Mark 6:51-52
Do
you sometimes totally miss what someone is trying to tell you? If you are
married, I am sure this has happened. If you have brothers or sisters, or any
other humans with whom you have a relationship, I am sure they missed what you were
saying at least one time.
You
are not alone. The disciples missed what Jesus was trying to communicate. Jesus
had fed 5000 people with five loaves and two fish. He was able to provide. His
power was enough to meet any challenge. He had control over things that normal
people didn’t. He could be counted on to be there when things got tough. And
yet, the disciples missed it. They hadn’t learned the lesson.
Jesus
has just walked on water and came to their rescue. He stepped aboard the boat
they had been struggling to control in the wind. They had been fighting against
its push for a long time, unable to overcome its power and reach their
destination. And Jesus has now calmed the winds as He settled in their boat.
Mark
states that they had missed the message of the feeding of the 5000. But what
was the message? I think we can guess. They allowed themselves to be overcome
with fear when they thought a ghost was approaching them walking on the water. Jesus
gets on board and they express their amazement. Why should they be amazed?
Someone who could miraculously multiply food demonstrated that He had control
over the physical universe. The waves and the wind were certainly part of the physical
universe. They shouldn’t be any harder to control than the physical properties
of bread and fish.
The
disciples still had a limited view of Jesus’ abilities. They had seen Him heal
the sick. Check. They had seen Him cast out demons. Check. They had seen Him
multiply food. Check. They had seen Him raise the dead. Check. But each of
these specific areas was an isolated from the others. They had not generalized
their assumptions about Jesus’ abilities. They were not able to step back and
draw conclusions about other circumstances and any other challenges over which
Jesus had control.
Mark
says that their hearts were hardened. The reality is that all our hearts are
hardened. We don’t understand and put into practice all that we know about the
LORD. We forget lessons we learn at one point in our lives, only to have to
learn them again later. We stubbornly hold onto beliefs that fly in the face of
faith. We leave God out of certain areas of our life, thinking He has little or
no jurisdiction in the area. We attribute God’s work to evolution or chance or
human will.
Our
hearts are hard. We miss the mark just like the disciples.