Most of the time in our lives we focus on what to do if things go wrong. We come up with contingency plans in case we are late for a flight. We sometimes even have redundant systems in place in case of failure. In fact, on the space shuttle, most of its systems are backed up by quadruple redundancies. That means five systems would have to fail.
We have a saying around our house – we plan for something to go wrong, then if it doesn’t we are pleasantly surprised.
We are ready if everything goes wrong. What we don’t often do is consider what happens if everything goes right. What if you land that perfect job, what if your business suddenly gets really successful, what if everything you touch turns to gold – what then?
We might be tempted to say – super – bring it on. But success has its pitfalls. In fact, career expert William S. Frank says “too much success can kill you.” Now, while Mr. Frank is talking about the sacrifices we make to succeed – when it comes to ministry – sometimes the worst thing for us is success – not only because it leads us to sacrifice our personal lives – but because it alters our personality.
In ministry, when the Lord is really working through you – it is easy for it to go to your head. Your self image is several times bigger than your hat size. That’s the problem Jesus faces with his disciples. They have just been part of an incredible miracle. Through their hands thousands of people were fed from a couple of loaves of bread and some fish. That’s heady stuff.
What Jesus does for his group of ragtag disciples is right after the miracle – He refocuses them away from the success of the ministry, to the reality of the miracle worker – Jesus. And how He does it can help us refocus ourselves in the face of both failure and success.
2 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.
Why did Jesus immediately send the disciples away? John’s gospel tells us that is because the people were about to make him king by force. The disciples might have thought this was a good idea but Jesus wasn’t ready to usher in His kingdom yet – so he shooed everyone away.
Why did Jesus go up on the mountain to pray? One commentator suggests that it was because the people wanted to make Him king – and that this was a temptation to turn away from His mission of suffering and death. Certainly the miracle and the wonder of the people would have been pretty incredible to witness. Imagine the awe focused in your direction – no wonder Jesus sent the disciples away.
You know – when God moves though us it is pretty awesome too. There is always the temptation to sort of bask in the glow of God and let just a few drops of it fall on our shoulders. There is a danger there. God wants to move through you as a servant, not a business partner.
Now I’m not saying that if someone compliments you on a song you sing, or a word you say of encouragement that you should just say “well, it wasn’t me.” That in itself can be a kind of false humility. Receive the compliment but make sure the person knows the source of the goodness. In other words, if you tell someone the gospel and they get saved and somehow start saying that you are the best thing since sliced bread, then turn them to the Jesus – “yes, isn’t Jesus wonderful?”
Personally, I think Jesus went up on that mountain for none of these reasons. Remember last week? A great prophet, a co-worker, a relative of Jesus had just been beheaded. Jesus was trying to get away when all of this happened. I think Jesus finally got the time He needed to pray and process through the death of John the Baptist.
I can’t leave this section without also encouraging you – if Jesus needed and sought time alone with the Father, we need to do the same. Jesus was a busy guy – yet he made it a priority.
When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
John tells us that the disciples had rowed 3 or 3 ½ miles. Mark tells us that Jesus actually watched the disciples “straining at the oars.”
It would not have been unusual for the disciples to be out at night – that’s when they fished. Wind storms were also not an unusual thing for the Sea of Galilee. But we’re talking between 3 and 6am here – it’s late, and dark. Handling a boat at night in calm water is one thing – but in a fierce windstorm you would be extremely frightened.
25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It’s a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
Mark tells us that Jesus was only in the vicinity. He was on his way across the lake, and when there wasn’t a ferry available, he just hoofed it. He was about to pass them by – but when He saw they were afraid, He got in the boat with them.
Now, I don’t know about you, but if I saw someone walking on water I’d be pretty apt to think it was a spirit too. People just don’t do those things. The word used for “ghost” here is phantasma – used in relation to charms and magic and means a “specter” or “apparition”. It’s a different word than pneuma which stands for the disembodied spirit of a person.
The disciples knew Jesus was on the shore – so this figure, seemingly flying over the waves – wind whipping his cloak and hair – perhaps outlined in the first glimmers of dawn – would have looked every bit the part of a ghost.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid."
I love what Jesus says: “Take courage”. In other places this Greek word is translated: “take heart” or “cheer up”. The idea is that things are looking up, you’re going to be all right.
Then He says: “It is I.” This can be translated “I am.” Jesus is saying to them “it’s not a ghost, it’s me. The parallel with the Lord’s name for Himself of the great I AM is also here.
Then He says: “Don’t be afraid.” The same word here, phobeo: to be frightened, can also mean “to be in awe.”
He says the same thing to us when we find ourselves in a jam – “cheer up, I’m here, fear is gone.”
Now, you too might not recognize Jesus when He comes on the scene. I’m sure the disciples never thought Jesus would or even could come walking on the water – sometimes Jesus arrives in our trials in ways we do not expect.
But know that when He shows up His message is always like this: “stay calm – if I’m here the storm can’t harm you – cheer up.”
Peter, good ‘ol Peter – I don’t know where he gets the guts, but he makes this audacious statement to Jesus:
28 "Lord, if it’s you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
Peter wasn’t testing God – he was responding in faith – fearless faith – some have called it. Peter figured, well if Jesus is doing it, then so can I. Peter was really known for this kind of “all or nothing” faith. Remember when he refused to have his feet washed by Jesus and Jesus said “if I don’t wash your feet then you have no part in me?” Then Peter says: “Not just my feet by my whole body!” That’s Peter.
I like that – he doesn’t go beyond Jesus, but dares to step out in fearless faith to do the things Jesus does, as outlandish as they may seem.
That’s a lesson for us – how bold are for the Lord? That same word when Jesus said “take courage” that word can also be translated to be bold. If Jesus says to have faith through an impossible situation what do we do? Do we fold when the waves come – or do we step out in reckless fearless faith to defy the storm by walking all over it?
Notice too that Peter waits for Jesus command.
29 "Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
We always focus on the fact that Peter sank – but have you ever seen someone walk on water? What a scene! The wind is howling, the waves are going up and down – and here’s Peter, on top of the water.
Peter started to sink when he took his eyes off of Jesus and put them on the storm around him. How often do we do that? We start out by saying “Lord, I’m going to trust you and step out.” But as soon as persecution or more trouble comes, we focus on that instead of Jesus and the trials and tribulations seem to overwhelm us once again.
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
Jesus here catches Peter – and He is there to catch us as well. Jesus will say later “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” No matter how much we blow it and are weak, He is always there to catch us. But wouldn’t it have been wonderful if they, together, walked back to the boat, or better yet, on to the shore? We miss some of the biggest moves in our lives because we doubt what God can really do, and focus on Him instead of the storm.
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
Notice that the storm didn’t die down immediately. The storms in our lives don’t just instantly go away when Jesus comes on the scene. He is a calming power within the storm. When it’s the right time, it will go away.
Here Matthew tells us that the disciples are progressing in their understanding about who Jesus is, but they have a long way to go. In Mark’s account the walking on water is left out – when Jesus gets in the boat Mark tells us that the disciples were amazed because they didn’t understand what Jesus was trying to get at with the loaves – and their hearts were hardened.
In short – Jesus was so much more than just a ruler, or a magician, able to conjure up food when needed. He is LORD over all. I think sometimes we tend to focus just on certain aspects of the Lord – we pray, God fix this here, feed me there – and we put Him in a box of our own making and own need.
Instead we need to let Him out of the box – I have asked this before, but I ask it again “How big is your God?” Is He big enough to do something amazing, totally unexpected? Are we big enough to go with the flow, no matter how ludicrous it seems? Of course I’m not talking about doing anything unscriptural or against the character of Jesus as revealed in the Bible to us – but is God big enough to handle our problems? You bet He is.
34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.
As we conclude today I want to look at this story from three different sets of eyes – the people, the disciples, and Jesus.
• The people focused their own needs (their bellies and their rulers)
• The disciples focused on the glory of doing good and then on the bad circumstances around them.
• Jesus focused on the Father (in prayer), on the disciples straining (not the storm), then on Peter inviting him to come close and later on why he had failed, not in judgment, but in encouragement and assistance and growth.
My question to us today is: what is your focus?
As you encounter Christ in your life do you focus on what He can do you for you today – this hour, this minute – to fulfill your every whim and request and then not be satisfied until He feeds you again? Or are you misunderstanding His role in your life? Jesus is out to change hearts and lives – to mold people into His likeness. He’s not here to fit in to your system, just like He wasn’t there to fit into the Israeli/Roman political scene.
Or are you like the disciples – focusing on how special it makes you to belong to Christ – focusing on your feeling of self importance, rather than on the work He has you doing? Or perhaps you are focused only on the storm – so much so that you discount the fact the Jesus could come walking on the water, come in some unexpected way to help you. You can’t believe He’s there so the only alternative is to think it must be something else – a ghost or something.
Instead we should do as Jesus did:
1. Focus on the Father
Spend regular time preparing for the irregular by seeking the Father – getting away alone if possible, and then focusing on Him by worship and praise, even during the tough times.
2. Focus on others
Instead of just worrying about what’s around you to do, see who else is in need and seek to help them. That was what Jesus did – He looked at the disciples straining at the oars and He went to them. Look for the brother or sister that is struggling and see what good you can do in their life.
3. Focus on Jesus
Peter’s problem was he took his eyes off Jesus – but Jesus never took his eyes off of Peter. Don’t let the storm around you become a distraction – instead, focus on the Lord, and on how you can obey Him and have that fearless faith.
Maybe you’re a person who is rowing their boat against the storm – know that Jesus is watching you, caring for you, praying for you.
