When Jesus heard that John had been executed by Herod, he just wanted to be alone. Probably to cry out to God and to be sad. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with withdrawing from the rest of the world for a brief time to grieve, or to reflect. But the crowds that surrounded Jesus wouldn’t let it happen. As soon as they heard him say He was headed for a remote place, they started walking around the lake so they would be there when he came ashore. No peace for Jesus.
When I need down time and I don’t get it, I get cranky. I notice today that Jesus didn’t. Instead, when He looked at the crowd He was filled with compassion. Jesus wasn’t encumbered by a sinful nature that demanded His attention. He was able to be selfless (although I am sure He was tempted to be selfish).
Thinking about the difference in our reactions, it’s really my selfish desires that distract me from helping others, or feeling compassion for others.
If Jesus had chased the crowd away, and said “my good friend was just murdered and I need to be alone for a while” we wouldn’t have the miracle of feeding the 5,000. I never thought about it like that before.
Maybe when my day doesn’t seem to be going the way I want it to, and I feel like withdrawing, I should pray to be less selfish. Maybe a significant miracle is about to unfold right in front of me and I don’t even know it.
The recount in Mark 6 about Jesus walking on the water really grabs me. Here in Matthew we don’t have the verse that says “Jesus was about to pass by them”. Mark has it. In both places it says that the boat was a considerable distance from land when evening came, and it was being tossed around by the waves. Jesus must have seen this… but He doesn’t stop praying to go to their rescue. In fact, He stays where He is until somewhere between 3 and 6 am….then He starts walking across the lake..and is about to walk right by them…except they see Him and become even more afraid.
Maybe the lesson here (beside the obvious lesson about keeping your eyes on Jesus when you get out of your boat) is that Jesus didn’t promise that we would never have problems. He didn’t come to the rescue of John the Baptist. He didn’t appear to be coming to the rescue of the disciples. He knew they had no reason to be afraid. My guess is that John wasn’t afraid at all. The disciples were, and Jesus came to them because of that.
Remember this the next time you’re having a hard day, or when you are struggling in general. Jesus didn’t promise it would be easy….only that it would be worth it. Everyone is going to have some problems…but Christians are going to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus when the problems of this life are over. “It will be worth it all…when we see Jesus”.
Some lessons are learned inside the boat….some require you to get out. This passage seems to have both!
Blessings,
PR