Therefore, the godly should pray...

The Stranger

(Mark 6:45-52, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, February 3, 2019)

[45] Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. [46] And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. [47] And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. [48] And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, [49] but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, [50] for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” [51] And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, [52] for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

A Man of Prayer

Jesus had just fed thousands with five loaves and two fish using the hands of the men he had chosen to be his disciples. He did this without drawing attention to himself and when it was all done he did not wait for applause. He put his disciples on the boat and sent the crowd away so that he could go up “on the mountain to pray.”

This willingness to get rid of any lesser distractions is instructive for us. We live in a world that insists on attention. We easily become obsessed by our own thoughts and addicted to our obsessions. Are we willing to say the word “father” in a deserted place where no one else is listening until we are convinced that there is actually someone who calls each of us by name as his beloved son? Jesus was willing. He was a man of prayer.

This kind of dedication comes only when we see that prayer is a matter of life and death for us and for those we love. Are we desperate for the Almighty? Jesus was. Are we desperate for Jesus. Communing with the I-AM is simply more important than anything else in our lives.

An Unusual Guardian

This kind of assertion sounds extreme, as if we are saying that we can never eat or drink again because Jesus is more important than life. This is a twisting of truth by our diseased and troubled egos. Jesus knows our every need, and our father in heaven gives good gifts to his beloved, including food, drink, and even sleep. (Psalm 127:2).

In the case of his disciples who were in a boat on a tumultuous sea straining at the oars to make their way to a safe haven, Jesus saw them and he came to them some time between 3 am and sunrise. Why then does Mark tell us that “he meant to pass by them”? Surely he was not trying to keep them from knowing that he was near. He could have just stayed further away, even on the mountain.

We have to believe that Jesus meant to be seen by them in their moment of trial. Like Moses in Exodus 33:22, the disciples would be able to observe God passing by them. Even better, the I-AM in the flesh would walk on the water. He would inspire their trust as a most unusual guardian.

Rescued by a Stranger

Instead of seeing Jesus in faith his friends “saw him and were terrified” because they all thought that he “was a ghost”–a disembodied spirit. He spoke to them with assurance: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid!” (The “It is I” is literally “I-AM.”) Then he acted with all authority. He got into the boat with them and then “the wind ceased.”

What was their reaction? The answer is somewhat complex. “They were utterly astounded.” They did not expect Jesus to have such command of the physical world. Why? “They did not understand about the loaves.” They had not come to an appropriate conclusion about the feeding miracle that had taken place the previous day. Who had fed the crowd? They could not really say. They were mute and strangely agnostic concerning the divinity of Jesus. Why? “Their hearts were hardened.” Shocking. See Romans 11:7 and 2 Corinthians 3:14 concerning Israel.

There is a commonly observed condition that cardiologists encounter among certain contemporary men and women as they age called arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. It can be very serious and even deadly. If we heard that someone we loved dearly had something like this we would surely pray. But there is something much worse than such a malady. It is the spiritual condition that Mark calls the hardening of the heart.

Last week we looked at the Greek word translated “compassion” and we marveled that in that ancient world the physical locus of mercy was spoken of as the innards, guts, or even bowels. Now we hear of an organ that we are more accustomed to associating with feelings—the heart. The expression “hardened heart” meant the same thing for them as it does for us, a stubborn unwillingness to be receptive, particularly to God. We are shocked to hear that the disciples themselves had this serious spiritual sickness.

Who would heal them? We know that the real heart and soul change for the apostles would come from the Father and the Son after the ascension of Jesus. The Holy Spirit would be granted in a new way to men who would be foundation stones in the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Unbelief and negativity always need to give way to faith, hope, and love. Therefore, we should pray. But to do this we will have to turn away from useless obsessions. Otherwise, who has time for the God of the universe. Too busy.

Psalm 32:6

Therefore let everyone who is godly

offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;

surely in the rush of great waters,

they shall not reach him.

Unless it ends up being a matter of life and death.

We need the divine stranger to draw near to us as a friend. Has he not done this by the cross? Is not His love expressed even in our trials? Has he not encouraged us to pray?

We need Jesus, and Jesus has never fit neatly into the patterns that might be expected by His disciples. He is different from us in the very depths of His being. God's chosen people need more than a typical man of the world. We required a perfect man of God, strange though He might seem to us, who saves us from great distress, especially hardness of the heart.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 94 – Blessed is the man whom You discipline

New Testament Reading—James 1:13-15 – God does not tempt