Matthew 14:22 thru 33 ..Walk on Water …sermon 10/2013
22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
******************
Now Jesus had just feed the multitude of people over 10,000 you remember….5000 men not counting women and children….so Jesus now was getting away from the crowd.
Why would He want to get away from that crowd?
In the book of John it tells us in. Chapter 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
They who?....it was the multitude that Jesus just feed. They had seen enough miracles they were convince that He was the intended king of Israel….they were acting more like a mob…verse 22 says that Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship….Jesus rushed them into that ship..
He is the king of kings but they were looking for a human king to serve them and save them from the Roman Empire....they wouldn't looking for the Saviour of the world.
*************
You see, the Jews always look for a sign….and they had seen plenty through Jesus….healing of the sick...raising the dead and now they saw Him feed over 10,000 people with 5 loaves of bread, 2 small fish….why did they believe it...they saw it all...they had eaten the fish and bread and were filled along with the other thousands of people.
They knew the Old Testament and maybe saw a sign comparing Jesus to Moses …because Moses had not only provided for the Israelites, he had also led them out of bondage in Egypt. Maybe this multitude of people saw that Jesus could lead them out of the bondage from the Roman Empire.
************************************
But in any case…..Jesus rushed His disciples into a ship and was sending them ahead of Him going across the Sea of Galilee and the Bible says that Jesus went on a mountain to pray….that mountain was on the other side also I believe because the people said in John 6:25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? …..they didn’t see Jesus walking on the water…that was a private miracle for His disciples and the NT.
It was like Jesus told His disciples….go ahead and I will catch up with ya but, I believe He was praying on that mountain on the other side and watching the disciples as they were going through the storm….He supernaturally crossed over to the other side of the Sea Of Galilee ahead of the disciples and had gone on that mountain to pray.
****************
I also believe sometimes Jesus watches us from a distance until we call His name or cry out for help…I believe Jesus wants us to depend on Him for everything in our life.
***By the way the sea of Galilee or Lake Tiberias..is 8 miles wide and 13 miles long in the northern part of Israel ...it’s really a fresh water lake….lot of things went on in Jesus day around that lake.
*************************************************
Verse 25 of Mt 14 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
Get this picture….it was the fourth watch the Bible says so, it was around 3am in the morning...the watches were divided up in 4’s so the fourth watch was from 3 in the morning until daybreak.
In verse 24 the Bible says But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary
**********************
So the disciples are in a ship and in a bad storm…it was pitch dark…3 o clock in the morning and the wind is tossing the ship around and they see someone walking on the water very calmly toward them…….
How did they see the Lord Jesus walking on the water at 3 in the morning during a storm with waves coming in on the ship with probably no kind of light of their own?
I would say lighting was lighting up the waters and they were seeing Jesus and it seemed like a horror film at the time….. now what do they do?
Same thing we would do...they screamed and were scared to death.
***************************************
Verse 27 says But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
But straightaway….meaning as soon as they saw Him and as soon as they screamed….Hey wait a minute...hold on !! Its me...don’t be afraid.….in verse 28 Apostle Peter said ...Lord if it’s you..let me walk on the water and meet you.....Jesus said come on….
***********************************************************
Aint that just like Peter?....Lord if it’s you I want to walk out to meet you…remember what Peter said when he was shocked and probably scared another time when he James and John were on the mount of transfiguration and saw Jesus in His glory and Moses and Elisa with him?
*** Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. …
And another time when Peter said…Lord I would die before I would deny you…but, we all know the story….Peter did deny the Lord Jesus…but another time Jesus also told Peter thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
You know, we all have good intentions…..we want to be like Jesus….we want to follow Him and be the apple of His eye so to speak….but, we fail Him in so many ways…I believe that’s why we have many discouragements and disappointments in our Christian walk because we try to step out of our territory in our own strength and we fail again and again.
Now back to our story.... the Bible says in verse 29 that Peter got out of the ship he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. Bost-ter-ous
And verse 30 says But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
*************************************
The key words here are when he saw when he saw the strong wind...when he saw and felt that massive wind in the storm...the Bible says he began to sink and he was afraid….and cried Lord save me!!
Have we ever done that? Do we take our eyes off the Lord when we are in life's storm?
If we put our trust in Jesus...shouldn't we also trust Him for our everyday storms that we sometimes put ourselves in?.....Its more often than not that I take my eyes off Jesus and try to walk by myself without asking Jesus for a hand.
**********************************
We need to keep our eyes on the one that can calm a storm and no matter how bad things get...
no matter where we are ...there is nowhere you can go...there is no where you can be….and nothing is bad enough that Jesus cant say…..Be not afraid it is I…
****Most of the time we forget that Jesus is only a call away…….these disciples ...most were expert fisherman….don't you think that Peter knew how to swim? **But still he cried out…..Lord save me!! ********Why? Because He was his only hope….and Jesus is our only hope...
Being a professional fisherman Peter would have never put himself in that kind of danger if he were by himself……..but, now it came to trust and faith in the Lord Jesus…..then what happens?
Mt 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Immediately ...the Bible says...Jesus stretched forth his hand,
Reminds me of a Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
A very present help...in any situation.. O thou of little faith…Jesus said…if we had great faith we wouldn’t depend on ourselves so much would we?...so I believe most of us have little faith.
****************
Mt 14:32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
The wind ceased...that means just what I said...that Jesus can calm any storm ….nothing is to big for our LORD.
Mt 14:33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
That’s something that this world is lacking….thankfulness and belief….. But the disciples were praising Him and thanking Him for being there for them and calming the storm.
Most of all they believed that ….yes He is the Son of the living God….in the flesh.
Peter lost his faith and began to sink, but Jesus still had compassion enough to bring him back into the ship.
So what is different this time? Jesus is in the ship with Him.
****When I didn’t come to Him – HE came to me. Picked me up out of the waves that could drown me and save me…..He welcome me home like the prodigal son
***************************************************************
The storms we go through will cause us to make some decisions about ourselves. Some will be tough.
But sometimes, God is just waiting to see if we are willing to get out of the boat….but, we have to trust Him with all our heart…..we have to have faith…trust in God for all…not just part.
***********************************************
A young lady was sunbathing on the beach when a little boy in his swimming trunks, carrying a towel, came up to her and asked her, "Do you believe in God?"
She was surprised by the question but she replied, "Why, yes, I do."
Then he asked her: "Do you go to church every Sunday?"
Again, her answer was "Yes!"
He then asked: "Do you read your Bible and pray every day?"
Again she said, "Yes!" kind of hateful like..
The little boy was relieved and said, "Good ..Will you hold my money while I go swimming?"
***************************************************
Aint that the way we are……we say we trust Him but, most of the time we question Him.
Especially when we go through trials, troubles and sickness in this life …most of the time we want to stay in our little boat and kind of paddle along until the storm is over.
ILLUSTRATION: When they first manufactured golf balls, they made the covers smooth. Then they discovered that after a ball had been roughed up one could get more distance out of it. So they started manufacturing them with dimpled covers.
****So it is with life; it takes some rough spots to make us go the farthest.
Every miracle of God begins with an “impossible” situation.
The storms and setbacks of life are opportunities for us to trust God.
God rewards those who seek after Him. We cannot attempt the “impossible” under our own strength…..but, sometimes we think we can.
But when we seek the Lord in the midst of our “impossible” circumstances, He reveals His power and presence by doing the “impossible” through us.
When we step out on His strength, the “impossible” can become “Possible!”
Step out of the boat;….. it’s a lot safer on the water with Jesus than in our little boat without Him.
Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
Love in Christ Jesus, Ronnie Miller www.themillersbiblestudy.com
