Jesus Passed By

"He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the sea. He was about to pass by them," Mark:6:48

As the Disciples struggled in the darkness  against the wind and  waves ,there in the midst of the Sea of Galilee, they rowed and pressed on ,yet,  were making little or no progress .  They might have been growing tired and discouraged, the sea's adversity may have made them wonder why Jesus had sent them into it , and without Him in the boat the situation seemed helpless.

 We are told that Jesus was observing their situation and was fully aware , Jesus knew what they faced and where they faced it. And in the midst of it all His eyes were upon them.

"He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them" Mark:6:48

Passing Them By

At the darkness part of the night in when things seemed to be at their worst for the Disciples Jesus comes to them.

  "and about the fourth watch of the night he comes to them walking on the water",(48b)

Yet , as paradoxically Jesus dose not immediately change their  the situation, they still struggle on with the storm raging around them. Then we are told in the narrative of the Gospel that Jesus "Passes them by" . This action brings a response of fear from the already exhausted Disciples, as they misinterpret Jesus'  presences in their collective plight.

"and about the fourth watch of the night he comes to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled"(48b-50a)

Yet we see that Jesus passing by them was a deliberate move on the part of our Lord Jesus so that in the end he would be in clear view of all the Disciples. Jesus speaks to them out of the darkness and assures them that it is he , that is with them they are not alone.

"And immediately he talked with them, and said to them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid"(50b)

They do not need to fear, He is there,  they are not alone. the Disciples are not abandoned as they might have believed, their struggle has not been for nothing. Jesus has the power to redeem any and all situations, even this ragging storm and darkness.

But is there on the sea a great supernatural occurrence is underway, Jesus is where he logically should not be , Jesus is there in the amidst the darkness  of the storm  walking on water.

We are told that Jesus, by "passing by them"   in their difficulty  Jesus had positions himself , and they , in such away for him to reveal himself to them in a way they may never had realized.

In "passing by them" Jesus is making a statement about "Who He is" . Jesus is not attempting to walk away or abandon them but rather to give them revelation of His divinity. 

His action of "passing by them"  has been repeated before in the Scriptures all for the purpose of revealing the Great God, the same God who was there with the Disciples in the person of Jesus.

God Passed By

As Moses led the people of Israel, Moses came to see the glory of God as he interceded for the people.

"Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” Exodus"33:18-23

 The Lord tells Moses that "my face must be seen" . This telling us that the incarnation had not come yet. That is,  Moses could only see God's back not His face.

This tells us that Jesus is the face of God. That when you look at Jesus you see all that God has to show us about himself. This means that Jesus is the "self" of God; if this were not so God could not revel himself in Jesus.
 
The Lord God "passed by" on the mountain so that Moses might see His glory and know that He is God and see his glory.

Jesus "passed by"  now on the sea so the Disciples might see that He is God and so  they might see His glory and know that he is God.

They Worship

In Mathews:' account we are told of Peter stepping out  of the boat even as the storm raged toward Jesus , and in storm Jesus saves Peter and the rest of them.  Jesus enters the boat  and the storm is stilled and they worship him , coming to see that he is the Son of God.

 Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew:12:28-33

Jesus Passes By Us

There are times when we as disciples of Jesus find our selves in the midst of  storms and struggling to make progress , darkness may seem to surround us and every action  seems futile. Yet even in the  midst  of it we are not alone, Jesus' eyes are upon us watching us, as he did the Disciples. Jesus clearly sees us even if we can't see him . He has not abandoned  us as it may first appear from our point of view.

Many times we are in such circumstances, these storms can arise, they take many form in this life and at times they can reach a point where we just do not know if we can keep going. Often in these dark moments that we might feel  that Jesus has "passed by" us.

At times , critic can whisper words of condemnation and cast doubts in the midst of everything. The situations  can be difficult.

If we perceive that Jesus has "passed by"  us in the  midst of a ragging storm on the sea of our lives , and we are at the darkest past of the night,  he has done so that we might see his Glory,  that is,  he is God . That Jesus is placing himself  in relation to us so that we ultimately come see his glory ,  and that Jesus can enter the boat of our lives and bring calm to the raging sea even as we worship him.

If you feel that our Lord has "passed by" you , it is merely the dark moments before,  He is making ready to give you a greater revelation of his Glory that you might see that He is the Son of the Living God. Amen

Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard  on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com