Proper 14 - CCCOTN

ENGAGE

Hello Church!

Have you ever gotten into a situation, where you tried to help, but ended up causing more work for the person you tried to help?

I run into this all the time, because my handyman skills are way better in my head than they are in my hands.

I remember a time when I volunteered to help weed eat my now wife, then girl-friend’s yard.

Now you would think that this would be easy enough.

You would think.

But, I am left handed, and apparently left-handed people just cant weed eat.

I did not know this, because I had never weed-eated before. Ever.

And Missy never had a left handed person volunteer to weed-eat for her, so she didn't know either

But I wanted to help, so I volunteered.

Of course I couldn't figure out how to put gas in it, I didn't know what gas you had to use in it, I couldn't get it started, I couldn't keep it going. I couldn't cut in a straight line, I couldn't change the string, I couldn't do anything, so Missy ended up doing it anyway.

TENSION

Today we are going to look at the second half of the story that we started last week.

We see what happened after the feeding of the 5,000, when Jesus actually gets to go pray.

In this section, we see one of the disciples step up and step out on faith to be like Jesus, but not really help at all.

Lets turn to Matthew chapter 14, verse 22.

TRUTH

1. Another storm on the Sea of Galilee (22–24)

Matthew 14:22–24 ESV

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.

The crowd had been fed by the miraculous never ending bread-sticks , and the disciples had picked up the 12 baskets of left overs.

We learn from the parallel story in John’s gospel in chapter 6 that the crowd was enthralled with the bread, and they were seeking to crown Jesus as king, but Jesus knew that this would not have been good for either his ego, or for the disciples egos, so he tells the disciples to get in the boat and go to the other side of the lake, where he would meet up with them.

He was going to go pray, and then walk around the edge of the lake and meet up with them later.

Jesus had a lot to pray about!

He originally started to withdraw to pray back at the beginning of chapter 14, before the feeding of the 5,000 men plus approximately 10,000 women and children.

He is aware that Jerusalem is coming.

Also with the death of John the Baptist, the pressure is mounting, Jesus is a marked man. Its just a matter of time until everything is set into motion for his trial and death.

We can also assume that he was praying for the 15,000 some people he just fed.

Even though he was still grieving from John the Baptist’s death, Jesus would have still had the miraculous feeding on his mind, and the people that had come to him just moments before.

We can also assume that he would have been praying for the disciples, and also himself.

They were a major part of a huge miracle, its probably safe to assume that they may be getting a big ego at this point. Its only natural that we we do something good, we begin to feel like we can do anything, and we forgot that it was God who made it possible. We think we did it all by ourselves.

So Jesus goes up to the mountain to pray. And we can gather from the time references, that he is up there quite a long time.

During that time, he has sent the Disciples out to cross over to the gentile area across the waters.

He sent them to cross the waters, but they haven't been very successful. They are fighting the wind and the waves.

The Disciples were in a very similar situation earlier in Chapter 8.

Matthew 8:23–27 ESV

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

So they have seen Jesus calm the storm before.

But we see in the next verses of chapter 14, the disciples are not at their best, and they are still the disciples, never quite fully putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with 4.

2. Jesus comes to both help and comfort His disciples (25–27)

Matthew 14:25–27 ESV

25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But 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 heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

The disciples left Jesus and had been fighting the wind and waves to get to where they are in the water in about 9 hours. This was only a 4-5 mile trip depending on where exactly they had tried to cross the waters. The fourth watch came, the Roman military divided the night into four watches of three hours each, from 6 pm to 6 am. The fourth watch would have been between 3 and 6 am.

I believe that Jesus knew that the disciples were struggling on the waters. They were safe, but they were struggling to make any progress. When he was done praying, and not a moment before, he went to help and comfort them. He didn't hop in a boat and meet them though. He walks on the water and goes to the disciples.

When he gets to them, the disciples realize that they are safe because the creator of the wind and waves has come to help them!

No, of course that's not how it goes!

The disciples are scared to death.

After 9 hours of rowing and fighting the wind, they were exhausted, frustrated and probably soaking wet. They were all probably soaking wet from the waves crashing over he edges of the ship.

They assume that they have seen a ghost, you could imagine that in their tired, frustrated state, they could easily come to the conclusion that Jesus coming to them on the water, was in fact a ghost, or a phantasm.

When Jesus approaches them and sees they are scared, He offers them words of comfort. He tells them to not be afraid because he i here with them.

Apparently they had forgotten all about chapter 8 and how Jesus saved them earlier from a very similar situation.

Apparently they had forgotten all the times that they had been told about God coming thorough and taking care of Abraham, and Isaac, and all of the nation of Isreal as it was a young nation.

They had forgotten that Jesus had just pulled off the miracle of the loaves and fish, but as marks account tells us more about how the disciples did not understand the significance of the miracle of the feeding of the 15,000, so they didn’t understand that again, the creator of the universe was just doing what he does best, exercising his compassion for his loved ones, and exercising his control over the created world.

Mark 6:51–52 ESV

And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Jesus uses a very familiar term to the disciples, he tells them that they need to not be fearful, because he is there for them.

Jesus uses the same phrase that God uses to describe himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14 with the burning bush, “I am that I am”, implying that he and God are one, he was fully man, but he was also fully divine, as well as being spoken to them now to provide assurance to them of the Lord’s presence in their midst as their Savior.

3. Peter’s bold move and subsequent lack of faith (28–33)

Matthew 14:28–33 ESV

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Peter, always the first willing to jump into action, or at least run his mouth, confronts the “ghost” that is walking on the water in front of him.

He says that if it is Jesus, he needs to ask Peter to join him on the water.

Commentators and Bible experts are torn on Peter’s stance. About half think that he is being obedient and just following Jesus closely.

The other half think that he is being disrespectful and rude toward’s Jesus. They feel his is questioning Jesus, calling him out. We can see how reading Peter’s words as “if you are as powerful as you say you are, you should be able to allow me to walk on the water with you.

But Jesus is up to the test. He invites Peter to come to him on the water.

Peter takes off, jumping down from the boat and heading over to Jesus on the water. At this point, all eyes are focused on Peter.

For a little while, Peter is able to walk on the top of the water. He has faith enough to step out and head toward Jesus.

When he saw the wind, when he saw how the wind was making the waves crash, he forgot about simply having faith in Jesus, and began to think about how things like gravity, surface tension, buoyancy, and drowning worked.

He began to rethink his plan to jump into he water to walk out to Jesus. His faith had simply run out, and the only thing left to do was to cry out to Jesus, “Lord, Save me!”.

Jesus then stuck out his hand and rescued Peter.

Once Peter is safe, Jesus asks him one of the most essential questions for a Christian, “Why did you have a doubt in Jesus?

Depending on which side of the commentators and scholars you are on, either Jesus was scolding Peter for asking to walk on water in the first place, make him being able to do something that only God should be able to do, or the other side who think that Peter’s downfall was when he took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on the wind and waves.

There is support for both sides, and we can’t really know for 100% sure which way Jesus meant it, but we do know he meant it with compassion and love.

When the two of them got into the boat, the wind and waves ceased, and the other disciples worshiped him, saying that he was in fact the Son of God.

This is the point of this story.

The point is not that Peter had faith, or Peter didn’t have enough faith.

Its not even that Peter even walked on the water in the first place.

The point is that Jesus has control over the wind and waves, even to the point of being able to walk on the water.

Whatever you do, you cannot make this story about Peter, and more importantly, you cannot make this story about you.

This is all about Jesus and his control over the world and all the forces in the world, so we need to trust in his word, not what we see around us.

The next few verses give us some more context into the reason Jesus and the Disciples crossed the waters in the first place.

The land at Gennesaret, was gentile land. The left the crowd on the Jewish shores and headed toward the gentile lands.

Back in Matthew chapter 8, we see them crossing the waters, and a similar storm happened.

Previous attempt to take Gospel to Gentile Lands

Matthew 8:23–34 ESV

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” 28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.

24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.

25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”

26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

Jesus stopped the wind and the waves just as he had done today, and the men in the boat thought to themselves, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and sea obey him?”

Matthew 8:28–34 ESV

28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

When they arrived on the gentile area, they were met by men possessed by demons.

The demons recognized Jesus and referred to him as the Son of God.

They knew who he was, and what he was capable of, and what he was going to do to them.

They asked for him to be sent into the herd of pigs, instead of being destroyed.

Jesus gave them the command to Go and they went into the pigs and jumped off the hill and in to the sea where Jesus had just came from.

After this, the townspeople were furious and all came to the city to run Jesus out of town.

Jesus had taken time after the miracle of the bread to pray. He took time to send with the Father, before he went to the land of the Gentiles.

This is the second time Jesus has attempted to spread the Gospel across the waters to the other shore.

The first attempt wasn't very successful, considering they were run out of town, but this time, we see in verses 34 through 35, they were much more successful.

Multitudes are healed as they touch Jesus (34–36)

Matthew 14:34–36 ESV

34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Although we have no record of Jesus having been to this place before, the people recognized him and his reputation preceded him.

Surely they had heard the story of the woman that was healed by only touching the hem of his clothes, and they wanted the same to happen to them.

APPLICATION

Often, neighboring stories in a Gospel book are there for a reason. In this particular case, Matthew is the only writer who includes this story of Peter walking on the water and then sinking with the story of Jesus calming the sea.

For Matthew, this is a key link between the feeding of the multitudes and the healing of the multitudes of gentiles who are seeking Jesus for healing.

The Jewish crowd he fed, did not understand, and did not recognize him as the Son of God. The demons in chapter 8 sure did!

The disciples in Chapter 8 didn't understand, but it is absolutely important that we, as disciples ourselves, realize that we need to hear God’s voice saying “do not be afraid, it is I” and trust that we will be OK. Even though God doesn’t always fix the problem right away, or he doesn't fix it in the exact way we want him to, but he promises that he will always be with us.

INSPIRATION/REFLECTION

Peter had little faith, but it was enough because it was resting on Jesus.

The ESV commentary says this:

Peter succumbed to fear and took his eyes off Jesus, but that is hardly Matthew’s main point. The failure of Peter (or mankind) is less the point than the presupposition of the narrative. Indeed, every biblical narrative records the acts of sinners. Matthew’s message is not “Peter failed; do not be like Peter.”

No, the passage teaches that PETER’S FAILURE DID NOT BRING CATASTROPHE BECAUSE JESUS DID NOT FAIL PETER.

Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, but Jesus never took his eyes off of Peter. Peter was safe when he took his eyes off of Jesus because Jesus kept watch over Peter. As Peter started to sink, Jesus caught him (v. 31). Luke declares that his Gospel, like all of Scripture, describes the sufferings and glory of the Messiah (Luke 24:24–27). There is no doubt that Jesus is also the main character from Matthew 1 to 28.

ACTION/NEXT STEPS

Yes its important to keep our eyes on Jesus.

Yes, we need to take risks for Jesus.

But it is more important that we take a look at our actions and decide if they are a result of our faith in Jesus, or if we are just jumping out of the boat attempting to be like Jesus, when Jesus just wants us to stay the course and follow his directions to us.

Peter got to walk on the water, but Peter also probably shouldn’t have ever asked to. He is not Jesus. It was NOT Peter’s job to walk on water, it was his job to cross the water and go spread the gospel to the gentiles there.

Jesus never called us to walk on water, He simply calls us to love God and Love each other- he calls us to obey his command, and he promises to be with us

We have been looking at communion and how we can read Bible texts and see elements of the lord’s supper in them today, we see the promise that Jesus will be with us even if he doesn't save us right away, or if he never saves us from our situation, we have a purpose and it's part of his plan even if his hand doesn't reach out to pull us up, its always there on our shoulder

in communion we remember that promise and remember the sacrifice that was made by Jesus- the ultimate reach out out of his hand to save us from sin, death and the grave

Lets go to prayer and like Jesus, lets pray for the ability to just sit in the boat and keep rowing in spite of the wind and wives, and rest assured that Jesus is there with us.