Bible Studies

JESUS WAS A MAN AND MASTER OF THE SEA

by GLENN PEASE
02/16/22
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So much of the life of Jesus took place by the sea and in the sea. He was always teaching large crouds by the sea, and always traveling on the sea with HIs disciples. He even walked on the sea on one ocasion and He was the master of the sea and stoped it from sinking the boat of His disciples. Many of His disciples were fishermen and their lives revolved around the sea, and that affected the relationship they had with Jesus. They did much with Jesus on and around the sea. When Jesus moved from Nazarus He moved to the sea. We read it in Matthew 4:13, " He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali." Jesus loved to be by the sea.

He taught, He healed, and He saved many by the seaside. Then He called His closest followers from their careers on the sea to follow Him for their lives. He was a sea oriented person for sure. Look at the following text as just a few that link Jesus and the sea

Matthew 13:1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

Mark 3:7,8,20,21 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, …

Mark 4:1 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.

Note in this last text that it was again he began to teach by the sea side. Jesus did not just happen once to do this. It was a common practice for Him to do His teaching by the sea side. The result was that some of His greatest miracles took place on the sea. He saw to it that the frustrated disciples who could catch no fish were blessed with a miraculous catch of more fish than they had ever seen. He also stilled the great storm on the sea that threatened the lives of His disciples. Jesus was constantly involved with the sea.

Even after His resurrection He was involved with the sea. We read in John 21:1 "After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way." The chapter goes on to reveal the miracle of fishes Jesus gave to his disciples, and then the breakfast He prepared for them on the banks of the sea. He was sea oriented even after His death and resurrection. That was a place of comfort for Jesus and His followers.

Jesus revealed that He was the Master of the sea when He stilled the violent wind that would have sent His disciples to the depths of the sea had He not come to their rescue. The poet tells the story-

A Little Ship Was on the Sea

1

A little ship was on the sea,

It was a pretty sight;

It sailed along so pleasantly,

And all was calm and bright.

The sun was sinking in the west;

The shore was near at hand;

And those on board with hearts at rest

Thought soon to reach the land.

2

When lo! a storm began to rise;

The wind grew loud and strong;

It blew the clouds across the skies;

It blew the waves along.

And all but One were sore afraid

Of sinking in the deep;

His head was on a pillow laid,

And He was fast asleep.

3

"Master, we perish; Master, save!"

They cried; their Master heard:

He rose, rebuked the wind and wave,

And stilled them with a word.

He to the storm said, "Peace, be still!"

The raging billows cease;

The mighty winds obey His will,

And all are hushed in peace.

4

They greatly wondered—so may we,

And ask as well as they—

Who could this glorious Person be

Whom winds and seas obey?

O well we know it was the Lord,

The Savior and the Friend,

Whose care of those who trust His Word

Will never, never end.

Do­ro­thy A. Thrupp, 1840.

Max Lucado wrote, "Jesus didn’t even need a remote. He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to His disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ — Mark 4:39-40

Incredible. He didn’t chant a mantra or wave a wand. No angels were called; no help was needed. The raging water became a stilled sea, instantly. Immediate calm. Not a ripple. Not a drop. Not a gust. In a moment the sea went from a churning torrent to a peaceful pond. The reaction of the disciples? Read it in verse 41:

They were in absolute awe, staggered. ‘Who is this, anyway?’ they asked. ‘Wind and sea at His beck and call!’ — Mark 4:41 The Message They’d never met a man like this. The waves were His subjects, and the winds were His servants."

Jesus was the master of the sea just as His Father was in the Old Testament. We read in Psalm 107:29-30, " 29 He xmade the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven." That sounds like God doing the same thing that Jesus was doing in this storm on the sea. Then we read in Job 9:8, " 8 who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea;" Here then the Father is walking on the sea just as Jesus did. Jesus was imitating His Father on the sea making it clear that He was indeed the Master of the sea just as His Father was in the Old Testament.

Jesus made it clear on a number of occasions that He was Master of the sea, and poets love to write of His mastery of it. Another author wrote,-

“It is I; be not afraid.”

-MARK 6:47-51.

THE night is dark, the winds are high,

Black rolling clouds obscure the sky;

Fierce bursts the storm that sweeps the sea

Of. thy green shores, O Galilee:

In vain you boatmen ply the oar,

And toil to gain the wished-for shore.

Oh, never, since first seamen brave

Ventured to trust the treacherous wave,

Did bark so rich a freight contain,

Nor e'er shall hold so rich again

As that now tossing on the sea,

Of thy green shores, O Galilee.

No silk, or pearls, or dust of gold,

That little storm-tossed skiff may hold;

No men of wealth, or power, or birth,

The wise and mighty of the earth:

Man's eye therein no more could see

Than fishermen of Galilee.

Soldiers of Christ those boatmen are,

Listed for faith's all-glorious war;

The chosen heralds of God's grace,

Sent forth to ev'ry clime and race,

To battle with the hosts of hell,

And God's glad news of mercy tell.

Oh, how would hell's dark vaults profound,

With yells of fiendish triumph sound,

The hosts of darkness shout with joy,

Could Satan's craft that bark destroy;

And those poor boatmen find their grave,

Deep in the Galilean wave!

Ye tempests howl! ye billows swell!

Rage on, ye mighty gates of hell!

Muster your hosts; arm all your powers-

The rack, the stake, the dungeon's towers:

Before those men ye all shall fail;

They shall, through Christ, o'er all prevail.

Foul is the wind, the waves run high,

Their wearied oars in vain they ply,-

When lo! a wondrous form of light

Bursts on the darkness of the night,

And walks upon the depths profound,

As if the sea were solid ground.

With throbbing hearts, in wild amaze,

The startled boatmen trembling gaze,

“It is a spirit," lo! they cry,

As to their bark its steps draw nigh;

Such visions of the night, more drear

To mortal hearts, than sword or spear.

“Fear not: 't is I; be not afraid,”

With well-known voice, their Master said.

“Fear not: 't is I; be of good cheer,

Nor let your hearts give way to fear.

I walk upon the liquid wave,

Jesus, Emmanuel, strong to save.”

“It is the Lord!" they gladly cry

What joy succeeds their agony!”

It is the Lord! our Savior near,

What room is there for care, or fear?

All earth and hell we can defy

If we but know our Lord is nigh.”

“If it indeed be Thou, my Lord,”

Peter replies, " but speak the word,

And I myself will walk the sea,

Guide Thy poor shattered vessel home;

Bid the wild blasts and tempests cease:

Oh, come,-and then 't will all be peace!

Landed oh Canaan's heavenly shore,

We 'll love, and worship, and adore.

Fearless of aught, to come to Thee!”

He bids him come; he leaves the bark,

And ventures on those waters dark.

Oh, wondrous power of living faith!

Who credits what Jehovah saith,

And on almighty love relies,

Dares all impossibilities;

Shuts lions' mouths, the furnace braves,

Quenches the fires, and walks the waves.

Creation owns its sovereign Lord,

The sea sustains Him at His word:

He, who of old, by Moses' rod,

Taught its proud waves to know their God,

And bade them stand like walls of brass,

To let His Israel safely pass,

Now, in man's meek and lowly form,

Commands the waves, and rules the storm.

He will His Peter's feet uphold

While Peter's faith is bright and bold,

And make him as securely stand

As if the sea were solid land.

But oh, how wavering is our faith!

At times Thy martyrs smile at death,

Armies of aliens put to flight,

Wax valiant in the hottest fight;

And then anon their cheeks grow pale,

Their arms hang down and footsteps fail.

But still the sky is overcast;

More loudly howls the infuriate blast;

Madly the billows rage, as they

Were loth to lose their wonted prey;

From Christ to them he turns his eyes:

“Save, Lord, I perish," Peter cries.

He sinks beneath the yawning flood,

Where erst by faith he safely stood:

Oh, well for him his Lord was near,

And quick his drowning cries to hear,

And stretch His mighty hand to save

His servant from the watery grave!

“O thou of little faith," He said,

“Why was thy foolish heart afraid?”

Ah, Lord, 't is ever thus with me

Unmoved I stand while trusting Thee;

But sink, whene'er I turn my eyes

On the dark waves that round me rise.

They reach the ship: with joyful breast

They welcome their Almighty Guest;

The clouds disperse, the storm is laid,

The winds His bidding have obeyed;

And soon they reach the wished-for shore,

And wondering at His feet adore.

Jesus, while Thou to heaven art gone,

Thy Church is, like that bark, alone,

Tossed on the sea,-and all is night,

While tempests vex and waves affright;

In vain we toil with lab'ring oar,

And strive to gain the heavenly shore.

And if some, bolder than the rest,

Venture to dare the watery waste,

How soon, alas! their footsteps fail,

As doubt and unbelief prevail;

How oft, when sinking in the wave,

We cry, "We perish, Jesus! save.”

Haste, then, O Savior, quickly come,

Guide Thy poor shattered vessel home;

Bid the wild blasts and tempests cease:

Oh, come,-and then ‘twill all be peace!

Landed on Canaan’s heavenly shore,

We’ll love and worship, and adore.

James George Deck

William Quayle wrote much about Jesus and the sea, and at one place he wrote, "He haunts it all always as music haunts the waves. He seems part of the sea. His figure against a waste of blue daylight waters or against gray evening waves, or in the starry night, is immortal artistry, and his voice when he speaks outmusics all sea-music.

The sea has bewitched all the poets. It bewitched the Chief Poet. He was so sensitive to all it was as nobody could be, for he attuned its harp. He taught the winds to belly the sails. He put barriers to its vaunting waves. He took the dumb fish which people its depths to enforce the truths of the gospel. A fish became the emblem of Christ cut on the early Christian cameos because the Greek spelling of fish, ichtTius, gave the letters of Ghristos. Ulysses has haunted all the poets since those wind sea days of his. Tennyson has presented him in his great sea poem submerged in music and mystery. And it is well to be set to Ulysses' music, but what is Ulysses to Christ? What was his little voyaging compared to the far sailing of Jesus? What is his sea hunger of purpose to sail beyond the sunset, and the baths of all the western seas until he died, when Jesus puts out to sea on a deathless voyage for himself and for us all? Christ is the regal and deathless Ulysses."

If you have any doubt about Jesus and His love of the sea, go to the last chapter of the Gospel of John. This is John's final chapter on the life of Jesus and we see Jesus appearing after His resurrection on shore of the sea making breakfast for his disciples. He does a marvelous miracle and gives them more fish that they can handle, showing again that He is master of the sea. He feeds them a bread and fish breakfast and then deals with Peter. Jesus chose to make His final day of fellowship with His fishermen buddies to be a fun time on the seashore. Jesus was definitely a man of the sea.

I want to end this study with another poem that says it all when we think of Jesus as the man and the master of the sea.

Jesus, Captain of Life's Sea

I have a friend in Jesus

Who guides me through the gale

A first mate and a skipper

Who helps me to set sail.

He offers strength and guidance

A helmsman at the wheel

An ever-steady beam of light

A fortress made of steel.

He's the master of the ocean

My refuge and my rock

A harbor that I turn to

My anchor at life's dock.

He's a mighty sailing warrior

A helping hand indeed

A pilot through the churning waves

He meets my every need.

He's the One I always run to

When the waves won't let me be

The lighthouse that I turn to

On a rough and troubled sea.

He's a smoothly sailing vessel

A refuge from the storm

The gentle breeze that sends me to

An island, sweet and warm.

He's a brave and fearless skipper

A shelter from the heat

Water when I'm thirsty

A vessel filled with wheat.

He's a sure and steady sailor

My Captain on life's sea

No matter where I journey

He goes along with me.

Copyright © Marilyn Ferguson 2003

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For those with an interest you can go to the following site and see information and images of Christ as a statue under the Mediterranean Sea and another off Key Largo, Florida. Of the one under the Mediterranean it is called "THE CHRIST OF THE ABYSS." Scuba divers come from all over the world to see it.

https://aleteia.org/2019/10/06/this-statue-of-jesus-was-intentionally-submerged-in-the-mediterranean-sea/