Walking on Water

Lord of all, we confess that we have been overwhelmed by the storms of life. We fail to step out in faith and trust in Your provision and power. Forgive us and help us to keep our eyes fixed on You. We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Call to Worship

Leader: Give thanks to the Lord and call on His name.

People: Make known His deeds among the peoples and sing of His wonderful works.

Leader: Jesus said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

People: We come to worship the one who stills the storms of our lives.

Leader: Come, let us lift our voices to the Lord of all creation.

All: Alleluia! We worship the one who walks with us through every trial.

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:22–33 NIV

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Walking on Water

In the Boat

John the Baptist had been killed by King Herod, and the crowds around Jesus were growing. Jesus had no time to grieve, and the crowds could draw unwanted attention from the palace. So, it was time to move. Jesus called his twelve disciples from the crowd, got them into a boat, and sent them off, telling them he would follow after them. Then he went up on a mountain alone to pray.

The disciples were out in the boat, headed to the next destination. However, at that time of day, the four fishermen of the group would have known that they were sailing into headwinds and possible stormy weather. It was not a good time to travel that stretch of water. They would have been better off waiting until morning.

But they had all witnessed the miracle of the fish and loaves and may have been loading 12 baskets of leftovers into the boat with them. Somehow, the things that didn't make sense worked out that day with Jesus, and so they followed his directions obediently. Just as Peter and the twelve had gathered five loaves and two fish and trusted Jesus that there would be enough for everyone, they trusted that Jesus knew what he was doing with this boat trip, and they knew he needed time alone. So, obediently, the disciples got in the boat and sailed out on the waves.

The Long Night

Then the winds came. Peter and the twelve were out on the water, trying to sail into the wind all night long. In those long hours when everyone else is asleep, Peter and the others were fighting for their lives. They were doing everything they could to keep their boat afloat.

It was a good boat. We don't know for sure who it belonged to, but Jesus sent his disciples in it, and it held them up above the rough waters all through the night. So, regardless of who owned the boat, that night, it was a gift from Jesus to keep them safe, even as he sent them into a place that was not safe.

Jesus never lost sight of them, despite the dark, the wind, and the ever-threatening waves. He followed after them, and at the end of the night, the disciples saw him coming after them. It frightened them at first. How did Jesus get there so quickly when they had many hours of a head start on him, and how was he walking on the water? It was dark enough, and they were still in the midst of battling the wind and waves; I'm sure some of them wondered if it was Jesus at all, and some of them thought it must be some kind of ghost. Jesus heard their shouts and knew their fear, and he called out to them through the wind and crashing waves.

"Take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid."

Lift up your courage. Set aside your fear. And then, stuck right between those commands is one of the few times when Jesus identifies himself with God directly. "It is I" in the original Greek of Matthew's gospel echoes the name God told Moses at the burning bush, when Moses asked what His name was. Someone greater than the wind and the waves was there with them, and his voice cut through the chaos around them to embolden their hearts in the storm.

Out of the Boat

Seeing Jesus on the water, hearing his voice using God's name and doing the impossible, did something in Peter. He knew the water, even rough water. He knew how to keep boats afloat. He had good sea legs. But at that moment, something in him wanted something more. More than safe, more than certain, more than solid beneath his feet, he wanted Jesus.

"Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water."

Jesus spoke one word through the howling wind.

"Come."

And Peter did. He didn't leap or run out of the boat. He stepped out. First one foot. Then the other. I don't think he knew what he was doing. He may have been trying not to think about what he was doing. All he knew was that, despite everything else going on around him, he was getting closer to Jesus. The wind and the waves could not keep them apart.

Then, for just a moment, a movement caught his eye. It was the wind on the water raising up the waves around them. I wonder if the same first rays of dawn that helped him see Jesus also revealed the turbulent wind around him. He had a moment of incredible courage after a long night of obedient faith. Then he had a moment where it slipped — just a moment — and he started sinking.

Some of you know the feeling. Some of you don't take the miracle of being able to stand, let alone walk, for granted. You know it takes a miraculous alignment of your head, shoulders, knees, and toes, and something strong beneath you to hold you up for every single step you take. When the ground beneath us shakes, we fall. I don't know whether this miracle somehow made the water as dense as stone to hold Peter up when he stepped out of the boat; the passage doesn't tell us those details. But what I know is that something was holding him up the whole time.

He didn't plummet to the bottom of the lake when fear and doubt appeared; it says he started sinking. But even in the midst of fear that was taking him under, he called out over the wind and waves. It wasn't a fancy prayer. We might expect more from someone who had been with Jesus for so long and had already experienced so many miracles from him. In this moment, with his cry for help, Peter went right to the heart of every person who has ever reached out to Jesus.

"Lord, save me!"

Caught

Matthew says, "Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him." Jesus didn't wait. There was no waiting in the saving. Peter cried out and Jesus caught him.

At that moment, Peter's feet were dangling in the water, and the wind was still blowing around him. The only thing that held him up was the hand of Jesus. Then, and only then, as he was holding Peter, did Jesus say, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

There are lots of people in the life of Jesus who displayed a lack of faith or little faith, who expressed doubt. "You of little faith" is only used to refer to those closest to Jesus. It's the phrase of a mother who steps away from her toddler for just a moment, and suddenly, the child, who cannot see his mother, cannot find her and starts weeping and wailing. Immediately, the mother comes back: "I'm right here. You're not alone. I'm right here with you."

That was Peter's moment, being held by Jesus. But I think what happens next might be the most important moment for everyone. As Jesus climbed into the boat with the rest of the disciples, the wind stopped, and they recognized Jesus for who he truly was. Suddenly, what had been a nightmare became a moment of true worship. They rejoiced that the storm was over, and then they fell down and worshipped the Son of God, who had climbed into the boat with them.

Jesus sent them into the storm, and he gave them a boat that kept them safe despite the wind and the waves around them. Peter recognized that the one who sent them was greater than the provision he gave them. In the midst of that chaos, he yearned to be near. As he struggled, stepping out beyond the safety of the boat, Jesus met him. Jesus caught him, lifted him up from sinking into the depths, and showed that fisherman—who knew plenty about wind, waves, and boats—that there is nothing truer than Jesus. Peter felt that in the strong grip of Jesus, while his feet splashed in the water.

Some of you know what it is like to be on a boat and get your "sea legs", and then come back on land and feel the sudden weight of standing on solid ground again. Peter knew both of those sensations well. But after walking on the water and then being held by Jesus, the water would never feel the same. The boat would never feel the same. And once he got back on solid ground, he would still feel the hand of Jesus holding him.

We sang, "when through the deep waters I call thee to go." Jesus sends us out on the water, knowing the storm is coming, and He gives us that boat to shelter us in the storm. It keeps us safe, but it doesn't stop the storm and all that the storm does around us. Jesus doesn't leave us alone. He follows after us.

When we begin to see Jesus in the midst of that storm, we are grateful for the boat, but we long for something more. We long for Him, and we know the only way that we can get to Him is if He makes a way. This is the moment that we ask God to call us, to do with Him more than we could do on our own. And He does, and He will.

Would you pray with me?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus,

Thank you for trusting us enough to send us into the storm. Thank you for giving us what we need to keep us safe among the wind and waves. And thank you for coming after us, always being close enough to see us, and close enough for us to hear your voice cutting through the chaos around us.

We want to be with you, whatever it takes, and we know we need you to call us and to hold us as we let go of what we know and cling only to you.

We will falter and fail, and you will catch us and lift us up yourself, sometimes before we can get a word out. When we climb back into the boat with you, we will see that the boat was enough, but you are always more than enough. With Peter, and with all the disciples, we can say, "Truly, You are the Son of God."

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