I recently read a news story out of Portland, Maine that opened with some rather alarming statistics on the city’s homeless population– more specifically the annual death rate within the homeless community. The death toll was at an all time high, averaging thirty deaths per year, and the cities meager efforts were proving ineffective. Something had to be done!
City officials decided to act, and an annual candle-light vigil was begun. A local priest was invited to come and deliver a prayer. Drum taps were played along with the low hum and piercing screams of the bag pipes. A large crowd gathered, and the people celebrated since the number of casualties that year remained in the twenties. On the edge of the crowd Mayor Michael Brennan stood watching the ceremony. “No one should pass on unrecognized,” he said to reporters.
As I read this story, I first felt, like maybe some of you, some soft glow of sentiment. But, soon after, I was almost angered. These people hadn’t been recognized at all, but merely acknowledged as they passed from view and from memory.
You see, not for from the crowd, away from the festivities and with candles lit to remember their own friends that were lost, stood a group of homeless teenagers. Among them was a young lady by the name of Samantha Howe. Being homeless herself Samantha was quoted by reporters as saying, “This gives me hope that maybe there is someone out there that just might care.”
Let me ask you this: What is more impactful– that those who have passed in hopelessness are simply acknowledged after their passing, or that they truly be recognized before they pass?
Several years ago I use to be a clinical assistant in a rehab facility for teen boys. I disagreed with the facility’s method of treatment, but one thing was true– if you wanted to get clean, you had to recognize that you had a problem.
While acknowledgement leaves only passive apathy, recognition demands change.
Mark 6:45-56
I recently finished reading through the Gospel of Mark and at the end of chapter 6 I came to a familiar story– Jesus walks on water. But I had never noticed that Mark tells the story a little bit different than Matthew and John. Nowhere in Mark’s account does he ever mention Peter stepping out of the boat to meet Jesus! This struck me as odd since Mark, being a close disciple of Peter’s, is commonly thought of by Bible scholars as “Peter’s Gospel.” Mark had to have know about Peter’s experience, so what was the point in leaving it out?
Growing up, in reference to interpreting Scripture, my dad use to tell me, “Applications are many, but meaning is ONE.”
Through out Mark’s Gospel one question keeps popping up– “who is Jesus?” It’s often the most unlikely of people who are the first to recognize Him. Mark’s meaning is to draw attention to who Jesus is and call others to recognize Him as well, rather than merely acknowledging Him as they move on with their lives.
Here are three contrasts that I see between Jesus’s disciples and the people they encounter once they reach Gennesaret that can help us in our application:
Acknowledgment Brings Despair, While Recognition Brings Hope
Maybe your “storm” is literal like it was here for the disciples. Maybe not. Either way you don’t have to be caught in a storm on the open sea be trapped in desperate time and circumstance.
Read beginning in verse 48.
“…About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass them by, 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.”
–Mark 6:48-50
The greek word translated to “ghost” is where we get the English word for “Phantom.” It was thought that if you were ever so unfortunate to come across a “phantom” that you were about to meet some sort of catastrophe if not your own death. This was enough for the disciples to be TERRIFIED!
Can you imagine what it’s like to live in terror–anticipating the bad that hasn’t even come yet? Unfortunately, this is the way many of us live. According to the DSM-5, the manual used by mental health care professionals in diagnosing metal illness, since 1952 and after the removal of many conditions no longer classified as a disorder, there has been over a 300% increase in recognized mental disorders! MANY of these are attributed to chronic anxiety or traumatic experience. Despite treatment, the epidemic of unchecked anxiety increases. All the while, Biblical answers on the subject are scoffed at if heard at all– Answers from Matthew 6, John 14, Philippians 4, 1 Peter 5 and passages alike.
The disciples acknowledged Jesus, but they didn’t recognize Him. They thought He was a ghost! Had they recognized Him their despair may have turned to hope, especially since He had already calmed a storm for them once. But, as the story progresses, we do see a hopeful reception to Jesus in verse 54, not by the disciples, but from the people of Gennesaret.
“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.”
— Mark 6:54 & 55
When the people of Gennesaret saw Jesus they not only recognized Him, but it filled them with hope! Their hope pushed them to action. Recognition demands change. Does the hope you posses compel you to share that hope with others? When was the last time you acted out of faith?
Acknowledgement Brings Amazement, While Recognition Brings Expectation
When we visit their house, there’s a show my brother-in-law and I like to watch called The Carbonaro Effect. Maybe you’ve seen it. But, if you haven’t, it’s a hidden camera TV show where magician Michael Carbonaro, using his sleight of hand tricks, gets unsuspecting passers-by to believe the unbelievable.
As amazing and convincing as his tricks are, occasionally they don’t go as planned. Every now and then one of his would-be victims recognizes him from the show. Immediately, they suspect something. They usually want to see the trick, but amazement turns to expectation. It’s much the same in our story and in our walk with Christ.
“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.”
–Mark 6:50 & 51
You might be thinking, “well, Evan, that’s pretty amazing. How else do you want them to react?” Well, you’re right in the sense that we can always marvel at God’s incredible power, but verse 52 clues us in to why this was the wrong reaction or at least for the wrong reasons. It says:
“They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves…”
–Mark 6:52
What loaves? Earlier in the same chapter, Jesus just feeds the 5,000. Lots of hungry people… not near enough food… Jesus multiplies it… everybody goes home full and happy. Ok, so, what’s not to understand?
The disciples had acknowledged Jesus’s help, going so far as helping in the distribution and clean up of the food, but they did not RECOGNIZE Jesus or the purpose behind the miracle– to affirm himself as the awaited Savior, God in the flesh. Who else could do such a miracle– feeding people with fish that had never swam and bread made of wheat that had never grown? But here the disciples sit in the boat amazed that the Savior would save and the Creator has power over His creation!
Acknowledgment brings amazement, but, let me tell ya, recognition brings expectation. Look at the reaction by the people of Gennesaret.
“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…”
–Mark 6:54-56
The people of Gennesaret expected the miraculous!
Let me ask you this: Do you change your plans to accommodate for something you don’t expect to happen? Not usually. But if you truly EXPECT something you act accordingly.
What if our spiritual life operated that way? My daughter’s does. Recently, she’s been confused as to why we pray for certain things on a nightly basis. Why would we pray for it again? We already did… God’s on it! But too often I hear hopeless comments in the mist of tough circumstances, and AMAZEMENT when God actually comes through! This shouldn’t be the case. Rather we should expect the miraculous and praise Him regardless of our circumstance!
Acknowledgment Brings Hardened Hearts, while RECOGNITION Brings Healing
The last part of verse 52 initially escaped me more times than I care to admit.
“They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.”
— Mark 6:52
What does it mean to have a hard heart?
Like any other part of us, our heart is susceptible to corruption and callous, loosing its ability to feel or feeling only what it wants to. It’s really a scary thought, and our heart hardens as we push God way, excluding or resisting Him in our lives.
We see several examples in Scripture related to pride, the refusal to confess and repent of sin, a suppression of the Truth to name a few. It’s unclear what specifically the disciples were hung up on, BUT they failed to see who Jesus was, their hearts were hardened and their hardened heart kept them from recognizing Jesus.
Acknowledgment brings hardened Hearts, but RECOGNITION brings healing. Gennesaret found healing.
“They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.”
–Mark 6:56
But that was then. Is this healing for us? Is it for you? Absolutely, yes!
Is it a literal healing? It could be! There’s plenty of Scripture to support that. However, God is capable of more than healing just the physical, and He desires to more in you and through you.
In 1 Thessalonians Paul writes to the Thessalonians that when they received the Gospel they recieved a message that came with power, and that power had such a profound and healing effect that the rest of the world had heard about what was happening in Thessalonica!
How does that hit you? How have the Word and the Holy Spirit that wields it transformed you? How have you been healed and how has it effected you? Or has it?
Forget about changing the WORLD for a second, and just thing about what look like for you in your life– if you loved your spouse a little more, raised your kids a little better, spoke a little more kindly or if you were the one to go out and find others in need of Jesus’ healing. It just might make a difference in the world. And it just might make a difference in the rest of eternity!
This is usually were I would turn the sermon into an invitation for you recognize Jesus, but since I can’t baptize you through the computer I’ll leave you with this:
Acknowledgment brings despair, while recognition bring hope.
Acknowledgment brings amazement, while recognition bring expectation.
And Acknowledgment brings hard hearts, while recognition brings healing.
What is He saying? What are you doing?
Newfound Ramblings 