Mark 6:45  And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.
46  And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.
47  And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.
48  And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.
49  But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:
50  For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
51  And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
52  For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

Jesus demonstrated His care for the people in making sure they were safely on their way home after a day of teaching. He had observed them to be as sheep without a shepherd. He demonstrated the care that a shepherd would have for his sheep.
The disciples were told to get into a ship and sail to the other side. Some of them were quite familiar with ships. Bethsaida was the home town of Peter and Andrew and John and Philip. Jesus would go back there to do more teaching and healing. Jesus came to make the truth known to man. It is important to know the truth.
In verse 46 we see that Jesus went into a mountain to pray after He had sent the people away. Prayer was important to Jesus Christ while He was on this earth. In the Old Testament the incense altar was a type of the prayers that were to be made toward God. Prayer is an important tool that God has given to His children in the New Testament time. Lost people can come to God in prayer, seeking His salvation. Saved people can come to make their requests known to Him. They can also thank God for His blessings. We also have the privilege of praying for others.
In verse 47 we read that the disciples were in the midst of the sea while Jesus was in the mountain. The disciples were where Jesus told them to be. In verse 48 we read that Jesus saw the disciples working to get the ship across the sea. The wind had become quite strong and it was not working in their favour. We read that during the fourth watch (between 3:00-6:00 am.), Jesus came unto the disciples, walking on the sea. The text tells us that it seemed as though He would walk right past the disciples as they were working to try to get the ship to shore.
We get a picture here of the fact that God sometimes waits for His child to ask for help. He knows we need help. He wants us to understand we need help. Christians need to learn to depend on the Lord for all things. We need to put our effort in, but that effort needs to be directed according to God’s will.
In verse 49 we see that the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water. They saw this image, but as we see, they assumed they saw a spirit. There seemed to be a superstition that was quite common at that time. They saw this “spirt” and they were afraid. They cried out.
In verse 50 we read that they all saw Him and were troubled. None of them had any confidence at this time. None of them could offer any comfort to the others. Jesus did not want them to be afraid.
We read that immediately He spoke to them. Jesus did not come to scare people. The devil likes to keep people afraid. Fear is a good tool to get people to do what you want them to do. Hitler used fear to get the Germans to attack the Jews. He used fear to keep his people in line. The world tried to use fear over the past four years to get people to bow to its whims. Most people chose to subject themselves to fear, and they shut their brains down and just blindly followed the wishes of the state. The after effects of that irrational fear will be felt by societies for many years to come. There are still people wearing masks out of fear.
Jesus spoke with the disciples and told them to be of good cheer, and not be afraid. He encouraged them to be of good courage. They did not need to be fearful. He was not some spirit. He was the Son of God. He came to meet them and to assist them in getting across the sea safely. He told them that He was Jesus. He was their Master. They knew of Him, but they were still learning about Who He truly was.
Jesus Christ can do all things. He is a comfort to those who know Him. He will still amaze us even if we know Him. He is so much greater than we are. It is important to know Him.
In verse 51 we read that He went into the ship with them and the wind ceased. The disciples had already experienced this before. Jesus had power over the wind. We read here that the disciples were still amazed at the fact that He would calm the wind. They were not just a little surprised. They were caught completely off guard by what they had witnessed once again.
We read in verse 52 that they did not consider the miracle of the loaves. We are further told the reason for this was that their heart was hardened. The Greek word translated as “hardened” has the sense of being “covered with a thick skin”, similar to a callous. Their hearts were not right with God and they were not ready to receive the truths that were being presented to them. They were witnessing some very interesting things. It is important to learn to trust what God says. He never lies. He wants to bring comfort and joy to the heart man.
The good news was that they were not gullible like so many are today. Many people flock to the charismatic false teachers and they embrace what they say. They lack the ability to discern truth from error. There is no blessing in being gullible. We need to be discerning and we can only be that when we are born again.
We need a tender heart that will receive truth. Often times the truth will be in contrast to the norms we are taught. We need to be ready to receive the truth,

I Thessalonians 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

We need to know the difference between truth and lies. Jesus is not on the earth now in human form. He dwells in the heart of every true child of God in the person of the Holy Spirit. He dwells in the true child of God and helps the saved person to know the truth. He does not drop some new truth from the sky. He points the true child of God to the Word of God. The Holy Spirit will not guide the true child of God into heresies. That is the work of the devil.
We are not told to copy Jesus in walking on water today. We are told to believe that Jesus walked on water and this was another evidence of the fact that He can save the sinner and He can lead us safely to Heaven. There is no situation that the true child of God will face that Jesus is unable to guide them through.
It is important to know Him and thus accept His leadership in our lives. The world needs to see the power of God at work in the hearts and lives of the saints. They will see that when we behave as the Bible says a true saint should behave. There will be none of the excesses that are so common among the charismatic crowd. True saints live genuinely changed lives that can be examined in the light of God’s Word.
Pastor Bartel