Hugh's Blog

Even after a long lifetime’s devotion to Scripture I still find lovely surprises that hitherto have ‘passed me by’ – the very phrase I would like to highlight in Mark’s account of Jesus’ walking on the sea. (For the full story, compare Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:15-21.)  In Mark 6:48 we are told, ‘He meant to pass them by.’ A footnote in my Study Bible grabbed my attention, and I had to check it out in my Greek OT and NT.

The note assured me that Jesus, crossing from his night of prayer alone on the mountain, did not intend to ignore the disciples or abandon them to their plight as, after nine to twelve hours of straining, they continued at the oars with still nearly half the lake to row across. But I had always thoughtlessly assumed that he intended to by-pass them and reach the shore to be ready to welcome them later.

Now, hold it right there! Is that really the Jesus I have come to know so well in nearly seventy years of walking with him? Is he going to desert them in the dark (John 6:17), now gibbering with terror because haunted with the thought that they had just seen a phantom (the actual Greek noun used here)? No way, Jose! Mark has already assured us in the same verse of Jesus’ concern for them: ‘he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And … he came to them walking on the sea.’

Mark certainly intended to instruct his readers that Jesus is here displaying his deity:       (1) as the Creator who can stride the waves of the sea, for he virtually quotes the Greek (Septuagint) version of Job 9:8 (from Job’s speech in honour of God, Job 9:2): 

‘…who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea’ (compare Psalm 77:19-20; Isaiah 43:15-16). 

He continued to emphasise his deity:

(2) by re-assuring them, ‘Take heart; I AM (literally).’ Next, 

(3) he entered the boat (with Peter who had ventured out to escort him, Matthew 14:28-32) and re-asserted his creatorial prerogative by stilling the storm (Psalm 29:10-11; 89:8); (4) then brought them instantly ‘to their desired haven’ (Psalm 107:30, see 23-32).

‘Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going’ (John 6:21).

Those last three miles or so took just the blink of an eye, after a whole night of hard slog!

Oh, I nearly forgot that Study Bible note: in Exodus 33:19, 22; and 34:6, YHWH revealed himself in all his glory to Moses, hiding him in the cleft of a rock and covering him with his hand, as he ‘passed him by’. Check it out – that’s what the beloved Master intended to do, and in fact what he did; he revealed his glory. 

No wonder then that the disciples, despite still being a bit dense (Mark 6:52), declared that Jesus was truly God’s Son and worshipped him (Matthew 14:33).

I am forever saying that the Bible is full of contradictions - every one of them true.

Take Isaiah 55:1 for example: ‘Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’ But hey! Nil desperandum. As always, ‘Christ is the answer.’ Although God’s grace if free, it will cost us everything to enjoy it to the full. We must empty our hands of all our idols to let Jesus fill them with all that he has gained for us. As he expressed it in no uncertain terms (Luke 14:33):

‘Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.’

To be his follower involves my giving all ownership over to him without reserve – from then on I am but a steward of his car, his house, his work schedule, his holiday plans, his bank account, his church etc. All my former resources are at his disposal.

Hebrews 4:10-11 is another instance of a contradiction: ‘Strive to enter [God’s] rest.’

Once again, Christ is the answer. In Matthew 11:28 he invites all who toil under the weight of guilt and weaknesses: ‘Come to me … and I will give you rest.’ He has earned for us forgiveness and acceptance with God. But immediately he adds:

‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul.’ (Matthew 11:29).

Jesus does not merely invite confessors; he wants to enlist disciples – apprentices, trainees. He wants to fill that role so fashionable these days, to be your Personal Trainer! He was always pleased to bless the crowds who gathered around him – teaching them, feeding them, healing them. But he selected those who were willing to build his kingdom with him to join him as partners. He offers lifestyle learning. For instance, Paul wrote:

[] ‘I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content’ – whether full or empty (see Philippians 4:10-13; see also 1 Timothy 6:6-10).

[] In Jesus’ yoke we learn cooperation with him and his associates, people he has called into foundational ministries. Some things are best learned in relationship. For example, in Proverbs 1 – 8 the lessons are continually addressed to ‘my son’. 

[] Only in yoke can we adequately learn character – ‘I am gentle and lowly in heart,’ Jesus told potential disciples. First he gives us the gift of his own heavenly DNA (‘born from above, by his Spirit,’ John 3:1-8), so that we share his nature. Wow, what a privilege!  Moses’ law forbade the yoking together of animals of disparate natures such as an ox and an ass! Jesus claims to be the patient, plodding ox! As Paul reminded the Christians in Ephesus that ‘the way you learned Christ’ was to put off the old self [ass] and put on the new [ox], especially such character traits as greed, sensuality and deceitfulness (4:17-24).  *Places still available for enrolment today*

Jehoshaphat (see 2 Chronicles 20), when threatened by three allied armies of neighbouring countries – Edom, Moab and Ammon – called the nation of Judah to fast while he sought the Lord in prayer.

His prayer was answered by a prophetic word like the one Moses had issued at the Red Sea, and Joshua’s experience on the verge of Jordan, ‘Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord’ (verse17; compare Exodus 14:13-14).

Encouraging his army to believe the prophets of the Lord and they would succeed (verse 20), he then appointed the ‘church choir’ to lead the march against the allied troops (verse 21). And when they began to sing their hearts out in true faith, the Lord send an ambush against the enemy who then proceeded to kill each other off, leaving behind so many spoils of war that the Jewish army needed three days to gather up the booty (verses 23-25).  The choir then led the march of triumph back to the capital city where the fear of God fell on everyone and peace prevailed for the rest of Jehoshaphat’s reign (verses 26-30).

That’s a great way to wage war, don’t you think? We too are called to fight, not ‘flesh and blood’ but spiritual forces arrayed against us. But let’s not overlook the beautifully lyrical way in which Jehoshaphat launched his prayer vigil (verses 5-12). The words flowed poetically from his heart in the form of three matching questions:

[] ‘Are you not God in heaven?  You rule over all nations…’ (verse 6, in the present tense),

[] ‘Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham … for ever…?’ (verse 7, in the past tense), both questions were words of praise; then, finally,

[] ‘Will you not execute judgement on them?’  (verse 12, in the future tense, a prayer).

We really can’t improve on this king’s straightforward style of praying in a crisis. Jesus, after all, taught us to begin our praying by focusing on who God is: Are you not ‘our Father in heaven’? ‘Hallowed be your name.’ Did you not redeem us through the covenant of the cross of Christ? And did not our Joshua (Hebrew equivalent of Jesus in Greek) return to your right hand having procured the inheritance promised to our spiritual forefathers? ‘Your kingdom come, on earth as in heaven.’ On that basis we ask, Will you not ‘give us this day our daily bread’(as that foreign woman once prayed for her daughter’s healing as bread from their masters’ table for these ‘family pets’, such as herself and her daughter, Matthew 15:21-28)? For, as Jehoshaphat concluded his classic prayer, ‘we [too] are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you’ (verse 12), as his were in all three of his simple questions.

Stop analysing your praying. Just do it!

Let’s start with a benediction – why always leave the blessing till the end of events?

‘Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen’ (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Here’s a wonderful example of that superabundance of God from the experience of the early church.

King Herod had executed the apostle James, John’s brother. Realising that this made him popular with the non-Christian Jews in Jerusalem, ‘he proceeded to arrest Peter also.’ This apostle was next for martyrdom, ‘but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.’ The whole story takes up most of chapter 12 of the book of Acts.

How often have we heard some preacher say, ‘They were crying to God for his release, but when he turned up at the door they thought it must be his ghost, because he was surely already in glory with the Lord.’ But where in the text does it say they were praying for his escape? Nowhere does it tell us that!

Hey, come on now! Were they really as daft as that?

Surely, it is much more likely that, recalling how he had once panicked and denied ever having met Jesus of Nazareth, they were praying fervently, ‘Please, Lord, if he must be executed, let him exit with all his lights blazing. Don’t let him deny you again.’ And if that was their prayer, no wonder they were shocked to find him knocking on the door of their gathering. And what celebration would result when they realised that God had answered far more abundantly than all they had asked or thought to ask.

So, let’s not get all analytical about whether we are praying properly. It is reassuring to know that we just need to be real. The text of our story here is full of basic instruction on how to pray effectively. Like them, let us also pray:

[] passionately: ‘earnest’

[] specifically: ‘prayer for him’

[] directionally: ‘to God’

[] corporately: ‘by the church’ (Acts 12:5)

[] honestly: ‘You are out of your mind,’ Rhoda, ‘it’s his [guardian] angel interrupting our session’ (verse 15).

A prayerless day will be an unblessed day. But, let’s go for gold … and watch God do platinum!