Mark 6:45-52
The disciples had just watched Jesus feed thousands of people with a handful of bread and fish. The crowd was so electrified they were ready to revolt and install him as king by force. And then, almost inexplicably, Jesus sent everyone away — the crowd, the disciples, all of it — and went up a mountain alone to pray.
Hours later, the disciples were still out on the water. Straining. The Greek word Mark uses carries the weight of torture, of childbirth. They had been rowing against the wind since evening and were getting nowhere. And Jesus, from his high place on the mountain, could see every one of them struggling.
What he does next is one of the most layered, theologically dense moments in all of Mark's Gospel — and most of us have heard it so many times we almost miss it.
In this sermon from Mark 6:45–52, we slow down and look carefully at four moments where Mark is screaming at his readers: this is God. Walking on the sea echoes Job 9 — only the Creator treads on the waves. The phrase "wanted to pass by them" is the same language used when the glory of the Lord passed by Moses in Exodus 33 and 34. "It is I" in the Greek is egō eimi — the same I AM of the burning bush. And when Jesus steps into the boat, the wind stops. Immediately. Just like that.
Four unmistakable signs of divinity. And still the disciples don't fully understand — not because they were foolish, but because they hadn't yet seen the cross.
That's where we come in.
We get to read this passage from the other side of the resurrection. We get to see what they couldn't yet see. And that changes everything — not just how we read the text, but how we face the chaos in our own lives.
Are you tired of rowing? Are you straining against something that just won't give? This passage is for you.
Main Idea: Though others may be blinded, through the lens of the cross, we clearly see Jesus as he is — God amongst us.
East Brainerd Baptist Church
1047 Graysville Road, Chattanooga, TN
Join us Sundays at 11:00 AM — we would love to worship with you.
We are a church working through the Gospel of Mark together, week by week, learning to see Jesus more clearly through the lens of what he accomplished on the cross.