This series of lessons has orbited the theme of the lordship of Jesus, and now we are due for a summary of the concept. What do Christians mean when they say “Jesus is Lord”?
First, I’ve claimed that a lord acts of his own will without further restraint. “Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps” (Psalm 135:6). The psalmist emphasizes that no realm is excluded from God’s lordship – not heaven, not earth, nor even the ocean deeps. Seas in particular warrant attention, because ancient Hebrews seemed to have a grim view of them. The seas were chaotic places full of unknown dangers. In the Jonah story, the sea was the gateway to Sheol, the grave: “I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever” (Jonah 2:2-6).
Another psalm illustrates this theme well:
When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. (Psalm 77:16–19)
Men may fear the sea, but the sea fears the Lord. The oceans make our knees tremble, but the Lord trembles the deeps. The same Creator who hovered over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2) continues to steer the storms that blow across the waves.
Above all notice the last sentence. The seas for us are chaotic nightmares full of storms. We pull out our maps and navigate them the best we can. But God has a way through them, a paved path prepared beneath his every step. He walks across the ocean effortlessly and yet leaves no sign of his passage. In this we see a powerful image of lordship emerge. Lordship means unfathomable power and mysterious workings even amid the chaos that fills us with fear and uncertainty.
This background provides a canvas for the story found in Mark 6. There, Jesus and his disciples are briefly separated. The disciples travel by boat to the other side of the sea, while Jesus remains behind to dismiss the crowd that he had attracted. He takes the opportunity to climb up a mountain for some alone time in prayer (Mark 6:45–46). “And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land” (6:47).
The significance of the setting is unusual. We don’t often get a glimpse of the “in-between” moments in the life of Jesus. Most of the Gospel accounts give us such a high-level survey of his life that we forget how much must have been left out of these condensed narratives. Truly the world could not contain the books which might record every work of the Lord (John 21:25).
For the disciples, it was a moment alone without their Lord in clear view. When Jesus is present, he is the center of the story and the action. What happens when he does not seem to be acting among them? The early Christian writer Origen believed this scene was an opportunity for a test and growth that could not take place in the Lord’s immediate presence: “The Savior thus compelled the disciples to enter into the boat of testing and to go before him to the other side, so to learn victoriously to pass through difficulties” (ANF 9.434). The challenge for disciples then and now is to believe “Jesus is Lord” even when you can’t see him.
If this is indeed a trial, it does not go well for the disciples. Mark summarizes the whole scene with one bizarre paragraph: “And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out” (Mark 6:48–49). Every detail in that segment fascinates me.
First, “they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.” This is not a story like the one in Mark 4:35-41. There is no threatening storm, only frustrating winds. The disciples aren’t in danger. They just aren’t getting anywhere. I love that detail because it connects to most of our lifetime. The episodes of real lethal challenges are few and far between. The more common reality is the malaise of daily obstacles. Our trials are less often the storms of Jonah and more often the curse of Adam: “thorns and thistles … the sweat of your face” (Genesis 3:17-19). Storms capsize our faith, but stubborn winds erode it. They nag at our efforts and subvert our intentions. Maybe Jesus is Lord, but the boat still isn’t moving.
Second, notice the timestamp on the story: “the fourth watch of the night.” In the preceding story, Mark had mentioned twice that the feeding of the five thousand had been late in the day (Mark 6:35). It was already later in the evening, likely night, when the crowd was dismissed and Jesus prayed alone (6:47). The disciples have been active all day in hectic events, and now have been rowing through the wee hours of the night. The fourth watch is between 3-6 AM when the pre-dawn glow begins on the distant horizon. In the previous story, Mark mentioned that the disciples hadn’t had time to eat (6:31). These guys were now exhausted and still, the boat was going nowhere.
It is at this moment that “he came to them, walking on the sea.” Grammar nerds will notice how funny this verse can be. The main verb is “came,” with the “walking” participle acting to modify it. Jesus came to them, oh and by the way, he was walking on water. No explanation of how a person might do that. Jesus just casually strolls across the sea while seasoned sailors struggle to make progress in their row boat. Nothing to see here.
Moreover, “he meant to pass by them.” Jesus had come to the disciples, but not with a specific purpose for them. His destination was on the other shore, where the sick and weary masses would be gathering in desperate hope of a miracle to be issued from his presence (Mark 6:53–56). Jesus is not walking on the sea to help the disciples; he is on his way to help someone else. Not every story is about you. The Lord works among others, too. A lord is a person beset with the needs of many people dependent on him and facing every sort of obstacle. You are focused on your problems, but a lord is given charge of all problems.
The disciples for their part didn’t know what was happening. “They thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified” (Mark 6:49). Remember, that the seas were considered a sort of passage to the grave. If Jonah could pass downward, perhaps ghosts could pass up as well. Mark does not suggest that they thought they were seeing Jesus’ ghost, as they guessed after the Resurrection (Luke 24:37). No, these are bleary-eyed sailors at 5 AM thinking the chaotic sea has coughed up a haunt. “For they all saw him and were terrified.” We can understand the confusion, just as they were overwhelmed at the Resurrection later on. There is nothing in our experience that prepares us for the effortless power of the Lord. He simply acts as he pleases, and we are left to marvel at the result.
Jesus responds to their fear with calm and assurance. “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” It is at this point that we get a glimpse of how Jesus is Lord is so remarkably different than any other would-be lord. Yes, lords have power. Yes, lords do whatever they please.
But how do they use that power? We know the answer. “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them” (Mark 10:42). Before Samuel agreed to appoint a king over Israel, he offered them an infamous rant about royalty that beings: “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you.” He innumerates all the ways that lords would act, before concluding harshly, “you shall be his slaves” (1 Samuel 8:10-18). What do lords do? Well, they “lord.” They lord over their subjects and assign taxes and burdens. They take what they need or want. They are answerable to no one.
And yet, here is Jesus, lord of the seas, walking on water. He is on his way to fulfill his own purposes and yet stops to attend to his disciples. They are not in danger, but they are frustrated by the chaotic waves and adverse winds of circumstance. He calms them and then does the unthinkable. “He got into the boat with them” (Mark 6:51). Why does a man who can walk on water bother getting into a boat?
The Lord walked on the sea because he could. The Lord got into the boat because you can’t. This scene is the incarnation in miniature, the gospel in a sentence. The chaotic sea surrounds the little boat and the disciples are going nowhere. Then God whose unseen footprints make a path in the sea comes to them and gets into the boat. He does not magically transport them to the other side. He enters into their problem in order to change it. He gets into the boat with us.
When a Christian says that Jesus is Lord, we do not simply mean that Jesus is a true, historical figure. Nor do we simply mean that God is Lord over all creation. We mean that Jesus is Lord. Jesus, this person who lived among us and shared all our struggles is that same God who is Lord over all. “Jesus is Lord” means the God of the Universe is for us even in the chaos. Especially in the chaos.
And the chaos trembles before Him.