JEWELS From The GOSPEL Of JOHN: RECEIVING JESUS - JOHN 6:21

The following is a series of short exhortations, brief commentary and writings to convey thoughtful meditation on God's Word.

I have chosen the Gospel of John as the subject. I pray that these will be a blessing and an edification for the saints.

JOHN 6:21

21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.

Jesus is the LORD of the storms in this world; every issue, every burden, every conflict, sorrow, pain and suffering is a result of the storm of sin; sin brought about chaos to that which was once the perfectly ordered and balanced creation of GOD. Now everything is off kilter and as a result we see tumults, not just in weather, but in all aspects of this world: its politics, its economics, its various societies and nations as well as religions.

And the storms of sin are growing into hellish hurricanes that threaten to overwhelm the saints, just as these disciples were in that storm on Galilee. But for the LORD Jesus Himself, they would have succumbed with despair (MATT 8:25). Yet He proved Himself by commanding the storm to submit to His will. Such is the fate of every storm in our lives individually, as well as collectively as the church, the body of Christ, when the LORD determines that enough is enough, when the storm has served its purpose and we've learned valuable lessons by our faithful Father.

Now these men in the boat were already disciples, followers of Christ; they had faith in Him at the beginning when He said, "Follow Me" (MATT 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 10:38; 16:24). Yet they weren't fully aware of Who He is: "Who is this man that even the sea and the winds obey Him?" (MATT 8:27). Yet their faith in Christ was genuine, growing and once the LORD Jesus rose from the dead, confirmed and matured.

Yet we find that after our initial receiving of Christ in our lives (JOHN 1:12), upon our spiritual rebirth, that we continue to receive Him into various parts of our lives; areas that have not yet been fully surrendered, but haven't escaped the all-knowing LORD that tenderly loves and cares for us. He is faithful to enter these areas, even if He has to prompt us through trials, afflictions and storms to surrender them - not only to show us how disabled we are to deal with these things, and thus to cry out to Him, but to deliver us from those very same disabilities that we've closeted away in the darkness. 

A word about those who disparage the idea of souls "receiving Christ" - pointing out that since this is the Sovereign LORD of Glory we're talking about, it hardly matters if we 'receive Him' or not; what's more important is whether or not He receives us!
Yet the LORD Jesus, having paved the way to the Father by His own precious blood, is ready to receive any and all sinners who will acknowledge their sin and confess Him as LORD and Savior (as all of us who are disciples have done):

HEBREWS 10:19-21

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God;

JOHN 6:37

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

The ball is in the court of the lost soul then:

ROMANS 10:9-10

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

So getting back to our text of JOHN 6:21, consider the first three words:

"Then they willingly . . ." They heard His voice, "It is I; be not afraid" and they were willing to receive Him into their ship.

We can sometimes wail and complain in the midst of our trials, rebelling against the pain, the loneliness, the rejection, the fatal diagnosis, etc. Yet when once the child of GOD hears, "It is I; be not afraid" they recognize His hand in their dire circumstances. The peace of the very Prince of peace envelopes us as we surrender to our LORD in the situation we struggled so hard against.

When once He steps into the vessel of vexation and suffering, when He is near us and we partake of "the fellowship of His sufferings" (PHIL 3:10), the storms cease (MATT 14:32) or if it doesn't cease, He gives us the peace in the midst of the storm (PHIL 4:7), so that the tumult doesn't matter any more. Jesus is LORD!

Notice also that once He stepped into the boat, "immediately the ship was at the land where they went". It sounds to me as though that ship was still a ways away from the shore, but then once the LORD stepped into it, bam! They were on the shore! The storm ended, the toil was over, the trial completed!
In the fiery furnace of Daniel's three friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (more famously known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego), the LORD remained in the furnace until these three faithful witnesses stepped out of that place and were safe (See DAN 3:25-26).

It is the LORD Who goes before us, and Who is also our rearguard (ISAIAH 58:8), and hems us in on every side with His shield that is His Spirit (JOB 1:10).

There are some trials that we as saints will have to weather, and we won't reach that shore until this life ends. But in any case, they will end, and for eternity we shall be free of all such terrible weather; we will have landed on those celestial shores and know the serene freedom of heavenly skies as we never could imagine!

Then (if not in this life) we will understand the reasons why we had to endure such things. 

If such trials end while we still breath this terrestrial air, while we may not yet understand the purposes of these things, it is enough to know the LORD understands them, and that according to His wisdom, they've affected us in the way that He intended (ISAIAH 64:8). Therefore we are enabled to be used of the LORD in greater and deeper ways (2 TIM 2:21) that brings glory to Him, expansion to His kingdom and eternal reward for us!

May we receive JESUS and His will and purpose for our lives, granting Him access to every single room bar none, every dark closet and dusty shelf in our house, and give Him free reign over it all, including those things that confront us and threaten to destroy us (remember, you are indestructible until the LORD says otherwise).

PHILIPPIANS 1:6
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ

Next time, we'll look at JOHN 6:22-24 in the exhortation, Seeking Jesus.