A WALK WITH JESUS

MATTHEW FOURTEEN

Sermon of the Week #200738 – September 30, 2007

There are a few things that millions of people know about Jesus; a few things they know even though they have never read the Bible, or been inside of a church of any kind, and one of those things is the fact that Jesus did at one time walk on water. In fact it is proverbial; every time someone does something difficult, someone will say, “That person can walk on water.” So, in Matthew chapter fourteen is the story of this inspirational event in the life of the Master.

The Lord had fed the 5,000 with five small loaves, and two fishes, and He perceived that the multitude wanted to seize Him and make Him king. So before the apostles could be caught up in this madness, Jesus sent them back across the Sea of Galilee in the boat, until He dismissed the crowd. Jesus told them He would meet them later, but He did not tell them how He would do it.

After He got rid of the crowd, He went up into a mountain to pray, and when the apostles got into the boat, John informs us, “It was now dark, and the sea was rising by reason of a great wind that blew.” During the storm Jesus looked down, and saw them toiling at the rowing. He watched them row that boat against the wind for about seven or eight hours. We know this because He came to them in the fourth watch of the night. They had rowed all that time, and had only gone about three and a half miles. At that time Jesus came to them walking upon the sea.

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a spirit” and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon the waters.” And He said, “Come.” And Peter went down from the boat, and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus.

And now here are three questions concerning this true historical story in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Number one: Why did Jesus wait so long before coming to the rescue of the apostles?

WHY WAIT SO LONG?

Jesus let them struggle against the wind around seven or eight hours, covering no more than three or four miles before He arrived on the scene, because this same crew in the boat that night would be the same crew in the Church, the Old Ship of Zion that would be launched on the Day of Pentecost.

Jesus was on the mountain during the storm, and they would be fighting the storm alone, while He watched from the top of the mountain, praying for them.

Later on when the Church began they would also be alone; Jesus would have left them ten days before in Acts one, after He had made purification of sins by His death on the cross, raised up from the dead, then ascended to Heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, as stated in Hebrews one. The apostles were alone again. So this trip on the Sea of Galilee would be good training for the voyage in the Old Ship of Zion.

The launching of the Old Ship of Zion was a great occasion. The Church began with a great ingathering after the first gospel sermon was preached, and 3,000 who believed the gospel story, repented, and were baptized and were added to the church that day. It looked like the church was in for some smooth sailing as we are told, “The Lord added to the Church day by day those that were being saved.”

However, in Acts the fourth chapter the storm began. Peter and John were jailed overnight for preaching the gospel, and threatened not to preach again. Then in the fifth chapter all the apostles were jailed, and all of them were beaten, and turned loose with another warning not to speak, nor preach in the name of Jesus. The apostles rejoiced that they were accounted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name. In the seventh chapter Stephen was stoned for preaching the Word, and in the eighth chapter the storm increased in power, and a great persecution of the Church began in Jerusalem, and all the members of the Church were scattered abroad except the Apostles. All the while the storm was raging, Jesus was at the right hand of God and saw them toiling at the rowing, and continued to intercede for them.

But this was only the beginning. In Acts twelve, James was beheaded, and Peter jailed with the intent to kill him also. Then throughout the rest of the book of Acts the storm continued unabated through the ministry of Paul, and even the last eight chapters were a continuing effort to kill him. But through it all the Church prospered as they rowed against the wind; and Jesus continued to intercede as He watched them toiling at the rowing.

The church today continues to sail against stormy seas; the winds are always contrary. Listen to the news, and look at some of the laws of the land. In some countries worship in a public place is forbidden; church houses burned down, believers jailed, and tortured. Letters we receive daily testify to these modern-day conditions, but we still have the assurance that the Lord sees us toiling at the rowing, and will come in His own time. But there are some today who rather than toil at the rowing, are content to drift with the tide which ever way the wind is blowing. The poet has expressed it well.

“Must I be wafted to the skies on flowery beds of ease

While others fought to gain the prize, and sailed through bloody seas.”

Jesus is still watching from Heaven, and interceding; He sees us toiling at the rowing.

THEY SUPPOSED HIM TO BE A SPIRIT

And now the second question: Why did they suppose Him to be a spirit? And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a spirit: and they cried out for fear.” (Matthew 14:16) The word spirit in this verse means phantom, or ghost. And the word for cried out indicates they shrieked, or screamed. They thought Jesus was a phantom, a ghost, a specter, something unreal.

The disciples knew the boat was real, they knew the wind was real, they knew the sea was real; they knew they were in danger of dying a real death by drowning, and they knew this was no nightmare. Everything about this situation was real, except Jesus; He was a phantom, a ghost: unreal.

We wonder how many people today think Jesus is a phantom; He is unreal? Today many are living in fantasyland. We read, and see all kinds of crime, and horrible murders, and nothing is referred to as sin. Sin is not real, no one is a sinner; we make our own rules of morality; right or wrong is what we think. Some people may be maladjusted, but no one is a sinner. The church is a fantasy, and has no real purpose in life. The Bible is a collection of myths, like Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tales, and even most, quote, Christians unquote, never bother to read it. Baptism had no relevance to salvation, and the Lord’s Supper is a meaningless ceremony where people eat a little piece of bread and take a sip of grape juice, and many ignore it altogether.

The disciples found out that Jesus was not a phantom; Jesus was for real, and the only answer to the problem of certain destruction. Times have not changed; Christ is the answer, and the only answer; the one and only way of escape from the horrible future that looms before us.

Sin is for real, the Devil is for real, Jesus is for real, the cross on which Jesus died for our sins is for real, the church Jesus established in the New Testament is for real, death is for real, Hell is for real, Heaven is for real, the second coming is for real, the judgment day is for real. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is not only real, it is the real deal.

WHY JESUS WALKED ON THE WATER?

And now the third question: Why did Jesus walk on the water? First consider they thought He was a phantom, and straightway Jesus said, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” Peter said, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon the waters.” Jesus answered him with one word; the Lord said, “COME.” That was not the first time Peter had heard Jesus give him that invitation. One day he and his brother Andrew were by the seaside washing their nets, and Jesus walked by and said, “Come ye after me and I will make you fishers of men,”  and they did. This time was different; Peter obeyed and went down from the boat, and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

There are two occasions when the disciples were caught during a storm on the Sea of Galilee. The first time Jesus was in the boat with them; He was exhausted from His labors, asleep in the hindermost part of the ship, on a pillow. When He was awakened He arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, “Peace, be still” and straightway there was a great calm. Jesus did not use a rod like Moses, nor did He stretch forth His hand; He simply spoke the word. The gospel song reminds us, “No water can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies; they all shall sweetly obey my will, peace! Peace, be still!” By this miracle, He demonstrated His complete mastery over everything.

But in the miracle where He walked on the water, He let the storm rage on unabated. Jesus again was preparing them for that future voyage on the Old Ship of Zion. Sometimes in our voyage today the storm never seems to let up, one blast of the wind and then another and they have no choice, but to row on, and sail on.

And then when they saw Him walking on the water, they learned that He is still in control; even though He was absent all the while the storm raged. They learned the lesson ahead of time, that He reminded them of in the Great Commission, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” And that is why Mark tells us after the ascension, “And Jesus was no longer visible, they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, confirming the word, by the signs that followed.” So they learned that the Church is always in for stormy weather. But the Lord though absent and unseen is still working with us. But there was something else they learned during that storm. They learned when Jesus is in control, the impossible, becomes possible, no matter what it may be, regarding the program of carrying out the conversion of the world. They must have thought about that night of the storm, when Jesus told them in Acts chapter one that they should be His witnesses unto the uttermost part of the earth. They had no money, or backing of any kind to do this impossible task, but Jesus said, “Do it”, and they believed it could be done, and did it; the impossible became possible.

Over forty years ago against the advice of everyone we consulted about starting this radio ministry of reaching the masses, we passed by a church that was having a revival meeting, and decided to stop in for the services. That night the preacher preached a sermon about Peter, and his attempt to walk on the water, and the title of the message was, “Wet Feet and Working Faith.” That preacher knew nothing of our plans for the radio program, but I thought it was ironic, during the sermon he kept repeating the phrase, “Whatever you want to do in the Lord’s work, you have to get your feet wet first.” We left the services that night thinking that is what we have been waiting for; and over forty years later, here we are, wet feet and working faith.

Peter walked on the water with Jesus, and the impossible became possible, but then remember after a short while he saw the wind, and his faith failed him, and he began to sink. I do not know how far he sank, knee-deep, waist-deep, or up to his neck, but at some point he cried out, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and took hold of him, and saith unto him, “O thou of little faith, wherefore did thou doubt?” Peter’s attempt, and ours, to make the impossible, possible, is limited only by our faith.

Peter saw the wind and his faith faltered and he cried, “Lord, save me!” When Peter prayed, “Lord, save me,” he was not speaking of being saved from his sins, but saved from dying by drowning. This kind of prayer can be answered many times. A person may have a fatal disease, and pray, “Lord, save me,” then again save me from dying in this accident, or save me from dying when wounded in battle, and the prayer may be answered at different times, and several times.

Another way to be saved is to be saved, not from dying, but saved in dying, and that salvation is a one-time event. John tells us about it in Revelation 14:13: And I heard a voice from Heaven saying, “Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.”

Jesus said, “For except ye believe that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24) Then Paul tells us how to get into the Lord when he says, “All we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.” (John 6: 3, 5)

Peter and his Lord continued the walk on water until they were back in the boat, and then Matthew says the wind ceased, the storm was over, and John adds this very suggestive comment, “Straightway they were at the land whether they were going.” And so it is with us, the storms will continue in the Lord’s work, but some day the Lord will come, the storms will cease, and we then shall be on the other side.

The gospel song says it well for us, “I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. But the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry. From the waters lifted me, now safe am I. Love lifted me, love lifted me, when nothing else could help, love lifted me.