It is I. Do not be afraid.
If it’s Weird, It’s Important • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Good morning Memphis Free Methodist Church!
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Matthew Butler and I used to attend this church several years ago and even lead worship for a while when Steve Tungate was here.
Jeremy asked me to fill in while he was away, and I am thrilled and humbled to do so.
Who here grew up at a time where you had a secret code for a friend of the family to pick you up?
I did. My mom would tell a friend the secret password, and I knew immediately that the person was sent by my mom.
My password was “macaroni and cheese” I believe, mom correct me if I’m wrong.
Jesus Walks on Water
Jesus Walks on Water
In today’s passage, and truly all throughout Scripture, we see the same thing: secret codes, or really I should say, call outs to other parts of Scripture. Things that those who were reading about or most likely were hearing about them shortly after they happened would’ve made connections with.
Remember, the New Testament was an oral tradition for a few decades after the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Today we are going to read and reflect on the account of Jesus walking on water.
It’s a famous account in the New Testament. It has been preached on many times, even from this very pulpit, I’m certain.
I hope you walk away from today’s message with a greater understanding of what was going on with this passage.
This was recorded in 3 of the 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and John.
We will be reading the account in Matthew 14:22-33.
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
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.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
One thing I’ve gotten into the habit of doing after reading a passage is asking questions.
Do you have any questions after hearing or following along?
Questions?
Questions?
Here are a few of my questions:
When is the fourth watch?
Why was Jesus walking on the sea?
Why did the disciples think He was a ghost?
Why does Peter want to walk on the water as well?
Why did Peter get afraid of the wind and why was the wind against them?
When Peter started sinking, why did he get afraid if he was a fisherman and could swim?
Why did the wind cease immediately after they got back into the boat?
After all that happened, why did they say Jesus was the Son of God?
All these questions, and we could probably have more after only 11 verses. Some of these you may know the answer to already, and some you may not.
The fourth watch was between 3-6 AM, this was a Roman invention.
The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost because they saw Him walking on the water, something a human simply cannot do.
One possible reason Peter wants to walk on the water is because Jesus told the disciples to do the things He has done. This was common for those who studied under a Rabbi at that time.
Earlier in Matthew 10:24-25a Jesus specifically tells His disciples:
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.
So, Peter saw Jesus walking on water and believed he could do the same.
Why was Jesus walking on the sea?
Jesus was walking because He didn’t have a boat. Or a JetSki. Or even a pool noodle.
Seriously though, this passage is filled with Old Testament imagery.
Before we go to some Old Testament verses, it is important to know how the Israelites felt about the sea and bodies of water. They feared them!
As Michael Heiser puts it in his work: The Unseen Realm, he gives some context that we really need to better grasp this scene.
The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible No More Sea
In the ancient world the sea was a thing of dread. It was unpredictable and untamable. It was a place upon which humans couldn’t live. Consequently, the sea was often used as a metaphor for chaos, destruction, and death. The power and chaotic unruliness of the sea was symbolized in both the Old Testament and a wide range of ancient Near Eastern literatures with a dragon or sea monster, variously known as Leviathan and Rahab (e.g.,
The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible No More Sea
To the ancient mind these incidents symbolized power over chaos and everything that might bring harm and death to humanity. Absence of chaos meant that everything was in perfect, divine order and calm.
So, the Israelites associated the sea with chaos and unpredictability.
It makes sense why Genesis 1:2 starts by setting the precedent that only Yahweh has mastery over the water.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
The Spirit of God was hovering over the water, not being mastered by the water.
We find Jesus doing something very similar in this account. He is not succumb to the natural reaction to a person’s physical body being on water, i.e. - sinking. He remains above the water. He has mastered it.
This concept is emphasized in the Old Testament, but let me start by reading a few Psalms.
who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,
You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
You split open springs and brooks; you dried up ever-flowing streams.
That Psalm talks about the monsters that dwell in the seas being mastered by Yahweh. Only He could master them.
Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.
Again, the only being that can have mastery over the waters is God. This is what the Israelites KNEW.
Something unique that also stood out in the account was the disciples thinking He was a ghost.
The Greco-Roman world had many ghost stories. They thought similarly about ghosts as we do. See through, spooky, gliding or floating along.
The twist here is that this “ghost” wasn’t floating at all. It was walking.
In Greco-Roman literature, the only time a ghost was found walking was if it was a god or a godlike being.
So, Matthew, Mark, and John we revealing to their audiences exactly who they believed Jesus to be in that statement alone. Not only was He God, but He was the ultimate God because He was walking on water!
An incredibly powerful statement for the people of the time.
At the time, the disciples didn’t know what to do with this information, so they yell out “It’s a ghost!”
A perfectly natural response to an incredibly supernatural experience.
But notice what Jesus says, “Take heart; it is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Do not be afraid. This phrase is riddled throughout the Bible and most of the time we see it is when a messenger of God or God Himself is having an encounter with humans.
While looking into this phrase I came across this description and I really love it. “do not be afraid” appears in contexts where God’s people needed assurance of divine presence—essentially equivalent to God saying “I am here.”
That leads me to Jesus saying, “It is I.”
At the time of Jesus, the Ole Testament had been translated into Greek for nearly 300 years. The Greek speaking Jews, such as the Disciples, would’ve been absolutely familiar with those scrolls. The Greek translation is called the Septuagint.
In Greek, “It is I” is Egö eimi Pronunciation: [ay-go ee-mee]. This could be considered a normal announcement of self, like we would say “it’s me!” when entering our house to announce who it is.
But, in this passage, it has a more impactful meaning. The term ego eimi is also found in the Septuagint. In Exodus 3:14
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
That is how God wanted Moses to introduce Himself to the Israelites!
So, what is Jesus actually saying when the disciples are afraid of a ghost walking on water?
It’s alright. I am the I am, and I am with you!
Jesus truly was “God with us.” for the disciples.
The language was coded, but the disciples would’ve understood.
Next, Peter gets afraid while he’s on the water and he starts to sink.
Remember what the Israelites felt about the sea. They feared it! They could not tame it. It was chaos and it was a place separate from God’s rest. Some even believed the pathways to Sheol, the place of the dead, were at the bottom of bodies of water.
Think about the demons that were cast into the pigs.
So, Peter thought he was descending into chaos, into separation, and what does Jesus do?
He IMMEDIATELY reaches out His hand and takes hold of Peter.
He rescues him from the water, from the chaos, from the unpredictable nature of the water and then He asks why Peter doubted.
Jesus just told the Disciples who He was, yet Peter was afraid of the wind, and his doubt plummeted him into chaos.
Then, when they enter the boat, the winds cease and they worship Jesus saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
In the same account in Mark, it adds this bit of information: Mark 6:48
And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,
I mention the additional information in Mark, because with it Job really drives this whole encounter home.
who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea;
who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number.
Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
The Greek term for trampled is the same that is used for Jesus walking on the water: Peripateo.
The term used for passes by in verse 11 is: parerchomai [par-er-khom-ahee].
This is the same word used in Mark’s account as Jesus passes by.
The disciples didn’t recognize Him, just as it said in Job.
Again, the language was coded so that the readers of the time would understand.
With that, who ALONE stretched out the heavens and walked on the waves of the sea? Jesus.
Who passed by and was not perceived by the Disciples? Jesus.
So, who is Jesus? God.
The disciples finally recognize this and they fall down in worship of Him.
Jesus walked amongst the chaos in the water and the waves, something no human could do.
He allowed Peter to walk on the sea. something we cannot do.
He rescued Peter from sinking into the water, representing chaos and unpredictability by reaching His hand out, bringing him to peace and comfort.
The whole message of the Bible is summed up in this passage. We walk in a chaotic world, we walk in blindness and uncertainty. Then, we meet Jesus, God in the flesh, and all of the sudden: peace, comfort, assurance.
Even after the world ends, God doesn’t stop being our rest and peace and simply being the I AM.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
“The sea was no more” may seem like an odd addition to Revelation 45 minutes ago. But, as we put on the lens of a first century Jew who is writing this account with the mindset of the ancient Israelites, we see how powerful of a statement it is to make that there is no sea in the new heaven and new Earth.
God brought divine order to chaos and uncertainty: through Jesus who is God incarnate.
And we can tread over the waves and breakers of life: uncertainty, disorder, chaos in any form through Jesus.
It all comes down to Jesus. The whole of the Old Testament points to Jesus. The New Testament celebrates His coming, honors His death through crucifixion, and rejoices in His resurrection.
We are invited to do the same as Peter did while he was sinking.
Say, “Lord, save me!” and He will reach out, rescue us from the water, from separation, from chaos.
And He will bring us into eternal rest and reconciliation to Him.
If you have not done so yet, and you feel that it is time to say “Jesus, save me.” Don’t wait.
Choose today.
[Pray]
