When Jesus Walks By

Scripture

47Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. 48He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, 49but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. 50They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!” 51Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed, 52for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in. Mark 6:47-51

Observation

Wait! What? The boys were about to go down to the depths of the sea in the middle of the storm and Jesus “intended to go past them”?  What’s going on here? Clearly, this is not indifference on the part of Jesus because “He saw that they were in serious trouble”. Let’s put aside the mind blowing miracle that Jesus was strolling through a storm on the top of the sea.   Why would Jesus intend to walk by? Scripture interprets scripture so let’s look at other moments when Jesus was walking by a crisis situation or seemingly ignoring His divine moment with His disciples. After the Resurrection Jesus comes alongside Cleopas and his wife Mary as they walk back despondent and discouraged at the seeming death of their Messiah. Jesus conceals His identity to allow them to let it all out. “27Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them.” (Luke 24:27-28).  Jesus acts like He’s going to walk by but when they beg Him to stay He goes from concealed to revealed!  A man named Bartimaeus saw what no one else recognized even though he was blind. Though everyone was telling him to shut up and it looked like Jesus was about to walk by Bart cried out at the top of his called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!". Jesus stops and heals Him.  (Luke 18:38-43, Mark 10:46-52. ) From the women with the issue of blood reaching out to Jesus as He walked by, to Zaccheus climbing the tree to see Jesus walking by, we see over and over again a pattern. What moves Jesus from concealing to revealing is when His people call out Him!

Application

Isaiah 55:6 gives us a challenge for this season, "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near." We know that He is omnipresent and that He lives in those who believe, so how does this apply to us?  There are seasons when it seems Jesus is walking a little closer and we have the choice to just let Him keep walking or to cry out to Him to come closer. Will we be desperate enough to stop trying to rescue ourselves out of our storms and call out to the Holy Ghost- “Come Close!” Will we be so desperate to have “our hearts burn within us” that we will spend longer times in prayer, worship, and in His Word just to hear His voice? Will we be determined enough to move past the crowds and the busyness of life to call out Jesus even when everyone else is telling us it’s too extreme and to keep this “Jesus stuff” to ourselves? I see the next generation calling out to Jesus in unprecedented ways. The Unite US movement was birthed out of a desire to "lift the name of Jesus." It all began at Auburn University's Neville Arena in September 2023 where 5,000 students showed up to worship Jesus and 200 were spontaneously baptized in a nearby lake. And now, the organization hosts massive worship events making waves on college campuses across the country. Collectively, those events have brought in more than 70,000 college students. Their first stop in 2025 was the University of Kentucky, just 30 minutes from Asbury University where the first sparks of a new spiritual awakening were seen among American students in February of 2023. This time, more than 8,000 students packed Rupp Arena to worship Jesus and to hear a powerful message on the Good News of Jesus. 2,000 were saved and water baptized into the early morning in the back o U-Haul trucks.  Then, last week, thousands of college students gathered at Ohio State University on Tuesday night to seek the hope that's found in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and nearly 2,000 of them made decisions to give their hearts to God. Then, this weekend we have Gather 25 where, for 25 hours, the Global Church will gather across six continents for a time of prayer, worship, repentance, and commissioning. Every time zone. Every language. Every denomination. Every generation. Some will gather in churches, some will gather in living rooms, some will gather on campuses, and some will gather in stadiums. But we will all be connected at once, across continents, lifting up a single shout of praise and a single prayer to heaven. This is a moment for every man, woman, and child who follows Jesus!  Will we cry when Jesus walks by or will we be too busy and self absorbed to even notice? Jesus is walking by and our response needs to be to call out to Him with all we’ve got!

Prayer

How many times have You walked by and I’ve missed it? I’m done with trying to make this happen on my own! I need You Jesus! I saw this past Sunday our youth and young adults calling out to You as they led us in worship, prayer, testimony, and The Word. Then, we saw 12 get water baptized and then over 70 youth gathered on Tuesday for youth group. Then, last night the Young Adults filled a living room at The Goode’s house and cried out to God- take my shame and come near! God, You are doing something big. You are walking near. Don’t pass us by Lord. We need You. We need a fresh move of Your Spirit to move upon this generation to awaken us to Your love, to open our eyes to see who You really are! Where You have been concealed would You reveal Yourself in a new way today!