A dark and stormy night.

John 6:21
Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

Four miles, that is how far the disciples had rowed their boat in the storm. Four long, labor-intensive, sweat-filled, treacherous miles on open water with the wind and the waves crashing down on them. Four miles filled with screams, fright, pain, and fatigue as wave after wave, with the aid of the relentless wind, pushed against them. All I can say is this: I’m glad I wasn’t in the boat.

According to this passage of scripture the disciples decided that they were going to go across the water without Jesus. It was already dark (never a good time to start a journey) when they made this obviously bad decision to leave; they were through waiting for Jesus. So, they left Him alone, up on the mountain where He had gone to pray, and they set off across the sea to Capernaum.

Surely I could go off on a tangent here about how it is our responsibility to wait on Christ before we act in our lives. Oh, there’s the lesson that doing things without Jesus isn’t the best way to go. And, of course, there is the lesson that when you do things your way, they never work out. But that’s not what I intend to elaborate upon. No, I think Christ’s grace and forgiveness would be a better topic here.

Back to our story. The disciples are having a heck of a time at sea. They’re fighting waves and pushing against the wind. I’m willing to bet that there is some arguing going on and most likely some finger pointing as well. Put yourself on the boat for a minute. “Whose bright idea was it to leave now?!” “Oh, don’t worry about it, guys; the weather looks fine...LIAR!!!” (Those aren’t really quotes from the disciples; I’m just imagining what they’d be saying.)

Then, all of a sudden, Jesus is coming. He’s walking out to meet them, on top of the water. Let me remind you that His buddies, His twelve closest friends, just left Him on a mountain by Himself. They never even told Him they were going; they didn’t even give so much as a yell up the hillside. (“Yo, Jesus, we’re fixin’ to go here!”) They just abandoned Him! But He wasn’t about to abandon them.

Jesus came to them in their storm. His words were not condemning or rebuking; He didn’t mention how they had left without Him. He simply said, “It is I, do not be afraid.” This is the M.O. of God; this is the heart of the Creator: do not be afraid. The disciples, feeling no guilt for leaving, no condemnation for leaving their Teacher behind, willingly received Him into the boat. Immediately they were on the other side. Their work, their toil, their strife, their blaming, and their fears all gone, in an instant, because Jesus got them there immediately!

Friends, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This is the Jesus we need to tell the world about. The Jesus who comes to you where you are, even if you have abandoned Him. The Jesus who does not speak words of condemnation, who is not mad at you, but simply says “It is I; do not be afraid.” Jesus, who gets in the boat with you and immediately brings you to shore. This is the Jesus of the Bible. This is the Christ of Grace, the Redeemer of His people. This is who God is, was, and is to come!