Straining at the Oars

by    8th November 2009    0 responses

marathon

Image: Martineric @ Flickr

Mark 6:45-56   Expand passage

45Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

47When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48He 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. He was about to pass by them, 49but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 51Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

53When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56And 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.

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The sixth chapter of Mark is an interesting one. It begins with Jesus being unable to perform many miracles in His hometown and ends with this account of Him walking on water. In between, we hear the story of how He fed over five thousand people with nothing but a packed lunch! I mention this because context is very important when it comes to understanding the Bible. One verse may appear to mean one thing out of context, but when compared with other verses, in fact means something totally different. In our passage here, we read reference to other events (like the loaves that fed the five thousand) so it is important to know where we are.

Jesus dismisses the crowd who had gathered, and sends His disciples on ahead of Him while He does it. Before the miraculous feeding, Jesus had prayed. And now, before the miracle of walking on water, Jesus prays again.

I often find myself talking about prayer. Whether I am in the pulpit at church, at my home group, or sitting writing at my computer; prayer always seems to come up! Talking with God is so very important. Whether you are about to perform a great miracle, or just popping to the shops for a newspaper, prayer is so essential to our success.

“Why?” you might ask. The answer, for me at least, is a simple one. We pray, even about something as small as buying a newspaper, because we are so utterly dependant on God. So often we try to do things in our own strength, which is rarely enough. Yet God offers power and help freely to us. All it takes is a simple prayer.

This passage shares a wonderful example of the power of God versus the strength of man. In verse 48, Jesus watched His disciples struggling with the oars against the wind. I’m no rower, but I can imagine the frustration they would have been feeling. Pushing hard and fast against the water, they would have been urging their boat forward. But as the boat moved forward a few feet, the wind pushed it back the other way. The fisherman among them, would, I’m sure, have been used to such a struggle. But was there a better way?

The disciples, in their own strength, are getting nowhere fast. As hard as they try, the wind is fighting them back. Life feels like that sometimes; two steps forward and one back. They must have felt tired, putting in the work, but seeing very few results. Like being on an exercise bike – it doesn’t matter how hard you pedal, you won’t get anywhere!

This, I believe, is what happens when we try to make it on our own, using only our own strength. Yet Jesus demonstrates another way; a simpler way. Rather than climbing into a boat (if there was one), and rowing on His own across that storm-pounded lake, He simply walks across! Imagine that! So effective is His means of transport, that the end of verse 48 tells us He was about to pass them by! There they were, fighting for every inch of progress, and Jesus just walks on past them!

God’s way is far better than ours. We might want to do things in a way that seem sensible or wise to us, but God can often have a totally different idea of what to do. For example, in 2 Kings 5 we read about a man named Naaman. Now Naamen had leprosy and wanted to be healed. But when the man of God (Elisha) told him what to do, he didn’t like it. Instead, he wanted something grander, something more “miraculous”. It was not God’s way. In the end, Naaman was humbled and did what he was told to do, and it worked.

I encourage you to do things God’s way. Your own ideas or strength may be good in and of themselves, but unless God has told you to do it, it will not bear fruit. God does not have to finish anything He does not start.

Returning to our passage, some theologians teach that the walking on water never took place. They say that this was simply a “picture” of Jesus walking above the trials and struggles of this world. Some believe it is not a literal account, but a metaphor. I encourage people to make up their own minds, but for what it is worth, I believe Jesus really did walk on the water.

This amazing event can teach us many things. It can be a picture of Jesus’ ability to walk above the storms of the world. It can be a metaphor for how God’s ways are better than our human ways. It may also teach us any number of other things. Aside from all of that however, it is simply this; an amazing miracle. Jesus, our Lord and Saviour demonstrates His great power and glory in a science-defying way. If you take nothing else from the account, then at least take a moment to praise God for His awesome power. Creation bends to His will and points to Him, in no uncertain terms. Praise God for His mighty acts!

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Andy has been a Christian since his teens when he began to develop his relationship with God. He is an Elder in his local church and leads a home group. Andy has a passion for teaching and writing. He lives near Southend, Essex, with his wife. Andy is responsible for writing much of the content on Crossring.

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