Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Mark 6:48-50 Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.
EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM GOD
Jesus' disciples were in the middle of a fierce storm, unable to gain ground. They had been rowing all night and must have been thoroughly exhausted. They needed Jesus more than ever. They knew He had the power to help them. He had told them that He would be following them, and yet they were surprised to see Him coming. In fact, they did not even recognize Him. Instead they reverted to superstition, supposing Him to be some sort of ghost.
When Jesus was on the ship and the storm had stopped "they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves because their hearts were hardened." Shortly after this many of Jesus' followers would leave Him because He was not the type of Messiah that they wanted. At times the Twelve Apostles also had a tiny faith, knowing that Jesus was indeed the Son of God but not knowing what this meant for the world and for them.
This was an all too human reaction of the disciples. It's not unlike our reaction at times to the love and power of God. We believe and confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. We have read numerous times of His miracles and have the proof of the Old Testament prophecies that He is the Son of God but there are times that we put limits on Him.
When we find ourselves in some dilemma, what do we do? We may panic. We may get despondent. We may get angry. We may become fearful. If that is the case, then we are forgetting the power of Jesus. We are underestimating His love. We are forgetting about the promises of God and His ability and determination to fulfill them.
