Key Verse:
Matthew 14:31 NASB
31 Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”.
Some years ago, Nationwide Life Insurance Company ran a series of commercials that began with the phrase, “Sometimes, life comes at you fast.” This week’s lesson accentuates that point. There are a number of events that overtake Jesus and His disciples over a very short period of time. Singularly, any one of these events could be a source of overwhelming stress. Combined, they could prove to be spiritually crushing.
Life can offer any number of disappointments, some of which are overwhelming. Today’s lesson reminds us of two things: 1. Jesus faced trying circumstances and continually overcame them. 2. His example provides each of us with the tools to prevent life’s hurdles from derailing us from God’s purposed direction for our lives. Indeed, in Christ, we are more than conquerors because of His love for us. We will see that demonstrated here.
Where to begin?
John 14:5 NASB
5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded [d]John as a prophet.
There are a couple of reasons we begin with the death of John, the Baptist. While Jesus’ ministry was focused primarily in northern Israel, John remained in and around Judea, ministering from Jerusalem to Jericho to the Jordan River and south to the region around the Dead Sea. Subsequently, he became a problem for Herod, in that he continually preached that Herod, too, needed to repent from his sins and turn to God. Herod was both drawn to John’s preaching and resentful of John’s preaching because he continued to lambast Herod for his illicit marriage to his brother’s former wife. Herod’s marriage to Herodias violated Mosaic law and John constantly reminded Herod of that fact. Herod first imprisoned John for two years, then as a result of a wicked plot carried out by Herodias and her daughter, Salome, Herod had John executed. John’s preaching to Herod served as a call for social justice to the crowds that followed John’s ministry. In fact, that was why Herod had hesitated for as long as he had before having John executed.
Matthew 14:12-13a NASB
12 [g]John’s disciples came and took away the body and buried [h]it, and they went and reported to Jesus.13 Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself;...
After John’s (state-sponsored) execution, John’s disciples informed Jesus of his death. This came as unwelcome news to Jesus, cousin to John, and co-laborer with him in the proclamation of the Gospel (good news} of the Kingdom of God. He immediately sought solitude, a quiet place to pray and mourn. However, that opportunity for solace would soon evaporate. The news of John’s death created a furor...
Matthew 14:13b NASB
13b ...and when the [i]people heard about this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 When He came [j]ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
There was a mass of people who had also heard of John’s demise. They sought out the young Messiah for solace and comfort also. He who sought solace found that He was required to provide solace. As emotionally drained as Jesus must have been, he saw a flock that had been left without a shepherd. Despair suddenly had many faces. Jesus faced a multitude of hurting, mourning people. Putting aside His own grief, Jesus dealt with theirs.
Matthew 14:16 NASB
16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go; you give them something to eat!”
Emotionally and physically spent from the news of John’s death and the press of the multitude, Jesus enlists the aid of the disciples in providing food for the crowd. His words offer the Church (us) guidance on how we must approach the needs of those. We must be willing to meet the needs of those who seek our help, trusting that God will provide, when we give willingly, out of a cheerful heart. Certainly, the disciples had questions but, they obeyed Jesus in ministering to the crowd. In doing so, they witnessed a miracle that exceeded any reasonable expectation. Not since God provided Manna during the Exodus had so many people been fed in such a miraculous fashion.
John 6:15a NASB
15a So Jesus, aware that they [e]intended to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew...
A crowd of some five thousand men plus women and children sought Jesus out that day. After the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes, many were convinced that He, Jesus could take up John’s mantle as the voice of one crying in the wilderness against a corrupt Herodian dynasty and the Roman empire to whom they gave fealty. Surely, Jesus was the ‘Messiah’ they sought that would bring justice to their unjust circumstance. Surely he would take His rightful place as ‘King of Israel. Unfortunately, their vision was decidedly self-serving and thus, shortsighted.
The Lesson
Matthew 14:22 NASB
22 Immediately afterward He compelled the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.
Jesus was not sent just to feed a few thousand people, or to revive the failed nation-state of Israel. Rather, He was sent to redeem all of mankind to God. He could not lose sight of His mission, nor could He allow His disciples to be pulled into a singular, local cause that would detract from the work to which they were called; the building of His Church, the mechanism through which the good news of His redemption of all mankind would be conveyed. In reconciling the world to God, every injustice would be corrected, every wrong would be righted. He sent the disciples home, to Bethsaida and Capernaum. Only through the inception of the Church would justice be served for all mankind.
Matthew 14:23 NASB
23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
Having sent the disciples home, and having dispersed the crowds, Jesus still sought some alone time. It seems, He still sought some alone time to commemorate John and to be alone with His Father in prayer. Jesus needed some time to recharge His spiritual and emotional batteries. Prayer would allow that to occur. We too will find that in times of distress, we can find comfort in quietness before God. He will supply the refreshing we find ourselves in need of if we will only seek Him.
Matthew 14:24 NASB
24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Mark 6:48a NASB
48a He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them.
Matthew tells us that the disciples, once again, found themselves in the midst of a storm. However, unlike the last time that they found themselves in a similar situation, as recorded in Mattew, Chapter Eight, Jesus was not in the boat with Him. Whatever courage they may have drawn from His immediate presence was unavailable as they sought to save themselves from the fury of the storm. Mark’s gospel tells us that from His vantage point on the mountain Jesus could clearly see them and the predicament they found themselves in. Beloved, in times of trouble, when Jesus’ presence cannot be discerned, trust His heart. Trust His concern for you. Trust His desire to see you through your circumstance, no matter how dire. Jesus loves you. He is always aware of your condition. You can trust Him.
Matthew 14:25 NASB
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
The disciples had been battling the elements for some time when Jesus appeared, walking toward them on the water. As He had done before, in this instance He displayed absolute mastery over the elements, so much so that even the very waves seemed as pavement under His feet.
Matthew 14:26 NASB
26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out [e]in fear.
What the disciples saw: Jesus. What the disciples thought they saw: everything else. Maybe an apparition of John, maybe an appearance of the deity of the waters believed on by the local Caananite peoples, or maybe, they thought, this was the moment they had lost their battle to the sea and all of them together were en route to a watery grave, literally seeing the dead as they crossed from life to death.
Matthew 14:27 NASB
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, [f]it is I; do not be afraid.”
Why must we be reminded, time and time again, that Jesus is with us? Storms are a necessary component of the biosphere. Though they sometimes bring destruction and despair, they always bring new life. When the disciples thought all was lost, they heard a familiar voice, the voice of their Shepherd, their Messiah, their Great High Priest: Jesus. Suddenly, the Son had broken through the clouds. Suddenly, there was hope. A new day’s dawn. A new beginning. Jesus is always greater than the sum of our darkest imaginations.
Matthew 14:28 NASB
28 Peter responded and said to Him, “Lord, if [g]it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
In fact, so quickly did the disciples' assessment of their circumstances change, that Peter’s impetuous temperament gets the better of him. Isn’t that how it goes with us? No sooner than we are reminded that Jesus is with us, our inner man responds, “He’s more than the whole world against us!” Peter intuitively understood that the impossible was now possible with Jesus in their midst.
Matthew 14:29 NASB
29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.
Take a moment for reflection. Peter is the only man, besides Jesus, to walk on water. Whatever else transpires in the next few verses, Peter walked on water in this verse. Let it be noted that in Matthew, the Fourteenth Chapter, and the Twenty-ninth verse it is recorded that Peter, the disciple, walked...on...water.
Matthew 14:30-31 NASB
30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Not unlike any of us mere mortals, Peter had a momentary lapse. For a moment, he became frightened by the wind. Don’t throw Peter under the bus just yet though. His response to the sudden change in circumstance was to call Jesus. Peter dialed Him up. Got Him on the mainline. Told Him what he wanted. “Lord, save me!” Peter didn’t whisper, he shouted. In that he shouted, the shout became an imperative. Almost a command. Beloved, there is a place where there is only faith in God. Only faith in God will pull you through. In that moment, if you don’t know anything but Jesus, you know enough. The Name of Jesus will save to the uttermost.
Note Jesus’ words to Peter. In Matthew, Chapter Nine, Jesus asked, “Why did you fear?” Here, in Chapter Fourteen, His question to Peter was, “Why did you doubt?” If the takeaway from the episode in Chapter Eight is that; if Jesus is present, there is no need to fear, then the takeaway from this very similar episode is that; doubt is the enemy of faith. Let me repeat that. Doubt, not fear, is the enemy of faith. Amen.
Matthew 14:32 NASB
32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.
Just an observation: the wind, the storm stopped after Jesus and Peter got back into the boat. I have a question: Did Jesus carry Peter back to the boat, then lift him up and into the boat? Probably not. Not after the day He’d had. No, in all likelihood, Peter walked back to the boat, either beside Christ, before Him, or behind Him. Peter then, would have had to climb back into the boat under his own strength. Most certainly, neither Jesus nor Peter swam back to the boat. They walked. And after they climbed back into the boat with the other disciples, the storm ended.
Matthew 14:33 NASB
33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly God’s Son!”
Finally, after it was all said and done, the disciples ruminated on the day’s events culminating with the miracles they witnessed and experienced in the last few minutes. The feeding of five thousand. Jesus appearing to them, walking on water, even in the storm. And then Peter, at Jesus’ direction, sharing in the authority of Christ over the very elements of nature, then being rescued in a very human moment. What else could they conclude? Jesus was the Messiah, the very Son of God. Don’t miss the depth of their response to this revelation. They worshipped. They worshipped Jesus. Not only did they acknowledge that He was God’s Son, but they also responded by worshipping Him in fullness and in Truth. Beloved, so should we. There is no other Name in Heaven or in Earth whereby men shall be saved. Let us show our eternal gratitude by maintaining a continual attitude of worship.
Selah,
wb
Isaiah 38:16-20 NASB
16
Lord, by these things people live,
And in all these is the life of my spirit;
[a]Restore me to health and let me live!
17
Behold, for my own welfare I had great bitterness;
But You have [b]kept my soul from the pit of [c]nothingness,
For You have hurled all my sins behind Your back.
18
For Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19
It is the living who give thanks to You, as I do today;
A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.
20
The Lord is certain to save me;
So we will play my songs on stringed instruments
All the days of our life at the house of the Lord.”
