JESUS WALKING ON THE WATER

Sermon of the Week #200916—May 17, 2009

Matthew, Mark, and John relate the event of Jesus walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee. This event was brought on after the feeding of the 5000 with five loaves and two fishes; and was a great demonstration of His power of creation. And when the multitudes saw the sign that He did, they said, “This is indeed the prophet that cometh into the world.”

Jesus saw that they were about to come and take Him by force, and make Him king, so He constrained the apostles to go before Him unto the other side till He should send the multitudes away.

Jesus constrained them; they did not want to go. A groundswell had arisen: Jesus for king, Jesus for king, Jesus for king! It was a heady moment for the apostles, “Why leave now, enjoy the moment, we will be members of the king’s cabinet.” They got into the boat only because Jesus insisted on it, and then Jesus went up into the mountain to pray.

They wanted to make Jesus king for the wrong reason. Jesus explained that the next day in John 6:26, “Verily, verily I say unto you, ye seek me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” Jesus wanted to be king but not this way. He did not come to this world to preach the social gospel. He did not come merely to reform the world, but to redeem the world. All of this is the background for the tremendous miracle of walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee.

When evening came the apostles went down to the sea and entered into the boat; it was dark and the sea was rising because of a great wind that blew. And when they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty furlongs, which would be about three and a half miles, Jesus came unto them in the fourth watch of the night, which means they had been rowing for about seven to nine hours. When the apostles saw Him they thought He was a ghost, and cried out for fear. Actually they shrieked at the sight of what they thought a phantom. Jesus said, “It is I, be not afraid.” Peter said, “Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee upon the waters.” Peter took a few steps, saw the wind, panicked and said, “Lord, save me!” They went up into the boat, and the disciples worshipped Him, and said, “Of a truth, Thou art the Son of God.”

And now looking again at this mental picture of Jesus walking on the water there are several observations that can be noticed, and the first is the act of walking on the water.

WALKING ON THE WATER

In the fourth watch of the night He came to them walking upon the sea. There is really no mystery as to how Jesus could walk on water. The Scripture tells us how He did it in Exodus 15:8 in the Song of Moses, as he recounted the method God used in parting the waters of the Red Sea for the Israelites to pass over on dry ground: “And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, and the floods stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the depth of the heart of the sea.”

Then too, we must bear in mind that He was both Son of God and Son of man. He referred to Himself as Son of man over eighty times in the four gospel records. He did not want us to forget that He was one of us. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Sometimes the flesh was in the ascendancy, and sometimes divinity. When He hungered as mortal man, the flesh was in the ascendancy; when He fed the 5000 the divinity was in the ascendancy. The apostles recognized His divinity when He walked on the water, and then entered the boat as they worshipped Him and said, “Of a truth, Thou art the Son of God.” As the Son of God, He merely congealed the water again.

And then also we can note the tremendous magnetic power of the divine over the law of gravity at the promise of the second coming. He had said in John 12:32, “And I, if I be lifted up will draw all men unto me.”

One aspect of that prediction will be the day when all the righteous, both living and dead who were drawn to the cross, will be drawn to Him at the Second Coming and be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.

Then too, remember He prayed on the mountain for several hours, and then He congealed the water and walked on the Sea of Galilee. Since we do not know how to congeal the water of a sea, we might try praying for a few hours anyway, and although we might not walk on the water, we might get enough traction to walk like Jesus on the land.

When Peter was satisfied that it was the Lord, he said, “Lord, bid me come unto Thee,” and Jesus said, “Come!” Would you like to walk on the sea? Can you look to the Lord and walk on the sea of disease? Can you find the faith to walk on the sea of divorce? Can you look to Christ and walk on the sea of hard times? Can you look to Christ and walk on the sea of the loss of a loved one? Can you walk on the sea? A second observation is Jesus on the mountain watching them toiling at the rowing.

HE SAW THEM TOILING AT THE ROWING

He saw them toiling at the rowing, and yet He waited it seems a long time before coming to the rescue. Sometimes Jesus does delay His coming. He delayed two days before He came in answer to the message from Mary and Martha in John 11:6; He delayed two days in the place where He was. His delay, He said, was for the glory of God. Jesus has promised to return, but it seems to us that He is delaying His coming.

The apostles must have remembered that night of Jesus on the mountain praying for them, and watching them toiling at the rowing during the times of persecution in their ministry of carrying out His orders of the Great Commission. They must have thought about that night after His ascension to Heaven many times during the times of trial in the book of Acts. They found inspiration that they were not alone; surely He sees us toiling at the rowing.

And is it not true with us also as we labor as members of the crew on the Old Ship of Zion? He sees us toiling at the rowing, and although it seems He waits overlong, He will come in His own time in the fourth watch of the night as the darkness of the night fades into a new day.

He let them row that boat against the wind for seven to nine hours. For one reason, Jesus knew this crew in the boat would be the same crew in the Old Ship of Zion that was launched on the Day of Pentecost. They would have troubles with many storms during their ministry, and He wanted to show them the answers, for our problems are not always given as quickly as we might hope.

Then again, I personally do not know anyone who has tried to do anything for the Lord Jesus who has not run into one storm after another. Look at the book of Acts; twenty-eight chapters, and over a thousand verses, and from the third chapter through the twenty-eighth there is one storm after another. The book of Acts ends with the Apostle Paul as a prisoner waiting for his first trial before Nero. However, at the end of the journey for every faithful servant of the cross, the theme song might be the singing of that song “I Wouldn’t Take Nuthin’ for My Journey Now”.  He still sees us toiling at the rowing. And now look at the phantom.

THE PHANTOM

The apostle tells us in Matthew 14:26, “And when the apostles saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were troubled, and said that He was a ghost: and they cried out for fear.” They shrieked, or screamed, because they thought Jesus was a phantom; someone actually unreal. The Greek word for spirit or ghost here means phantom.

Now the apostles knew the storm was real, they knew the boat was real, they knew they were in real danger of a real death-by-drowning, and they knew this was not a nightmare. Everything about the situation was real except Jesus. Jesus was a phantom, a ghost, something unreal.

Many today are living in fantasyland. The church is a fantasy, and has no real purpose in life. The Bible is not the Word of God; it is a collection of myths and fairytales, like Hans Christian Anderson, and even most Christians never bother to read it. Baptism has no relevance to salvation even if Jesus did say, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; he that believes not shall be damned.” The Lord’s Supper is a meaningless form signifying nothing. They eat a little piece of bread, take a sip of the fruit of the vine, and many ignore it altogether if there is anything else they would rather do.

The apostles found out that Jesus was not a phantom. Jesus was for real; the only real answer to the issues of life. The only answer as to where we shall spend eternity.

Actually, sin is for real, the Devil is for real; Jesus died on a real cross, and was buried in a real tomb, and arose from the dead in a real resurrection. He ascended to a real Heaven, and ten days later, established a real Church. Dying is a real event for everybody; there are no exceptions. Jesus is not only real, Jesus is the real deal. Now we also need to look at Peter’s attempt to walk on the water. 

PETER WALKS ON THE WATER

Peter said, “If it be Thou, bidst me come unto Thee upon the water.” He went down from the boat to come to Jesus, but when he saw the wind he was afraid and cried, “Lord, save me!” And straightway Jesus took him and said, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” It says, “When he saw the wind, he began to sink.”

Ephesians 4:14, “Be no longer children tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error.” And Jude informs us in his 12th verse about those who are clouds without water, who are carried away by winds; trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. And who can forget the question of Jesus in Matthew, “What went ye out to see, a reed shaken by the wind?” The beliefs of many are determined by whichever way the wind blows at the time. Then consider how Peter asked for the impossible.

ASKING FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE

Look at that statement again, “Lord, bid me come unto Thee upon the waters.” Why would Peter want to come to Jesus on the water?” One reason it could have been was because the boat was sinking anyway so he might as well try Jesus. That question is always there; you may have tried everything else, so why not try Jesus?

Then that answer of Jesus to Peter, “Come!” Peter was asking for something impossible, and Jesus said, “Come!” Could it be that the Lord will answer any request to do what appears to be impossible in regards to the Lord’s work? After all, there is not anything we can do that is impossible if the Lord is in on it.

That is the story of this broadcast. Over forty years ago in the idea of doing this ministry, we were told, “It is impossible.” We passed by a church where they were having a revival, and went in. The preacher knew nothing of our desire to start this ministry, and his sermon that night was “Wet Feet and Working Faith”, and we said, “That is it! We will do it.” Lord, bidst me come unto Thee upon the waters. And now they were willing to receive Him.

WILLING TO RECEIVE HIM

Jesus answered the shrieks of the frightened apostles with the reassuring words, “It is I, be not afraid.” They were willing, therefore, to receive Him into the boat. Receiving Jesus into the boat or any other place of residence is the wisest decision anyone can make. When Zacchaeus heard Jesus say, “Make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house.” He came down and received Him joyfully. His decision has been famous as an example for the last two thousand years. Another famous receiving of Jesus is in Acts 2:41, “They then that gladly received his word were baptized, and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls.” The wisdom of that decision in receiving Jesus Christ in the center of the New Testament, is a continual witness for the last two thousand years, of the answer of Peter to the anguished cry of the three thousand, the day the church was born, “Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” That statement will continue to witness, “They received Him gladly” until that day when the trumpet sounds and the Lord descends from Heaven with a shout, and the voice of the archangel, and they are caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. They received Him gladly.

IT IS I, BE NOT AFRAID

One final word of victory as found in John 6:20, when the apostles shrieked out their fear at the approach of the unknown Christ. It was His reply, “It is I; be not afraid.” What a reassuring word for the Christian in the storms of life, “It is I.” “It is I, who am the first and the last, and the living one; and I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. It is I, who came to seek and to save that which was lost. It is I, who can supply all your needs, according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. It is I, who promised I will be with you always even unto the end of the world. It is I, who purchased your redemption with blood without spot and blemish.” When the dark waves roll He will guide my soul by the touch of His hand on mine. It is I, be not afraid. In 1958, Mosie Lister wrote these words:

In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face?

While the storm howls above me and there’s no hiding place

Mid the crash of the thunder, precious Lord, hear my cry

Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

When the long night has ended, And the storms come no more

Let me stand in Thy presence, On that bright peaceful shore.

In that land where the tempest never comes,

Lord, may I dwell with Thee When the storm passes by.

Till the storm passes over, Till the thunder sounds no more

Till the clouds roll forever from the sky.  Hold my hand help me stand

In the hollow of Thy hand, Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

IT IS I, BE NOT AFRAID.