Ben Shiller Jacob
When we explore Gospels, specifically in Mark and John, we see in two contexts where Jesus acted in a similar fashion which didn’t make any sense to his disciples at that point. We notice Jesus’ special action one in Mark chapter 6 when Jesus walked on the water and another one in Luke 24 when Jesus joined his two disciples on the way to Emmaus. It is very interesting to see how our Lord acted in these two different scenarios in the same way.
Let’s look at the former context, Yeshua walks on the water,
48 Jesus saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them.
Mark 6:48
The Scripture is straightforward that the disciples were lost in the wind and waves plus it is dark. We should take note one thing here that majority of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen. Nobody knows waterbodies in those areas better than them. So, the tempest they had this time was deadly for sure. Though they were skilled and experienced fishermen, they couldn’t withstand this tempest which was beyond their skill and experience. Now, they were at the verge of point of their death. On the land, Yeshua was watching them as if nothing was happening to his children. When His time came, Jesus stepped on the water, began to walk towards disciples’ boat. As He got closer to the boat, surprisingly Jesus pretended to go farther from their boat amidst this violent storm. See the irony! This event was nothing but a life-or-death moment in which our Lord was intending to pass them by.
Now let’s see the other context, the walk to Emmaus,
28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on.
Luke 24:28
We see the same manner from Yeshua here as well. While two disciples of Jesus were having a lecture class from their Master unknowingly, their destiny had arrived. At that point, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. Irrespective of circumstances’ demands, Yeshua acted differently.
So, the next question would be WHY did Lord Yeshua pretended to go beyond his disciples’ problems in these scenarios?
There is more than one answer to this question.
First, Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings. Every creation that is visible and invisible, is subjected to Him.
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:15-16
In every situation no matter how hard it can be, Jesus is Lord over in every circumstance, and He is in control of every situation. If that is true, nothing happens without His knowledge. In the book of Job, Yahweh allows Satan to touch Job’s body and all his possessions but restricted him to touch Job’s soul. Similarly, here Yeshua allowed Satan to test disciples for a period. All these incidences were orchestrated beautifully by Yeshua with the divine counsel of Father God.
Secondly, when we analyze two scenarios, in the first one, disciples desperately needed a deliverer to save them from the storm and in second one, those two disciples reached their home. They didn’t need anything at this point. Their destination had arrived. Th reason Yeshua pretended to go farther from them was to stretch their faith and expand their understanding. Every miracle Jesus performed was not for his personal popularity but all of them were meant for instilling faith in humanity. Yeshua wanted and so curious to see how His disciples would react whether they would approach Him in faith or not.
Finally, as we know Jesus was God and a man simultaneously. In John 4:23 says, God is Spirit. Earth has been given to man. Though Yeshua is sovereign over everything. He doesn’t violate the protocol He put in place. The earth is a physical realm. In this realm, no spirit can do anything without the help of a man whether it is God or devil. The authority over earth is given to man. Whenever God wants to do a thing on earth, He raises a godly man. Without a man, God does nothing on earth. While keeping this in our mind, it makes so much sense why Yeshua pretended to go past them. It is because He needed an invitation to their life. He waited until they used their will to let Him in their boat or in their house to dine in. Because our Lord is not a controlling Spirit unlike devil who forces and breaks into life with or without invitation. He respects and honors His creations so much so that He would wait patiently until each one of us use our will to let Him in each matter and aspect of our life.