ESUS TAKES AWAY FALSE CONFIDENCE

Here at the end of Mark 6, first I should tell you what we’re skipping over: the feeding of the 5,000. We heard that sermon back in Lent. It’s followed in Mark 6 by these verses. How impressive it was to make five loaves of bread and two fish into enough to feed such a huge crowd! Now we see what Jesus did next.

Sermon Text, St. Mark 6:45-56. 45 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 47 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. 48 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. 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 52 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened. 53 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55 ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. 56 Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.

Lord, this is Your Word and these are Your words. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Lord, deliver us from all self-sufficiency and spiritual pride; and grant us an ever deepening sense of our own unworthiness and of Your unfailing mercy; through Him who is our only righteousness, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ, who is our Confidence:

Jesus didn’t do this to impress anyone. Remember, John’s gospel tells us that the crowds who had just been fed tried “to take Him by force to make Him king” (Jn 6:15). Jesus kept them from doing so. He didn’t come to impress, but to save.

We know the crowds didn’t get that. What we learn here is: neither did the disciples. After the walking-on-water bit we hear: “they had not understood about the loaves.” This is why Jesus “made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side.” He had to make them leave. This king-making business sounded good to the disciples, they joined the crowd in wanting everyone to be so impressed with Jesus. But being impressed isn’t the same thing as believing. Jesus forcibly separated His disciples from the crowds.

He didn’t let the disciples do as they wished. He put them in a boat and went off to pray alone. Jesus knew He was sending them into a storm. He knew they’d feel like He’s so far away. He knew they’d be terrified. He knew the sight of Him walking on the water wouldn’t comfort them but they’d take Him for a ghost.

This isn’t how we often picture this. We think the disciples were out on a boat, a storm came up, and poof! Suddenly Jesus was there to save the day. But actually Jesus wanted them in the storm, He wanted them terrified.

Jesus isn’t being mean. He sees their danger. It isn’t a storm, it’s themselves. They’ve developed a false confidence, enticed by large crowds and a pain-free future of men’s praise. This is what Old Adam wants. Jesus is protecting them by taking away their false basis for confidence, and giving them the true foundation.

This was how much He loved them. And this is how much He loves you.

For we too develop a false confidence. We build our life not so much on Christ and His Word as we think. We base it on family, our relationships, our job, the home we have, the stuff we have, how many friends, how active our life is. If we don’t think we base our lives on these things, then what happens if something’s wrong in a relationship, or a crisis suddenly comes? You think life is terrible, or it’s the worst time, or you don’t want to face people – you lack confidence.

This is where most of our worries come. We tend not to worry as much about our faith and salvation. But our lack of confidence when we have troubles and dangers in daily life exposes a deeper problem: we develop a false confidence in spiritual matters. When one of these troubles comes along, and suddenly our mind entertains doubts about God, our faith is weak, or guilt is plaguing us, then we find out that we really base our confidence before God on ourselves, how well we avoid sins – not so different from that Pharisee in today’s gospel.

Often Jesus feels so far away. You can’t see your way through the storm. Just hoping Jesus will come through again and protect me from this storm. But in fact, just like with the disciples Jesus rips away every false confidence. He puts you in a boat that’s bound for a storm. He lets you be surrounded by temptations in which there’s no let-up, lets you have troubles that become temptations to doubt Him, you go through grief or pain kicking and screaming, not accepting where He’s put you. Don’t we waver in our trust, about to fall out of the boat?

Jesus says: “Good.” This is when He comes. He hasn’t been far away. He’s been watching all of it, just as St. Mark says that on the mountaintop “He saw them straining at rowing.” He sees everything that’s against you, but more than that, He sees when you finally realize you can’t handle it yourself, you stop talking about yourself and finally hang your head, beat your breast and say, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner.” Suddenly He’s there, walking on top of your waves, which are your sins and all that Satan troubles you with. He treads on it all.

This is how He appears when He comes to you in His Word, in the Lord’s Supper, and when He first came walking on the water to you in your baptism.

He comes to you, the one who fails to trust God, as the one who had perfect faith and trust that counts for you. He comes to you, the one who beats your breast and says “have mercy on me,” as the One who was tempted and was never overcome, and gives you this righteousness of His. He comes to you as the One who bore your sin, who went to die your death and overcame it.

He gives it all to you. But know where He gives it to you: in Baptism, walking on the water to you. Also in His Word, as He speaks to you. – He says: “Be of good cheer! It is I” – “your God, your Savior.” In the Lord’s Supper, He comes to you as you quiver and shake with a lack of confidence in this world, to steady you and calm you as you hear His Words. He is saying: “be not afraid” – “for whatever sin, death and Satan might do, they won’t do it to you, because of Me.”

As we sing on Easter, “No trouble troubles me.” Everything is calm for you for Jesus’ sake, only because He comes in your boat, right to you, right into you as He does when you eat His body and drink His blood for the forgiveness of all your sins. This is how He not only takes away your false confidence but gives you Himself as your only Confidence.

And then you realize what the disciples realized, that it was good Jesus sent you into that storm and subjected you to all that rocking. Why does Mark write, “For they had not understood about the [miracle of the] loaves, because their heart was hardened”? Peter must have told it this way to Mark. It sounds harsh to our ears, but the disciples realize that back on the other shore with the crowds they’d been worse off, not better, for their faith was founded on a false confidence. But Jesus sent them into the storm to soften their hearts and give them confidence only in Him.

At the end, we hear that “they crossed over … and anchored there.” Now we know how wecross over with Jesus – only through these “storms” that He sends. I’ve always wondered how we can call our crosses or trials “good.” This Bible story teaches: it’s because He who sees the whole picture from a mountaintop as it were – yet is always near us — sends them for our good, even if we fight it, so He can keep us in the faith, by which we come with Him to that bright shore.

Jesus, still lead on
Till our rest be won;
And although the way be cheerless,
We will follow, calm and fearless;
Guide us by Your hand
To our promised land. Amen!
(N.L. von Zinzendorf, ELH #587 v. 1)