Title: Sea of Galilee/Mark 6:45-52
Contents The Great Pilgrimage of Life (13) Sea of Galilee/Mark 6:45-52
*Now then, what is the lesson of the Sea of Galilee, that storm?
1. It is the fact that the Lord is looking at us in the midst of a storm.
When we face the storms of life, the thoughts that trouble us are, “No one understands my pain” and “I am alone.” The disciples of Jesus two thousand years ago must have had the same thoughts. Thinking, “Why does the Lord let us cross this sea at such a time and leave us alone while we are fighting with the storm?” But how does the text teach? What is important is the fact that Jesus was <seeing>. See verse 48. “He saw the disciples rowing hard because the wind was against the wind ” Does that mean he was just watching? Of course not. It means that he was praying while watching the disciples with a sad heart. Now, where and what was Jesus doing after sending His disciples to the Sea of Galilee? Look again at verse 46. “After saying goodbye to the crowds, he went to a mountain to pray.” There, on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Jesus was praying for his disciples and watching them struggle and struggle in a storm.
2. The fact is that the Lord visits us in the midst of storms.
3. It is the fact that the Lord is the one who stops the storm.
Look at verse 51 of the text. “When he got into the boat and went to them, the wind stopped, and the disciples were greatly astonished.” When did the storm stop? It was the moment Jesus got into the boat and the moment he revealed his existence to his disciples. In verse 50, just before he got into the boat, he said to his disciples who still did not know him and looked like a ghost. “Take care, it is me, do not be afraid” The word ‘I am’ here is the Greek word for “ego eimi,” which corresponds to the English [I am], and is a unique word that expresses the deity of Jesus as God. In other words, it is a declaration of <It is me, it is God>. What will happen if God intervenes? But the problem is that we don't know him and we don't invite him into our despair. When he comes, if he works, the storm may stop.
There was a Jewish surgeon who was imprisoned in the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp during the days of Hitler's madness in Germany. When all the prisoners were giving up their lives in despair, he was always reciting a song when he was alone and quiet. It was a song called <Ani ma'amin>. <No Maamine> It means “I believe”. The full text of the lyrics of this song is: “I believe/I fully believe in the coming of the Messiah/Even if his coming is delayed/I wait for him every day” He sang this song and each morning greeted a new day by shaving to blood with a piece of glass he had hidden. Every time the camp guards chose who to send to the gas chambers, they couldn't send this bleak alive friend. The priority, usually sent to the gas chambers, is those who have already given up their lives. He sings this song softly every time he is removed from the gas chamber nominations. <I believe, no Maamine!> (Listen to the song in Hebrew)
Ani ma'amin b'emuna shelema
be'viat hamashiach,
Vi'af al pi sheyit'mame'ha
im koi zeh achakeh lo
bechoi yom sheyavo
(I belive with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah
and even though he may delay, I will await him everyday.)