Losing Sight of Jesus — E.A. Johnston

Jesus Walks on the Water in John 6

In the gospel of John, in chapter 6, we find the story where Jesus walks on the water. And as we read this striking passage of scripture, friends, I want us to focus not primarily on Jesus walking on the water, but the plight of the twelve men in the storm-tossed boat.

We will be in verses 16 through 19. Here now is the word of God, and may the Spirit of the Lord attend the reading of his holy word. And when evening was now come, his disciples went down into the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.

And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. Let me pause here, friends, to say it was a dark and stormy night on the Sea of Galilee. A small boat lurched and creaked and groaned atop the swirling waves of a violent storm.

The Sea of Galilee, by nature of its geography at the northern end of the Great Rift Valley, surrounded by mountains, is a perfect setup to be prone to sudden violent storms. I know I don't want to be on a boat in a storm, and I certainly don't want to be on a boat in a storm at night in the darkness.

That would be terrifying. Black darkness is a way of increasing anxiety. Our text says,. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. The disciples were perplexed by Jesus' absence. Had he not said he would be with them by now, the strange looks on their faces as they rowed with all their might puts all their focus on the task at hand, not to drown in a storm in a sunken ship.

We get a sense of the intensity of this storm by the following verse,. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. Fierce winds dropped down on the lake from the surrounding mountains, and they can increase to an intensity of over 30 miles an hour, which would make it very difficult for a little boat trying to make headway in a storm.

The Disciples' Exhaustion in the Fourth Watch

The next verse gives us some insight into the disciples' plight on that boat in the sea. So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, the little boat atop the turmoiled waters had only rowed three miles or so, even though it was now the fourth watch of the night.

The Jews had formally divided the night into three watches, but after Palestine became a Roman province, the Roman division into four was adopted. The first watch ran from 6 p .m. till 9, the second from 9 to midnight, the third from midnight to 3 a .m., and the fourth watch of the night was from 3 a .m. till 6 a .m.

So if Jesus came to them in the fourth watch of the night, as Matthew's Gospel records, that means the tired twelve had been struggling with the oars from evening onward for nine or ten hours. Their arms and shoulders were fatigued, their hands swollen from the toil, their backs drained and aching to the limit, and in all that turmoil and time, they had only covered three miles.

Well, let's read verse 19 in its entirety, friends. So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea and drawn nigh unto the ship, and they were afraid.

Fear When Believers Lose Sight of Jesus

Matthew 14 .26 says they cried out for fear. Picture that scene of the physically worn-out men in the boat. Their troubled minds have been focused for nine or ten hours on how they were going to survive this violent storm, and they've entirely lost sight of Jesus in their plight.

And when He finally shows up, they don't even recognize Him. They think it's an apparition, a ghost or a spirit. And these grown men who were seasoned sailors begin to cry like little girls. Losing sight of Jesus can make a strong man fearful.

Losing sight of Jesus can make us fearful when we should be prayerful. Losing sight of Jesus fills us with unbelief in the promises of God. Losing sight of Jesus makes all obstacles seem insurmountable.

The Corporate and Personal Consequences of Spiritual Drift

Losing sight of Jesus makes us lose sight of eternity. Losing sight of Jesus makes us apathetic to personal evangelism, and it makes us indifferent to the lost and perishing. A Christian can lose sight of Jesus and become backslidden.

A church can lose sight of Jesus and become cold. A nation can lose sight of Jesus and become evil. Look at America. When there was still a fear of God in the land, and the nation still had a moral compass, now she's a cesspool of perversion and bloody violence.

It's not even safe to go outside anymore. You'd get gunned down by a madman. Perhaps there was someone listening to my message. And if you're honest with yourself, you can admit that in your walk with God lately, you have lost sight of Jesus.

Perhaps you're a pastor, and you have division in your church, or you're being troubled by some wicked deacon, and you're having a pity party, and you've lost sight of Jesus. Or you're in a field of ministry, and going's been pretty tough, and you've had little going in your struggle, and you've lost sight of Jesus.

Perhaps you are a believer who's been undergoing some serious health problems, and the worry and the physical toll has taken its toll on you, and it's made you lose sight of Jesus. Maybe it's not a problem at all.

Perhaps you're presently experiencing a season of great material prosperity in your business, and you're enjoying the fruits of your labor, but yet you have lost sight of Jesus. Whatever the cause, there is a solution, and that solution is Jesus.

Refocusing on Jesus Through Scripture and Meditation

I've been more focused on my problems lately than I have been focused on eternity. And when I realize that, what I've done has helped me, and I will share that with you, friends. In my quiet time each morning lately, I've been going through the Gospel of John, and every time I come across the name of Jesus, I circle it with my pen, and I picture Jesus in my mind in the little scene described before me in my Bible.

I watch Him as He goes from town to village doing good, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind. And as I keep my eyes on Him, I soon find myself keeping my eyes on Jesus throughout my day.

It's easy to lose sight of Jesus. The key is to turn our focus back to Him. Well, I hope this little message has been helpful to you, friend. Keep looking at Jesus, and you won't lose sight of Him. Let us pray.