Jeff Adams

Jesus is my hero, but he’s no super hero. Hold that thought and I’ll get back to it.

I was reading Mark 6 and following the flow of the story. Jesus had just feed the 5,000 with five biscuits and a couple of fish. The crowd went wild. Jesus sent his disciples on ahead in the boat toward the other side of Lake Galilee while he sent the crowd away.

The disciples later found themselves caught in a terrific headwind and had been rowing with all their might for eight hours without getting anywhere. Suddenly, they see what they perceive to be a ghost-like figure coming toward them over the waters as if to pass them by. It’s Jesus! He tells them to not be afraid and joins them in the boat. They are absolutely blown away! Here’s how Mark records it.

And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. Mark 6:51-52

Why are they so amazed? What’s surprising about this?

Here’s the problem. If Jesus could supernaturally feed 5,000 men with those meager biscuits and fish and still have twelve baskets of food left over, it only stands to reason that he could walk on water, calm the fierce winds, heal hang nails, move that moron out of your office or anything else he wanted to do.

The disciples, like so many of us, took Jesus for a super hero. By that I mean that we think Jesus can do certain things, but not everything. Beginning with Superman back in 1938, super heroes have become part of youthful imagination. While Superman is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and can leap tall buildings in a single bound, he has this problem with kryptonite. Super heroes have super human powers, but only in narrowly defined areas. Some, like Batman, have no special powers at all. Batman is just very smart and intuitive, though he dresses a bit strange. The disciples thought Jesus was an amazing supernatural food provider; they had no idea he could walk on water. What would he do next!

Listen. If Jesus is who he claims to be, he can do it all. He is the sovereign God. There is no limit to his power. Theologians call this omnipotence, one of God’s attributes.

We love to share testimonies about answered prayer and the power of God. But, when it comes time to really pray, I sometimes find myself saying under my breath, “THAT’S not going to happen!”

How dare I limit God! But, the truth is, I do. And I seem to do it often. The problem is not with God’s power but with my perspective. If Jesus can do anything, he can do everything. When will I get my head heart around this?

In his account of the story Mark gives us the problem. He says the disciples couldn’t connect the dots between the feeding of the 5,000 and walking on water because their hearts were hardened. This doesn’t mean they were evil people, rebellious or heretics. It simply means that their hearts were not pliable and exercised enough for their faith to function properly.

The is true in the physical realm. Bad diet and no exercise can result in hardened arteries and all sorts of heart problems, even though one may be a delightful person and faithful church member.

Just as I try to be faithful to exercise and eat right, I want to assure my spiritual heart and senses get proper exercise (Hebrews 5:11-14) so I don’t allow my heart to get hardened (Hebrews 3:7-15 and 4:6-13) and begin to compartmentalize God’s power.

Do you think of Jesus as a super hero?