When Things Don’t Make Sense

24 September 2017 AM – Mark 6:45-56 – Mr17 – Scott Childs

Introduction: When things happen that don’t make sense to us; our natural response is to ask WHY? No doubt people in Jesus’ day must have asked similar questions, even the disciples. Our text presents several situations that may not at first make sense to us. We may ask why Jesus sent the disciples across Galilee? Why did He not go with them? Why did He send the people away? Why did the storm come up hindering the disciples? Why did Jesus pray half the night? Why did He minister when He was tired? On the surface, these things may not make sense. When that happens, we must take a closer look.

Transition: This morning I want us to consider three questions that may not make sense to us and find answers that can help us in our daily lives.

The first question that may not make sense to us is …

1.        Why Did Jesus Abruptly End the Fellowship?

We find an important clue in (John 6:14-15) “Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”

a.         Jesus was fleeing temptation (v.45)
1)         Jesus had just fed the 5,000+ people. They wanted to make the “Bread Multiplier” their King. Their motives were wrong. The timing was wrong. Though tempting, it was not God’s plan for Jesus to be the earthly king at this time.
2)         Jesus commanded the disciples to go away by ship.
a)         “Constrained” indicates by force or persuasion.
b)         Possibly he did not want them to tempt him.
3)         Jesus also sent the people home.
b.         Jesus needed to get alone and pray
1)         He prayed in a secluded mountain location (v.46).
a)         Matthew 14:23 confirms this. “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.”
b)         This was a common practice of Jesus. (Mark 1:35) “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”
2)         He wanted to pray alone (v.47)
a)         Private prayer is very important. Jesus said in (Matthew 6:6) “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
b)         Private prayer allows us to truly communicate.
3)         Jesus did not hurry His prayer time. The fourth watch of the night by Roman reckoning, which Mark followed, would have been between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. Constable
a)         He may have prayed for victory over temptation.
b)         He may have also prayed for wisdom and guidance that he might stay in the centre of God’s will.
O  Why did Jesus end the fellowship? Jesus needed to flee temptation and pray. Are you struggling with a sin you know displeases God? Run from it and pray for victory.

The second question that may not make sense to us is …

2.        Why Did Jesus Allow the Disciples to Struggle?

a.         Jesus commanded them to go across the lake.
1)         They were doing God’s will when a terrible storm blew in (v.47-48). The word toiling literally means tortured.
2)         Jesus saw their need —yet He did not immediately rescue them. From sundown till 3 a.m. they rowed hard. No doubt they were becoming exhausted. Why would the Lord put them through this?
b.         Eventually, Jesus went to His disciples’ rescue.
1)         He walked on the water to their boat (v.48).
a)         This miracle defied time. They rowed against the wind for 9 hours and he caught up on foot.
b)         This miracle defied nature. He walked on top of the water.
2)         Jesus calmed their fears (v.49-50). They thought he was a ghost. They were terrified at that thought!
a)         Jesus calmed them in two short statements:
(1)      Have courage. I AM! This may have had reference to the name of God from Exodus 3:14.
(2)      Do not fear.  “Stop fearing!”
b)         Jesus calmed the wind (v.51)
c)         His walk on the water and power over the storm shocked them beyond measure (v.51).
3)         They had forgotten already how Christ fed the multitude just hours before because their hearts were hardened or callused (v.52).
O  Why did Jesus allow His disciples to struggle? They would not have seen His power if they had not been struggling. Often the ONLY way to experience God’s power to meet a need is to go through a struggle.

The third question that may not make sense to us is …

3.        Why Did Jesus Minister Instead of Resting?

a.         Both Jesus and His disciples were tired.
1)         Their retreat had been interrupted and cut short.
2)         The disciples rowed hard for 9 hours (v.48) while Jesus spent most of the night praying (v.46).
3)         It would have been easy for Jesus to say, “Leave me alone for a while, I need rest.” But He did not say that.
b.         Jesus genuinely loved people.
1)         Jesus could have turned the ship toward another isolated location, but He didn’t. He guided the ship to Gennesaret (v.53). Gennesaret was a fertile, populated area on the northwest shore of Galilee.
2)         Immediately, people started coming to Him to be healed (v.54-55).
3)         He travelled to villages, cities, and the countryside ministering to the people (v.56). The people laid their sick folk alongside the roads in hopes that they might just touch his clothes and be healed.
4)         Yes, Jesus cared for their physical needs, but more than that He cared for their spiritual needs. His love for mankind is described in (John 3:16) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
5)         His love for mankind is demonstrated in (Romans 5:8) “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
6)         His love was made visible to us when He offered us eternal life. (1 John 4:9) “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”
7)         His love is experienced every time we confess our sins and seek His cleansing. (1John 1:9) “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
8)         His love is felt when we draw near to Him. (Jas 4:8) “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
O  Why did Jesus minister instead of resting? Love! He came to seek and to save the lost. His number one goal was to minister to people. More than anything else, He wanted to give salvation to the lost.

Conclusion: Our challenge today is threefold: (1) When faced with temptation, God wants us to run from it and spend time in prayer. (2) Instead of getting angry when trials come, we should look for God’s purpose that we might see Him do great things for us. (3) We must realize that God loves us very much. If you have not been responding like this to trials in your life, you need to follow the Lord’s challenge.

If you are not yet saved from hell, He wants to save you and give you eternal life. As Christians, He wants to forgive us when we sin. He longs for us to draw near to Him.

Song: Burdens Are Lifted – 218