25) And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
“By Roman reckoning, the “fourth watch” occurred between 3 am and 6 am. It was sometime during that three-hour period that Jesus began walking on the water. This text reminds us that not only does Christ control the storm, and not only does He send the storm, He reveals himself in the midst of the storm. Very often our purest vision of Christ comes when the storms of life threaten to capsize the tiny boat of our faith.”
Quote found HERE.
I can’t help but think of the poem about footprints in the sand (which I have at the end of this post). It’s most often the darkest part of our lives when the winds are howling the loudest that the Lord is there for us. Below are some incredible quotes that I found about this very subject that I had to share.
“Jesus comes to His disciples in the fourth watch of the night. He comes when it is darkest. He comes after they have struggled for nine or ten hours. He comes to them not at the beginning of their struggle, but He comes to them at the end of their struggle.
When we’ve struggled, and not quit; when we’ve struggled through the first watch of the night into the second watch of the night, and through the second watch of the night into the third watch of the night, through the third watch of the night into that watch of despair, the fourth watch; it’s when we’ve suffered the agony of loneliness and the agony of despair and the agony of facing our own helplessness and the agony of life’s futility, and the agony of the fact that life does not make sense-it’s then, when we struggle to believe, that we are granted the knowledge that is salvation.
The revelation of divine truth does not often come to us when life is comfortable. The revelation which is existentially real to our hearts does not come when everything is going right, when our refrigerators are full and our bank accounts have extra and everybody is treating us the way we want to be treated and everything is explainable, and we’re happy as clams. It doesn’t come then. The revelation of divine truth comes when we struggle and in our struggle we believe.”
Quote found HERE.
“Jesus is out there in the storm, whatever it is. He’s nearer than you thought. No, he’s not in the boat, not yet anyway. He’s out there – where the wind is raging and the waves are pounding. Jesus isn’t found in places of safety and security. Jesus is found in the teeth of that terrible storm, in that dreaded worst-case scenario, in that one thing you and I most want to avoid.
And, unless I miss my guess, that’s what makes us afraid. See, if Jesus is out there – where it’s not safe, where all heck is breaking loose – then that’s where you and I have to go as well. You and I signed on to be His followers, didn’t we? And He’s out there – in the scariest place we can imagine. So in order to be with Him, we’re going to have to get out of the boat.”
Quote found HERE.
The second part of this verse leads us to ask why did Jesus walk on the sea in a storm instead of just waiting for it to pass? Or why didn’t He just take a boat across? My own personal answer that I came up with, is that He knew this would be a great teaching moment. Also, He has set the example in all things. So, if Peter is going to walk on water, then Jesus is showing Him that it’s even a possibility.
I found a great talk that discusses some other reasons why Jesus is walking on water in the middle of a storm.
“…being boatless didn’t seem to slow Jesus down at all. Probe with me a little today…what was Jesus up to, walking around on the lake at 3:00 am in the morning?
Mark tell us (Mark 6:48) that Jesus ‘intended to pass them by’ on the water…why did Jesus want to pass by them? Did He want to race them? Did He want to impress them with a really neat trick? The verb ‘to pass by’ (parerchomai) is a Greek translation of the Old Testament ‘theophanys.’ What is a theophany? It is those defining moments when God reveals himself on Earth. God put Moses in a cleft in a rock so Moses could see God as His glory passed by. God put Elijah to stand the mountain ‘for the Lord is about to pass by.’ There is a pattern to these stories. In each case, God had to get people’s attention…through a burning bush; wind; fire; or walking on water. With each person, God would end up calling him or her to do something extraordinary. In each situation the person that God called felt afraid. But every time that people said ‘yes’ to their calling, they experienced the power of God in their lives. So, when Jesus came to the disciples on the water intending to ‘pass them by,’ He was not just doing a neat magic trick.
He was revealing His divine presence and power. It is interesting that the disciples entered the boat in the first place at Jesus’ command. They would have to learn … that obedience is no guarantee of being spared adversity. But now the storm has their full attention. Jesus decided that it was time for the disciples to get to know a little bit more about the guy who was piloting this storm. Basically, Jesus wanted them to be able to trust Him also in the storms. Matthew wants his readers to know that Jesus often comes when least expected – 3:00 am, in the middle of a storm. I believe that human extremity is a frequent meeting place with God. These are those divinely appointed defining moments that come into all of our lives. And if you’re not looking, you might just miss Him.”
Quote found HERE.
Sorry about all the long and lengthy quotes, but those people just explained it so much better than I could. The main point that I get out of it is that Jesus lets us struggle and try to work it out ourselves and then when we can’t, He comes to us when we need Him the most. And just as a good reminder, here is the poem about footprints in the sand:
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
You would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed You most,
You have not been there for me?"
The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you."
~Mary Stevenson
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