The Lord of the Storm - John 6:16-21

 

The Lord of the Storm

John 6:15-21

Introduction: Storms come in life. One writer described how he had a cartoon cut out and pinned to a bulletin board in his office… He said it pictured two cowboys, taking cover behind a rock, with a hoard of hundreds of [“indigenous Americans”!] on horseback charging toward them. One cowboy looks at the other and says, “This isn’t going to be as easy as it looks.” Life in a fallen world can be hard, right? Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation…” But then He says, “…be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Several Psalms depict the tribulations of life poetically, using the imagery of the chaotic waters, and also the comfort available to those whose trust is in God. For example, Psalm 46 begins…

Psalm 46:1-7,   “God is our refuge and strength, a very present  help in trouble.  ² Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,  ³ though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah  ⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.  ⁵ God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.  ⁶ The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.  ⁷ The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”

The Psalms use the imagery of the stormy sea to poetically help us sense the trials and hardships we can experience as we live in this fallen world. The believers in Israel and Iran, and yes, there are some, and those in Ukraine and Russia, and those in many places around the world who are persecuted for their faith, they certainly can understand the language of the Psalmist. But even amid the storms of life, God is still good, and He is present, and He is working, for our good and for His glory. We can trust Him. As Peter rhetorically asks toward the end of this chapter, “Lord, to who shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68). What the Psalms express poetically, Jesus reveals concretely to His disciples here in our passage. He is the Lord of the Storm.

       Storms will come into every life. Times of darkness. Times when we feel alone and far from God. You remember the story of Job. After a series of catastrophes stripped him of  his wealth and his loved ones, still we read at the end of the first chapter,

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. ²¹ And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."  ²² In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong (Job 1:20-22).

Job didn’t know what hit him. He didn’t understand, and as far as we know, he never was told the nature of the testing he went through. Still, he trusted God. Can we find comfort and hope in a time of storm?  We can if we know the Lord of the storm.

Setting:  (6:15)  After the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus withdrew. The people wanted to make him king by force. They didn’t understand, this was no mere man who gave them lunch. They didn’t understand why he came. They wanted to make him king, but they still didn’t grasp who He is. For now, He had a private lesson planned for the twelve. 

The Big Idea: Jesus is with us always, even in the darkest and most turbulent moments of life; and He will bring us safely through. Let’s rearrange our three questions today as we approach this passage, 1) What does it mean to believe in Jesus? We can trust Him, for eternity, and in this life, even in the storms; 2) Who is this Jesus? He is God, the Son, and He is with us always; and 3) Why did He come? He came to save us, He is with us in the storm, and He will bring us safely home.

I. What does in mean to believe in Jesus? Storms will come in life, but if we know who He is, we can trust Him (16-18). Jesus was still teaching his disciples.

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,  ¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.  ¹⁸ The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.

      As the scene opens, it is late, and the disciples go down to the lake to their boat. Did Jesus order them to go ahead without him if he didn’t arrive by a certain time?  We’re not told in John (Mark gives us that detail). John leaves us to fill in the details for ourselves. Why else would they go on without him? Jesus had a plan. It was now dark. His knowledge and His Sovereignty again shine through in the darkness. He has a lesson planned for His disciples. Side point: sometimes God may allow the storm, and even lead us into it, to teach us and to stretch our faith and mold us into what he wants us to be. He sees the big picture, and is always there, working for our good and for His glory.

We are told that “It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.  ¹⁸ The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing” (17b-18).  They were in the dark, without Jesus, and a storm came up.  At some point, in some way, you’ve likely been there. Storms come out of nowhere it seems. Whether it was a pink slip from your boss right before Christmas, bad news from your doctor, a series of problems with your car or your house that made you feel like you were about to be overwhelmed… You probably have even prayed to God, “Lord, I feel like I’m about to drown!” Our first year in Brazil as missionaries we had a few… Amid the culture shock, walls, and trying to learn the language, we had a fire, and a flood… Mary Ann, in her devotions, came across  the Word of God through the prophet,  

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” (Isaiah 43:1-2).

Storms will come, but He is the Lord of the Storm. Do you believe? There are at least three aspects of saving faith: knowledge, assent, and trust. We need to know the truth about Jesus, He came to be the Way, to show us the way to Life. We have His Word written, testifying to the truth. Assent means that we affirm the truth of our need, and the validity of what He has done. And trust makes it personal, He did it for me, I entrust myself to Him as my Savior and Lord. If you know Him,  *Jesus is with you always, even in the darkest and most turbulent moments of life; and He will bring us safely through.

II. Who is Jesus? He knows us, and He knows our need. He is God. He is with us always (19-20).

¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.  ²⁰ But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."

       They were rowing, seemingly against the wind. John doesn’t emphasize that the nighttime storm frightened them. Maybe it is that any fear they experienced from the wind and waves pales in comparison to what frightened them in the second half of v.19, a figure walking on the water! You can hardly blame them, they had seen storms, but they had never seen anything like this! But they should have known. They had just been thinking about the Passover and Exodus when Jesus miraculously fed the crowd. The One of whom Moses wrote was here, One greater than Moses. Moses needed God to part the sea so he and the people could walk over on dry ground. Jesus didn’t need the sea to part, He just walked right over the surface! He is sovereign over the waters, he is not limited by weather or distance or gravity. HE IS GOD!

The NIV translates, “They were terrified…” It was night, and they were still, at least in part, in the dark. They had seen some amazing things, but nothing like this! This defied everything they knew about the water. And then, in their moment of fear, He spoke, “It is I [ego eimi=“I AM”] do not be afraid!” (v.20). I Am. The first use of this phrase in John was in 4:26, as Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman about being the Messiah. It is used here in this striking scene that clearly shows the divinity of Jesus (and it appears about 20 more times in John!).  The background is Ex 3:6,14…

Exodus 3:6,  “Moreover He said, ‘I am the God of your father -- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’  And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.” 

Then, Exodus 3:14, “And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.'"

       More than 20 times in this Gospel, Jesus uses that same self-designation. Sometimes with an expressed object, “I am the Bread of life… the Bread from Heaven… the Good Shepherd… etc.” Sometimes absolutely, as here. Though in isolation, in some of the passages it could simply be understood, “It’s me!”, the repetition of the phrase, and it’s use in specific passages, leaves no doubt. The use of the divine name is implicitly a claim to deity. There is no room for doubt at the end of John 8 when Jesus says, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (Jn 8:58). He was identifying Himself with Yahweh, the Lord. And as with the miracle of the loaves and fishes on the mountain, the image of the turbulent sea might draw the reader back to the OT and the revelation of Yahweh in the Exodus. In Psalm 77 we read,

Ps 77:16,19 -  ¹⁶ The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled...  ¹⁹ Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known…

As surely as God showed his dominion over the waters at the time of the Exodus, Jesus revealed to his disciples that He was sovereign over the stormy sea. “Do not be afraid—I AM…” Warren Wiersbe reflected on this scene in John in connection with Psalm 23,

“Sometimes we are caught in a storm because we have disobeyed the Lord. Jonah is a good example. But sometimes the storm comes because we have obeyed the Lord. When that happens, we can be sure that our Saviour will… come to us, and deliver us. …Jesus had led His people into the green pastures (John 6:10), and now He brought them into the still waters (Ps. 23:2). What a wonderful Shepherd He is!”[258]

Remember from our series in Jonah that he ran from God, and God “hurled” a storm at him (and sent a big fish!). The disciples were apparently where Jesus had sent them. And He came to them in the storm. He is with us always! Joni Erickson Tada, who was paralyzed at age 17, and later battled breast cancer, also lives with the chronic pain of fibromyalgia. Now 75, she knows something about storms. She said in an interview that one verse that has been a comfort for her is Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, for the Lord your God goes with you, he will never leave you or forsake you…” She said, “I am convinced a believer can endure any amount of suffering as long as he’s convinced that God is with him in it…”

       It’s hard to understand that nothing touches us that hasn’t first passed through the hands of our loving heavenly Father. He is sovereign, and at every moment, if we know Him, he is working all things together for our good and for His glory. Joni said in that interview, commenting on her decades of paralysis, chronic pain from fibromyalgia, and her battle with breast cancer, “I like to think of my pain as a sheepdog that keeps snapping at my heels to drive me down the road to Calvary, where, otherwise, I would not be naturally inclined to go.”  It may be dark, the waves can be pounding us, but if you know Jesus you are never alone. That’s the Big idea, *Jesus is with us always, even in the darkest and most turbulent moments of life; and He will bring us safely through.

III. Why did He come? He came to save us. Jesus will bring us safely home: When Jesus got in the boat, they immediately arrived at their destination (v.21).

²¹ Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

       They heard his voice, they recognized the Master, and they welcomed him into the boat.  In that interview, Joni was very transparent. It was as a new believer, at 17 years old, that she broke her neck. She struggled with despair, at times overcome with depression and not wanting to live like that. But she prayed, “God, if I can’t die, then show me how to live.” What a beautiful prayer. And for many days afterward she would sit in front of an open Bible, flipping the pages with a stick held between her teeth.  She had a crash course on living by faith. She hears the voice of Jesus in the Bible, she believes Him, trusts Him for eternity and for strength for today. A verse she prays back to God almost daily is Psalm 79:8, “May your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.” She said, “I wake up every morning in desperate need of Jesus.”

       The disciples welcomed Jesus into the boat, “…and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going…”  Don’t miss that. They were in the thick of a storm, in the dark and in danger, they were terrified by what they saw. At His word, they received Jesus into the boat, and suddenly… they were safely home!

       Another Psalm poetically reflects this same idea, it may be that John is alluding to it as he gives his eyewitness testimony in this passage in Psalm 107:23-30…

      ²³ Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters,  ²⁴ They see the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep.  ²⁵ For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea.  ²⁶ They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble.  ²⁷ They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end. Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses.  ²⁹ He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.  ³⁰ Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven.

That doesn’t mean every storm is going to end in the way we would like. For years Joni prayed for healing. It didn’t happen. Yet. But the day will come when this corruptible will put on incorruption, this mortal, immortality! Later in this Gospel Jesus will say,

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.  ² In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also (John 14:1-3).

       Jesus is with us always, even in the darkest and most turbulent moments of life; and He will bring us safely through, He will bring us home. We’ll see as this chapter continues that the crowd saw the disciples leave without Jesus, and they didn’t understand how Jesus got away from them. So they head to Capernaum. But they were still looking for bread, they wanted what Jesus could give them, they wanted the gifts rather than the Giver. They didn’t understand that He is the Bread of Life. He’ll continue to teach them, but by the end of the chapter many will leave. Our deepest need is JESUS. Our “home” is heaven. We won’t always see the answers to prayer we want in this life. But we have eternal life if we know Jesus, and our home is not this world.

What is God saying to me in this passage? Jesus is with us always, even in the darkest and most turbulent moments of life; and He will bring us safely through.  This isn’t going to be as easy as it looks—but from another perspective, this isn’t going to be as impossible as it looks! If God is for us, who can stand against us?

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Let’s take our 3 questions,

1) Who is Jesus? John is giving us eyewitness testimony to the signs that should answer that question for us. “…these were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (Jn 20:31). He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Him.    

2) Why did He come? Not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (Jn 3:16-17). He brought them to their destination; He will do it for you as well.

3) What does it mean to believe in Him? Trust Him for Life, and yes, trust Him in the storm. “Though Satan should buffet, though sorrows should come, let this blest assurance control: Christ has regarded my helpless estate and has shed his own blood for my soul!” It is well with my soul. He is with you always. Fear not, the Great I AM is in your boat, He will bring you through the storm!   AMEN.