Gospel of Mark Study #20

“Seeing, But Not Seeing”

Mark 6:45-56

Study #20 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

The word “camouflage” refers to any method of concealment by disguise or protective coloring that allows an otherwise visible object to remain unseen. It often involves exploiting the natural surroundings to disguise something; thus, a tiger’s stripes and the combat uniform of a modern soldier are both examples of camouflage, making them appear to be part of their natural surroundings. Camouflage is a form of deception to aid survival.

What this means is that it is possible to look at something but still not see what is there. In other words, we can see, but still not see what we think we are seeing. Now that is certainly true in the physical realm, but it is also true in the spiritual realm. It is possible for a person to be spiritually blind, even in the presence of incontrovertible truth.

TRANSITION:

The disciples of Jesus were sometimes unable to see what was right in front of them. By that I mean, they were looking with their physical eyes but not seeing with their spiritual eyes. Even though they witnessed certain events, the significance of those events eluded them. They sometimes saw, without really seeing. They sometimes heard, without really hearing.

Mark 6:45-56 gives us the context for our study today. 

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 45: Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd.

• I mentioned once before that it seems like every time the disciples get into a boat it is time for another test. That is certainly true here.
• Notice who was in charge— “Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go…” He was the Master, and He was the one orchestrating the events. None of this was accidental. It was part of His training of the Twelve.
• The disciples went on ahead “while He dismissed the crowd.” What crowd? The crowd of 5,000+ (probably more like 12–15,000) that He had fed with the loaves and fishes in the verses just preceding. 
• But why this abrupt dispersion of the people? Matthew 14 and John 6 also record these events and in those texts, we learn something that Mark’s Gospel does not mention. Namely, that immediately after Jesus fed the 5,000 the crowd started figuring a way to make Him their King, right there and then. They offered Him the crown, but without the cross. But that is not what Jesus came for, so He quickly defused the situation by sending everyone home. John 6:15 says, “Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”

Verse 46: After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

• Picture this in your mind— He fed the 5,000 but then He sent them away. Then He sent the disciples on ahead of Him to Bethsaida, and He stayed behind. After the disciples headed off rowing across the lake in their boat and the people had all gone away, Jesus went off to be by Himself to pray. Now think about that for a minute. He was God in the flesh, the God Man, the eternal Second Person of the Holy Trinity. So, why did He need to pray?
• I believe that Jesus, in His humanity, needed to recharge His spiritual batteries. The Bible says that He often communed with the Father. One of those conversations is recorded for us in detail in John 17. I believe the other reason why Jesus took time alone for prayer was to be an example for us to follow. He modeled for us the fact that we need to spend time alone with God if we are to successfully face the trials and tests that come to us every day. We cannot do it on our own. Jesus taught us this lesson by example.

Verse 47: When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and He was alone on land.

• “When evening came…” This was probably around 6-6:30 PM, just as the sun was starting to go down. From where Jesus was, up on a hillside overlooking the lake on the east side where He had been praying, He could look down and see them in their little boat. It was not yet dark, and He could see them clearly. The disciples were in the boat in the middle of the lake (2-3 miles from shore) rowing for all they were worth, heading in the direction of Bethsaida.

Verse 48a: He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them.  About the fourth watch of the night, He went out to them, walking on the lake.

• Picture this: Jesus spent much of the day by Himself praying. When evening came, He could look out and see the disciples still “straining at the oars.” The word Mark uses here for “straining” is from the verb meaning “to torment, or to distress.” Yet for all their hard work they had made little progress. In fact, apparently the contrary wind was blowing them off course, making it nearly impossible to reach land. They must have been frantic, frustrated, and fearful.
• This next part is interesting. Even though He knew what was happening to them He made no attempt to help them. Why? In fact, He waited at least 9 hours to come to their aid. This reminds me of the Lazarus story.
• The Jews counted four “watches” in the night hours:

Ø  ±6 PM (sunset) – 9 PM = 1^st watch

Ø  9 PM – midnight = 2^nd watch

Ø  Midnight – 3 AM = 3^rd watch

Ø  3 AM – ±6 AM (sunrise) = 4^th watch

• So now it is between 3:00-6:00 in the morning. Those poor guys have been rowing for hours, against the wind. So why did Jesus wait so long to come to their aid? Jesus could see them even in the dark of the night. He knew what was happening but still He waited. Finally, when He was satisfied that the time was right, He started walking straight out toward them, walking on the top of the water, just as if it were a smooth footpath.
• I believe that this experience of the disciples serves as a metaphor for some of the messes in which we find ourselves. No matter what situation you might be in today, no matter how black it seems, or how little hope you have of surviving the long night, just remember that Jesus can see you straining at the oars. He sees, and He cares, and if you call out to Him you will have the joy of seeing Him show up and come to your aid, although He might leave you straining at the oars for a while. 

Verses 48b-50a: He was about to pass by them ⁴⁹ but when they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought He was a ghost. They cried out, ⁵⁰ because they all saw Him and were terrified.

• Mark says Jesus “was about to pass by them” but that is not a statement of His intent. Rather, it simply refers to the angle of His approach in relation to the shore. He was not walking directly toward them, so that to the disciples it appeared that He would have passed by them if they had not cried out. However, we know that He had no intention of passing them by. I believe that He was just giving them time to see Him before approaching the boat.
• Picture this: The disciples are exhausted, they have been rowing for hours against the wind and are probably going nowhere and here comes Jesus, walking on the water, and making good time. The disciples think they are seeing a ghost, an apparition. We can laugh and ridicule them, but we must remember that their blunders are there for us to learn from. This is another example of their lack of faith, so like our own faithlessness.
• It says that they all saw Him, and in their terror, cried out. They saw Him but did not really see Him. They did not recognize Him, even though they should have been looking for Him, based on previous experience.

Verse 50b: Immediately He spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

• The phrase here, “It is I” can also be translated, “I am.” It was the normal response of a person identifying himself, but with Jesus it takes on special significance. Here He is identifying himself to them as the one who can walk on the water, i.e., God. He will use the very same phrase later in the Garden and knock the soldiers back with the power of the statement.
• This is also where Matthew’s Gospel inserts another part of the story with which most of us are familiar. I’m referring to Matthew 14:27ff. “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’” After Jesus spoke to the disciples, Peter asked if he could leave the boat and come to Jesus.
• But notice Peter’s choice of words: “Lord, if it is you...” Here Peter models for us what we also often do. “Lord, I know it is You, but... Lord, I know You are sovereign, but... Lord, I trust You, but, but, but...” Peter is asking for proof. We all want proof. Jesus just says to him, “Come.” What control! What gentleness! Notice that He did not lecture Peter. The Lord did not rebuke him in any way. Jesus simply bade him, “Come.” So, by faith, Peter stepped out of the boat to be with Christ on the water. 
• Verse 30 says, “But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out saying, ‘Lord, save me!’” What happened? Notice that he was initially successful but soon forgot where his success came from. It says, “…but seeing the wind.” Peter’s story is the story of all of us. We usually begin well, but in the middle of the situation, we get our eyes off the Lord. We begin to look at our hopeless situation and our faith suddenly shrinks. Notice Peter’s cry: “Lord, save me!” That is the only thing one bound for death and destruction can cry. Those are the words that God delights in hearing because it means that we are finally realizing that He is God, and we are not!
• What did Jesus do? Verse 31 records: “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” After pulling Peter out of the mess He put His finger on the source of Peter’s real problem. Jesus says Peter’s problem is his lack of faith, his doubt. When the circumstances appear overwhelming, it is the result of doubt. If we truly trust God, then nothing will seem overwhelming, because nothing is ever overwhelming to Him. When little kids have a problem, when they break something, or get their shoestrings in a knot, it is overwhelming to them and they come to mommy or daddy and ask, “Would you fix this?” They assume that their parent can do anything because, “He’s my Dad!” or “She’s my Mom!” Of course, they are still young and do not realize that we do not have all the power and all knowledge. But little children have the attitude that we all should have towards God.
• Now let’s go back and pick up the story in Mark’s Gospel. Mark 6:51 says…

Verses 51-52: Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, ⁵² for they had not understood about the loaves because their hearts were hardened.

• “He climbed into the boat with them.” Why? Was He tired? He had been doing fine walking on the water. He sure did not need the boat. But He did it to be with His disciples, who needed Him to be near them. He did it to accommodate their need, not His own.
• “…and the wind died down.” The Greek word means to “become weary.” When Jesus got in the boat the wind immediately ran out of steam and died, leaving a calm surface and utter silence. Jesus walking on the water was a miracle. Peter walking on the water was a miracle. This was a third miracle on top of the first two, leaving the disciples utterly amazed.
• But this next phrase is the one I want us to carefully examine: “…for they had not understood about the loaves because their hearts were hardened.” Here Mark, under the mentorship of Peter, connects the dots for us. Their amazement at Christ’s ability to walk on the water and to instantly calm the storm is tied to the fact that, although they witnessed the whole thing, and even participated in it, the lessons of the miracle of the Feeding of the 5,000 had not been learned. They were still clueless about who Jesus really was, even though they had been with Him all this time. They saw but did not see. Their eyes, hearts, and minds were still clouded over with naturalistic thinking and lack of faith, making them blind to the truth about Jesus.
• Once again, I want us to dip into Matthew’s account of these events. He records in 14:33 that after Jesus got in the boat with them, “[The disciples] worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’” That is reverence. But how do you reconcile their confession in Matthew with the hardness of heart statement here in Mark? I believe that the Mark passage points out that they did not really understand who He was before now, despite all they had witnessed and heard. But now they were finally beginning to understand.

Verse 53: When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.

• Now, with no waves or contrary wind it took them no time at all to get to their destination, even though they must have been exhausted by that time. But John’s Gospel adds yet one more fascinating wrinkle to this story. John 6:20-21 says, “But He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ They were willing therefore to receive Him into the boat; and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” That sounds to me like yet another miracle. It sounds like they were teleported. The first jet-boat, or telekinesis, or merely a figure of speech… You can be the judge.
• “…they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.” Gennesaret was the name of a plain lying along the northwest shore of the lake, southwest of Capernaum. A small town of the same name was also located in the vicinity. This means that because of the storm they were several miles from their original destination of Bethsaida. This experience blew the disciples off course, in more ways than one. It was a life-altering experience. 

Verses 54-55: As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus.  ⁵⁵ They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was.

• By this time Jesus’ reputation had spread throughout the whole country of Israel. He was known as the rabbi from Nazareth, the healer, the teacher, the miracle worker. But most of the people who chased after Him were not coming because they believed in Him as Savior, Lord, King, and Messiah. They came, not to give Him honor and thanks, but because of what they thought they could get from Him. They wanted healing from their physical illnesses, but He wanted to heal them from their sins. They wanted free food, but He wanted to give them the Living Bread. They wanted a human king who would overthrow the Romans, but He wanted to give them a permanent home in His heavenly Kingdom. 

Verse 56: And wherever He went—into villages, towns, or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged Him to let them touch even the edge of His cloak, and all who touched Him were healed.

• Most people came to use Him. But even though their motives were not unselfish, He healed all those who came to Him. Those who had even enough faith to reach out and touch the hem of His garment were healed of their diseases, illnesses, and infirmities.  

CONCLUSION:

Several lessons stand out to me from these verses:

1.       Jesus has all power and authority over the natural world and its elements.

2.      An absence of faith in the person of Jesus Christ guarantees failure.

3.      Like He did with the disciples, Jesus often sends us into the storm to test and strengthen our faith. In developing in us robust faith, spiritual understanding, and godly character He operates on the principle, “No pain, no gain.”

4.      But what lessons are to be learned from Peter’s part in the story? I have heard Bible teachers comment on the fact that Peter was often rash and impulsive. True. But I would simply point out that in this story, among the disciples, there was only one fearless water-walker but eleven cowardly boat-huggers. You must give Peter his dues.

5.      A hardened heart keeps me from seeing Christ for who He really is (Mark 6:52).

6.      The danger of self-confidence is obvious. “Without Him we can do nothing!”

7.      There is safety in the person, power, and presence of Christ.

8.     Prayers do not need to be long to be effective. Peter did not follow the “ACTS” prayer formula. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication). He merely cried out, “Lord, save me!” and Jesus showed up to help him!