Matthew 14:22-33

The Narrative Section of Matthew We are Currently in…

Is Focused on Answering the Question:

“Who is Jesus?”

Last Week, Jesus Fed Over 5,000 People with 5 Loaves of Bread and 2 Fish

This Confirmed to this Jewish Crowd that Jesus is in Fact the Messiah

John 6:14 (NASB95)

14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Our Text this Morning Takes Place Immediately After Jesus Feeds the Crowds

In this Text, We’re Going to See One of Jesus’ Most Recognized Miracles

And this Time His Disciples will Be the Ones to Acknowledge Him for Who He is

By the End of the Lesson, We Will Learn a Powerful Way to Deal with Temptation…

And a Foolproof Way of Being Saved From Our Sins

Matthew 14:22–23 (NASB95)

22 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

Immediately After Jesus Fed the Crowd…

He “Made” = “Compelled/Forced” His Disciples…

To Get Into the Boat and Sail to the Other Side of the Sea

As They’re Doing that, Jesus Quickly Sends the Crowds Away

What’s Going On?

Why is He Forcefully Making Everyone Leave?

And Why the Rush?

Matthew Doesn’t Tell Us What is Going on Here, But John Does

John 6:15 (NASB95)

15 So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

The Miraculous Feeding was Clear to the Crowd

Jesus is the Messiah Who’s Come to Establish His Reign and Deliver His People

This is the One They’ve Been Waiting for

And They Were Ready for Him to Take His Throne

But Jesus Knew it Wasn’t Time for that Yet

His Inauguration to the Throne Would Come Soon Enough

But Not Yet, and Not in this Way

This was Not God’s Will for Jesus

This is Not How His Kingdom is to Be Established

And He Did Not Want His Disciples Falling for it

So He Nips it Right in the Bud

He Sends His Disciples One Direction and the Crowds in the Other

(Put Matthew 14:22-23 Back Up)

After Dismissing Everyone, Jesus Went Up on a Nearby Mountain to Pray

Matthew Only Mentions Jesus Praying on 2 Occasions:

The Night of His Betrayal in Gethsemane

And Here

We See Several Similarities Between These Occasions

On Both Occasions He was Praying Throughout the Night

We’ll See the Evidence to that in Verse 25

On Both Occasions He was Experiencing a Time of Crisis

On the Mountain, John had Been Executed By the King…

And Now the King is Looking for Jesus

In the Garden, One of His Best Friends has Just Betrayed Him…

And Now the Authorities are Coming for Him

On Both Occasions He was Experiencing Great Temptation

Do You Remember the 3rd Temptation Jesus Faced in the Wilderness?

If He Would Only Bow Down and Worship the Devil…

He Would Be Made King of the World

This was a Temptation to Jesus

He was Tempted to Do this

Jesus Wants to Rule Over the World

He Desires to Be Our Leader, Provider, and Savior

But it Must Be Done According to God’s Plan of Redemption

On the Mountain, He had a Crowd of Thousands Wanting to Make Him King

I Believe this is One of the Main Reasons Jesus Acted the Way He Did

He Immediately and Forcefully Sent Everyone Away

Why?

Because What They Wanted was Not What God Wanted

But Also, I Believe, Because Jesus Wanted the Same Thing

In the Garden, Jesus Prayed for Another Way

He Dreaded the Pain, Suffering, and Death of the Cross

He Wanted a Way Out of Suffering

But that was Not God’s Will

And that’s Why He Prayed, “Your Will Be Done, Not Mine”

I Wonder if on that Mountain, in the Heat of Temptation…

He Could Be Heard Repeating Those Words:

“Your Will Be Done, Not Mine”

Matthew 14:24–27 (NASB95)

24 But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

According to John, the Disciples had Traveled About 3-4 Miles into the Sea of Galilee

They Were Being Battered (“Tormented”) By the Waves

Mark Tells Us They Were “Harassed in Rowing”

They Were Giving it All They had But Weren’t Getting Anywhere

Then at the 4th Watch (Between 3 to 6 a.m.)…

Jesus Came Walking on the Water Toward Them

They’ve Been Up All Night Fighting Against this Storm

They would Have Been Exhausted at this Point

Put Yourself in Their Position:

You’re Tired From a Long Evening of Feeding Thousands of People…

And Hours of Overnight Rowing in a Stormy Sea

Then You See a Figure Walking Toward You on the Water

Psychologically, How are You Feeling at this Moment?

You’re Feeling Exactly Like the Disciples Were Feeling

You are Scared Out of Your Mind

But then Jesus Speaks to Them and Says:

“Be Courageous and Do Not Be Afraid”

Our English Translations Don’t Quite Communicate…

The Power of How Jesus Introduces Himself:

English = “It is I”

Greek = “I Am”

Hinting to Us of the Divine Name of God

What We Read Next is Something that Only Matthew Tells Us About

Matthew 14:28–33 (NASB95)

28 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

If You Grew Up Going to Bible Classes, You’re Familiar with this Passage

As is Often the Case with Peter…

We See Ourselves in Him in So Many Ways

We Have Our Moments of Amazing Faith (Peter Walking on Water)

And We Have Our Moments of Little Faith (Peter Sinking in Water)

Jesus Asked Peter Why He “Doubted”

Doubt = “To Be Divided in 2”

Peter was Divided in 2

He had Faith in the Power of Jesus to Keep Him From Sinking

But Then He Started Believing that the Storm was More Powerful

Faith and Fear Can’t Coexist…

Just Like Light and Darkness Can’t Coexist

Light Casts Out Darkness

But if Light Disappears, Darkness Takes Over

Faith Casts Out Fear

But What Happens When Faith Disappears?

Fear Takes Over

When We Fully Trust God, We will Not Fear Anything

But When We Stop Trusting Him…

We will Fear Everything

Peter had Great Faith When He Stepped Out of the Boat…

But When He Stopped Trusting, He Began to Fear

But Peter Cried Out to Jesus and Jesus Saved Him

Upon Entering the Boat, the Storm Stopped…

And John Tells Us They Were Immediately at the Shore

This Led to the Disciples Worshiping Jesus and Making this Claim:

“You are Certainly God’s Son!”

If Only for this Moment, They Recognized Who He is

He is God’s Son

He is the Anointed King - The Messiah/Christ

Matthew is Showing Us Over and Over Who Jesus is:

He is the God-Anointed King of Heaven and Earth…

Who has Come to Rescue His People and Restore All Things

Applications

I Want to Look at 2 Lessons We can Learn From this Passage…

On How to Fight Against Temptation and Sin

We All Constantly at Battle with Temptation

And if We’re Being Honest…

We Often Lose Our Battles

From this Passage We Learn How to Beat Temptation From Jesus

And We Learn How to Beat Sin From Peter

We Learn From Jesus to Flee and Pray

When Jesus was Tempted By the Crowds Wanting to Make Him King…

His Immediate Reaction was to Get Himself and His Disciples Out of that Situation

He Ran From the Temptation to His Father

And He Prayed All Throughout the Night

We Don’t Know What Jesus Prayed on that Mountain…

But We Know What He Prayed in the Garden

“Not My Will, But Yours Be Done”

“It’s Not About What I Want God, it’s About What You Want”

“Help Me Submit to Your Will and Not My Own”

When We are Facing Temptation…

We are Facing the Selfishness of Our Fallen Nature

We Have Desires and We are Tempted to Pursue Them in Ways…

That are Contrary to How God Wants Us to Live

What Better Prayer Could We Offer But…

“Father, Help Me Desire and Pursue Your Will and Not My Own”?

What Better Prayer Could We Offer in Temptation?

So One Powerful Strategy Against Temptation is:

Run, Flee, Get Out of the Situation You are in

Fleeing will Look Different Depending Upon the Temptation You are Facing

But Jesus Himself Told Us:

Matthew 5:29–30 (NASB95)

29 “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.30 “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

Whatever it is that is Leading to You Being Tempted to Sin…

Get Rid of it

And Surrender Yourself to the Will of God in Prayer

“Your Will Be Done and Not Mine!”

But What About the Times Where We’ve Already Given in?

What are We to Do When Sin has Already Won the Battle?

Is There Any Hope for Us When We are Sinking into the Depths of Sin?

We Learn From Peter to Call Out to the Savior

Sometimes Life can Be Like that Stormy Sea

Waves of Temptation are Constantly Tormenting Us

We Try Our Best to Walk with Jesus Over Those Waves…

But if We Take Our Eyes Off Him for One Moment…

Fears and Doubts will Overwhelm Us…

And We will Begin to Sink

We Didn’t Follow Jesus’ Example of Fleeing From Temptation to God

We’re Already Sinking in Sin

Is There Any Hope at this Point?

With Jesus, There’s Always Hope

Even When We Doubt His Ability to Enhance Our Lives

Even When We’re Afraid that Following Him will Lead to a Negative Outcome

Even When We are Sinking in the Depths of Sin…

All We Need to Do is Call Out to Him:

“Lord, Save Me!”

He Immediately Reaches Out His Hand and Pulls Us Up Out of Our Sin

1 John 1:8–2:2 (NASB95)

8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

May the Examples of Jesus and Peter…

Help Us Fight Temptation this Week

And Save Us Out of Our Sins