You can turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 14. Matthew chapter 14. Our focus will be verses 22 to 33, but I want to read beginning in verse 13 to the end of the chapter. So beginning in Matthew chapter 14 at verse 13.
When Jesus heard it, he departed from their boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out, he saw a great multitude, and he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.
Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food. But Jesus said to them, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat. And they said to Him, We have here only five loaves and two fish.
He said, bring them here to me. Then he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.
Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Now when evening came, he was alone there.
But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost! And they cried out with fear.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I. Do not be afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. So he said, Come.
And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?
And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped him, saying, Truly, you are the Son of God. When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent out into all the surrounding region, brought to him all who were sick, and begged him that they might only touch the hem of his garment.
And as many as touched it were made perfectly well. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, thank you for the written word of the living God.
Thank you for the ministry of our Lord Jesus and the great encouragement that it gives the church today. We see Christ in the midst of the storm with his disciples, and we see his blessing of them. And we pray, God in heaven, that we would learn the lessons of such passages and that it would strengthen and fortify our weary hearts, that you would build us up, that you would strengthen us, and that you would help us, Lord God, to walk by faith in him who loved us and in him who gave himself for us. Forgive us again for sin and fill us with your spirit.
And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Well, in this particular section, it records miracles around the lake or the Sea of Galilee that shows Christ's sovereignty. He feeds the multitudes in verses 13 to 21. He walks on the water in verses 22 to 33. And he continues his ministry of healing in verses 34 to 36.
The theological or Christological significance is found specifically in the confession of the disciples in verse 33. Notice, truly you are the son of God. So the feeding of the 5,000, the walking on the water, the cessation of the wind, and the continual healing ministry, all evidence is what we saw in the last hour. Jesus is supreme over creation.
Jesus not only made all things, but Jesus sustains all things. And so in the midst of the hardships and the trials which the church on this boat was facing, Christ is Lord of the storm. Christ is in the midst with them. There is a parallel passage to this in Mark and in John.
The same record is given, but there's a similar passage back in Matthew 8 in verses 23 to 27. Christ in the midst of the storm. Same sort of a situation. They're on the Sea of Galilee and they're buffeted by the winds and the waves and Christ comes to demonstrate to them that he is Lord or ruler even over the waves.
The Storm on the Sea
So we'll look first at the storm on the sea in verses 22 to 27. Secondly, the salvation at sea in verses 28 to 32. And then finally, the significance of the event on the sea in verse 33. But notice in the first place,
The Disciples and the Multitudes
the disciples and the multitudes. So Jesus just fed the 5,000. Jesus multiplied the bread and the loaves and he fed them. And if you look specifically at verse 22, it says, immediately, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he sent the multitudes away.
This is a very strong verb. It means to compel, to force, to urge strongly. He wanted his disciples to leave that particular place at that particular time. A bit of light is shed for us by the parallel in John 6.
After Jesus feeds the 5,000, the Jews then come with full bellies to try to seize the Lord Jesus Christ, to take him by force, and to make him a king. They are not looking for redemption through blood atonement. They're looking for full bellies. They're looking for a concept of Messiah that was quite popular in those days.
The Messiah would come, he'd be a political figure, and he would subjugate their enemies. And Jesus wants to quell that. Jesus doesn't want to encourage that. Jesus doesn't want to endorse that.
So Jesus sends his disciples away into the boat, onto the sea. Now, while he does this, he sends the multitudes away also, again, in the attempt to rebuff this idea that they would seize him, as John 6.15 tells us. Therefore, when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he departed again to the mountain by himself alone. And that brings us to consider
The Solitude of the Savior
the solitude of the Savior. Notice our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, he was a man of the people. Yes, he certainly surrounded himself with the disciples.
Yes, he tended to and dealt with the multitudes at the time, but he also needed his own time with God the Father. He needed that solitude of the mountain. He needed that place of prayer. And when it tells us it was evening, it was most likely about dusk.
Later on in verse 25, the reference to the fourth watch was probably 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. So the Lord Jesus continued in prayer by himself for quite a long time. Remember, he is true divinity, but he's also true humanity. And Christ, according to his humanity, maintained constant communion with his God and father.
And as a result, he sets a good example for the rest of us. We're not supposed to live in a tumultuous world, untethered from the God of absolute sovereignty. We're supposed to be a men and women of prayer. We're supposed to be churches marked by prayer.
We're supposed to be those who express our dependence upon the true and living God, the way that Jesus, according to his humanity, Now, with reference to the storm on the sea, look at verse 24. It says, But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. The same sort of thing, as I said, is recorded in Matthew 8, 23 to 27. And I think it kind of blows our minds a little bit because it's the Sea of Galilee.
It's not the Pacific Ocean. It's not the Atlantic Ocean. It's not some massive body of water. And we wonder what kind of a storm on a lake, essentially, could be so threatening that experienced fishermen are fearful for their lives.
Well, one commentator makes this observation. This occurred regularly on that lake, since it was 600 feet below sea level and ringed with mountains to the east, so that the air would surge through the mountains and kick up huge waves, sometimes eight to nine feet high. And again, both in Matthew chapter eight and here in Matthew chapter 14, we're dealing with experienced fishermen. We are dealing with men who had navigated this particular sea many times.
But even they are fearful in terms of the storms that affect them and in terms of the waves doing their thing in terms of being boisterous. Now, before we move on, it is important for us to underscore this truth. And we have noted this back in Matthew 8 when we've looked at that passage, that
Trials in the Christian Life
the presence of Christ in the life of God's people does not mean the absence of trials. This is a passage that is completely contrary to what persons foolishly call the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. This is not gospel to teach that when we are in Christ, we'll only be healthy, we'll only be wealthy, and we'll only be prosperous. That sounds far more like Benjamin Franklin than it does our Lord Jesus Christ.
So just because we're disciples, just because we're believers, doesn't mean that every time we put our boat on the sea, there will never be wind. There will never be waves. There will only be smooth sailing. There will never be trials.
There will never be afflictions. There will never be hardships. That is a lie from the devil. And in fact, godless men professing faith in Jesus Christ will upbraid the people of God who actually fall into difficulty and trial and hardship and tell them foolish things like, well, you must not have any faith.
The problem is ultimately yours. Well, you see, if we take that tack, we're going to have a problem with Job. We're going to have a problem with Moses. We're going to have a problem with the Lord Jesus because he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
We're going to have a problem with the Apostle Paul because Paul was taught by God that in his weakness, God or Christ's power was made perfect. And so this idea that when we come to Jesus, all of our troubles and all of our cares and all of our concerns are gone is simply unbiblical. Now, in terms of our relationship with God, as Paul says in Romans 5.1, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. That's a reality.
But that doesn't always translate into peace with man, or peace with government, or peace with the various forces that are opposed to Christ and opposed to his church in this world. And so this idea that the presence of Christ means the absence of all trial is unbiblical. Now, the presence of Christ provides comfort in the midst of trial, and that is a certain and blessed benefit of our connection to God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The disciples of Christ are not immune from trial and difficulty.
Again, consider the similar passage in Matthew 8. Jesus is even in the midst of the boat with them. Jesus has gone for a bit of rest while this storm rages on. And it's in that context that these experienced fishermen say, Lord, do you not care that we are perishing?
As well, the Lord Christ doesn't always immediately rescue his people. If you listen to the timeframe that I specified, it was about dusk when Jesus goes to the mountain by himself to pray. The fourth watch is 0300 to 0600. So there's a period of time that Christ puts his solitude with the Father before the needs of his disciples.
Now, I realize that as a narcissistic people, we don't like that. We should come first. But do you realize that when Christ puts first things first, then we benefit as a result? And as we look at this particular passage, he doesn't immediately come to their rescue.
He doesn't immediately come to our rescue. 14 months should have taught us that by now. Six months in terms of the lockdown with reference to the church especially. We cry out, we pray, Lord God change the hearts of these civil government so that we'll be free to worship without molestation by civil government. But it doesn't always happen like that.
It's not the case that immediately we cry and immediately we are blessed. If you raise your children that way, you're not teaching them well. There are lessons children need to go through. There are trials and difficulties that children need to go through.
They need to eat dirt. They need to breathe in germs. They need to build their own immune system. And I'm not trying to make a parallel to the pandemic.
I'm simply highlighting the illustration. God, in His dealings with His children, at times, doesn't immediately deliver us, so that we'll learn the lessons. Remember in Romans chapter 8, that golden chain of salvation, or what we call the Ordo Salutis, the order of salvation. For whom God foreknew, these He predestined.
And He predestined them to be conformed to the image of His Son. The ones He predestined, He called. Those He calls, He justifies. And those He justifies, He glorifies.
But the idea is clear. He predestined them to be conformed to the image of his son. If the son, according to Hebrews 5.8, learns obedience through suffering, then sons by adoption are oftentimes going to learn obedience by suffering too. So this is the tough pill that we all need to swallow.
That in the Christian life, though our sins forgiven, though the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, though we are bound for heaven and the glory to come, that does not mean that this world is any friend to us. That does not mean that they're always going to make the way good for us. That does not mean we're always going to sail. without any problems in this storm-tossed world. Jesus himself told his disciples in John 16, 33, in this world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.
The Lord Christ responds in his own timing to affect his purposes in the lives of his people. And we need to appropriate that in our own hearts and lives and feed off the comfort that it affords to us. Now, notice in the fourth place under the storm on the sea,
Christ the Ruler of the Waves
the ruler of the waves, verses 25 to 26, says in verse 24, the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves for the wind was contrary. Now, in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost. And they cried out, for fear.
Now, I don't know if I want to make this confession, but sometimes you'll hear people say, boy, when I get to heaven, I'd really like to ask Paul something, or boy, when I get to heaven, I'd really like to ask Peter something, or when I get to heaven, I'd really like to ask about this, that, or the other. Turn to Mark's account of this situation. In Mark chapter 6, something that's always perplexed me And again, not that I'm trying to create perplexity amongst you, but it's just kind of a curious statement. If you look at the same thing in Mark 6, 45 to 52, look at verse 48, well, verse 47.
Now, when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land. Then he saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. Where was he going?
You know, the thought is that he's walking on the sea to come and collect his afflicted bride. But Mark tells us that he would have passed them by. Again, just a question that's always perplexed me a little bit. Where was he going?
The text seems to indicate he was going precisely to this particular place in order to vindicate and to save and to help his beloved bride while they're on the storm-tossed sea. Anyways, back to Matthew's version in verse 25. In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them walking on the sea. Again, don't miss that.
There are what's called liberal theologians. They're kind of like liberal politics. They thrive on misery, pain, and destruction. And with reference to liberal theology, they deny the supernatural.
So they try to define this, or define away the supernatural, by saying that Jesus was on a sandbar, or that an uncommon wind came that was very cold, and it froze the water such that Jesus was able to walk along it, and it appeared that he was walking on the water. Again, that makes no sense, because when Peter steps out on the water, he ultimately sinks under it. It's not a sandbar, and it's not a piece of ice. These men were experienced on this particular sea.
These men understood all too well what they were seeing. That's what evokes from them this cry that it is a ghost. This was supernatural in its nature. manifestation. There is no liberal interpretation that is good with reference to this passage.
In the passage before, do you know how the liberals, again not the political liberals, but the theological liberals, describe the supernatural feeding of the 5,000? Jesus finds this little boy who has a few fish and a few loaves, and this little boy shows his willingness to share with everybody. And that works on the hearts of everybody there. So they pull out the few remnants that they had, and collectively they share with one another so that they can all eat.
Again, that is absolutely contrary to what Matthew's purpose is in describing for us Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God. That is why verse 33 is in the passage. Truly, you are the Son of God. That's already been confessed by others in Matthew's gospel, but this is the first time on the lips of the disciples that it comes out this way.
When it comes to this instance, we see that Jesus is, as Ryle describes him, the ruler of the waves. One commentator who leans liberal says, what matters is not that Jesus has done the seemingly impossible. I say that does matter. I say that is crucial.
I say that is essential. But what this commentator goes on to say, I think is very valuable. And I referenced this thought in the previous message. If you don't know your Old Testament, you're going to struggle at times with the New Testament.
Or if not struggle, you're not going to appreciate the glory of the New Testament. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. Psalm 36, David says the same thing concerning Yahweh of Israel. So what this commentator goes on to say, what matters is not that Jesus has done the seemingly impossible, and I say, though this shouldn't be disregarded, but that He has performed action which the Old Testament associates with Yahweh alone.
Now in Job 9, 8, we read, he alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. Psalm 77, verse 19, your way was in the sea, your path in the great waters and your footsteps were not known. Isaiah 43, 16, thus says the Lord who makes a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters. You see, when these men spy Jesus walking on the water, they probably reminisce with reference to what the Old Testament taught.
As far as they were concerned, it was a supernatural display of the power of a supernatural being. They conclude, unfortunately, initially, that it is a ghost. Why do they do that? Well, I would suggest that Gil is on the right path here.
Gil, among others, points out beliefs among the Jews concerning nocturnal apparitions, demons in human form. The Jews, especially the sect of the Pharisees, had a notion, from whom the disciples might have theirs, of spirits, apparitions, and demons being sent, being to be seen in the night. So going back to the text, notice in verse 26, And when the disciples saw him walking on the ghost, they were troubled, they were distressed, they were alarmed, they were fearful at the sight of the Savior walking on the water. And then they cry out, it is a ghost, and they cry out for fear.
Now think about this, for these disciples, if Gil and others are right, that this was a common sort of understanding amongst the Jews and specifically the Pharisees who had a doctrine of the supernatural. The Sadducees would have been the theological liberals who denied the supernatural back then. Imagine for a moment this reality. It was far more acceptable in their minds that they were watching a ghost walk on the water than their friend and their master, even God himself, as present with them.
So the significance of this passage is manifold. Christ is ruler over the waves. The Christ who multiplies the loaves, the Christ who made the world and all things in it, has mastery over the sea, and that Christ is able to heal the multitudes, as the end of the chapter indicates for us. Again, John Gill says, by which action, walking on the water, he showed himself to be the Lord of the sea, and to be truly and properly God, whose character is that he treads upon the waves of the sea. and Gil citing there Job 9a.
And then notice in the final place, under the storm on the sea,
The Encouragement of the Savior
the encouragement of the Savior. The encouragement of the Savior. In the first place, he gives them a command. Look at verse 27, but immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, be of good cheer.
Be of good cheer. Pretty counter intuitive, isn't it? If you were on the sea and you were fearing for your life, joy and cheer and happiness probably weren't at the top of your priority level. It's just like James tells us to count it all joy in James 1 when we fall into various trials.
Why do you think James says that? Because it's not natural. When we fall into various trials, we whine, or we grumble, or we complain, or we manifest a face that looks like it's going through troubles. And in the same instance, these people were concerned.
They're on this boat, they're being tossed to and fro, they see Jesus, they think that it's a ghost, and they are terrified at the sight of it. And the first words out of the Savior's mouth is be of good cheer. The Lord's command to the disciples in the midst of trial and difficulty is not whine. It is not grumble.
It is not complain. It is rather to be of good cheer. Again, James tells us this. My brethren, Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
Patience then leads its way into completeness or perfection, not perfection in terms of sinlessness, but a composure under God by God's grace. And so Jesus tells them to be of good cheer. Notice the second aspect of his encouragement. He makes an assertion.
He says, be of good cheer in his eye. Now, the translation here, it is I, would be preferably rendered I am. When you read John's gospel, there are several occasions where you see those two words combined together with reference to Jesus. I am, and then there's typically predicates.
I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the sheep who gives his life for the shepherd, the shepherd rather who gives his life for the sheep. But then there are I am statements without predicates.
And most scholars and everybody who has a brain sees that as reminiscent of Exodus 3.14. When God reveals himself to Moses, he does so as I am. In the prophet Isaiah, you see that as well. The prophet Isaiah extols Yahweh as the great I am.
And so when Jesus is walking on the water here, and he says to his disciples, be of good cheer, it is I, does translate and interpret the language well, but I am underscores the reality that we already know in Matthew's gospel that Jesus is Emmanuel. Jesus is God with us. So while it's more predominant in John's Gospel, John 8, 24 and John 8, 54 in particular, where we have I Am statements without a predicate, it is nevertheless present here. And Matthew's Gospel, again, not as conspicuous as John, but Matthew's Gospel begins with the deity of Jesus and ends with the deity of Jesus.
It begins with the reference to Isaiah 7, 14 that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. And then it ends on that mount in Galilee when Jesus promises not only the fact that he has omnipotence, and he also promises as well that he has omnipresence. So he says that, go, because all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. That's omnipotence.
But then omnipresence is, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So what do we conclude at least at this point? It is the knowledge of Christ as the Great I Am, as God Most High, that should settle our hearts in the midst of the storm, when everything else may be coming up short. when everything else may be coming up a goose egg, when everything else may be distressing us to no end, the reality is, is that our Christ, who lived for us, and who died for us, and who rose again for us, is the ruler of the waves, because He not only made them, but because He sustains them, and because He is God Most High Himself. This was to cheer, and this was to encourage His disciples.
One man says, this is the I Am of Psalm 77, 19. I already read that. Your way was in the sea, your path in the great waters, and your footsteps were not known. So this man says, this is the I Am of Psalm 77, 19.
The I Am who provides a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, leaving footprints unseen. As Yahweh treads the waters, so does Jesus. So again, why do we spend time in the prologue in John's gospel? So that we can correctly understand who Jesus Christ is, this one who bids us come and follow him, even up to and including the point of death.
You know he issues that demand in Matthew chapter 16. Take up your cross daily and follow me. Well, who's the one who's calling upon us to take up our cross daily and follow him? He is I Am.
He is God Most High. He is the glorious Lord. One other commentator, Bruner, says this is no ordinary hello on water. It is the divine Lord addressing his storm-tossed church.
Amen, brethren, that we have that in our Bibles. Amen, that the word who was with God and the word who was God is that one who walks on the water in order to comfort his storm-tossed church. So he gives them first a command, be of good cheer. He makes this assertion, I am, and then notice he gives the prohibition at the end in verse 27.
Be of good cheer. I am. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid.
Why, Jesus? Because fear paralyzes the witness of the church. Because fear restricts kingdom advance, humanly speaking. Because fear is indicative of the sons of Adam and the sons of Satan.
Because fear is not what is consistent with those who fear God Most High. See, when we fear God Most High, it's supposed to displace the fear of man, the fear of other things that we possess. Remember in Revelation 21 at verse 8, one of the groups of people that are in the lake of fire are the cowardly. And the cowardly there aren't afraid of lions and bears and bugs and all those sorts of things.
They're those who did not overcome. The seven letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor all ended with that refrain, to him who overcomes, and then a promise of blessing is appended. Now, in this statement, our blessed Savior, in the midst of a storm-tossed church, throws this blessing. In the first place, He tells them to be of good cheer.
In the second place, He reminds them that He is God Most High. And in the third place, He forbids them to live by fear. Fear is crippling. Fear keeps us paralyzed.
Fear makes us controllable by godless men. So ultimately, we need to fear God rather than men. And yes, there is some specific application relative to the pandemic today. It is better to fear God and show up in public worship than to fear the civil government and defy God's command.
Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together as is the custom of Psalm, and even more so as you see the day approaching. Even though Jerusalem is going to be destroyed, even though Roman armies are going to surround her, that's no argument for you to absent yourself from the house of God Most High. We are not to be afraid. Now that doesn't mean be a fool.
That doesn't mean be an idiot. That doesn't mean find somebody who has COVID and put your face before their face and have them sneeze on you. That's not what you're supposed to do, brethren. There is wisdom.
Wisdom, however, is not the fear of man that paralyzes people and keeps them ultimately from stepping out in faith with reference to the true and living God. Now
Salvation at Sea
notice, secondly, in terms of a broad stroke, the salvation at sea in verses 28 to 32.
Peter's Request and Faith
Notice the apostles' account. or the apostles request. This isn't in the parallels. We don't see this in Mark and we don't see this in John. Same passage, same theology, same stuff, not contradictory, but Matthew wants to point out again, a lesson, not only on Christology, who Jesus is, but Matthew also takes pains to give us illustration about discipleship.
Those things go hand in hand. Not only who Jesus is, but how his disciples are supposed to conduct themselves and how they are supposed to function with reference to him. So notice in verse 28, Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. Now, the if-it-is-you could also be rendered since-it-is-you.
It is a condition of fact. It's a translation or interpretative issue at this particular juncture. Either way, but I favor the latter. I think Peter is saying, since it is you, he knew that Christ who gave the command, had the power to enable compliance with the command.
That is the blessedness that we see throughout Scripture. Remember in John 11, Jesus at the grave site of Lazarus says, Lazarus, come forth. Lazarus is dead. He cannot comply.
He cannot respond. He cannot shake out the death from his eyes or rub out the death from his eyes and come out of that tomb. The sister says, behold, he's stinking. It's been a few days, Lord.
You can pull that rock away and we're all going to retch and gag because he's a dead body. But the Christ who gives the command, come forth, is the Christ who can enable compliance with the command. This is why we preach to sinners, even dead ones, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Not because we think their free will is unaffected by total depravity, but because we know the Christ who commands can enable compliance by His Word and Spirit.
And so in this instance, I suspect that Peter is saying that very thing. Since it is you, he knew that Christ had the power to enable him to walk on the water. Now notice the Lord's response in verse 29 to 31. In the first place, he commands him, come.
There's no question. There's no issue. This is not a debatable matter. Of course Christ has the power to enable compliance with this command, to do something supernatural.
Supernatural is that which is above or transcends nature. People can't walk on water. You all get that, right? And so when Peter says, Lord, if it is you, command me to come out on that water.
So, of course, Jesus says, come. Notice as well the apostle responds, verse 29b, and when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. An amazing situation. I think at times as Christians or those brought up in the Christian tradition, those brought up especially in churches where there's preaching or Sunday school or those things that we used to take for granted, those people oftentimes read passages like these and they don't even think about it.
Go to somebody that you know who has a pool, or go to the lake. Not today. Go today. It's a beautiful day.
Enjoy the lake. And try to walk on that water. You know it's not going to happen, right? Well, Peter was a fisherman.
Peter understood the physics involved. Peter understood that this was indeed a supernatural act, and so Peter responds in faith to the Lord, and he steps out in faith, and he walks on the water. But what happens to Peter? Peter freaks out, and I think there's a message or a lesson here.
It is one thing to start right by faith, and then not to persevere. And this is a lesson that we again need to learn. We need to not only have faith at its inception, we need to not only have faith at the end, but we need faith in the middle mile. We need faith when the storms come.
We need faith when the waves are there. We need faith when the afflictions are upon us. It's kind of like rights, personal rights. You never need them until you need them, right?
You never have to have them until you have to have them. Well, faith is like that as well. You've got to have it consistently in our blessed Christ. But at those moments where it seems like you're going to sink, at those moments where you are being lambasted by the winds about you, faith is absolutely requisite.
So he steps out in faith, but then he sinks because of little faith. Notice, when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. He does exactly what Jesus says not to do. Now, in this we ought to be encouraged, because Jesus doesn't say, you miserable, horrible, apostate, and defector.
You can drown for all I care. That's not how Jesus deals with them. Even though Peter isn't of good cheer, even though Peter seems to have lost the mindset that this is the great I Am, and even though Peter has been commanded not to fear, that is precisely what Peter does. It is precisely the reflex action when he sees the wind is boisterous, he is afraid.
Matthew Henry said, Christ bid him come, not only that he might walk upon the water, and so know Christ's power, but that he might sink. See, the old authors saw this as part of the whole plan. that he would sink for this reason. And so that he would know his own weakness, for as he would encourage his faith, so he would check his confidence and make him ashamed of it. So as he sees that the wind is boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried out saying, Lord, save me.
Precisely what the disciples in the previous instance with Christ in the storm, in Matthew 8 saying, they say, Lord, save me. That's a blessed thing. That is a wonderful thing. We ought not to sink.
But when we do sink, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ, the righteous. We're supposed to be of good cheer. We're supposed to be mindful that he's the great I am. We're supposed to not be afraid of those forces external to us.
But when that does happen, where do we go? We go right back to the Lord Jesus. We go right back to the Son of God who loved us and who gave himself for us. And in this we see the Lord's response.
Verse 31, immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him. So the Lord saves. Again, reminiscent here is Psalm 144, 7. Stretch out your hand from above, rescue me and deliver me out of great waters from the hand of foreigners.
So while we may miss these Old Testament reminiscences, I doubt the New Testament authors did. I doubt these disciples did. As they would muse upon these things later, they would say, look at that demonstration of Psalm 144, 7. It probably wasn't in Peter's mind right at that point.
More likely it was to grab on to Jesus and to gasp for air as he comes from the depths of the water. And then Jesus not only saves him, but he reproves him. Notice in verse 31b, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? Again, not cuts him off. not casts him off, not despises, not destroys, not decimates him.
He is gracious even in his chiding. Remember to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3.19, the very worst of the seven churches, as many as I love, I rebuke and chase him. We ought never to interpret these sorts of things as a sign of his displeasure, a sign of his disfavor, a sign that he's cutting us off, a sign that he's done with us. Our Lord is gracious.
Our Lord is long-suffering. Our Lord bears with us, and that is most blessed. But he does chide him, and he does reprove him, and he does say, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? Not you of no faith, but you of little faith.
J.C. Ryle says, he knows their feebleness and bears long with them. He would have us know that doubting does not prove that a man has no faith, but only that his faith is small. That is a wonderful distinction that I think is lost on us in a parallel or analogous situation in terms of our salvation.
There are doubts, brethren. I'm not sanctioning that. I'm not encouraging that. I'm not telling you to go out and be a doubter, but I am suggesting that one of the manifestations of remaining corruption in the hearts of God's people are these doubts, this little faith at times.
The answer isn't, oh, I must not be saved, and therefore I'm on my way to hell. No, the answer is, Lord, I believe help thou mine unbelief. How many of us actually pray at the throne of grace for an increase of faith? There's an interesting scene in Luke's gospel where the disciples ask Jesus about forgiveness.
It is that instance when Peter says, Lord, if my brother sins against me, do I forgive him seven times? And Jesus says seven times 70. Do you know what the apostles say after that? They say, increase Our faith.
Think about that for a moment. You are asking us to do something that is completely and utterly contrary to our nature. You want me to forgive my wife? You want me to forgive my husband?
Seven times seventy? You want me to forgive that person that has sinned against me ad nauseam? Seven times seventy? And again, the point isn't count off seven times seventy.
The point is, be a forgiving child of God. So in that context, they say, increase our faith. We need faith to navigate not only the interpersonal relationships, but we need faith to navigate the external pressures and influences and afflictions that come upon the people of God. And then notice the Lord's sovereign power displayed in verse 32.
So
Christ's Sovereign Power Displayed
he saves, he chides, and then he shows his supremacy. It says in verse 32, and when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Now, brethren, I'm sure the liberals would say, well, the wind ceased because it was going to cease anyway. It just happened to be a correlation.
It wasn't causal. It was rather correlative. No, Jesus got in the boat and the wind ceased, just like in Matthew chapter 8, when he said to the winds to hush and be still and to the waves. They respond because Jesus has mastery over the creation because he is in fact the great I am.
Again, Psalm 107, 29. He calms the storm so that its waves are still. You see that in Job 26, Psalm 65, Psalm 89, and in Jonah the prophet, Jonah 1, 15 and 16. John Gill makes the observation, he walked upon the sea whilst the wind was blowing hard and the waves were tumultuous.
He comes into the ship and all is calm. Both winds and sea obey him who is Lord of both. That's what he's pressing on their consciences. That's what he's demonstrating to his afflicted church.
That's what he wants us to see in the 21st century in Chilliwack, British Columbia in Canada. He wants us to get that reality that whatever is external, Christ has lordship over it. Whatever is outside of us, Christ has mastery over. Whatever afflictions we go through, whatever trials we endure, Christ is sovereign over these things.
It's not that Christ is on a holiday. It's not that he's been gone for 14 months and we're waiting for him to return to his throne so we can get rid of the masks and the lockdowns and come back to church. Jesus is the Lord in the midst of the fire as well. And that's what these storm-tossed disciples learned, and that is what we ought to learn as well.
And
Significance of the Event
that brings us finally to the significance of the event on the sea. We see the divinity or the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the miracle itself. Again, go try to walk on the water today. It's not going to happen.
It is a supernatural act that takes a supernatural being to undergo or to engage, and that is our Lord Jesus, as well the identification as I am. More prevalent in John's gospel, but it's certainly not absent from Matthew's gospel. God with us is I Am, who underscores his presence with his church while they go about the Great Commission. So beginning, middle, and end of Matthew's gospel, we see the divinity of our Lord Jesus.
But then notice specifically the response of the disciples. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped him. See, when we are struck with a recognition of deity, this is the response. When we come into the presence of God on the Lord's Day, yes, we're here to encourage one another.
Yes, we're here to get our batteries charged. Yes, we're here to be helped. but we're here in the first place to worship God. We're here in the first place to recognize and confess His divinity, and then respond in a way that is consistent with the creature. Both the prophet Jeremiah and the apostle John ask this most important question.
They say, Who would not fear Thee, O King of the earth? For indeed, it is Thy due. So when we come down to discuss the matter as to whether church is essential or not, church is the most essential thing that ever was. Because the worship of the living and true God, which God the Lord has commanded, takes place in this new covenant setting in the church, is absolutely crucial in terms of the creature's response to the Creator.
So they are confronted with not only the Creator, but the Sustainer and Ruler, and they come and worship, and then notice what they say. Truly, you are the Son of God. Truly, you are the Son of God. This is, again, going to be confessed by them, but it's already been confessed up to this point.
Chapter 8, verse 19. Demons confess it. In chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, we see these references to Jesus as Son of God. But this is the first time that the disciples collectively make this church confession that truly Jesus is the Son of God.
And Gill, I think, explains well what they mean. Not by creation. not Son of God by creation as angels and men, not by office as magistrates, but by nature, being of the same essence, perfections, and power with God his Father. So does an understanding of the Trinity, does an understanding of who Jesus is, affect us at the practical level of our day-to-day lives? Most assuredly, yes.
The storms, the afflictions, the hardships, the heartaches, the difficulties that we confront in this world and we are confronted by in this world should be calmed, should be soothed, should be helped by our appreciation for who Jesus is. We need to listen to His word of admonition. Be of good cheer. We need to be reminded of His dignity and glory.
I am. And we need to take seriously and to heart that prohibition against fear. The people of God who know their God engage in mighty exploits for Him. When you go to the book of Hebrews in chapter 11, you see that.
You see exploits done on the part of the people of God for God. How did they do that? Because they were a class of supermen and women? No!
By faith. That's the recurring theme in the book of Hebrews. Not by faith in their own resources, not by faith in their own abilities, but by faith in the living and true God. It was by faith David went into the valley of Elah and he slayed Goliath.
It was by faith that Jael drives that tent peg into the head of Sisera. It is by faith that Rahab lies to the civil authority at her time. You know, you hear that today. Oh, well, if this person takes this particular tact, then they'll have some trouble from civil authority.
Have you ever thought about Rahab the harlot? Rahab the harlot committed treason in her city-state of Jericho. This was most certainly a capital offense. But because she had heard of Yahweh, because her heart had been melted by Yahweh, and because she wanted to render allegiance to Yahweh, she does what is requisite.
Again, by faith. Why does Samson do what Samson does? Because he's a lustful praised oaf of a man? No, four times in the book of Judges, the Spirit of God comes upon Samson.
How does he kill a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass? He does it by faith, brethren. So when we look at passages like this, we're not supposed to go, well, that was good for them, but what do we do? We have the same Lord, we have the same I am, we have the same Christ who has not only Lordship and rulership over everything, but also all things, including the afflictions and the storms and the waves and the winds that affect us.
Application
In conclusion, first, the instruction concerning discipleship, the reality of trial and difficulty in the Christian life. I'm not Benny Hinn, brethren. You're gonna have a rough go at it. Benny Hinn will tell you just the opposite.
Kenneth Copeland and all these weirdos, they'll tell you it's just health, wealth, and prosperity. Again, that's good if you're Ben Franklin, early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. That's not the gospel. The gospel is about blood atonement.
The gospel is about the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. The gospel is about come to Christ and live. And when you live as Christ in this world, you will have difficulty. You will have persecution.
You will have the various things that make up life in a sin-cursed world. Second, the reality that God works according to His own plan and purpose. There are times And I don't doubt that the people of God cry out to God in a sense of, where are you? Or why are you doing these sorts of things?
You see that motif in the Psalms. You see that motif in the book of Lamentations. You see a whole class of lament, this crying out to God that isn't condemned by God. It is an expression of our confidence and faith and trust in God.
So when Jeremiah is lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem, he is not sinning against God. The Psalms ascribe to Asaph when he looks around and he sees the very temple being desecrated by the Gentiles, and he cries out to God to arouse himself and to come to vindicate his church. That's an expression of faith. And so we need to imbibe that mindset and the reality that little faith is not the same as no faith.
Little faith should mature. Little faith should grow. Little faith should be fed. Little faith should be nurtured.
But we ought to appreciate, as the Church of Jesus Christ, that little faith is not no faith. And Spurgeon made this observation. Peter was nearer his Lord when he was sinking than when he was walking. Again, we don't always look at things this way, but I think that's what was going on.
Peter was nearer his Lord when he was sinking than when he was walking. In our lowest state, we are often nearer to Jesus than in our more glorious seasons. Think about that. Any of you who've had trials, any of you have gone through difficulty, any of you have gone through hardship, you'll know that on the outer end, there has been growth.
One person wrote a book that's called Grace Grows Best in Winter. And God, in his infinite purposes, often leads us by the hand in the midst of trial and hardship to further conform us unto our Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, it's not easy. It's not a simple task.
It's not something that we just, oh, isn't this great, government overreach. Oh, isn't this great, constant fear instilled into the people around us, such that we're made to be looked at as the murderers in this neighborhood. That's not an easy thing to embrace. But brethren, with God, who is over all these things, we can and we shall prevail.
We can and we shall prevail, not because of us, but because of Him who loved us, and because of the grace that He supplies to His weary, battered people. We need to understand that though there is remaining fear in the lives of God's people, a recognition of the sovereignty and supremacy of Christ our Lord should hopefully displace that fear of man in a way that is helpful and in a way that promotes not only His glory, but our well-being. Well, let us close in a word of prayer.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank you for your word, and thank you for these accounts that we have in the scriptures of Christ in the midst of the storm. He's not a distant spectator. He's not an absentee savior, but he is present with his people. David saw this, and David confessed this.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. We know that you're with us in the dark times, you're with us in the light times, you're with us in good and bad, you're with us and you'll never abandon us, you'll never leave us nor forsake us. So God help us as the church to have ears to hear this admonition to be of good cheer, to remember that Christ is the great I am and as well to not give in to that fearfulness that so often cripples and paralyzes the people of God.
We want to be bold, we want to be faithful, we want to be persevering and enduring. But God, we see our own limitations. We see our own feebleness. So when we do fall, we pray that you'd pick us up.
We pray that you'd increase our faith. And we pray that you'd help us to continue to go forward. But with us now, we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
We'll close with a brief time of meditation.