Jesus was having a pretty demanding day. That morning, Jesus heard the tragic news that his cousin John the Baptist had been killed. King Herod had him executed in prison. It was a terrible injustice. That morning Jesus intended to get away by himself to pray. He needed to know from his Heavenly Father what this meant for him without John preparing the way. But when he got to his retreat location, the whole countryside had found out where he was going. And so, being the Savior he was, he had compassion for them and spent the whole day praying for them, healing them, delivering them, and then when it was dinner time, he decided to feast with them. He miraculously changed a few loaves and a few fish into an abundant feast.
Even though Jesus was at a very low point emotionally, he accessed the abundant provision of his Heavenly Father to bring life and community and comfort into a difficult day. Jesus did the impossible despite the difficult circumstances.
Jesus was experiencing what I call headwinds. Delays, or unexpected changes in plans. For Jesus it was not getting to do, what he wanted to do, and needed to do, when he wanted to do it. Sound familiar?
Headwinds are simply a part of living in a fallen world with sinful people. We don’t bring headwinds upon ourselves. It's the stuff that happens to us.
The prophet Isaiah said the Messiah would be a man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief. In other words, Jesus experienced headwinds all the time. Nevertheless, Jesus can do the impossible despite the circumstances.
Our story in Matthew 14:22 picks up at the end of that challenging day, when the disciples encounter headwinds of their own.
“Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.
Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. At about three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” “
Literally, the disciples ran into headwinds. But since several of Jesus disciples were experienced fishermen, they would have known ahead of time whether a trip across the lake is going to be easy or hard. They look at the clouds on the horizon, they test the direction of the wind, and they look at the size of the waves. In good weather, it would take about 2 hours - smooth sailing. In bad weather, it would take most of the night, 6 or 8 hours. As we see here, it’s 3 o'clock in the morning, that’s at least 6 hours from when they left shore. That means that the 12 or so people on the boat would have taken turns rowing, and rowing and rowing, hour after hour after hour. Talk about laborious. Talk about tiresome. Talk about a difficult situation.
And after that long delay, Jesus comes to them walking on the water. Again, doing the impossible in difficult circumstances.
First lesson to remember is when we experience headwinds, Jesus is on his way to us. You aren’t doing anything wrong. Headwinds are not your fault, life is hard. But don’t give up. Take courage. Jesus says to us, I am here. I am doing the impossible and coming to you.
Jesus doesn’t at this point stop the waves or the wind. Yet, he is above it, moving through it.
How can Jesus do this? It’s not a fairy tale. Nor is it a magic trick.
This miracle of walking on the water and the previous one of multiplying fish and bread shows that Jesus has the authority and the power to change the physical characteristics of the material world according to his will. Whatever Jesus wants to do, he can do it.
He changes the physical characteristics of water so that it is solid when he steps on it. He changes the physical characteristics of the waves so that he doesn’t get knocked off course, nor does he get wet. He changes the physical characteristics of the wind so that his hairdo is perfect. If that’s what he wants.
Jesus has the authority and power and will to change anything in all of creation, because he is the creator in the flesh. Whoever makes something is in charge of it, right?
John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Col 1:16
For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
Job 12:7-10
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."
He can create life He can end life. Whatever he makes, he can unmake, he can change it according to his will.
What is his will? Is he tyrannical, or sadistic or chaotic? Oh, no. He is so good.
What does he do with all that power and authority?
He redeems.
In his compassion, he heals and delivers; in his justice Christ takes upon himself the sins of the whole world, and grants forgiveness to all who will receive it. He fills empty stomachs as a father provides for his children. From his glorious unlimited resources, he causes us to experience the love of Christ as he makes his home in our hearts. (Eph 3)
As the supreme ruler of the universe, Jesus is walking on the water, coming to his disciples, doing the impossible in the middle of seemingly impossible circumstances.
Don't be afraid. Take courage. I am here.
Which is to say “I am coming to you with my power and authority and my plan of redemption. Just hold tight.”
Isa 43:2-3a
When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
That’s the Jesus we can trust when the going gets tough.
When trouble comes, remember who Jesus is, what he has done and what he promises to do.
In this life you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
Now the story gets really interesting. Peter inserts himself into the miracle. Gotta love Peter for inserting himself into the action.
Let’s continue with verse 28
“Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
“Yes, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?””
So we see the disciples terrified at the sight of Jesus doing the impossible. Of course they were terrified. A person can’t walk on water. Naturally they would think it’s a ghost. For the first century Jew, believed ghosts were either the soul of a dead person, or it was a demon pretending to be the soul of a dead person, which is worse. Neither one of those was a good situation to be faced with. But when they hear Jesus' voice, and see him walking toward them, I’d think they’d be relieved to see him; amazed but relieved.
But they don’t even have time to think about that, because Peter isn’t satisfied with sitting around. Peter has to go out to Jesus. He’s not afraid like the rest of them. He is so dedicated to Jesus, he’s willing to take big risks to prove his love for him. He’s the best disciple Jesus has by the way and he’s going to prove it!
There are some sports called extreme sports? Well, Peter could be called an extreme disciple.
So he says, “if it’s really you, tell me to come out to you, on the water.”
I like this translation, because it emphasizes Peter’s desire to be with Jesus, and he trusts him so fully and boldly, that he knows that he will be able to walk on water. He is that rock solid in his faith that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. He doesn’t care what it takes, or how impossible it looks, Peter wants to be with Jesus. There is nothing wrong with that.
Peter is known for his enthusiastic faith in Christ.
Remember when Jesus tried to wash Peter’s feet?
John 13
Peter says, “No, you will never ever wash my feet!”
Jesus replies, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
Peter retorts, “Then wash my head and my hands and my feet!”
“I just need to wash your feet. My word makes you clean. Now sit still.”
At another time, right before Jesus is arrested, Peter insists that even if he must die with Jesus he would never deny him. ”No Lord, that’s not right! Deny you? Never!”
Well, he did.
Then at Jesus’ arrest, in his fervor to protect Jesus, Peter takes a sword and goes all in and cuts off a guy’s ear. Jesus was not happy with that.
Peter has a confident faith, but he misunderstands what it takes to follow Jesus. He is immature and impulsive. Rushing in without thinking about the consequences.
In the case of walking on the water to be with Jesus, Peter did not estimate the difficulty and danger he was getting into.
That is why his faith falters. He got in over his head.
Enthusiasm can only carry you so far. A rash decision, even if it’s based on our devotion to Christ, can invite trouble of its own.
Peter makes the mistake of looking at the wrong thing at the wrong time. *
Notice first, the disciples were not terrified by the wind and waves. They were safe in the boat, not comfortable, but safe.
But Peter was terrified by the wind and waves as if he hadn’t seen them before. As if he didn’t know they were there.
He was looking at Jesus and presumed he was able to walk on water like Jesus was. But he ignored the crashing waves that would put him in danger.
When he got out there, he looked at the wind and waves as if he were surprised by them, instead of looking at Jesus.
He should have assessed the wind and waves before he stepped out and been prepared for them, then he could have fixed his eyes on Jesus and walked straight out.
But he ignored the dangers, presuming he could handle the adventure come what may and overestimated his capacity to handle the demands of that step of faith.
I am a lot more like Peter sometimes than I’d like to admit. I came to Christ when I was a freshman in college. I was every enthusiastic about following Christ. One summer I was taking a few classes, and I also decided to sign up for at least 3 different Christian activities, one was Evangelism Explosion, which required memorizing bible verses and a time commitment of about 3 or 4 hours in an evening each week. I was so excited about doing these good things but all my friends were not excited for me. They said, “That sounds like a lot.” I thought well, they’re all good things, why can’t I do all that stuff? About 2 weeks in, I realized I had over committed. I didn’t honestly think through what that level of commitment required. So I had to drop out of those activities and I learned my lesson.
Enthusiasm needs to be tempered by thoughtfulness. We must ask, can I realistically do this good thing? What are the demands and the consequences of my actions?
That is a good definition of maturity. That’s the journey I was on. That’s the journey Peter is on.
A mature faith will withstand the trouble we encounter on the way, a faith that won’t falter when the consequences for our actions come crashing in.
I want to be clear. We are talking about the consequences of following Jesus. Knowing what it means to follow him and being prepared for the consequences.
Following Jesus requires a complete reordering of our priorities, which often brings us in direct conflict with the priorities of the world.
Jesus doesn't pull any punches – he’s straight up about the cost of being a disciple:
Luke 14:26-33
“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?
Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.”
It could mean losing friends who aren’t Christians, because you won’t party with them anymore. Be ready for that.
It could mean conflict with family members because you have changed so much since following Jesus. They’ll be the first ones to notice but the last ones to believe it’s real. Be ready for that.
If you are going to stop cheating on your taxes, for example, you need to plan now for paying more taxes next year. Don’t wait till tax time and be surprised you owe more. Be ready for that; plan now if you really are going to give up cheating and be honest instead. Be prepared for the pain of correcting your mistakes.
Whatever good thing you want to do for Jesus, make sure you prepared for the consequences. Then your faith will not falter when trouble comes.
If you don’t, then you will be in over your head.
Now it’s important to consider what kept Peter up? It wasn’t Peter’s power to work the miracle. It was Jesus who wanted Peter to walk on the water. Peter asked, Jesus agreed.
And as long as Peter trusted Jesus to keep him up, Peter was walking on the water, but as soon as Peter stopped trusting Jesus, Jesus did not keep Peter up.
This is not magic. This is personal. We either trust Jesus or we don’t. Jesus will not hold us if we do not trust him to do so.
Look at this this way: If a person stops coming to eat lunch with you, you cannot force the person to eat lunch. If your friend doesn’t show up, he doesn’t get lunch! It’s really that simple.
Peter was terrified by the waves that threatened to take him down. And he indeed started to sink. Fear does interrupt faith but fear also has in it the power to bring back to our attention our need for a Savior.
Matt 14:30
“But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?””
That is the best thing we can do when we are going down.
The cry for help in our desperation is in itself an act of faith that our Lord is just waiting to hear.
Whenever you are terrified, even if it was not a good thing you did, you can cry out to God.
Even if you thought it was a good idea, and it has gone terribly bad, you can cry out to God.
Whether it was enthusiastic immature faith or downright prideful rebellion, cry out to God and he will rescue you.
Ps 40
I waited patiently for the LORD to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the LORD.
Don’t ever be ashamed to cry out to God. He is ready to rescue you in every situation.
Back to verse 31
Notice how intimate the rescue is, Jesus is holding Peter’s hand, had his arm around him, it’s just those two out on the water, and he says, with a little smile,
“oh you of little faith, why did you doubt me?”
Did you forget who I am? I’m the one doing the impossible out here remember?
Our faith in Jesus is personal. We are trusting a person to be with us, to guide us, to comfort us, to strengthen us through the contrary wind of this world and the waves of our own mistakes, our bad judgments and rash decisions, or our immature enthusiasm.
Cry out, start again. Trust again.
Verse 32
“When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” They exclaimed.”
Jesus is doing the impossible as he comes to you in the storms of life. He is ready to hold you up. He will rescue you and restore you in due time.
I know many of you feel like you are drowning under the waves, and you are terrified. The wind is blowing, and you are struggling to keep going. Some of you may have a great opportunity ahead and you need to be prepared for the consequences, so you don’t falter when the water gets rough. It’s not always smooth sailing. Whatever your situation, cry for help. Jesus is coming to us doing the impossible in the storm.
*MacLaren, Alexander. “The King's Highway,” in MacLaren Exposition of Holy Scripture, accessed June 20, 2025 https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/matthew/14.htm
