LET US CROSS OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE

Pastor Maselo Mosomane

“Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.’ And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, ‘Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!’ Luke 8:22-25

Many times Jesus used parables to teach His audience. Matthew tells us that “Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them” Matthew 13:34 Years before Jesus was born, the Psalmist uttered this amazing statement about the coming Messiah; “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” Psalm 78:2

The portion of scripture we have just quoted in the opening is not a parable; it is an incident, i.e. it really happened. We might as well say it is history. Real people like you and I accepted an invitation from Jesus when He said; “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake” Matthew and Mark render the word “lake” as sea. Matthew 8:23 and Mark 4:39.  It is therefore safe for us to use the two words interchangeably without any fear of error.

Likewise, you and I accepted the invitation of Jesus (I suppose) when He showed up in our lives by the preaching of the Gospel through His servants. ‘Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.’

My understanding is that; they were in a particular area when He invited them to cross over to the other side of the lake. ‘The other side of the lake’ suggests another land that side of the lake - between where they were and where they should go. But there was a lake or sea between these two lands. For them to reach the other side, two options existed; one, they could walk around the sea; two, they could sail across the sea. Walking around the sea means “going there in their own strength and effort” while on the other hand sailing means “to be carried over there by a boat” But Jesus invited them  to face the sea and cross over and not to walk around. He said; ‘Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.’

What shall we say to these things? This historical event depicts our journey to “the other side.” Jesus found us this side of the “lake or sea” and invites us to the other side. The present world as it is, denotes “this side of the lake” while “the other side” is a type of heaven where Jesus is taking us to. We don’t get there in our own effort. Jesus has arranged a transport (the boat); “the church” to take us there. The good thing about the whole arrangement is that He goes together with us. Isn’t it comforting to learn that He will never leave us nor forsake us?

As you will recall, there is a sea to cross in order to reach our destination. The Scripture says while they were in the middle of the sea something unexpected happened. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy; Mark puts it this way; And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. Mark 4:37. Their lives were threatened.

Is this not like our journey Christians? When we got saved we expected heaven on earth. We never expected the sail to be so rough. We never expected any storm. We never expected any financial typhoon. We never looked forward to relational sea waves. We never expected pain and suffering. All we expected was promotion and big salaries coming our way; but we get retrenched and fired. Why are things turning out this way? What went wrong? Or is it because of my short comings.

Well beloved; the sea will always be the sea and will always develop waves – some of them higher and faster than our boats. The world system will always misbehave. Recession resulting in job losses, high food prices, petrol price, etc. will always be there. Most of them higher than our salaries.

The good news is that Jesus never left the boat. He is always there when we go through troubled waters. The disciples called on Him and He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. Beloved; we are not sailing alone. We are with Jesus; Creator of Heaven and earth. All we have to do is call on Him in time of trouble and He will deliver us and we will glorify Him. He is El-Shaddai and all things obey Him. Storms take orders from Him. He is above weather conditions. Who can compare with Him? THAT’S MY JESUS – THAT’S MY KING