Why the Fear? The Ghosts (Matthew 14:22-33)

Ghost stories

Everybody loves a good ghost story. One of my all-time favorite stories is Charles’ Dickens “Christmas Carol.” Every Christmas I try to watch at least one of the versions of A Christmas Carol and a handful of other variations. It’s fun to compare all of the different takes on Ebenezer Scrooge, the miserly man who thinks Christmas is a humbug. My favorite Scrooge is Albert Finney, who was Scrooge in the 1970 British musical. George C. Scott was great. Michael Caine was great. And of course, Alistair Sim who starred in the 1951 version. The number of films based on the book is staggering and speaks to the ongoing universality of its message of redemption and transformation. But at a very simple level it’s very easy to suggest that A Christmas Carol is an elaborate ghost story.

Ghost stories are universal regardless of the culture. It doesn’t matter if I live in Ohio or Texas the regional folklore includes its share of ghost stories. Every culture has its ghost stories because ghost stories, for the most part, help us talk about things we cannot explain.. things we cannot explain that make us afraid. Fear is currency of every ghost story. We are afraid of those things we cannot explain.

Today’s Bible lesson is one of those scary ghost stories. Our story has a ghost. Our story has lots of fear. Again. And again, this is another of those times in the Bible in which there is the command, “don’t be afraid.” And the command is given because there is much reason to be afraid.

One thing we need to say right of the top… we’re not going to jump into a discussion here as to whether ghosts are real, or just what we’re to make of the idea of ghosts. That’s not the point of our Bible lesson. Matthew doesn’t address it. Jesus doesn’t address it. Neither are we. We aren’t going there because the text doesn’t go there. I know as soon as I say this, we’ll have 20 people wanting to tell their own spectacular ghost story. But Matthew isn’t concerned here with whether or not they are real or what they are. And so we are going to take our cue from Matthew and Jesus and leave that discussion for another day.

Ghost on the Water

Our text begins much like it did last week. Jesus is at the end of the day, having spent the day teaching and healing… having compassion on the people who showed up on the shoreline to be with Jesus. He also fed them… all 10-15 thousand of them… with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus is not only tired, but he spent all day with these people having just received news that his best friend and his cousin, John the Baptizer, had been executed by Herod the king. He hasn’t had any time to grieve or process. The crowds interrupt his chance at some alone time, and now, at the end of the day, he is again looking to get alone to be by himself… to grieve and pray.

He sends the disciples off into a boat headed for the other side of the lake, what we know as the Sea of Galilee. And when Jesus and his followers are in boats at night, spectacular things happen. So much so, you have to wonder what’s going through the mind of his friends when he tells them to get into the boat to go ahead of him to the other side. This is like déjà vu all over again.. Groundhog Day. We’ve seen this movie. Jesus. Disciples. Boats. Let’s go to the other side. It doesn’t go well.

And sure enough… this is exactly what happens. They are at least a mile or two out into the lake and the wind begins to pick up… our text says “the wind was against them.” And the boat was being “battered by the waves”. So we have another storm. Last time, Jesus was sleeping in the boat. This time Jesus is nowhere to be found. He sent them on ahead. He’s not in the boat. Here’s what Matthew says:

Matthew 14:25-26 Jesus came toward them walking on the sea very early in the morning. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear.

The disciples cry out in fear because they see someone or something “walking on the sea.” Matthew writes that line almost matter-of-factly, but the reality is that this is anything but routine. In fact, this just doesn’t happen. What was a chaotic storm has now turned absolutely surreal. “Walking on the sea”. Matthew says it twice here because he doesn’t want us to miss it. I think we’re so used to this story, we tend to overlook how absolutely stupendous the idea is.

They are beside themselves… they are terrified to the point of “crying out in fear.” Much like a lot of the tales surrounding our ghosts, ghosts in Jewish lore who roamed the waters were considered evil. In their ghost stories, one that appears in a storm on a lake is not there to help. They think they are doomed.

But it isn’t a ghost. It’s Jesus. And he doesn’t leave them in their fear.

Matthew 14:27 Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Immediately Jesus spoke. Immediately. There’s no waiting around. No questions this time. There’s no rebuke this time. Only grace. Jesus dispels fear with the sound of his voice. Have courage. Don’t be afraid.

Jesus, who is Jehovah, Yahweh, the God of Israel, the Great I AM of the burning bush is walking on the water and in the great distress of his best friends tells them to have courage. I AM is present. It’s no ghost on the water. It. Is. I. The one who loves and cares for His people. That’s the One who can walk on the sea. It is I is all they need to hear and believe.

This is supposed to be a remarkable moment. It should end there with rainbows, unicorns, and bubblegum. But it doesn’t. Not everyone buys in. It’s almost as if the dramatic music stops and a player piano starts up. Look who’s piping up…

Matthew 14:28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter answered him, “command me to come to you on the water.”

Seriously? Lord, if it *is* you? You can almost hear John and Matthew over to the side look at each other like, uh-oh… this isn’t going to be pretty. Lord if it *is* you. That line may be the most forgotten line in this story. Peter is challenging the ghost. The next thing we see is Peter getting out of the boat and walking toward Jesus. But that all started with Peter’s “I don’t believe this” bit. “If it’s you.”

Jesus invited Peter to come out to where he is, which is most likely almost to the boat..

Matthew 14:30 But when Peter saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

When Peter saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid. Earlier, Peter was afraid of the ghost on the water. Now, it’s the wind. This is one of those places we have to let the text speak to us before we run with the popular narrative about this story. The popular narrative is that Peter took his eyes off of Jesus. The text says “he saw the strength of the wind.” We’re not even told that Peter had his eyes on Jesus. It’s also quite possible to be looking at Jesus and also notice how strong the wind is. We get this sense from the popular tale that Peter and Jesus have their eyes locked and so long as Peter is looking at Jesus he’s fine. That’s not what this text actually says. There’s a whole lot of conjecture built into our story. It’s quite possible Peter is looking at Jesus all of the time and that he takes his eyes off of Jesus. But Matthew doesn’t even say Peter looked at the waves. Matthew says he looked at the strength of the wind. He’s noticing how strong the wind is. It’s a mind thing.

But that’s not all the text says. “when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid”. Matthew wants us to note the fear, because the next phrase is… beginning to sink.

Peter begins to sink, not because he took his eyes off of Jesus. Peter begins to sink because he’s afraid. This is a faith thing, not a sight thing. It is quite possible to have complete faith in Jesus and still be looking around at what’s going with the boat, and the waves, and the wind. Peter begins to sink when he is afraid. And he’s afraid because he does not have faith in Jesus. He doesn’t trust Jesus to save him from the strength of the wind… Peter hasn’t been trusting Jesus this whole time. Jesus says later,

Matthew 14:31 Jesus said to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

The object of Peter’s faith is not Jesus in that moment of fear. In fact, the object of Peter’s faith has been Peter all along. Peter’s heart hasn’t been right from the get go. You hear this all the time: Hey, at least Peter was brave enough to get out of the boat. The popular narrative would have us patting Peter on the back for at least having the gumption to get out of the boat and go to Jesus. The popular narrative does this because we all want some skin in the game. There’s at least something Peter is doing right. We have to give ourselves at least a little credit. We need to at least pat ourselves on the back for being willing to follow Jesus. Be like Peter… he decided to risk it all for Jesus. He got out of his comfort zone. Let’s get out of our comfort zone. Give me some credit. Yay, me! Let’s pat ourselves on the back for being willing to get out of the boat and follow Jesus. Yay, Chad!

That’s not the narrative here. Don’t read this and for a second think that this means we’re supposed to get out of the boat as if Peter is to be emulated. Peter absolutely blew it. Peter thought it was a ghost. Peter got out of the boat in unbelief. Peter sank in unbelief. There is nothing here to suggest that Peter should get kudos for getting out of the boat.

Peter got out of the boat because he didn’t believe Jesus. If Peter had been trusting Jesus, Peter would have stayed in the boat. We read the story that way because we want the story to be about our great courage. But that’s not the story. We must see ourselves here as fearful unbelieving Peter. Peter is us because Peter desperately needs Jesus. Peter is sinking… he cannot save himself.

And that’s where the text wants us. Because that’s us. Desperate. Lost. Sinking in our fear. We live in a world in which our worldview is failing us all of the time. We are threatened by things we never dreamed would threaten us… loss of job, loss of health, loss of life. Loss of lifestyle. Our self-sufficiency. Our personal independence. Our need to control.

Lord, Save me!!

As Peter sinks, we finally arrive at the only right response of Peter or any of the other disciples. Out of options, an utterly helpless Peter resorts to his last hope: cry out to the only One who can save him.

Beginning to sink, Peter cried out, Lord, save me!

This is what Jesus is after, this is what Matthew is after in writing it down for his audience. The desperate cry of those who have no where else to turn… Jesus, save me! That’s you, that’s me, every single day of our lives. We don’t know it, but that’s us. We all do this. We all fear something. We all crave something that isn’t Jesus. Sin is nothing other than a lack of faith in Jesus at any given moment. Whatever it is I want and whatever I do, I want more than I want Jesus. More than I have faith in Jesus.

When this happens, we have no recourse but to cry out Jesus, save me. Save me from myself. Save me from my fear. Save me from my unbelief.

The response from Jesus is nothing but grace. Pure unadulterated grace.

Matthew 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him.

This is why no one is talking about Peter when they get back in the boat. This story is all about Jesus. This is not a ghost on the water. This is the One who feeds 10-15 thousand with 5 loaves and 2 fish. This is the one who calms the storm. This is the One who is “The Son of God”… the One to be worshiped. This is the one who saves.

What is it that we need to hear in the midst of our storm? We must hear… “have courage. Don’t be afraid. It is I”. The great I AM who saved Israel through the Red Sea comes walking into our storm… It is I. It is Jesus to whom we cry… please “save us” from our sin, from our fear, from our mess. And he reaches out with his arm and he saves us. Even as the waves crash against our lives, he is with us… he forgives us, he gives us life, he saves us.

I hear the fear. I see it in what you say on the internet. I hear it in your prayer requests. That’s me. I fear too. There is good reason to be afraid… but of what we do know and what we don’t know. But when our fears point out what we’re trusting, we must cry out Jesus, save us! Save us from unbelief. Save us from fear. Jesus saves us.

Let’s Pray.

The Table

Lord, save me!! That’s what happens here. Jesus is here for you. Those who are running from the ghosts of the past. Those things that keep us up at night. Those who doubt. Those who have fear. Those who put their trust in stuff. Jesus is here for you. Jesus promised that the One who eats his body and drinks his blood will have life. Everything you ever need is in Jesus. And he’s here for you this morning.

Benediction

Numbers 6:24-26

May the Lord bless you and protect you;

may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;

may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.