“Getting Out of a Boat in A Storm”

K. Adrian Scott

December 28, 2025

Introduction and Context:

In Matthew’s Gospel account in chapter fourteen we have the death of John the Baptizer recorded, the feeding of the five thousand, then our given text, and in the latter part of the chapter, the account of Jesus healing the sick in Gennesaret, which was just northwest of the Sea of Galilee.

It is after the miraculous feeding of five thousand plus people that the text says Jesus instructed the disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd (v. 22). The people had been fed twice; once physically and then spiritually since Jesus had taught them.

V. 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.”

The secret to having power with God publicly, is to have communion with God privately. Jesus said that the authority or power invested in himself came from His Father (Matthew 28.18). This act of prayer Jesus and the empowerment of Jesus by the Father emphasizes the “oneness” Christ and the Father shared.

Note: Jesus is equally God with the Father, and in communion or fellowship with the Father does not show Jesus’ subordination to the Father. Rather, this fellowship shows communication, coordination and cooperation between these two members of the trinity.

V. 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 circumstances appear that while Jesus was praying, the boat in which the disciples were in was a long distance from shore and was being viciously tossed by a storm that had suddenly arisen, as was common for that geographic area.

Note: But what I find interesting is, although His disciples didn’t know it, Jesus has prayed! While the disciples were caught in a storm, Jesus was praying! “23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.”

V. 25; “And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.”

Preaching Point.

Between 3am and 6am, Jesus comes to His disciples, and he will come to you and me no matter what time it is or what day it is. There is no inconvenient time for the Lord to do what the Lord does - that is, save people! Jesus comes to them, not in a rescue boat, but comes to them walking on the water. Jesus does not need to ‘catch a ride’ on this watery highway to get to the disciples, and neither does He have to sent another vessel to rescue them, He himself comes to them in their distress.

Note: Another reason we know that Jesus is God is because Jesus can come to us and rescue us without human aid, if circumstances dictate it. Jesus’ birth on this earth was outside of the normal biological channels of human birth, since he had no earthly, biological father as I mentioned last week, but He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and was born through the womb of a young woman who was still a virgin after he was born! God in Christ indeed came to us beginning in Bethlehem (Matthew 1; Luke 1). God cannot be stopped, and the work of Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit cannot be restricted.

V. 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.”

Preaching Point.

Jesus 'walked' to them. The clear and the consistent message of the Gospels is the fact that God has come to us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. And once He has arrived Jesus continues to come to His disciples!

Further, you may ask why Jesus didn't run to His terrified disciples? Jesus did not need to run toward his confused disciples since the Lord controls time and can even suspend it if need be; the winds and waves are subjected to Christ’s authority, while mortal human beings are restricted to natures will.

Secondly, this miracle in waiting tells us that no situation is truly "out of control" when Jesus is involved! Nothing can prevent the Lord from reaching out to save his children no matter our circumstances. When no other person can reach us, much less sustain us; when there is no other apparent help or safety net; when no bank can help you, no counselor to make sense of it; no doctor to fix it; Jesus alone comes to us, reaches us and ultimately, He saves us. The disciples couldn't save themselves; they couldn't anchor in this storm! Where do you turn in your storms? When all of your human anchors are useless in your life, Jesus is the only Savior! Another lesson here is; Jesus must be our anchor in during the storms of life!

The storm, as fierce as it may have been wasn't what frightened them the most; but what frightened them the most was the figure of someone or something doing what had never been done before. Whoever or whatever it was came walking on the water, and with many of the disciples having spent their previous career on water as fishermen, they had never seen anyone walking on water!At first they didn’t recognize who it was, but then I imagined they wondered, ‘who else can walk through a storm and not be affected by it?’ Who else can walk on the water and command it to sustain him? Who else would not be taken under by troublesome waves? Who is this that walks through the boisterous winds and not be blown down?

From some distance the disciples did not recognize this mysterious figure, but then as He approached closer, they must have concluded that it must be Jesus! Because only Jesus could do this. Only our Lord Jesus defies nature and controls nature! Only Jesus saves like this by either calming a storm or deliver us out of a storm!

*As Peter experienced, you must recognize Jesus before you can cooperate with Him. Do you recognize the Lord when he is coming to you in your time of need?

Why was Jesus walking on the water? Perhaps it was the most direct and most convenient way to get to his disciples and save them. Again, in our Lord’s miraculous birth, it was a direct and convenient way to come to his people on earth; to be seen as one of us, human, and affiliate with our grief, ultimately carry our sorrow, and save us! It was not only a lesson for the disciples to see Jesus consistently being available to His disciples, but as they would also learn Christ’s disciples can come to Him.

V. 27; “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

What good is a miracle if the Lord does not take ownership of it? Jesus will say, ‘it’s me!’He will not allow the adversary to take credit for His work. And in addition to taking ownership of this miracle appearance, Jesus tells them there is no need to fear! Jesus came to save them, not to destroy them. Even when there is apparent lack of faith on the part of His disciples, Jesus will not let us be destroyed. Our Lord has come as Savior, not as judge - “for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world” (John 12.47b) He has not come as the executioner, but as the One who forgives sin.

V. 28; “And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

Question. Do you recognize the Lord when he is coming to you in your time of need? While in the storm of unbelief and in need of salvation, don’t fear. In need of peace from the storms of life? No need to be afraid, Jesus is near.

Preaching Point.

Here is faith challenged. When you can’t clearly see Jesus in your circumstances, look for ways to identify Him. We must first be able to recognize Jesus before we can cooperate with him.

First, Jesus will never come to us ‘out of character’ or ‘inappropriately.’

Secondly, Jesus will never be late! No matter how nervous or terrified we might be of the situation, Jesus can never be accused of showing up late.

Third, it is impossible for Jesus to fail.

Fourth, In the end, Jesus will always receive all of the glory, because no one else can do what Jesus does.

How easy is it for you and I to know it is Christ at work? How easy is it to discern the Lord’s will for us? There are many people who have chastised the disciples for not having immediately recognizing Jesus, but I see some wisdom in wanting to make sure it is the Lord walking and speaking to them. There have been many persons who made decisions in the name of the Lord that met with disastrous results. Make sure it is Jesus!

Question 1. Do you recognize the Lord when he is coming to you in your time of need? While in the storm of unbelief and in need of salvation, don’t fear. In need of peace from the storms of life? No need to be afraid, Jesus is nearby.

Question 2. Why did Peter want to walk to Jesus, since Jesus did not need saving, rather than wanting Jesus to come to the boat?

We do not know the answer to that question. But we can ask some questions regarding Peter’s request. We know Jesus’ intentions were pure, but were Peter’s intentions pure also?

Question. Did Peter simply want to prove he was the ‘chief’ apostle?

Second. Did Peter want to prove he was spiritually superior to his fellow disciples?

Third. Was Peter genuinely testing his faith? Why would he request to walk on water to get to Jesus if he didn’t think he could do it?

Fourth. Was Peter knowing that his saving only comes through Christ, merely wanting to be in the arms of Jesus?

Here the Lord must have seen some sincerity in Peter’s prayer because the Lord Jesus answered Peter’s prayer and told Peter to get out of his boat and come to Him!

The Proposition.

May I close with this? We must not shy away from praying because we do not believe we have sufficient faith. I recognize Scripture admonishes us in James 1.6 to “pray without wavering” which means praying without firm faith leads to spiritual instability. It does not say the Lord will not hear us, however. Abraham, the father of the faithful had more than one instance in his life where he did not firmly believe with full faith, as well as his wife Sarah. Probably the one instance we all remember so vividly is God’s promise of a son to Abraham and Sarah despite their age.

The disciples did not have complete faith that Jesus could feed the five thousand with two fish and five loaves of bread!

The Close.

What I say to you this morning is this – Whenever Jesus says to you, ‘come’, Go! And do not let your future be ruled by your fear.