13- Jesus Revealed!: Mark 6:45 Mike Olynyk, Meadows Church

You're invited!  Come on a journey as we see the sights, smell the smells & experience Jesus' story told by Mark in an immersive way.  Engage in the story as one of the crowd, the disciples or even as a religious leader.  For an even more immersive experience, click the link below to follow along with the PDF media with maps, pictures of historical sites and more.

JESUS REVEALED PDF - CLICK HERE

Meadows Church is a church in the community, for the community, located in Langley, BC.  We want you to know that you're welcome here!

Transcript

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You're listening to audio from Meadows Church in Langley, BC. For more information about Meadows Church, go to Meadowschurch.ca.

Speaker 0:11

We've come through our Easter series, and I'm excited that we get to dive back into our Encountering Jesus series. We took a break for Palm Send Sunday, which Pastor Jenna led us through. And then it was Easter, and now we're back to smelling the smells and seeing the sights and really experiencing Jesus as one of the disciples and as one of the crowd. Today we're going to do that by experiencing Jesus as one of the disciples. And when we last left our fearless hero in Mark 6, Jesus had just sent the disciples out two by two. And it was an incredible short-term missions trip that they went on. They went out and the Holy Spirit worked in incredible ways and they were able to heal people and cast out demons and preach and lead people to God, and it was incredible. And in verse 30, the apostles come back to Jesus and they are just stoked. I just look at Jesus in that moment. Can you picture Jesus with his little pad ones learning how to use their lightsabers? And they're coming back, and they've seen the Holy Spirit's power go out of them into people for healing and for the removal of demons. And it's just incredible. And I just feel like Jesus was what just had a big old smile on his face. And it was like just family time. And he was just so proud of his disciples for doing that. Well, the Bible says that they were exhausted after this time. And so Jesus wanted to find a quiet place for them to go to. And so here's a map of the Sea of Galilee. I like to use maps. I need to see it. I can't live the Bible without doing this type of thing. It's important for us to see that the Bible is real and that it's not something that was made up. It is the truth, the Word of God. Jesus existed. And so here is the map of the Sea of Galilee. And Jesus' home base is Capernaum. And so they would have left there. And because of how the story unfolds, most scholars say that they made it to the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. Well, the problem, there's a problem. You see, Jesus had a bit of a celebrity status now. And the fact that boats travel quite slow, particularly because mostly it would have been a northeast wind, so that would have created a slower travel, the people could easily follow him. And well, they tracked the boat from Capernaum some 10 to 12 kilometers away. And the Bible says that they actually beat the disciples and Jesus to that location. And this is this is real. Like there was no motor. It was oar paddle, or if you got the wind in the right direction, you could use the wind in your sails. And so the topographical math view, if you're looking down, you can see all the white. Those are all beaches. They just walked around and they could see Jesus in the water. In the boat, the whole way around as they tried to follow him and meet him. And they're exhausted. Remember this. I think it's really important. And Jesus, when he gets out of the boat, realizing that his disciples are exhausted, but still he had great compassion for the crowd. And so he wants them to gain freedom in him. And so he teaches the crowd. And when Jesus teaches you, listen because it has authority like none other. And they forget the time. They forget that they haven't eaten all day. And it's getting dark now. Well, last week we heard from Rick Baer from the BCMB, and he shared that Jesus actually fed this massive crowd, upwards of 10 to 20,000 people, if you include women and children, with a boys bagged lunch. If you missed last week, make sure, take it up. Meadowschurch.ca slash messages. Love what Rick spoke on, and it was just a really good discussion. Okay, so that's the really big intro. Really big because I want you to see something really important. What the disciples are going through. We are experiencing this as the disciples. They were supposed to be going for a little beach retreat with Jesus. They were supposed to be hanging out and resting, and instead they are on. They are with Jesus, ministering to these people, handing out food, and they picked up 12 basketballs of extra food, too. It's another amazing miracle, but they are tired. And so let's pick up the story in Mark 6, verse 45. Immediately, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Beth Seda while he dismissed the crowd. And by the way, I'll just stop it right there for a moment because as I studied the text, the first thing, yeah, and I geeked out on this text as I as I always do, tons of cross-referencing for location. Okay? And it all kind of lined up. But I have to be honest with you about something. When I read this story, we're looking at Jesus Walks on Water. It is the quintessential children's ministry book story. And so when I'm in my reading plan, I've always kind of glossed over Jesus was walking on water and how cool it was. And then Peter, Peter is like, I gotta come out of the boat if it's really you, Jesus. And he gets out on the book and he starts walking on water, and then he falls, and then Jesus picks him up and they get back in the boat, and it's wow, wow, Jesus. And that's it. Because of the children's ministry version of the story. And I love it. I love that children can engage the story, but there is so much more happening there as we smell the smells and we see the sights. And so first thing to note about Mark is that he doesn't actually include Peter. Matthew does, and John does, but because Mark is so precision focused on us understanding that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, and that he died on the cross and rose from the dead, Mark often gets right to the point. That's why we're going through Mark, it's so tangible, and it's so right to the point that he doesn't even include Peter's part of this story. So know that, and if you want to, go read Matthew's account to get Peter's perspective on what happens here. Look for the nuance as we continue to read through Mark. Look for the nuance of Mark owning that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, and also pointing to his death and his resurrection. Okay, we're getting back to our passage though, and Jesus has made his disciples get into the boat. The word, and I'm gonna brutalize the Greek, uh, but it's anakaso. Anachazo means he compelled them, or more rightly, forced them into the boat. Peter, get in the boat. No excuses. You can go to the bathroom in Besseda. Get on that boat and let's go. And as he often did, I was harsh there, but Jesus wasn't harsh. He was loving, he knew that they had expended everything, and so he put them on that boat and he sent them ahead of him to Betheda because they needed a break. And then after Jesus dismisses the crowd, he fills up his cup. He gets a little bit of daddy time. Let's read it. Verse 46. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. Later that night the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. Wait, middle of the lake? If they were on the northeast side, and Besseda strayed up along the coast, then what happened? Let's find out. He saw the disciples straining on the oars because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn, he went out to them walking on the lake. That is incredible. As I think about that, I go, what is the science? Did he like get some supernatural helium? Was it purely that gravity didn't apply? He could go like this. Probably the case. But Jesus is weightless walking on the water. Well, Matthew gives more of a description of the disciples, though, because they were in trouble in the boat. The boat was being beaten by the waves and the wind. And I don't know if you've ever been in a canoe or a raft, and you're just having fun in one side, and when the wind picks up, if you're not careful, suddenly you are on the other end of the lake, and it is torture to get back to the dock. Have you anybody been there? And you got the wind going? Yeah. That's what they're facing, only it's not just a small wind. Even in small winds, it does that. They were struggling. Well, verse 53 later in the story says that they never actually reached Besseda. But the wind had pushed them way down to Danesaret. Some nine kilometers off course because of the wind. They were struggling to get to the Besseda and they never made it. That's how the water was. Can you picture that? They're exhausted. They're struggling to make it, and they just don't get there. And now they're trapped in the middle of the lake. Verse 48. So Jesus, 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 lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out because they all saw him and were terrified. Did you get the sense? Was he glowing a bit? It's a crazy scene. Can we just hang out here for a sec, though? Because I got a question as I'm reading this. And maybe, do you guys get questions when you read scripture? Here's mine. Upon first glance, does it not seem that Jesus is callous? He's about to do something, he's watching them struggle. The boat gets battered by the waves, and he just plans on walking on by them? And so what? He's gonna pass on by them, they are dripping wet, they are super exhausted. And by the way, Jesus forced them into the boat and told them to go to Beth Seda. And he's just gonna walk on by? That is callous, isn't it? Until they're shaking in their boots and they're shrieking because they think they've seen a ghost. Like, was it in that moment that he just said, Oh, I've scared you? Oh, okay, well, now I'll come and save you again. Is that what's going on here? Because that's not how I see Jesus in Scripture. And yes, I over-dramaticize this to prove a bit of a point. And that is that when we read something and it doesn't seem like all the other pages of Scripture, we actually need to take an account of this. We need to read the Bible through the lens of the entirety of Scripture. And so if something doesn't make sense, if a piece of God's character doesn't make sense, either we don't know God as well as we thought, or probably more likely, there's some more digging to do because the way we read our Bible needs to be fluid. So I geeked out. You see, it says that Jesus was to pass by them. The phrase passing by is used a number of times in passages of the Old Testament. And when it is used, each time it's not God avoiding or ignoring something or someone so that he can be somewhere else, but it is an expression of God revealing himself to the people. The two most notable examples, and it is the story of Moses and God in Exodus 22, verse 33, where God passes by Moses. Moses is leading God's people, he's doing an excellent job. The people aren't doing an excellent job being led. And Moses is frustrated, and he's up on the mountain, he's talking with God, and he's saying, You know what? I'm gonna ask for a big one. Can I see your glory, God? And God goes, You can't see my full glory because you'll surely die. But you see the back. And so God protects him in the cleft and he passes by Moses. And Moses, seeing even that much of God's glory, is glowing like a light bulb. It's incredible to see when the spiritual meets the physical in our world. I've said that before, I think. I am amazed at scripture. I'm amazed at Jesus. Well, there's another example of this. Not just Moses, but also Elijah. He's just finished with Mount Caramel. He's taken on the prophets of Baal, and fire has rained down on his altar and not on the altar of Baal. And now that he's won, now there is a hit on his life. And so he is on the run, and he is totally in a place where, like, why, God? The only I am the only prophet of Yahweh. I'm your only prophet. Just let me go. And God takes him in gently. And he passes by Elijah. And God is not in the earthquake and he's not in the wind there, if you know the story. He's in a gentle whisper as he passes by Elijah. See, friends, there's other examples, but as you go through it, you can know that Jesus was not callous at all passing by. Jesus sees the disciples where they are at, and he wants to reveal himself to them by having his divine presence pass by them. And not only that, in an incredibly subtle way, he reveals his divinity to them, which we would miss, we gloss over if we didn't understand the transliteration. Immediately he spoke to them. They're terrified, they're shrieking, they think he's a ghost, and he says this take courage, it is I, don't be afraid. The Greek word here, and I am going to brutalize this, uh ego emi, which translated transliterated means I am. Jesus would use the same words in John 8, 58, but this time the Pharisees would try to stone him to death. Here's the reference. Verse 58, very truly I tell you, Jesus answered, before Abraham was born, I am. At this they picked up stones to stone him. Why do they want to crush Jesus' skull with a rock? That's what stoning is, right? Just for saying the words, I am. The I am has more significance to that. You see, in their minds, Jesus is actually spouting off in John 8 blasphemy to them because he is claiming he is God. He is using Exodus 3, verse 14, where Yahweh our God tells Moses, I am who I am. You see, the beautiful thing in this passage, and we're gonna see in a second that the disciples finally start to get it as we read, but Jesus passes by his disciples and he says, Take courage, I am. Don't be afraid. He's revealing himself. Jesus passes by them in power. He reveals himself as the I am, uh, and as one who isn't bound by gravity, but has the power to walk on water, and he has the power to instantly calm the storm without even saying anything. Check it out. Verse 51. Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. No shh, no silence, just stepped into the boat, and the storm was calm. And they had a great rest of their sail to Genesuret. They were completely amazed. Verse 52. For they had not understood about the loaves, their hearts were hardened. And and and please hear me in verse what verse 52 is actually saying. The story where he is multiplying the bread, he keeps breaking the bread. And as he breaks the bread, he's filling up baskets, and the disciples are watching the bread, and it's not shrinking. It's staying the same, but chunks are coming off the bread, and he's taking the fish, and chunks are coming off of the fish, but the fish is staying the same size. For 15 to 20,000 people to be filled. They are seeing it. So it is not that they didn't understand that he was multiplying the fish, that he was multiplying the loaves. He like carpal tunneled this miracle, and they were watching. It wasn't the McGavin's bread truck located off to the side with desert camo net over it. He did it, they saw it. The part that they didn't get, and that their hearts were hardened to see is that Jesus was God. God with skin on his face. It wasn't until Jesus passed by them that their hearts were open and they begin to understand a moment of revelation that he is the I am, that he walks on water, that he calms the storm. Now they get it. Whoa. Dude, Messiah. Just see them as surfers in that moment. Let's keep going. When they uh had crossed over, they landed at Genesera and anchored there. And then he's gonna go on, and this next part is just a conclusion, it's a a summary of events that would take place. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus and they ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages, towns, or countrysides, they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed. It is absolutely incredible. The power of Jesus to me is so tangible, and I love that it is so powerful that it pr that it flows through the clothing he's wearing. How amazing is Jesus! Amazing doesn't even describe. I was on a vacation recently and we were snark snorkeling in the Atlantic Ocean with uh it was my daughters. And they love, love, love turtles. Love turtles. And we had heard that in this one place we might see turtles with a caveat that if we didn't see turtles, we'd get our money back. So we weren't sure that we were gonna see turtles. We had we had heard some people that had gone out. So we started swimming out into the beach area. And and you can see in this area there was seagrass and there was some sparse coral sections, and we're swimming along on top of the water. Uh it's quite shallow, probably seven, eight feet, and we have life jackets on, and I'm looking uh through my snorkeling equipment, and I see these coral clumps, and I see grass, and I see a couple of just gorgeous yellow fish. No turtles. And I come up to the water looking for the guide to make sure we're on the right track, and the guide is there, and she's trying to get me on attention, and she's going like this, which is the sign for turtle, and she's pointing down to where I was looking, and I look again, and that rock, that coral is not a rock, it is a turtle. It was right there. It was like six to eight feet away from my face, and I could not see it there. And it came up to the surface after that, and we had just an incredible experience of the turtles uh coming up for air and being like a foot from our face. Wow. It was a great memory between uh Ray Lynn McKenna and I. It's like our eyes were like unveiled in that moment to see the turtles, and then we could find the turtles after it. It was awesome. The disciples had been watching Jesus heal and cast out demons and shush the sea and turn a boy's lunch into enough to feed thousands. They got that Jesus was a miracle worker, that he was a healer, that he uh had control over demons, that he was the best teacher that ever was, that they had ever heard. Yet verse 52 says that they didn't truly get what was happening. That the Messiah, that God was doing all of those things until that moment it started to click. We know that it would take time, and even in Matthew 28, when the Great Commission comes, the verse before in Matthew 28, 18 says, some doubted. So the disciples were still on a process, on a journey. Yet they got a little more in that moment, so much so that not a chapter and a half later, in Mark 8, Jesus asked the disciples, Who do you say that I am? To which Peter responds, You are the Messiah. They got it. Friends, I know you can feel my passion with this stuff. The rock becoming a turtle, that's that's incredible, but it pales in comparison to somebody having their eyes unveiled to see that. Like the moment I discovered that the dude that flung the planets and the stars in the sky, like the one who uniquely made you and who made me, the one who promises to fill you with love and joy and peace, to take your past embarrassments and your baggage and your oopses and replace it with freedom and fresh righteousness. The one who gives you life to the full and life eternal. Friends, he is right here. He is real. You see, friends, Jesus loves you. And he is waiting for you to reach out and embrace him the way that he wants to embrace you. Oh Jesus, Messiah, in this moment would you pass by us? May we experience your glory, Jesus. Soften our hearts, open our eyes that we may truly, and I mean truly see you and experience you, Jesus. I don't know where are you at? I'll invite the worship team to come back up. We're gonna move into a time of reflection. We're on a journey, and I've I feel like many people, you know, you've heard the Easter story. You've heard the Christmas story, you've heard these other, and you're following along with us. And he's real. And maybe today is the day that you get it. That Jesus is passing by you and he sees you and he loves you. If you are ready to embrace that for the first time, I'm gonna pray a prayer uh of that embrace. And and if you're not praying that prayer, I just pray uh pray for other people that are experiencing that in that moment. But if you are there, he wants you to come and to meet him and and to walk alongside you through anything you face. You can just pray this prayer to embrace him. Says this. You can pray this in your head. Jesus, today I believe. Today I embrace you with my whole heart. I believe that you died on the cross. And I believe that you rose from the dead so that I can be free. Take control of my life, Jesus. Fill me with your spirit and fill my life with your amazing purpose. We pray this in your wonderful name, Jesus. Amen. God, for those that are either considering that or maybe they made that prayer today. They made that commitment. I pray that you would just wrap them in your arms. May they experience you all the more. And we know that there's a party going on in heaven every time one person comes to this recognition and this embrace. So praise you, Jesus.

Speaker 27:49

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