I'll Catch Up with You Later

So last Sunday we looked at an amazing miracle of Jesus.

He fed a crowd of 5,000 plus people with just a boy's lunch

out in the middle of nowhere on the eastern side of Galilee.

And the reaction of the people that day was striking.

Surely this is the prophet who is to come into the world.

Others, John tells us, had intentions of coming out to him

and making him king right here and right now.

And we read, this was in verse 15, that Jesus knew their intention

and so he withdrew up onto a mountain by himself.

So why was Jesus going to go up this mountain by himself?

What about the disciples?

Well, Matthew and Mark help us fill in some of the details.

We won't turn there, but I'll summarize it for you.

After the feeding of the 5,000 plus,

Jesus told his disciples to go get into the boat

and go back across the lake.

Meanwhile, he stayed by himself with the crowd.

And we don't know how long, but then he later dismissed the crowd.

And then afterwards, we find out from another gospel,

he went up the mountain to pray.

So John continues the story here from the perspective of the disciples.

And we pick it up in verse 16.

16.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,

where they got into a boat, as Jesus had told them,

and set across the lake for Capernaum.

So let's get the picture here in our minds.

Evening has come.

Supper has been eaten.

Jesus made the meal.

And now Jesus tells you, one of his disciples,

to go get into the boat and set out across the lake.

You can imagine.

Well, how are you going to get across?

Oh, don't worry about me.

I'm going to stay a bit longer with the crowds

and dismiss the crowd.

I'll catch up with you later.

Okay.

Well, let's go.

By now, verse 17, it was dark.

Have you ever been out on a lake, in a boat, in the dark?

Anyone?

Rob has.

We generally try to avoid that, right?

I've only done it once myself,

and it was on a beautiful, calm evening in the Okanagan,

one of those fancy water sports boats

that had all kinds of big, powerful overhead lights

and interior lights,

and they called it the Starlight Cruise.

It was kind of a romance thing at family camp.

It was lovely.

We could see the lights of people's getaway cottages

and expensive houses all along the shore.

We could see the downtown skyline of Kelowna,

kind of a backdrop with its towers and lights.

This moment was not like that for the disciples.

There was no electricity back then.

Galilee was not surrounded with the lakeside cottages of millionaires,

and they were not in a luxury speedboat with powerful overhead lights.

No, this was more like another time that I was out in a boat.

Out on Last Mountain Lake, actually,

I participated in a fishing derby with my grandfather

that was held out at Strasburg Bible Camp there when I was a kid.

And we didn't have our own boat,

so we just borrowed the camp's small fishing boat.

I was just a kid back then,

and even then the boat felt small.

And the motor on that thing was absolutely gutless.

I remember being out on the water on the last day of the derby.

We had until 5 o'clock or something like that,

and we wanted to have every chance to get the big one and win,

at least I did as a kid.

And evening was getting close,

and the sun was starting to go down.

It was fall, and the wind was starting to come up,

and the waves were starting to get a little bigger,

a little bit of white cap stuff happening.

And in that little tin can,

it felt like we were having quite the ride

with this gutless motor just trying to get back to shore.

Even that experience of mine just doesn't compare

to what the disciples are facing and feeling right now.

They're out in the boat.

By now it was dark, says John,

so the sun has already gone down.

You can imagine them looking for those familiar spots along the shore,

but not really able to see them and get their bearings.

But then it gets even worse than that.

John tells us in verse 18,

a strong wind was blowing,

and the waters grew rough.

So we imagine the disciples are in their boat,

and they're having quite the time,

quite the ride out there in the dark.

In verse 19,

John tells us that they had already rowed about three to four miles.

So like five to six kilometers,

for those of you who are younger.

The Sea of Galilee is about 12 kilometers across

at its widest point.

So if you think about Last Mountain Lake,

that's about four times across the width of Last Mountain Lake

is the Sea of Galilee.

Or if you're at Elbow,

at the marina,

it's about six times from the marina to the point

just right across.

So they're in the middle of the lake.

They've rowed quite a long ways,

but there's still a ways to go.

In the dark,

with the wind,

and the waves are coming up,

and it's a long way to the other side.

Don't miss the detail that they had already rowed

about three or four miles.

They didn't have an outboard motor on this boat.

They probably,

if it was a typical Galilean fishing boat,

had four rowing oars

and 12 guys in the boat.

If we flip over to Matthew's Gospel,

and we get a sense there that

they were even further away from

where they wanted to be at this point,

simply because of the wind

and the waves being against them.

Mark tells us that they were straining at the oars

in the dark,

three to four miles from shore,

riding these waves up and down,

fighting to get to where they want to go.

And can you imagine how they're feeling

right about now in this boat?

This is not the starlight cruise.

This probably feels tense.

Maybe a glimpse of the feeling

some of us have had.

Maybe you've traveled around Christmas time

and you know what it's like

to be traveling in the dark.

Then all of a sudden you come into a blizzard

and you can't see anything.

And all of a sudden the road starts to feel

a little more slick

and you feel some slipping around in the vehicle.

And then you look off to the right

and you see a guy who just freshly tracks

gone into the ditch.

You start slowing down.

That happy feeling of travel

turns into that tense feeling of,

oh boy,

your progress towards the destination

just kind of slows to a crawl.

Perhaps it's a little of what the disciples

felt like that night.

Their progress had slowed to a crawl.

Matthew tells us in his gospel

that they're still out there

in the middle of the lake

during the fourth watch of the night,

like three in the morning,

straining at the oars in the dark.

The wind is blowing.

The waves are surging.

And all of a sudden,

John tells us in verse 19,

when they had rowed about three or four miles,

they saw Jesus approaching the boat,

walking on the water.

Like, what?

John tells us they were frightened.

Things were already tense.

They'd been fighting at this for hours

and suddenly out there

in the middle of nowhere on the lake,

they see a human figure

walking on the water,

approaching the boat.

And they were frightened.

Like, what is that?

Like, hey, do you see that?

Am I seeing things

or is there someone out there?

No, that can't be.

It's not possible.

What is that?

Quick, bring the torch.

They'd never seen anything like that before.

Mark tells us in his gospel

that they thought it was a ghost.

I mean, what else has the shape

of a human figure

in the middle of a lake,

in a storm?

Mark tells us also

that they were terrified.

Not just afraid,

but terrified.

So much so

that they began to cry out.

Like, out loud.

You can almost picture it.

Quick,

row!

He's gaining on us!

It's coming closer!

At some point,

Jesus gets close enough

that they can actually

hear him calling out to them

over the sound of the wind.

If you know the story,

it's right about here

in the Gospel of Matthew

that Peter has his little moment

where he steps out

and walks on the waves.

John leaves that out

of his account,

but he does tell us

what Jesus said

as he called out to them.

And we can imagine

he maybe said this

a few times to them

just to reassure them.

Verse 20,

It is I.

Don't be afraid.

Peter,

John,

James,

Matthew,

it's me.

Don't be afraid.

Can you imagine

the look on their faces?

How wide their eyes

must have been

as all of this

was unfolding

right in front of them?

As Jesus walks

right up to the boat

with Peter

like you imagine

them just looking

down at over

the side of the boat

at Jesus' feet

just standing

on water?

I can't even imagine

what this looked like,

especially with the waves,

you know.

Was it just that

the waves just kind of

went around him?

We don't know.

But needless to say,

they were probably

in shock

and in awe.

At some point,

they all accept

that it really is Jesus

and they take him

and Peter

into the boat.

And Matthew tells us

in his gospel

that as Jesus and Peter

climb into the boat,

like all of a sudden,

the wind died down.

Just like that.

Presumably,

the waves did

with it gradually.

Verse 21,

then they were

willing to take him

into the boat

and immediately

or at once

the boat came

to the shore

where they were heading.

Now,

it's difficult to know

just what John means

by this.

Many would highlight

the word immediately

and take this

as a second miracle

that somehow

the boat

was miraculously

transported

from where it was

to shore

by Jesus.

others would put

the highlight

on the word came.

In my Bible,

it says reached

but the word there

is more close to came

in that there,

you know,

there was still a process,

natural process,

but they were able

to do it at once

or immediately

now that things

had settled down

and make a beeline

for the shore.

Some others

have suggested

that they had already

rowed a good long while

and maybe they were

cutting more across

the corner of the lake

and they were not

that far from shore

and so they just

rowed a little more

and boom,

they were there

almost at once.

If it was a miracle,

we're kind of left

wondering,

well,

how did this happen?

Was it a miracle

of teleportation?

Like just,

the whole boat

goes to shore.

Was it a miracle

in which,

you know,

Jesus sat in the boat

and all of a sudden

the boat just starts

to go real fast

right towards the shore.

We don't know.

We'll have to ask

the Lord

just what happened

that night

someday

after he returns.

But whatever the case,

what is crystal clear

from all accounts

of this

is that Jesus

walked miles

on the water

of the lake.

It was an amazing miracle.

An astounding sign.

And if it hasn't

hit home yet,

I want to give you

a simple challenge.

This weekend,

with a friend

or family member,

head on out

to Lake Diefenbaker

or Last Mountain Lake,

have your friend

or family member

hit the record button

on the phone,

and I challenge you

to walk

on the water

and see how far

you get.

If you can give me

a legitimate recording

recording

of you

making it

even halfway

across the lake,

I'll give you

my whole life savings.

I still remember

back when I was

a young kid,

me and a friend

just thought

this was the

coolest story ever.

Jesus walked

on the water

and he enabled

Peter to walk

on the water too

in Matthew.

It seemed that

the only reason

Peter sank

was that he doubted,

that he didn't

have enough faith.

And so,

in our young,

immature way

of reading the Bible,

we kind of figured,

well, maybe the lesson

here is simply

that if we have

enough faith,

we too can walk

on water.

So we tried it.

I can't remember

if it was at a pool

or if it was at a lake.

I think it was

at a lake.

We tried it

and we laughed

our heads off

as we watched

each other

taking a run for it

so we could get

as far as possible

and then within

three steps

just disappearing

out of sight

into the water.

This was an amazing sign,

an astounding miracle.

Mark and John

at this point

move on to tell

other parts

of the story here

but Matthew

thankfully lingers

a little bit

on the reaction

of the disciples

and we want to capture

that this morning.

This is what Matthew

records.

He says,

Then those who were

in the boat

worshipped him

saying,

Truly,

you are

the Son

of God.

These words

seem to fit well

with what we've been

looking at

back in John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

Jesus has been

talking about

his special

relationship

with the Father.

father.

It's like the disciples

have the quarter drop

all of a sudden.

Like,

We've heard what

you've been saying,

Jesus,

and we've believed it,

yeah,

but now we really,

truly believe it.

Like,

those lingering doubts,

those wonderings,

they just melted away

for us.

If all the miracles

that Jesus has done

up until now

hadn't been enough,

in fact,

Mark actually tells us

that the feeding

of the 5,000,

the disciples

didn't get it.

They didn't fully

understand what

it was pointing to

because of the

hardness of their

hearts,

says Mark.

But it seems as

though now,

right after this,

when they see

Jesus walking

on the water,

for the first time,

they are really

starting to get it.

More than just

a prophet.

More than the

prophet.

More than just

the Messiah,

the promised king.

More than just

a man.

For the first time

in all the gospels,

Matthew tells us

that they worshipped

Jesus.

Like,

the bow down

in front of him

kind of worship.

you truly are

the divine

son of God.

What a moment

that must have been.

Let's go back

to John.

Finally,

John tells us

about some details

that help confirm

that this story

is true.

Verse 22,

John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

The next day,

the crowd that had

stayed on the

opposite shore

of the lake

realized that

only one boat

had been there.

and that Jesus

had not entered

the boat

with his disciples,

but that the

disciples had

gone away alone.

Then,

some boats

from Tiberias

landed near the

place where the

people had eaten

the bread

after the Lord

had given thanks.

Once the crowd

realized that

neither Jesus

nor his disciples

were there,

they got into

the boats

and went to

Capernaum

in search

in search

of Jesus.

When they

found him

on the other

side of the

lake,

they asked him,

Rabbi,

when did you

get here?

John wants

us to see

the confirming

testimony

of the masses.

5,000 or more

people were there

on the eastern

side of the lake.

They had eaten

their fill

of the bread

that Jesus

had made

miraculously

out of thin

air.

Many of that

crowd had

actually followed

Jesus to the

eastern shore

from back on

the western

side.

We see that

in chapter 6

verse 1.

Whether they

walked or hitched

a ride,

we don't know.

But many of

them,

they stayed

on that eastern

side where

they had had

the meal with

the big crowd

because it

seemed to them

that Jesus

himself was

staying on

that side

that night.

They saw

John tells

us the

disciples get

into the

boat,

the one

boat that

was there

without Jesus

and leave

hours before.

And probably

they saw

Jesus kind

of,

after dismissing

the crowd,

heading off

up towards

the mountain.

So it

seemed pretty

clear to

them that

Jesus was

still somewhere

on their

side,

so we're

going to

stay too.

And the

expectation is

that tomorrow

we can all

come back

out and we

can see

him,

we can

hear more

of his

teachings,

we can

seek healing

or whatever

they were

there for.

But on the

next day

they could

not find

Jesus on

the eastern

side.

In fact,

some boats,

John tells us,

from the western

side,

from Tiberias,

a town on the

western side,

were now landing

in the place

where Jesus

had fed the

multitude.

And we're

not really sure

what the deal

with the boats

from Tiberias

is.

Were they

full of people

that had also

come to find

Jesus after

hearing about

him being

over there?

Were they

just fishermen

who had been

blown in by

the waves

and the wind

in the night?

Or were they

family members

who'd come to

join loved

ones or bring

supplies from

back home on

the western

side?

We don't really

know, but at

some point the

crowd that had

been there with

Jesus realizes

that he's not

here, his

disciples are not

here, he sent

the disciples to

go to Capernaum,

so let's go,

let's see if we

can find him.

So a bunch of

them jump into

the boats from

Tiberias and

ride across to

Capernaum to

search for Jesus

there.

And eventually we

read that they

catch up with him

and the big

question is,

when did you

get here?

The point of

all this is to

confirm the

miracle of

Jesus walking

on the lake.

Like, how did

you get here,

Jesus?

Jesus, by the

time you left

us late in the

evening, I mean,

we saw you go up

the mountain.

You couldn't have

walked all the

way around the

lake to here by

now through the

night.

It's too far.

And then there

was the storm that

came up last

night.

You couldn't have

gone across the

lake in a boat.

There were no

other boats.

There was only one

boat there.

How did you get

here?

When did you get

here?

They were

mystified.

And what

would have

really baked

their noodles

even more is

if they'd

already talked

to some of

the people on

the western

side who saw

Jesus get out

of one boat

with his

disciples.

Mark 6,

Mark 6:54

verse 54.

As soon as

they got out

of the boat,

this is on the

western side,

people recognized

Jesus.

They saw it.

And

how is this

possible?

people.

It's as if

John is

saying,

you think

this sounds

crazy,

walking on

the water

across the

lake?

Go ask the

various parts

of the story.

Ask the

crowd that

saw him

send the

disciples away

and go up

the mountain

side.

Ask the

guys on

the other

side of

the shore

who saw

him get

out of

the one

boat with

his

disciples.

We're

telling the

truth.

At the time

John is

writing this,

many of these

people are

likely still

alive.

ask the

fishermen in

the boats

from Tiberias

about the

storm that

night.

Matthew tells

us that as

soon as

Jesus and

his disciples

landed on

the western

side,

they immediately

recognized

Jesus and

then right

away they

sent word

to all the

surrounding

country.

You can

almost picture

it.

Oh, you're

traveling tomorrow?

Well,

wherever you're

going, tell

them that

Jesus is

here.

And so

people are

coming from

all over the

region to

see Jesus for

one reason or

another, to

hear Jesus.

It was a

really exciting

time.

If people

didn't come,

you have to

know that at

the very least

they're hearing

the news about

all that Jesus

is doing.

It's an

exciting time in

the story of

Jesus.

There's a lot

happening.

And we're

going to

continue the

conversation that

he has with

those who

found him

next Sunday.

But let's

stop for a

moment and

just reflect on

this amazing

sign.

Walking

miles on

water, on

a lake.

It's one of

the most

impressive

miracles Jesus

ever did.

Most of

them are

impressive, but

this just

stands out with

some of the

big ones.

skepticism.

How does

it hit you?

What's your

reaction?

One possible

reaction is

skepticism.

I don't know

that it'll be

well represented

in this room,

but if this

just sounds too

amazing to

true, I want

to just give

you some

thoughts.

The

alternative to

believing that

this truly

happened is

that Jesus

walked on

the water,

is that the

disciples just

made this

up.

Right out

of thin air.

And if they

did just make

this up,

along with all

the other

miracles that

Jesus did,

why did

almost all

of them

still choose

to die

for Jesus

if they knew

that he was

a fraud?

that this

was all

a fabrication,

that there

was no

walking on

the water

and getting

into the

boat?

Why would

they die

for him?

Why would

they choose

to suffer

as they

did?

I mean,

you might

say that

people die

for religious

zeal all

the time.

Look at

suicide bombers.

But the

big difference

is that they

die for what

they believe

to be true,

for the

reward that

they believe

that they

will receive

for doing

it.

But if

this story

and all

the miracles

of Jesus,

his resurrection

from the

dead,

if all of

that was

just fabricated

by the

twelve

disciples,

then they

knew it

wasn't

true.

Why would

they willingly

choose to

be executed

for what

they knew

was a lie?

Hashem,

give me a

reason.

I haven't

heard a good

one yet.

if it's

for any

earthly

profit or

gain,

even for

their

families.

I mean,

they could

have had

plenty of

that,

probably,

just by

putting up

their hand

and saying,

I'm willing

to testify

that Jesus

was a

fraud,

and that

we made

it all

up.

And yet,

none of

them did

that.

Not one

of them.

The only

other possibility

to consider,

briefly,

is that

Jesus was a

masterful

deceiver.

that somehow

he hoodwinked,

he tricked

his twelve

disciples along

with all the

crowds,

but even that

doesn't stand

to reason.

I mean,

they traveled

with him

constantly.

How do you

feed five

thousand people

with a

boy's lunch

in the

middle of

nowhere,

and not

have your

disciples in

on the

trick?

It just

doesn't add

up.

How do you

convince twelve

grown men,

some of whom

are fishermen,

and familiar

with the

sea,

how do you

convince them

that you

are walking

on a

lake,

out to

them,

and then

get into

the boat?

You

can't.

Peter gives

the greatest

test of all

to Jesus

right in the

middle of

that moment.

He almost

essentially just

asks him to

prove that

it's you

by calling

me to

come out

to you.

And maybe

he was

asking for

Jesus to

call him by

name,

just as a

test,

you know,

do you

know who

I am?

And Jesus

does.

And Peter

himself walked

on the

water,

and the

other

disciples

saw it

for a bit

before Jesus

pulled him

up and

hauled him

the rest

of the

way back

into the

boat.

There's

just no

way that

any mere

man could

fool twelve

guys in

a boat

in the

middle of

a lake

like that.

There's

only one

reasonable

explanation

for this

eyewitness

account of

the disciples,

and that's

that it

truly

happened,

just like

they say

it did,

which means

that Jesus

is who

he has

been claiming

to be.

The disciples

came to

the right

conclusion for

the first

time that

night.

Jesus is

no ordinary

man.

He's not

just the

prophet who

speaks for

God.

He's not

just the

Messiah,

God's chosen

king.

He is

the divine

son of

God,

the father

who he

has been

claiming to

be back

in John

John 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

He is

the one,

as he

said,

who has

been given

authority

by God

to judge

the world

and to

grant

eternal

life to

those who

believe.

He's the

one who

will someday

call all

people,

the righteous

and the

wicked,

out of

their

graves to

that moment

of final

judgment.

Those are

the things

Jesus said

back in

John

John 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

This is

the sign

that confirms

that yes,

he is

that son

of God.

They

worshipped

him in

the boat

that night.

They

confessed

that they

believe him

to be

the son

of God.

What's

your reaction?

what's

your

response?

There's

a reason

why I

gather,

why I

come here,

why I

serve here

every Sunday

morning.

I come

to worship

Jesus,

the son

of God,

because he

alone does

things like

this,

walking on

the water.

Great

signs that

show that

he is

the light

and the

life

and the

hope

of the

world

sent from

the

Father.

Do you

believe that?

Father in

heaven,

please press

the reality

of these

moments into

our hearts

again.

Fill us

with wonder.

Lord Jesus,

may we

worship you

as you

deserve.

Not just

here in

church with

our songs,

but also

throughout

the day,

throughout

the week

with our

whole lives.

You are

worthy of

it.

Amen.

Amen.