THE S7GNS: The Sea

Sep 18, 2016 by: Sam Hestorff| Series: THE S7GNS
Scripture: John 6:16–21

There was no one that could draw a crowd like Jesus. A typical rabbi would have a synagogue in a small town that would attract somewhere around 20-30 people.
But Jesus, he didn’t have a synagogue but instead he would walk from town to town on roads that weren’t paved in sandals that weren’t closed – sometimes it would take a couple of days just to get to the next town.
And everywhere he went, thousands of people followed him. Some are hurt, some are tired, and some have few have demons that need to be cast out. They want to ask him questions. They want him to pray for them. They want him to plant a church, teach a bible study, or meet their “urgent” needs in some way.
And this has been going on for a lengthy season . . . so as you can imagine . . . Jesus is exhausted.
So he tells the disciples to pull up the boat and to take him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, knowing that the crowds would meet him there eventually . . . but by going this route to the other side, he might actually get a day off because the sea of Galilee is 12 miles across and they’re in a row boat so it’s gonna take a while.
And when they get to the other side, they climbed a mountain and sat down to catch their breath and spend some time together but when they look up sure enough . . . here they come.

The crowd had found their way to Jesus . . . it says that there were 5,000 but that was only counting the men. It doesn’t include the women and children so it could have easily been a crowd of 20,000 people.
And when Jesus saw them coming, he has compassion and so he says to his disciples, “These people are hungry, we need to feed them.”
So the disciples go out and collect as much food as they can but they only come up with a 5 slices of bread and a couple of fish sticks from some kid they found in the crowd. Surely that can’t be enough.
But Jesus takes the slices of bread and fish sticks, blesses them, and starts passing it out to the crowd telling them to take as much as they want and when everyone was full, he tells the disciples to go around and collect what was left over; and can you believe it, there are 12 baskets full of bread left over, enough for each of the disciples to have one of their own.
So the crowds are amazed and so they decide that they want to crown him as king, and make protest signs, and go down the mountain and overthrow the Roman government.
But Jesus is like, “You guys just aren’t getting it. You have no idea who I am. ” so he slips away.
And after this, the disciples regroup and they were like, “Alright, let’s try this again . . . let’s row back across the Sea of Galilee and we’ll meet Jesus on the other side.”
Now the gospel of John doesn’t tell us why Jesus didn’t go with them but the gospel of Matthew says that he went up the mountain to be alone with the father and pray.
Now this isn’t a big boat . . . it’s a fishing boat . . . really only intended for a couple of guys and their nets. So twelve men on a boat of that size would have been a really heavy load and they would have been really cramped and they would have had to take turns rowing. This is hard work.
And you have to understand that the disciples are exhausted as well. They too have been preaching and teaching, and feeding, and tending to, looking after thousands. They’re dehydrated, they’re hot, they’re hungry, and some are grumpy.
But they know that if anyone needs to be alone and rest, it is Jesus because he’s the master, he’s the teacher, he’s the one that everyone is looking to for leadership and so they row.
Now, the weather on the Sea of Galilee can be quite quirky.
The sea itself lies 680 feet below sea level where the air is semi-tropical ... warm and moist.
But surrounding the sea are hills that reach some 2000 feet high ... here you can have cool, dry air.
When these two contrasting air masses collide near the surface of the water ... the result can be a terrible storm ... a storm that suddenly appears out of nowhere. Kind of like some of those sever Florida thunderstorms but even more severe.
The Hebrews felt so helpless in the unpredictable waters that for them, the sea represented evil and chaos. In fact, the Hebrew word “Sea” derives from the name of the evil god in the Babylonian creation story. It carried connotations of evil, a mysterious and threatening force opposed to God.
And when they wanted to stress God's authority, they spoke of God's power over the sea; which is why in Genesis the Spirit of God hovers over the waters, as God the creator . . . brings order out of chaos.
So the disciples are exhausted, taking turns rowing into the complete darkness of the Sea when without warning, this storm smashes into the little craft with an angry fury. One moment they are peacefully rowing to the other side of the sea ... and the next they find themselves in a life and death battle with a horrible storm as waves are crashing over the side of the ship.
As you can imagine, these guys were freaked out and in fear of their lives.
But it isn't the storm itself that is the main problem. It is what the storm is saying to the disciples -- the message it is giving them -- and what they understand through it.
Remember, the sea represents evil and chaos. And so as they’re in the middle of the sea in complete darkness with waves are crashing over the side of the boat . . . and they are totally freaked out and paralyzed by fear . . . they want to know, “why is this happening to us?” “We are doing good things . . . for God . . . and we’re good people, so why are bad things happening to us?”
And it was in this moment that they see Jesus walking across the water and although the storm never stops, his presence quiets the voice of the storm – this paralyzing voice of fear - so that the disciples can hear his voice.
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus asks, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
How come, after all you have witnessed, your faith has not grown?
How come you have seen me perform these miracles of healing and you still are unable to see me for who I really am?
But here in the gospel of John, Jesus simply says "Don't be afraid, I am with you"
You are not alone; you have been and will forever be held in the loving hand of God -a God who sometimes calms the storms and a God who sometimes gives us strength to grow through the storms.
The disciples were terrified at what they had just experienced but rather than asking, what I think is the obvious question . . . . “How did he do that?” . . . they asked themselves “Who is this that even the winds and the waves obey him?"
We thought he was a holy man, a rabbi, perhaps even a prophet. Like many today, he’s a good man, a moral teacher, and a wonderful example of how to live a good life but this far exceeds anything we had previously ascertained about this man, Jesus . . . who is he?
Like all the signs in John's gospel, this story isn’t about what Jesus did. It is intended to make us ask, "Who is this Jesus?" Who is this Jesus that even the sea that represents evil and chaos can't pull him under?
• Only God has the authority over the sea.
• Only God has the authority to overcome the evil that opposes Him.
• Only God has the authority to bring order out of chaos.
Who is this Jesus? This is a great question.
It was the word of God that caused all that is to come into existence out of nothing, what theologians would call “ex nihilo”. It says it this way in Hebrews 11, “out of nothing, everything was made”.
God didn’t start with matter, God started with himself existing eternally, and he created time, space, and matter.
And the rhythm of creation is this, God spoke and it was so. God spoke and it was so. God spoke . . .
He spoke the world, and the wind, and the waves into existence.
And John tells us that that very word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
And so when he entered into his creation and he walks across the water . . . creation doesn't swallow him up because he is the author of creation.
And for the first time, the disciples recognize, “This is God. This is God among us” and he’s in our boat, he’s in the midst of our chaos, and he has authority over this paralyzing fear.
Sometimes it seems like we are in the midst of a great storm . . .
• storms of fear
• storms of uncertainty
• storms of change
• storms of doubt.
Sometimes our lives can feel so chaotic, like everything is crashing down on top of us and we’re not sure how we are gonna get through this one.
Sometimes the crashing of the waves and the pounding of the rain is so loud that we forget that Jesus is with us.
Sometimes the voice of the storm seems to shout "God doesn't care! You must be a real loser!"
But listen closely . . .
In Jesus, You are not alone; you have been and will forever be held in the loving hand of God -a God who sometimes calms the storms and a God who sometimes gives us strength to grow through the storms.
Jesus says to the storm – to the voice of fear, inadequacy, guilt or abandonment
"Quiet -be still – shut your mouth"
And he invites us to hear the voice of God reminding us what has been true all along – I AM God
God -who is able to accomplish in us far more than we can ever hope for or imagine, who has sent his son to be the authority over the wind and the waves, and the authority over the evil that separates us from God, and to bring order out of chaos as he ushers in the kingdom of God.
And so let us pause in the midst of our lives that can sometimes be chaotic and listen for the voice of God

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