August 4, 2024
William G. Carter
Immediately Jesus made his disciples
get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he
dismissed the crowd. After saying farewell to them, he went up on the
mountain to pray.
When evening came, the boat was
out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. When he saw that they were
straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in
the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by. But when
they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried
out; 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.” Then he got into
the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly
astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts
were hardened.
Of all the Bible stories I’ve ever heard, this may be the hardest to understand. It has so many strange details, I’m not sure which one is the strangest.
You may remember the setting from last week. Jesus had a long day of teaching. He had a hungry crowd of five thousand or so. Somehow, thanks to him, everybody was fed. A day like that had to be exhilarating and exhausting. The emotions go hand in hand. It was a big day. Quite the accomplishment. Talk all day, sustain the interest, give them what you know – and then, preside over a poor person’s banquet.
Nobody would be surprised when he said to the crowd, “It’s time for you to go.” Having to oversee obstinate disciples, it’s no surprise he said, “You too. Get in the boat and start rowing.” He backed away from all of them, then walked up the long hill to step away for a while. It was time to pray, to offer thanks to God for the teaching and the feeding. It was time to catch his breath and stay grounded. There’s nothing unusual about that.
But then the curious details emerge. Mark says Jesus had his eye on the twelve disciples. They weren’t getting very far in that big fishing boat. Oh, they were rowing as hard as they could. And they had been at it for a while. Jesus told them to go to Bethsaida, about five miles across the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. But by the middle of the night, they weren’t getting anywhere. We can take that as a metaphor for their spiritual condition.
There they were, pumping their arms as hard as they could. The wind was blowing right at them. It’s a cartoonish image. Row, row, row, get nowhere – and for commercial fishermen, they didn’t have far to go. Jesus comes down from the hill, stands on the shore, and sees those disciples aren’t making a lot of progress. It’s a comical scene. It’s a strange detail.
Yet it’s not as strange as what comes next. When Jesus sees they haven’t moved very far, he steps onto the water and starts moving toward them. Some have made this joke, and say, “He knew where the rocks are.” If only! The Sea of Galilee goes deep very quickly on average about sixty feet deep. No rocks.
But there are winds, so there are waves. That body of water is exactly the same length as Lake Wallenpaupack, 13.05 miles. The Sea of Galilee is also the lowest freshwater lake on the plane. It’s 686 feet below sea level. Without notice, hot winds blow off the Mediterranean, drop down, swirl around the lake, stir up the water. The weather can be fierce and unpredictable. And Jesus walks on those waves, heading toward his disciples.
They see him. They think it’s a ghost. The sight strikes terror in their hearts. Seeing him is more frightening than the winds that are battering their boat. They shout. They cry out, which brings us to the next odd detail. It’s what he says to them. “Don’t be afraid!” We should expect that. It’s the Easter greeting. Then he says, “It is I,” or to put it literally, “I am!” All you Bible scholars know that is the name of God: “I am!”
But it’s that third affirmation which is most outrageous of all. According to our text, Jesus says, “Take heart!” That’s a sanitized translation. It really says, “Cheer up!” Cheer up? While the wind is blowing against you, you’re not getting anywhere, and you see a ghost? “Cheer up!” Really? It’s no wonder that when Jesus gets into the boat, and the winds suddenly cease, Mark tells us they were “beside themselves.” Astounded, stunned, and scared beyond words!
That’s most of the story. Most, but not all of it. For there’s one detail which I’m certain you heard, the strangest detail of all. When Jesus approached the boat full of disciples, Mark says, “He intended to pass them by.” Wait – the text said he stepped on the water to move toward them when they were in trouble. And now, we are told Jesus was going to move around them, beyond them? What was this, a race?
Usually, a rowboat moves a good bit quicker than those walking, although, as we’ve heard, “the wind was against them.” And what makes this so bizarre is the apparent indifference. Wouldn’t we expect the Savior to say to the wind what he said in chapter four: “Peace, be still”? And he doesn’t even have to say it. He climbs into the boat. The wind stops.
What’s more, the account is insistent: Jesus intended to pass them by. As if to say, he didn’t think it was necessary to stop. His aim was to keep going. This strange and curious note prompted the creation of a Gospel hymn, which Kay played on the organ:
Pass me not, O gentle Savior. Hear my humble cry!
While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me not.
It’s one of more than eight thousand Gospel songs by Fanny Crosby, a talented woman who knew all about trouble. And I believe it’s a sermon on this text. If not a sermon, at least a prayer. The Jesus we know is a busy savior. He has the whole world in his hands, his wounded hands. And there is a lot to carry on his shoulders. If you have a broken finger, he might commend you to the doctor’s office while he tends to those with broken hearts. And a lot of people call out for his attention. “Hey, I’m here. Don’t pass me by!”
Maybe this was Mark’s experience as a Gospel storyteller. He describes a Jesus who is on the go. He will pause to pray, but then he’s ready to go. Perhaps he was signaling to those twelve disciples of his, “Come on, boys. Stop dallying around. We have places to go, people to see, demons to cast back into hell.” Perhaps.
Yet I think something else is going on. Mark may be the simplest of the Gospel writers, but he seems to know his Jewish Bible. In the ninth chapter of the wise old book of Job, Job tells the truth about God. He says, “God alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.” Hear that? “He treads on the waves of the sea.” God does that. The One who makes the sea has mastered it.
And Job says more: “God performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.” True enough. God created the laws of physics; therefor e God is greater than the laws of physics.
And listen to one more thing Job says: “When God passes by me, I cannot see him. When he goes by, I cannot perceive him.”[1] Sound familiar? Mark is giving us a sermon from the ninth chapter of Job. The punchline goes this, “If you don’t understand this Bible story, you are in good company.” Job didn’t understand God. Mark didn’t understand Jesus. The disciples didn’t comprehend God or Jesus. Neither do you nor me.
Say it any number of ways. According to the prophet Isaiah, God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.”[2] Or listen to the apostle Paul as he tries to sum up the destiny of God’s comprehensive salvation, “How unsearchable are God’s judgments, and how inscrutable God’s ways!”[3] (Romans 11:33). In other words, God is bigger than our brains can process, holier than our little sins allow us to perceive, more mysterious than we can manage or control. In the language of today’s text, “He intended to pass them by.” We manage only what we can; the rest is left to awe, wonder, and appropriate reverence.
I was telling my friends about the prayer of George Washington Carver, the great Tuskegee scientist. He discovered over three hundred uses for the common peanut. A brilliant man, he nevertheless thought he could understand it all. According to one story, he prayed to God, “Lord, I don’t understand the purpose of your universe.” And God replied, “George, your brain isn’t big enough to understand more than a peanut. Just work with that.”
Do we understand? Yes and no. If yes, it quickly becomes no. And what about the twelve disciples, those who stayed closest to Jesus? Did they understand? Mark says, “They were utterly astounded, they were beside themselves.” No, they didn’t understand.
So, the lesson for today is both simple and difficult. Since we will never comprehend it, I’m not going to tell you what it is.
We will take this up again. See you next week.
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