Jesus Walks on Water

Meditations of the Gospel of Mark

August 28, 2020

Jesus Walks on Water

But Jesus spoke to them at once.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!

Mark 6:50b

Read: Mark 6: 45-56

The theme of presenting Jesus as leading the people on an exodus continues in this passage. As Moses led the people through the water of the Red Sea, here Jesus walks on the water, and his presence takes the disciples safely through the storm. As in the preceding passage, this reading provides us with more solid food for our devotional time.

We all face times of great anxiety. The gale force winds and rough seas encountered by the disciples are a good metaphor for such times in our lives. In those times, if we will but listen, we will hear Jesus say those comforting words, “Take courage! I am here!”

The next verse is quite telling. “They were totally amazed, for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in.” The rest of the passage tells of huge crowds coming to Jesus to be healed and have their needs met. This insight helps us understand what the disciples still didn’t get. The miracle of the loaves was about Jesus as God’s Messiah. God’s Messiah is calling us into a relationship where

“we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe;

for indeed our God is a consuming fire

(Hebrews 12:28-29 NRSV).

My Takeaway: This passage is a reminder to me of one of my core values: I come to God to celebrate His glory. Like the people in verses 52-56, I may be tempted to bring God a list of all the things that I think will make my life better. However, my true heart’s desire is to come into the presence of God, with thanksgiving and to celebrate His glory, not just seeking for God to make my life better. My prayer request changes from asking God to change or improve my circumstances, to thanking God for the wonder of His love. Then I ask for wisdom and guidance to respond to my situation in ways that bring glory to Jesus.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.