Jesus Walks on Water (John 6:16 to 20)

John 6: 16 to 20 ...focus on v. 19..."they saw Jesus walking on the sea"

Years ago I went on a water skiing trip with my wife, Lori and her family. We would all take turns skiing. On this particular day, my brother-in-law, Jason, was up. He grabbed his ski, put on the life vest, picked up the tow rope and jumped in the water. When he was ready we "hit it" and he was up skiing back and forth behind the boat. We circled around the west end of the lake and Jason fell. We turned the boat around to get him and encircled the rope behind him, so he could grab it. We slowed to an idle and watched Jason in the water. He reached over next to him to get the ski floating and then, much to our amazement, he stood up and walked to the boat across the water. We stared for a moment and could not believe our eyes. Now we had a choice to make...Either Jason was 1.)the modern day Messiah walking across the water at Lake San Antonio or 2.) He had just fallen off his ski in very shallow waters. Well, knowing Jason, you knew for sure it was the latter. We all had a good laugh.

Jason was near the shore in shallow waters, but looking at John 6: 16-20, you can see Jesus was off-shore by three or four miles!! Jesus was not in shallow waters, in fact he was defying gravity and showing his disciples another validation of His identity. He showed that He is God in human form, still fully in control of natural forces such as gravity. This comes on the heels of showing His power over a.) giving masses of people provision of food; b.) healing the chronically sick; and c.) power to know the background and life of someone He never met. Jesus continues to prove that He is who He said He was....., The Messiah!

Jesus revealed His abilities to the disciples. They initially could not believe their eyes. But, then they continued to get educated about the miraculous powers of Jesus. Jesus may at times be more subtle than walking towards us on water, but He does reveal His wondrous abilities to us. We need to recognize those times He is trying to get our attention.

Dear Jesus, Continue to show us your amazing abilities and have them influence our lives. Amen.

Confused Crowd (John 6:15)

Just the next verse further validates the crowd's flawed perception of who Jesus was. John 6:15 "They were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king."

The desires of the population at the time is much like the uprising in Egypt today. The people want a righteous ruler to take care of them and give them more rights and prosperity.

The Jewish population looked at Jesus as a "prophet" and someone who could be their earthly leader. Think of the prestige associated with gaining "grass roots" support and leading a coup to take over a corrupt regime. Risky but, wow if you pulled it off, you would be in the history books! Christ would have a good life leading these people and he would have the masses supporting him. He could be their earthly king and enjoy all the royalties associated with being a ruler on earth.

But remember, Jesus had focus and was here to do the Father's will. He was here to forever change the hearts and minds of His followers. That change would be more than leading the crowd as king on earth. It was a change that would go deeper and in the core of every one's spiritual being. The change Christ offered was not some hollow campaign promise. It is real. It is a formula for spiritual change for all mankind. Even us.... over 2,000 years later, are benefiting from the promised change. How futile is the mentality of thinking the people back then wanted Christ to be their earthly king. He is so much more than a king or a president. He is King of kings, Lord of lords, God of the Presidents....He is Almighty God.

At first blush when you see that the crowd saw Jesus as a "Prophet", one might think, finally the Jewish people are getting it! But with critical though and reading the scripture in the context of the setting and seeing other verses, you can see the people were WAY OFF on their perception as to who Jesus was. It's important to apply critical thought when you are reading God's word and don't just stop at initial perceptions. If you do you might miss what God is trying to show you.

Journaling, studying and research of God's Word is so interesting and necessary for spiritual growth. I've heard it said, " the Bible is shallow enough for a baby to wade and deep enough for a theologian to drown." The Bible is available to us no matter what level we are at, for deep understanding and for times of spiritual meditation. We need to cease those moments to dive in deep on God's Word.

Lord, thank you for your Word. Please continue to reveal more layers to us so that we may have a deeper understanding of your plan for our lives and wisdom to light our path, Amen.