“Straining at Rowing”
1/12/25
Mark 6:45-51 “Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 47 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. 48 Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.”
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These passages describe a different kind of ordeal in the middle of the sea than the sudden, life-threatening storm they had experienced two chapters earlier.
The first ordeal was sudden, catastrophic, and panic-inducing, “Lord, don’t you care that we perish?”—Mark 4:38
The second one we just read about, is not panic inducing.
It wasn’t sudden, catastrophic and soon over—rather it’s frustrating, wearying, and prolonged.
These two trials at sea very much illustrate real life.
Sometimes we experience a crushing storm out of nowhere that seems to threaten our very lives.
And other times we experience a steady, prolonged, frustrating, wearying trial that wears us down to the bone.
In this second trial at sea the disciples encountered:
Deep darkness—it was night
Relentless resistance and pushback from wind and waves
Withering weariness—rowing all night long
Stinging disappointment—setback after setback
Do you feel that way today?
If so, today’s message is going to encourage you!
Key points:
ONE,
I. Jesus had told them to get into the boat
So the disciples were directly in the center of the will of God.
Jesus had commanded them to get into the boat and make the 8 mile journey across the Sea of Galilee to Bethsaida.
So they were rowing to the other side in obedience to the command of the Lord.
The TAKEAWAY here is—being in the will of God in no way guarantees smooth sailing!
For instance:
—A famine struck the Promised Land God had led Abraham to!
—Moses faced an angry Pharaoh and a treacherous wilderness IN the center of the will of God!
—David fled from a crazy king for 10 long years while in the center of God’s will!
—Paul the Apostle faced murderous mobs, constant imprisonment, and endless trials of suffering doing the will of God!
Peter writes, “My friends, don’t be surprised at the painful things that you are now suffering, which are testing your faith. Don’t think that something strange is happening to you.”—1 Pet 4:12 ERV
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So as the story unfolds, while smack in the center of God’s will,
II. Resistance arose
Along the way the wind picked up, the waves began to roll, and they found themselves rowing directly against relentless pushback.
Mark says they were “straining at rowing.”
STRAINING is from a Greek word meaning literally “To torment, to torture, to vex.”
In the New Testament it’s used to describe severe physical or mental suffering—intense distress.
—For instance, when we read in the gospels of how the demons begged Jesus not to “torment” them before their time, it’s the same word!
And Matthew’s account of this event adds that they were “battered” by the waves, which is also from the same Greek word!
So the Bible is telling us this wasn’t just an average, run of the mill, frustrating, ‘bad day at the office’ kind of ordeal for them.
After around 8 hours of constant rowing against relentless pushback and resistance, these disciples were in a bad way…
tested to the limit,
vexed,
physically exhausted,
beyond their ability to continue,
at their wits end!
With all their strength and determination they were still making little progress.
Imagine rowing a small boat 8 miles across a rolling, troubled sea all night long, non-stop, and you’re still only half way across!
At this point they had to be thinking,
We’re not gonna make it.
Our strength is gone.
The wind is too much.
There’s no let up.
I don’t have it in me to keep going.
And hazarding a guess, it would be so very human for them to have been thinking:
—Where’s the Lord?
—He told us to do this!
—This wasn’t our idea!
—We’re only in this boat out of obedience to His command!
—Is this gonna end by us letting go of the oars and the wind pushing us back to where we started?
—How long does He expect us to keep this up?
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And maybe today you feel something similar!
You’ve been doing your best, rowing through the daily grind of life, and feel like you’re getting nowhere.
You’re in God’s will as much as you know.
You’re trying to obey and do what’s right.
And yet wearying, frustrating pushbacks and setbacks have got you down.
—Physical ailments keep coming.
—You can’t seem to make enough to pay the bills.
—In spite of your best efforts, victory in some key area of your life escapes you.
And as with the disciples, Jesus seems far away from your struggles.
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But good news! Here’s where the story turns!
Right when they felt they couldn’t go on,
III. Jesus came to them
At the 4th watch—between 3 and 6 in the morning—when their natural strength was gone, Jesus showed up walking on the water!
Now catch this:
Jesus was walking on top of the troubled waters that troubled them!
In the Bible, walking on top of something is a symbol of victory.
Victors in battle would place their feet on the necks of their defeated enemy.
God told Joshua to walk the breadth of the Promised Land and that, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.”—Joshua 1:3
And God directly told the children of Israel, “Every place where you set your foot will be yours:”—Deut. 11:24
So setting one’s foot on something was a symbol of victory over it.
Hence, Jesus walking on the troubled waves showed victory over the very thing that vexed them!
Jesus was Lord over what troubled them.
He was victorious over their problem!
He was not affected by what affected them.
He was not taken down by what had taken them down.
He was the conquering King of Kings and Lord of Lords over all the storms and problems they faced!
And today, Jesus is walking on top of what has got you down!
He’s victorious over what is pushing you back and hindering your progress!
Do you believe that?
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Now, how they responded is crucial—It says:
IV. They welcomed Jesus into their struggle
“Then they willingly received Him into the boat…”—John 6:21
And “immediately the wind ceased.”
In other words, there was an immediate difference as soon as they invited Jesus into their struggle.
—In real life, sometimes the storm itself stops—or God gives you a supernatural, peaceful calm on the inside in spite of stormy circumstances.
Either way, things change when Jesus is invited into your battles and struggles!
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Someone once said that, “Problems are sometimes just opportunities in “work clothes.”
In the wearying pushback of the contrary winds of life, we have an opportunity to let the trial work for us, to learn from it and grow.
That said, look at this:
Mark 6:52 says that the REASON the disciples were so amazed beyond measure over Jesus walking on the water was:
“They still didn’t realize who he was, even after the miracle of the fish and the loaves the evening before!”
Just the night before they had personally witnessed approximately 10,000 people miraculously fed!
Yet, as the AMP says, “…they had not understood [the miracle of] the loaves [how it revealed the power and deity of Jesus];”
So the very next night God gave them another opportunity to connect the dots and get a revelation of who Jesus really was!
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The story closes out with, as soon as they invited Jesus into the struggle they quickly made it to the other side where ministry to the sick exploded in Bethsaida!
This shows us one last important thing:
…Our storms are not the end all—there is still LIFE and PURPOSE after the storm!
God wasn’t finished with them yet.
There was much, much more for them to do with many years in front of them.
Friends, there is:
LIFE AFTER YOUR STORM!
LIFE AFTER YOUR BATTLE!
LIFE AFTER YOUR LOSSES!
LIFE AFTER YOUR PAIN!
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Are you frustrated today with pushbacks and setbacks in spite of your best efforts?
LET’S PRAY