Fear to Faith: Part II

The extraordinary miracles Jesus performed in the short three-year time span speak loudly to who He is, even in the present day. It’s important to understand that eyewitness accounts, as recorded in the Bible, provide verifiable evidence of Christ’s character. I’ve drawn much of your attention as a reader to Luke’s account, in this week’s column I want to explore more in-depth details from Mark.

“Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, He went up on a mountainside to pray. Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and He was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn, He went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately He spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and

carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was. And wherever He went—into villages, towns, or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged Him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed,” (Mark 6:45-55).

Everywhere Jesus went believers multiplied, He taught in simple parables and brought to life profound truths about the kingdom of heaven. The Creator of all things came as God in the flesh to transform humanity. Jesus died and rose again to conquer sin, providing an avenue to redeem our lost souls.

The account here in Mark 6 immediately follows Jesus’s feeding of 5000 people by taking five loaves of bread and two fish and “biggie” sizing little into an abundance of food. Jesus gets away to pray and sends His disciples off in the boat. This isn’t the first time the disciples have seen something miraculous on the sea of Galilee. According to Luke’s account in chapter 8, Jesus and the disciples made a previous journey over the sea of Galilee, possibly just a few weeks before the account recorded by Mark. If you recall, Luke describes the first trip as short; Jesus freed a demonic man or men, and the Roman people of the Decapolis region were frightened by Jesus’ authority.

Jesus commissioned the man formerly harassed and tormented by those demons (Luke 8) to go home and tell others about what “God” has done for him. Mark’s record shows the results of this man’s testimony and the powerful impact Jesus had on a non-Jewish community!

Word of mouth can be both destructive and uplifting. The Roman citizens were afraid of Jesus, and the fact that this man’s life had drastically changed before their eyes was enough to bring hope into the Decapolis area, ten cities.

What’s the lesson? When Jesus touches a person’s life and it’s clearly for the better, that person’s influence and story can dramatically change the lives of others. The world is still the same today, we need to share Jesus with others, don’t remain silent! Speak up about who Jesus is.