Jesus to the Rescue
Matthew 14:22-33
• The “World English Dictionary” defines rescue in this way; ‘to bring someone or something out of danger, harm, or attack…and to deliver or save.” This story is about rescue on many levels.
• For several years I was a volunteer fireman, today my brother is a professional fireman and EMT. On more than one time, I have been privileged to rescue people from harm’s way. In January, 1976, my last call as a volunteer fireman in Cantonment was to a train derailment. The cars which had derailed contained chloride – whose gas can be fatal. We found one couple in bad shape less than a mile from the spill. We were able to evacuate them – and literally save them from danger.
• As an adult I can think of no one who was in any greater danger than me – and Jesus came to the rescue. When Jesus sees people in danger, He responds! In this simply story, watch His response.
• The storyline tells us all we need to know. Jesus sent His disciples to the other side of the lake. In fact, the text says, He “MADE” them get into the boat and go to the other side! Do you know why? Because that is where the gospel work is needed. That truth needs to burn into our hearts. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ, His disciples are task with the greatest assignment known to mankind. We have the divine task of finding people who need Christ, showing people the way, and bringing them to Him.
• Candidly, the church in America today (even us) seems to have lost our way when it comes to Christ’s divine assignment for us. It would appear that we have substituted many other good things, really good things, for THE MAIN THING. What has resulted is a church which has become something different than what Jesus had in mind. While Jesus has sent us out, to go to the other side, and perform His work – could it be that we now need “Jesus to come & rescue us?” He will.
1. A Personal Response – In verse 24-25 we discover the disciples doing what Jesus told them to do & going where He told them to go, BUT they were in trouble. Remember that, on the boat, was at least four professional fisherman – so they knew their way around boats and the water. But the text says, “They were beaten and blown about by the wind because the wind was against them.” The ‘Fourth watch’ was considered from 3am to 6am so we know that when they should have been resting, they were fighting the storm. What a picture of the church & Christ followers today!
• We are sent out by the very words of Jesus to do the work of Jesus and that work is to ‘seek and save those who are lost.’ Many times, when we are brave enough to go and do His will, we find ourselves in a storm. The winds of secularism beat at us and the waves of tradition blow against us, they even threaten to capsize our ship. It becomes unnerving, frightening, and discouraging.
• One of the amazing parts of this story is that it never mentions about ‘going back.’ This seems to be a common theme among God’s people. We start out for the Lord, we run into opposition, & then we make the unilateral decision to turn around and go back where we started. Don’t you wished you had a dime for every time the Children of Israel made that statement as they left the captivity of Egypt? It mattered not what would happen, but at the first sign of struggle they would respond, “It would have been better to be in Egypt” which, in essence said, “Leave us in bondage.”
• It is in the midst of the storm that Jesus came to the disciples. This was personal. He had sent them out there and was not going to leave them to fend for themselves. It is the same for us. When we chose to step out of our will & into His will, we may well experience opposition, but if we’ll stay the course, He’ll come to us. By the way, notice that the very thing which was the danger to the disciples, Jesus was walking on. The waves which was beating up the group, was the path Jesus used to walk to them. His response formed words of comfort, “It is I, don’t be afraid.” He said, “Take heart” which a southern translation is ‘Don’t lose heart, I’m coming to the rescue.”
2. A Powerful Response – Peter, being Peter (there’s one in every crowd), wanting to confirm & affirm that this was Jesus, said, “Okay – but ‘if it’s you’ – does that not sound just like us? It’s more like “Jesus, prove yourself! Do something that is humanly impossible.” Wouldn’t you say that ‘walking on water’ is beyond the human capability? Sometimes, when our faith is weak – we ask for a special sign to assure us – and this is exactly what Peter was doing. Now don’t miss this: Our Lord is not under any obligation to do this, but from time to time He does (like He did with Peter). I submit that Peter might have been a little surprised when Jesus simply said, “Come.” He didn’t tell Peter to watch his step, be careful about getting off the boat, or even take off your sandals – He simply said, “COME.” When I read this word, I am reminded of how simply our Lord’s call to us is. He says, “Come. Come, follow me.” Is that not exactly what Peter was doing? To follow someone means you walk where they walk. Jesus was walking on water – so….
• Today, Jesus’ call to us is simply to “Come. Come walk where I’m walking, come go where I’m going, and come do what I’m doing.” This story also assures us that where He guides, He provides, where He calls, He empowers, and where He leads – we CAN GO! There is a hymn entitled, “Wherever He Leads, I’ll Go” which we have sung with ‘gusto.’ But what if He calls you to get out of the boat – and step out on the water? It was a powerful response to Peter and can be a powerful call to us. Candidly, I think that He DOES call us to step out of the boat of our comfort, our convenience, and even our schedule to do for Him what we have never done before. He calls us to walk where we don’t even think we can walk (On the water). He call us to see the lost, to seek out the lost, and to share Jesus with the lost. Why? Because He came to seek & save the lost.
• This means putting ourselves into a place, where if the Lord doesn’t come through, we’ll fail. Think about it: When Peter stepped out, where no man had gone before, with full trust in the Lord, He did what no other man had ever done. This is the powerful call of Christ to us!
• Some say, “Peter failed.” True, but at least he got to walk on the water. As long as his complete focus was on Jesus, he walked in victory. When he lost focus, He sank– but Jesus didn’t leave Him.
3. A Pragmatic Response – Don’t miss this picture: Peter is doing what no one else has ever done or even should be able to do – because His focus is on Jesus. (When our focus is on Jesus, we’ll find ourselves doing what we think is impossible. We may find ourselves discovering people who need Christ and the church, & actually becoming the voice of the gospel for Christ through which people are being saved.) However, when we do like Peter did & begin to look around, instead of at Jesus, we may find ourselves sinking in the waters of doubt. How many times have we started our like Peter, full of faith & courage, only to look around at people, the task, or the situation, and begin to doubt whether we can do it, even though we know our Lord has called us to it?
• When Peter took his eyes off of Jesus – bad things began to happen. Notice that Jesus hadn’t move away from Peter, rather Peter had simply stopped focusing on the One who was his source of strength. The result was that he began to see the storm and not the savior, so the storm began to swallow him. How many times could we retell this type of story?! We begin fresh & new on our journey of following Jesus’ lead – only to – lose our focus & begin to sink (I.E. lose focus, lose commitment, lose out). Perhaps that’s where you are today, but here’s the good news.
• When Peter began to falter, Jesus didn’t break and run. Rather, Peter recognized his failure & cried out for help (this is key), and Jesus came “immediately.” Isn’t it interesting that Jesus didn’t let Peter “learn his lesson” by “letting him go under a couple of times?” That would have been our way! But not Jesus’. At Peter’s cry, Jesus came immediately, reached out His hand, took hold of Peter, and lifted him out of the water into the boat. Jesus will do the same for you, IF you ask.
• How about, in context, putting two other response in your heart.
4. A Preferred Response – When Jesus was allowed to ‘come to the rescue’ two things happened.
• First, when Jesus rescued Peter and got into the boat with him, the storm ceased. Jesus has a way of calming the storm – when we commit to Him. Second, Jesus took care of Peter (that one who walked with Him) in such a way that everyone bowed in worship saying, “Truly, YOU ARE the Son of God.” I remind you that the confession of Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” came AFTER this experience. Peter had to step out in faith before he became convinced. By the way, there is no record that anyone on the boat credited Peter for walking on the water.
• Jesus does things for, in, & through us, that He might be lifted up, because only when HE is LIFTED up can people be drawn to Him and brought from darkness to light & death to life! It is only in this way that Jesus comes to our and their rescue.
• The last thing to learn from this story – is the example Jesus gives us about HOW we can see & know this type of divine and supernatural work.
5. A Proper Response – This requires us to look at the backstory which becomes the ‘front-story’ which for us, must develop into the ongoing story. In verses 13-21 we find the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. What a miracle! After doing this, He sent His disciples on their way while He stopped to reload! When I used to watch Westerns with my dad, we were always amazed at those 6-shooters which could shoot 2 dozen times or more (TV magic) before a reload. Jesus never lost sight of the truth that His earthly power was found in His heavenly connection. (Verse 23) It has been said many times that “Prayer is foundation” and here we find Jesus demonstrating this truth. If we want to become the people & church which God wants us to be – it starts with prayer. Jesus shows us that we must spend time ALONE IN PRAYER with God, before we can experience the joy of the corporate prayer. The power or the weakness of a church and their prayer life is built on the private, fervent prayers of her people. If there is no ongoing prayer, then there is no ongoing connection & no ongoing power for the church. We only get what mankind can produce.
