Matthew 14:22-36: "Take Heart!" The Call to Trust

Matthew 14:22–36 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. 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.” 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.” 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.

Jesus taught the disciples to have faith in him in the last section and he tests their faith in this passage.

Introduction: The Call to Trust the King

Have you ever stood at the edge of something exciting, only to have fear creep in when it was time to take the first step? Maybe it was jumping off the diving board for the first time, standing on a stage before speaking, or stepping into an unknown challenge. Now, imagine that feeling as a 4 year old on a high ropes course.

In case you haven’t seen one, here’s the specific one I’m talking about. It’s basically an obstacle course with things like rope bridges, balance beams, zip lines, climbing walls, spinning logs, and swinging platforms. However, for this obstacle course you have to get into a climbing harness that is attached to a rope of about 4 feet that is then attached to a rope above your head. This is because these obstacles are set up on posts or trees 15-50 ft in the air.

Now recently we were in a place where they had a high ropes course and they allowed young children to do it with parents. So, I had the bright idea of taking our four year olds up.

We got harnessed up and we were encouraged to test the ropes holding us by sitting down and seeing that it’s just like a swing. We did so and sure enough, the ropes held even me.

With the safety instruction finished we were now free to go on what the boys called the “ninja course” and we walked up the stairs all smiles and ready to go.

But as soon as the boys stepped to the edge of the first platform and looked down something happened. They froze up and suddenly all they could think about was going back down to the safety of the floor. Through tears they wanted to give up and walk away.

Now, while I didn’t have such a strong reaction as they did, I too felt the fear. I too looked down and felt the internal desire to get down.

Immediately after I had paid,

immediately after we had been talking about how fun it was going to be,

immediately after experiencing how capable our harnesses were of holding us up,

One look down was enough to cause something to rise up inside us to say, “I’m scared, I want to get down.”

Fear has a way of shaking us, doesn’t it?

Even when we know we’re safe—even when we’ve tested the ropes—we still feel that pull to retreat.

That fear—the kind that sneaks up on you even when you thought you were well prepared—is exactly what we see in our passage today.

And that’s exactly what we see in today’s passage. The disciples had just experienced an incredible miracle (the feeding of the 5000 men plus women and children!), and been taught that the King cares about the needs of the people and he calls his disciples to compassion, faith, and participation.

Surely they understood and internalized that lesson right?

It was so powerful! How could you miss it?

But now, that faith will be tested in the middle of a storm.

Will they trust the King to sustain them where he calls them?

Let’s look at the passage and find out.

Sermon

I. The Call to Courageous Trust (vv. 22-27)

📖 "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." (v. 27)

Context:

After feeding the 5,000, Jesus sends His disciples ahead while He prays. A storm arises, and they struggle against the waves. Then, Jesus appears, walking on water. Their first reaction is fear, but Jesus immediately reassures them, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

Exegesis:

“Up the mountain alone to pray...”

Jesus sends His disciples ahead while He prays alone.

Now, this is a strange thing to request, you generally did not go on the Sea of Galilee at night.

but because of all the excitement of the day, it was starting to get dark

Not only does Jesus send them at night, he doesn’t go with them!

Now this is where we should consult the other Gospel accounts of this section because they shed more light on the situation

John 6:14–17 ESV

14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” 15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. 16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

The people were starting to put 2 and 2 together.

There was a prophecy in Deuteronomy 18 that another prophet like Moses would be raised up by God

The people were starting to notice the similarities between Jesus and Moses

The people had followed Jesus into the wilderness

Where he then delivered to them bread from heaven

They may even be thinking of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus delivered the right interpretation of the Law to the people.

And just as Moses led the Israelites to freedom from the oppression of the Egyptians they hoped for someone to lead them from the oppression of the Romans

So they naturally conclude Jesus is the promised fulfillment of Moses!

And they decide something needs to be done about this.

So they were gonna take Jesus by force and make him king!

They decided this was going to be a military revolution and they were ready for Jesus to sit on the throne of David and become the king of Israel!

But as we see in chapter 12, the time for violent takeover is over. The kingdom does not come by force.

Jesus can’t have them do this so he sees it, and retreats from it.

He sends the crowds away like “you’ve had your healing and your food, now go.”

So he sends the crowds away, but he also sends his disciples away

AND he also sends his only boat away!

WHY??

Because he had a test and a lesson for his followers.

So Jesus stayed and he prayed late into the night, choosing to send them into the storm –

Jesus CHOSE to send them into the storm. He knew exactly what was happening.

Jesus allows us to face difficulties to grow our trust in Him and often to correct wrong thinking and wrong faith.

He is not shocked by what we are facing: He’s the one who sent it to us.

They were afraid – While they are struggling, Jesus decides that he is going to walk to them. Not around the sea, like the crowds did, but over it!

Jesus walks on the water

but fear blinds them from recognizing Him.

And it wasn’t only fear that blinded them, but their own hard hearts!

We know this from Mark’s gospel!

Mark 6:52 ESV

52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.’

The disciples still did not get it! Their hearts were hard and stubborn so they

Fear and hard-heartedness often blinds us to the presence of Christ in our trials.

And what does Jesus say to his disciples when they respond with great fear?

“Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.”

This is far from the only time that Jesus says “Take heart” and it is not simply a “cheer up because it could be worse!” Each time he is encouraging the people he’s talking to to have courage and faith in him even in the times of difficulty.

He says it chapter 9 to people he healed and to whom he promised forgiveness of sins.

He says it perhaps most famously in John 16:33 when he promises tribulation in this world to his followers. But then what does he say? “But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

And less well known he says it in Acts 23:11 to Paul as he was told to go and proclaim the dangerous gospel message, not just in Jerusalem, but also in Rome.

Jesus’ words are a command – "Take heart" is not just comfort; it is a call to trust despite fear.

Application:

Let’s return to the high ropes course for a minute.

As my kids started crying and saying they wanted to get down, I kneeled down, looked them in the eyes, and told them “I know you are feeling a lot of fear right now, but we already know that we are safe. Sometimes our fear tries to stop us even when we know we should keep going.

Now, do not fear. I am with you every step of the way. I will not let you fall. Let’s try at least one together.”

I wanted them to face their fear in a very real place, but in one that was safe for them to fall to learn that their fear is not the final authority. If they courageously push past it, they will see a whole world exists past where they’re willing to go on their own.

In the same way, Jesus creates trials in our lives in order to teach us to trust him with courage.

Do we see trials as an opportunity to bring great glory to God through humble, yet courageous, trust that he will sustain us no matter what?

Maybe you’re facing something that feels overwhelming:

trying to find freedom from a particular sin,

caring for someone (whether young or old!) and it’s too much for you,

a work situation,

or there’s problems in body or in your relationships with people around you.

Jesus calls you to trust Him daily, relying on His strength rather than your own.

Though the weight can be overwhelming, trusting Jesus means knowing He is present, sustaining you through exhaustion.

It can feel like chaos and totally pointless, but Jesus sees your exhaustion and says, "Take heart." He is with you.

For those who are prideful and hard-hearted: You think you have control, but storms reveal your weakness. Will you trust Jesus instead of yourself?

For those who are knowingly not Christians:

What fears hold you back?

Jesus invites you to trust Him and find true peace.

Key Idea:

Jesus calls us to trust Him in the middle of life's storms, even when we are afraid.

Transition:

Courageous trust is the first step in following our King. But trust must also be fixated on Christ, because if we’re running around doing crazy things saying that it’s in the name of our King, but really we’re being boldly ridiculous because we’ve fixed our eyes on the wrong thing, then we’re actually showing we don’t trust our king.

—which brings us to Peter’s response.

II. The Call to Fixated Trust (vv. 28-31)

📖 “when he saw the wind, he was afraid” (v. 30)

Context:

Peter, in an incredible act of faith, steps out of the boat. But as soon as he focuses on the wind and waves, he begins to sink.

Exegesis:

Peter steps out in faith – He trusts Jesus enough to get out of the boat.

He looks at the storm – but Fear replaces his faith when he shifts his focus.

“Lord Save ME!”

Jesus rescues him immediately – Our trust may waver, but Jesus is always there to catch us. When we get distracted he pulls us to himself and allows us to cling to him for faith.

Application:

In the same way, we are called to stop looking at the storm and to start fixating our eyes on Jesus.

I’m intentionally using the word “fixate”. We need to glue our eyes to our God and never look away, knowing that we can trust him to care for our needs in ways that we can’t even imagine.

Colossians 3:2 ESV

2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

For sin: The temptation to give into sin comes when our focus drifts from Christ. Stay fixed on Him through Scripture and accountability.

For caregivers: Focusing on the difficulty of the situation can feel overwhelming. Shift your focus to Christ, who gives you strength. Fix your eyes on Jesus in the chaos—He provides wisdom and patience.

For the hard-hearted: Your self-sufficiency is an illusion. Recognizing your need for Jesus is the first step to real trust and to real life.

For non-Christians: Jesus is reaching for you—will you take His hand?

Transition:

And though we are called to trust Jesus courageously and keep our focus on Him, if it ends there it is incomplete. Our trust should lead us to worship.

III. Trust should Leads us to Worship (vv. 32-36)

📖 “And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’” (v. 33)

Context:

Jesus and Peter return to the boat, and the wind ceases. The disciples worship Him, declaring, "Truly, you are the Son of God!"

Exegesis:

The storm ends when Jesus enters the boat – His presence brings peace.

The disciples recognize who He is: the Son of God! – They trusted in who Jesus is and what did they do? They fell down and worshipped him.

And this is why the gospel is so important. The truth of the good news that Jesus, the Son of God himself, came to save sinners of whom each of us are the foremost should lead us to trust him and to worship him!

To pick up our crosses, lay down our lives, and follow him into new life!

Trust in Jesus leads to deeper faith and worship.

Matthew 14:33 ESV

33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Application:

For those fighting indwelling sin: Worship Jesus as the one who gives you strength for each day.

For caregivers: Worship Christ, who walks with you through every trial.

For parents: Teach your children to worship Jesus, even in daily struggles.

For the prideful: True worship comes when we let go of self-sufficiency and acknowledge Jesus as King.

For non-Christians: Worship begins with surrendering to Christ as Lord.

Transition to Conclusion:

When we trust in Jesus our fear is transformed into faith,

our doubt into dependence,

and our struggles into worship.

Conclusion

Closing Illustration:

Let’s return one final time to the high ropes course.

After I had that conversation with my sons, that they could trust me and that we were safe,

there was some wiping of tears, and some times of pushing back because of the fear, but in a couple of minutes they had “taken heart.”

So long as I led the way and held out my hand to them to cling to and to lean on, they were willing to face the obstacles.

There certainly were times that they gave into the fear, but they were able to push through it when they stopped looking down and started looking to their father instead.

And together we made our way through every obstacle that we faced, together.

When we finally decided to head back to the calm of solid earth, we celebrated together that we were able to push past our fear and trust courageously.

Reflection:

Where is Jesus calling you to trust Him today? Are you in the storm, struggling to focus, faced with everything the world and evil can throw at you? Are you in the calm after the storm, knowing that Jesus is with you and trusting in him? Are you worshipping him by setting your eyes on him and him alone?

Challenge:

Take a step of trust this week—whether it’s surrendering an area of your life, reaching out for help, or simply keeping your eyes on Jesus in the storm. Trust him courageously, with eyes fixed on him alone, and let that lead you to worship him no matter what you are facing.

Call to Action:

Respond to the King’s call to trust Him courageously, stay focused on him alone, and worship Him with all your life?

Pray (Then do something different - listen to song as we respond)