We are told that the wind had ceased when Jesus
and Peter got into the boat. "And immediately
the ship was at the land whither they went."
John 6:21

The 19th verse tells us that when Jesus met them
they had rowed 25 or 30 furlongs (about 3 or 4 mi)
around half way across the sea. The Sea of Galilee
is 7 or 8 miles wide. They were in the midst of the
sea (middle)(see Matthew 14:24) when Jesus and
Peter got into the ship.

Yet it was immediately at land. The implication
that a miracle of transportation had happened.
We see faith overruling gravity and replacing laws
built-in physical matter. This night on the sea
involved both gift of faith and working of miracles.

Peter's walk on the water, shows the Christian
walk from the new birth to maturity. The new
christian who has been redeemed and walks
mainly in the flesh; having confidence in their
own natural abilities.

But learning to walk by faith, they come to a
crisis time that requires more than their own
natural faith and they have to cry out to Jesus
"Lord save me".

Then Jesus will come to the rescue, taking
their hand, lifting them up to a faith in which
they can walk victorious together over the
waves of life.

But just in time, Peter called out to Jesus. When
his faith ran out, in had to depend upon Jesus'
faith.

At one time Jesus told the apostles to, "Have the
faith of God." When Peter's natural faith ran out,
he had to depend on Jesus' supernatural faith.

As Peter cried out, "Lord save me" Jesus reached
out His hand and pulled him up, and they walked
to the boat together.

There are people who would say that if God had
really healed or created a miracle that it can not
be lost.

They look at someone who lost their healing and
say that is proof that they were never healed in
the first place.

The truth is that we receive by and and we walk
by faith. Doubts can well cause us to lose what
God has done for us.

Peter's walk on the water was a miracle, but he
took his eyes off of Jesus. By looking at the waves
he began to sink.

Here is an important truth to those who want
deliverance. As long as we keep our eyes on
Jesus and His Word, we will have victory. But
if we look at the symptoms, circumstances or
feelings (waves) we will go down.

So we must not look at the conditions, only the
promises that God has given us. It can not
fail.

When Peter's attention turned to the waves and
when he felt the wind, he began to be afraid. So
as the fear took hold of him, he began to sink. He
cried out to Jesus to save him. And Jesus did.

Would Jesus have had to let Peter drown, if he
hadn't cried out to him (Jesus) to save him? Surely
being a good fisherman he was use to the water
and was a good swimmer, but in this great storm
would he have been able to survive on his own?

Peter didn't have the faith to continue walking on
the water but he had faith that Jesus would save
him.

President's Day

Bless God America!

As Jesus got nearer to the boat, it was barely
getting light enough for them to see Him. In
fact, they thought it was a ghost at first until
He calmed their fears by saying, "Be of good
cheer; it is I; be not afraid" Matthew 14:27

When Peter recovered, he asked, "Lord, if
it be thou, bid me to come unto thee on the
water" Matthew 14:28

When Jesus said "Come," Peter was over the
edge of the boat. As long as he kept his eyes
on Jesus, he was fine. Many focus on Peter's
sinking; but the fact is that as long as he looked
to Jesus, he was able to walk above and through
the storm.

The third temptation, Satan told Jesus if he cast
himself off a cliff the angels would catch him, but
Jesus refused. He wouldn't startle the people with
outrageous wonders.

But when the disciples were in the middle of the
sea and in danger; he did one of the greatest of
all His miracles. He walked on the water to get
to them to help them.

He had sent them to make the trip to the other
side and they had obeyed Him. If we obey Jesus
and get into grave danger and we do not throw
away our confidence, God will move heaven and
earth, if He has to, to help us.

Another temptation, Satan had suggested giving
to Jesus the kingdoms of this world and their
glory, if He would only fall down and worship him.

Jesus rejected the offer. In the case of feeding the
people, they wanted to make Him king (John 6:15)
But this offer did not come from the Father, so
Jesus would not have it.

In time, He would become Israel's king, not of a
temporary kingdom but one of eternl life.

The next day, Jesus presented His claims as the
Bread of Heaven, which if any man would eat,
would cause him to live forever (John 6:58)

Satan had presented Jesus with three temptations
in the wilderness.

These same three arose again but the circumstances
were changed:

When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he
suggested that He turn the stones into bread; but
Jesus refused to use His powers to take care of His
own personal need. However, when the multitude
forgot to bring food out of their enthusiasm to see
and hear Jesus; He made enough food to feed five
thousand people with twelve basketsful left over.

Jesus knew that the wind meant that His disciples
who had started across the sea were running into
trouble.

The disciple waiting for a while on Jesus hoping
that He would go with them; so when they finally
left without Him, they run into the middle of a
great storm on the sea. They were not making
much progress traveling against the storm.

After the miracle of feeding the multitude, Jesus
went up into the mountain to pray. Knowing how
the people felt, He knew He had to keep that from
happening. He had to spend time alone in prayer.

The recent death of John the Baptist made Him
aware of His own. The false popularity resulting
from His miracles was dangerous and He had to
be careful.

As He prayed a violent wind arose. Satan knows
how to strike one blow after another to confuse
the person who is trying to God's will.

"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.
But the ship was now in the midst of the sea,
tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went
unto them, walking on the sea.
And when the disciples saw him walking on the
sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and
they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying,
Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be
thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come
down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to
go to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was
afraid; and
beginning to
sink, he cried,
saying,
Lord, save me.
And
immediately
Jesus
stretched
forth his hand,
and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of
little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
And when they were come into the ship, the
wind ceased.
Then they that were in the ship came and
worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art
the Son of God." Matthew 14:23-33

The time seemed just right to the leaders of the
people. Passover was now at hand. Why not
take Jesus to Jerusalem and make Him king;
He would then be claimed the Messiah, that
Israel had hoped for, for hundreds of years.

Jesus saw them talking to each other and saw
their admiration. But if they took Him by force
and made Him king, it would affect His purpose
for coming into the world.

Even His disciple seemed to share in the idea.
He had to do something so He told them to get
into the boat and go to Capernaum, (Matthew
14:22) before the leaders could continue their
plans.

He also broke up the crowd and sent them
home before it got dark. Then He went into
the mountain to pray.

The peoples hearts would be prepared for the
truth that Jesus was the Bread of Life, which if
any man eat would give him eternal life, by
seeing the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

This miracle was actually a prophecy of the
sacrament of communion. It made an impression
on the people. It was exactly what they had in
mind. They were sure that Jesus was the prophet
that Moses had told of in Deut. 18:15-18.

"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"
John 6:14

A year after Jesus fed the multitude, He himself
became that Passover. He would break bread
with the disciples. He would take the bread,
bless it, break it, and give it to the disciples say-
ing, "Take, eat: this is my body" Mark 14:22

He did this also when He blessed the bread,
broke it and fed the multitude.

There was a greater reason for the miracle of
the loaves than just meeting their physical
hunger. Jesus was getting them ready for His
sermon that He gave them later in Capernaum.
John 6:48, 51
"I am that bread of life. . . .I am the living bread
which came down from heaven: if any man eat
of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread
that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for
the life of the world"

As this crowd of people came and stood around
Him, He had then decided to perform this miracle.

The Passover, we are told, was 'nigh at hand'
John 6:4 This was the sacred feast in which the
children of Israel ate unleavened bread.

As Paul said in his writings, He, Christ was the
world's Passover. I Corinthians 5:7

There are some things we need to notice about
this event.

Jesus didn't normally use His powers for this
type of miracle. He fed them out of compassion.
(Matt.15:32) But following events show He had
a further purpose for it.

The news that John the Baptist (His cousin) had
been killed for the cause which must have remind
Him of His upcoming death.

This crowd had interrupted His plans of getting
alone with the disciples for rest and instructions
of His purpose for coming into the world.

Apparently the disciples

carried baskets with

them. For these were

retrieved from the boat

and used to distribute the

food.

It shows that it is not God's will to waste any

thing, because Jesus commanded the disciples

to gather the fragments when all were full and

they returned with twelve basketsful.

Each apostle came back with his basket loaded!

Before the Lord proceeded to feed the people,
He gave the disciples instructions to make the
crowd to sit down on the grass in groups of
fifties and hundreds.

This worked to prevent confusion and to make
sure that no one would be missed.

Then to the disciples amazement Jesus blessed
the food and began breaking it and giving it to
the disciples to distribute to the people. And as
He continued to break it, the few loaves and
fishes turned into an unending supply.

Jesus didn't refuse the little boys' offering.

Some people think that the church could make
great advances in missions, if they could just get
the rich to give large sums of money.

But the truth is that the money that blesses the
the Kingdom of God must be given out of the
devotion and even sacrifices to God.

He can bless little and multiply it in His ways.
That is why He only requires 10% of every man,
woman and child's income to keep His works
operating.

Andrew, wanting to be helpful, came up with
a suggestion. "There is a lad here, which hath
five barley loaves, and two small fishes; but
what are they among so many?" (verse 9)

Somewhere in the crowd he had found a little
boy that wanted to see and hear Jesus so much
that he had come long with the adults. But he
had brought a lunch with him. He could have
eaten it himself but offered to share it with
Andrew. By doing that, it was brought to Jesus'
attention.

This caused the little boy to be known to the
world forever.

The people were so eager to

hear Jesus, that they hadn't

taken time to bring food

along on their journey.

As the evening drew near the disciples were

becoming concerned of the crowd becoming

faint from hunger. They were a long ways

from food of any kind.

Jesus turned to Philip, one of His disciples,

and said to him, "Whence shall we buy bread,

that these may eat?" (John 6:5) He was

figuring what it would cost to feed the people

when Jesus asked him, he said, "Two hundred

pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them,

that every one of them may take a little."

John 6:7 It would be same as a fair day's wage.

After healing their sick, He began to teach
them many things (Mark 6:34). The multitude
listened with great interest, forgetting that
there was such a thing as mealtime.

But as the day was beginning to end, the
disciples came to Jesus and said, "This is a
desert place, and now the time is far passed:
send them away, that they may go into the
country round about, and into the villages,and
buy themselves bread: for they have nothing
to eat" Mark 6:35-36

Jesus and His disciples found a place on the farthest
side of the town in which they were staying. There
they hoped to find rest for a while.

But they were not able to hide themselves.
They had been seen by a crowd that had follow
them and now was about to catch up.

Jesus would not disappoint the people. They had
come a long ways and brought their sick to be
healed. He forgot their rest plans and welcomed
them all.

"Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place,
and rest a while: for there were many coming
and going, and they had no leisure so much as
to eat."
Mark 6:30-31

After they had gathered together, Jesus was
trying to get the group some rest, for many
people had kept them so busy they were tired
and hungry.

He makes it aware to them that they also need
physical rest and nourishment. The body is just
as important to take care of as the soul and spirit.

"And the apostles gathered themselves together

unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what

they had done, and what they had taught.

And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves

apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for

there were many coming and going, and they

had no leisure so much as to eat."

Mark 6:30-31

This must have been an exciting time. The

things they told Jesus of what they had done

and taught was not recorded for us, so we

can only imagine what a great mission they

had.

We are told later of seventy who were sent

out and returned with joy saying even the

devils were subject to the name of Jesus.

These twelve were even closer to Jesus so

they must have had some great reports.