What is a hard heart? Do you have one? We often think of a person with a hard heart as being angry, unforgiving, unkind, or down-right mean; but that’s not it at all.
You have a hard heart when you’ve seen miracles in the past, but you still don’t believe.
You have a hard heart when you see a miracle in the present, and it shocks you.
You have a hard heart when you don’t expect miracles in your future.
When Jesus walked on the water, His disciples thought they were seeing a ghost. In Mark’s account of the event, we see that not only did the disciples have fear and doubt, they were absolutely shocked and beside themselves with astonishment at this miracle of Jesus walking on the waves and then calming the storm. Mark gave us the reason that they were so astounded:
“And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, BECAUSE THEIR HEART WAS HARDENED.” (Mark 6:51-52)1
Mark was referring to a miracle from earlier in the day, the feeding of the five thousand. In Mark 6:52 where it says they had not “understood” about the loaves it’s the Greek word “syniemi,” and it means “to put the perception with the thing perceived.”2 In other words, THEY DIDNT CONNCT THE MIRACLE WITH THE MIRACLE WORKER. They had just seen Jesus feed the five thousand, but even that amazing miracle did not penetrate their hearts enough to keep them from fearing the storm on the sea. Their hearts were hard to who He was (and still is!) because they were more preoccupied with the waves than with the One who had authority over the waves.
The reason that they were so amazed that Jesus walked on the water is because they didn’t expect Him to be able to do that. The disciples’ “heart was hardened” because they did not consider – or connect the dots – that JESUS was the source of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. They had seen Him solve an impossible problem (feeding the five thousand), but when they encountered another impossible situation just a short time later (the storm at sea), they were terrified. It wasn’t until after the wind ceased and the power of God was displayed that they “were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.”
The disciples had seen Jesus do alot of miracles, but they still doubted. Why? Because their focus was the natural circumstance that they could see. They’d had a front row seat to many miracles before the feeding of the 5000:
turning water into wine
healing multitudes of people
raising the dead
casting out demons
wind and waves obeying Jesus on a previous occasion
And not only that, Jesus had even gave THEM the power to do miracles:
“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)
Even so, they had a hard heart.
One day I pray that the body of Christ (and this includes myself!) will get so accustomed to seeing the miraculous that nothing will shock us. We will praise Jesus in the middle of the storm and expect a good outcome, instead of waiting until we see it to believe it.
But it will only happen when we “understand about the loaves” and connect the miracle with the Miracle Worker.
(from pages 361-362 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
2G4920 (syniēmi), Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, website: http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G4920&t=KJV, accessed 6-24-14
