. That is from around 6 pm to around 3am – 6pm early hours of the next morning. Now why would a saviour not hurry to save His own team? Does anybody else find this curious?

Because I’m looking at it from a firstborn, from the perspective of a mom, from the perspective of a human, if I see somebody struggling and I have the capacity to help them, chances are I’m going to run, I’m going to rush, and I want to help them, and I’m going to want to rescue them, except when I realize that going to help them will not be for their own good. And I think that’s what’s happening here. And we can confirm it through scripture.

'Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”' -Matthew 14:33

Class Is In Session

According to Matthew’s account, this revelation that the people on the boat (the disciples) had was worth the delay. They had been working with Jesus for a while now. Jesus had called them out of their jobs to follow Him. They had witnessed him do a couple of miracles, and He had sent them out in twos for the work of ministry. But you can be with someone for a long time and not know their true identity beyond a reasonable doubt.

Jesus needed them to know for a fact that He was the Son of God. These were going to be the disciples who would take the gospel to the ends of the earth. He was going to leave behind and through them the world would hear of Him. So, of course, they needed that struggle if it led to a revelation that was necessary for their conviction and purpose on the earth.

Beloved, you have to understand that the knowledge most of us have of God and our faith, we learned it while we struggled in a storm. Sometimes we can only learn through suffering. The testing of our faith builds patience in us. Some storms are necessary for your growth, and the fact that God has not stepped in yet proves there’s something He wants to teach you in it. So, do not be afraid in that storm. Do not let that storm overwhelm you. Do not let that storm defeat you. Trust that Jesus, who sees you, will come and help you just in time.

Note that even though they were struggling, none of them lost their life. The ship did not get wrecked. They didn't drown. They just struggled. Temporal struggle is necessary to build us up in our most holy faith.

Prayer

‘Lord, I know that You have a plan for me in the middle of every storm you allow in my life, and I know that You want to reveal Yourself even more to me. I pray that You give me the strength and the grace to pull through the difficulty in any storm and come out on the other side victorious in Jesus’ name, amen.'”

Shalom.