Northwest Pastor

Jesus brought the disciples out of their comfort zone

When Jesus walks on water his disciples are horrified. They've seen Jesus break the laws of nature several times over, but this miracle pushes them outside of their level of comfort. Jesus reassures them, and they take comfort in God's sovereignty by seeing that his power has no bounds—he can do literally anything, even walk on water.

Jesus also puts the disciples in situations where danger is imminent. The Jews wanted to stone Jesus because he kept saying that he was God, and the disciples thought it prudent to hunker down and let the mob's anger pass. When Jesus hears of Lazarus' death, the disciples protest going back to Judea in hopes to save their own tails. Jesus responds by telling them that if they are doing good before God, why hide before men? They are putting their safety before the saving of Lazarus' life, and Jesus pushes them through their fear gently—not in a rebuking manner, but in a clear, focused, and resolved manner.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

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