Walking on the Water

Call to Worship

Isaiah 43:16–21 ESV

16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

Adoration

John 16:33 ESV

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Confession

Thanksgiving

Message

Matthew 14:22–33 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.”

Often we are overwhelmed by our circumstances.

Overwhelmed by fear, doubt, questions, and confusion.

All while failing to recognize the Sovereign presence of Christ in it all.

We may acknowledge the presence of Christ in the solution.

But we forget and get confused that every situation brought to us comes from the gracious hand of God.

Storms don’t hinder worship; they reveal whether our eyes are fixed on Christ, the source of true worship.

In Matthew 14:1-21, Jesus is compared with Herod.

Herod is like the unrepentant tyrants of this world.

Whereas Jesus is the gracious Shepherd King that feeds his people in the wilderness.

We may be tempted to think, “Did the people really understand Jesus as king?”

John 6:14–15 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.

The people recognized him as “the prophet” (Deuteronomy 18:15-18), because of the signs that he was doing.

The signs pointed to the reality.

In every gospel account, both the feeding of the 5,000 and the walking on the water is connected.

The Sovereign Christ sends the Storm.

We see here Jesus’ sovereignty over the situation for the disciples.

Matthew 14:22 ESV

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

A musician at a concert doesn’t stay around to dismiss the crowds.

In the same way, it’s unheard of for a Rabbi to spend time dismissing the crowds.

They are far too “important” for the task of dismissing the crowds.

Jesus intentionally sends His disciples to the other side of the lake.

Jesus begins “forcing” or “compelling” the disciples into the boat to go to the other side.

Imagine being part of collecting the pieces of the leftovers and then immediately demanded to leave.

I’m sure they wanted to remain and be a part of the frenzy that enjoyed the awesome meal.

Why would Jesus be so aggressive to get them to go to the other side?

He was trying to guard them from the crowds frenzy of a new political leader.

We should take a note from this lesson:

Obey in faith first, ask questions later.

Obey in faith first, debate the reasoning afterwards.

Obey in faith before you determine the practicality.

The disciples could not have imagined what Jesus was preparing to reveal to them on the water.

The purposes of Christ far outpace and exceed any purposes that we can imagine.

Jesus graciously cares for the needs of the crowds individually.

You can imagine a crowd this large would take hours to dismiss everyone.

Surely there were people walking slowly and giving the Appalachian ‘goodbye’, saying goodbye the whole way out the door and holding Jesus up.

Matthew 14:23 ESV

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…

Jesus dismissed the crowds in order to pray by Himself.

The prayer life of Jesus is referred to in the Gospel’s at some of the most pivotal points in Jesus’ life.

Before He selects His disciples

Prior to cross in the garden of Gethsemane.

And here prior to revealing Himself in a supernatural way to His disciples, Jesus goes to pray.

Matthew 14:24 ESV

24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.

At this time the boat was several miles from land.

The disciples had been working through this storm for some 7-8 hours at this point.

A days worth of work trying to get the ship through the stormy seas.

Sovereignty over the weather.

Jesus isn’t unaware of the weather here.

He sent these men into the weather crisis.

Matthew 14:25 ESV

25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them…

Sovereignty over the timetable.

The Roman’s had a system for dividing up the watches of the night (between 6 pm and 6 am).

Matthew is very specific here in describing the time between 3 am - 6am.

We would know it as “graveyard shift” because it is quiet, dark, and lonely.

Application – We are quick to ask the question,

“Lord, why are you sending me into this challenging season?”

This response treats the storm as a mistake.

How different our lives would look if we began asking…

“Lord, show me what you desire to teach me in this challenging season!”

This response sees the storm as intentional, purposeful, and powerful in our lives.

Storms don’t hinder worship; they reveal whether our eyes are fixed on Christ…

The Sovereign Christ reveals Himself.

Jesus reveals Himself correctly to His disciples.

Remember how incorrectly the crowds thought of Jesus.

They thought Him to be their political king.

To be merely a prophet like other prophets.

But Jesus will have none of that for His disciples.

Matthew 14:23–25 ESV

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.

One of the stumbling blocks for modern day readers of the Bible is the concept of miracles.

A miracle is an interference with the laws of nature.

There are experiential arguments.

There are historical arguments.

There are even scientific arguments.

But they will do NOTHING to convince you that miracles are plausible.

If you do not first comprehend the God who is there, no arguments for the plausibility of miracles will help.

When you step into the water, why do you sink?

The properties of the water!

The density!

Now some of you upon hearing the walking on the water bit will think,

“This is the problem I have with the Bible. If only I could get rid of all these super-natural bits.”

Some have argued that…

“Maybe Jesus was walking on a sand-barge of some kind.”

“Maybe the disciples were hallucinating!”

Why do we immediately think this way when we come to the Bible?

The problem in our secular age is NOT the miracles in the Bible—but the assumptions we bring to the Bible.

We try to divide things up into natural phenomenon and super-natural.

Things in nature and then beyond the natural order.

The problem with this division is that the natural definition doesn’t work.

It assumes that we call “natural” can only work in the way we observably understand it to work.

“Miracles do not, in fact, break the laws of nature.” ― C.S. Lewis, Miracles

“Miracles can’t happen because it breaks the natural order!”

The naturalist that rejects miracles believes that the created order has been wound up like a cloak and the cloak-maker has just kind of let it go.

When you step into the water, why do you sink?

The properties of the water!

But who upholds the properties of that water?

The Christian does not believe nature runs on it’s own!

The Christian believes that the same God who created the water molecules upholds the water!

If He upholds it, He can command it!

Revelation through power.  

His powerful action of walking on the water.

Jesus walks to His disciples on the water.

Not only is He walking to them on the water.

But the fact that He finds their boat 2 miles out in the middle of the storm!

Hebrews 1:3 ESV

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

The Christ who sustains the order of the universe, walks to His disciples on the water.

Psalm 77:19 ESV

19 Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.

The One who led Moses through the Red Sea, the One who brought Israel out of Egypt is Yahweh (Jude 5).

What Jesus is doing here in walking on water seems significant to us, and it is.

But why water?

Why is walking on water so significant?

If you remember in the book of Job, we saw Job experience great persecution at the hands of Satan that God allowed to come his way.

Instead of being comforted from friends, he received rebuke.

In Job 9, Job felt he was out of right relationship with God.

He desired to have a right relationship.

But he describes his experience as God causing cosmic disorder.

Job 9:4 ESV

4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength…

Job 9:5–8 ESV

5 he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger, 6 who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; 7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; 8 who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea;

The waves of the sea have always been seen as wild, chaotic, and cosmically disordered.

But Job describes Yahweh as trampling the waves or “walking” (Job 9:8, LXX) upon them.

It’s as if the gospel writers see in Jesus’ walking on the water the activity of Yahweh!

Jesus reveals Himself through displays of POWER!

Matthew 14:26 ESV

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.

The disciples were initially terrified at what they believed was in front of them.

They agreed that this was a super-natural event and outside the ordinary.

They cried out in fear!

What is the only thing that can truly calm the fears of people?

I’m not talking about merely masking and covering up our fear.

I mean dealing directly with our fears.

Revelation through proclamation.

He reveals His nature by self-disclosure.

Matthew 14:27 ESV

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

Jesus demands courage of His people.

He commands that they “take courage” or “be bold.”

But notice the reason why…

They can be courageous because God is with them.

There is something else going on here which is even more incredible.

When the God of Israel revealed Himself to His people, He told them what His Name was (Exodus 3).

It’s one of the high points of the Scriptures because Yahweh was coming to rescue His people from bondage in Egypt.

Moses had better be able to tell the million and half people dwelling in Egypt what God exactly has come to rescue them.

If it was some flimsy and weak deity, it would be of no value.

Exodus 3:13–14 ESV

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am (LXX: ego eimi) who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

Now the Septuagint (LXX) the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible was well read in the ancient world.

To render that word “I AM” is to say, “I will be who I am.”

The self-existing, all-sufficient God who exists before all things.

Before time itself existed, He was there.

Jesus’ command to them to take courage and not be afraid is coupled with the fact that He is with them.

God says hundreds of times in the OT, “Do not fear!”

But mingled with that is the reality of His presence with His people.

Joshua 1:9 ESV

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The refrain is always identical.

“Do not fear! BECAUSE I will be with you!”

And HERE Jesus is applying this to Himself.

The Sovereign Christ is worshipped.

Matthew 14:28 ESV

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

You can see the spark from a man that is starting to “understand” who Jesus is.

Peter is asking for proof that Jesus really is who He shows that He is.

Matthew 14:29 ESV

29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

Faith is only as strong as the object it clings to.

Everyone has faith in some object.

Faith in their finances

Faith in their family

Faith in their job

Faith in the stock-market

Faith in science

But the object of a person’s faith determines the durability of that faith.

Strong faith in a weak object results in catastrophe.

While weak faith in a strong object is sure.

How many times do you think Peter had been on the water in his life as a fisherman?

Thousands of times.

But this time was different because Peter requests to walk on the water himself.

Peter had doubtlessly gotten out of the boat thousands of times.

Yet here Peter walks!

What’s the difference?

One thing: Jesus.

Maybe a snarky person may wonder…

“Well why can’t I go out on the lake and walk around as I trust Jesus?”

You’re missing the point because a follower of Jesus does something far more incredible than walking around on the water.

A follower of Jesus was once a person who was bound in their sin and transgression.

They only did what they wanted to do in their passions and folly.

But the one who clings to Jesus by faith becomes a person who like Peter follows Jesus to wherever He calls.

Jesus hasn’t called each of us to walk on the water.

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke Matthew 14:22–33; Mark 6:45–52

Wherever the Lord calls, we ought to run with [cheerful readiness]; but whoever proceeds farther, will learn from the mournful result what it is to overleap the bounds which the Lord has prescribed.

But what has He called us to?

We piddle around with things that Jesus has never clearly called us to.

We piddle around with things asking Jesus to bless things He has never promised empowerment over.

If Jesus hasn’t revealed this to us in His Word, why are we doing it?

Everything in your life you ought to be able to point to a passage of Holy Scripture to see if it accords with it.

Matthew 14:30 ESV

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

Imperfect faith weakened by fear.

Sinking beneath the water with imperfect faith.

Peter’s NOT here “loosing faith in himself”!

What got him out of the boat was object of his faith!

Fear of the storm took Peter’s eyes off of Jesus.

But what sent him under the water was getting his eyes off of Jesus.

Jesus was the object of Peter’s faith, until he got out on the water and began looking at the storm around him.

The fear of being on the water overcame his faith of trusting Christ’s calling him on the water.

Matthew 14:31 ESV

31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Faith is the single-minded trust in an object.

Doubt on the other hand means to be “divided into two.”

Jesus doesn’t pull Peter out of the water to scold him.

Jesus pulls him out of the water to rescue him and

Matthew 14:32–33 ESV

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.”

Worship as the fulfillment of our faith.

The Disciples Response of Faith: Worship

What the disciples needed in the midst of the storm wasn’t the shore?

They needed the solid rock of the Lord Jesus Christ!

They needed to know the Sovereign Lord that stands above the storm!

Storms don’t hinder worship; they reveal whether our eyes are fixed on Christ, the source of true worship.