These events on the waters of the Sea of Galilee, don't they demonstrate for us just the grandeur, the power that Jesus has? There is no limit on the Son of God's power. And doesn't it also, and this is the humanizing side of this story, doesn't it underscore for us the weakness and even the ignorance of his own disciples? Which when we put ourselves in their shoes, becomes quite familiar, quite understandable, doesn't it? Now these events on the Sea of Galilee, they make sense to us. They are real historical events recorded by Matthew here. And they reveal more about what we know of Jesus. Even in popular culture, in general society, there's a general currency of the story of Jesus walking on the water. Now, it's not taken well. Many people make light of it, mock it, think that it just is some form of superstitious sort of belief or some sort of far-fetched tale. But I declare to you that this is the Word of God. I declare to you in the power of the Spirit that this is the truth of God revealed so that we might believe. It is simple. Jesus walked on the water to rescue his disciples so that they might be restored and brought safely across. These events make clear to us more about what we can know about Jesus, but also about ourselves, don't they? Whether we are like Peter, for a moment stepping out of the boat with great confidence and then floundering, Or perhaps we're like the rest of the disciples who say we're staying in the boat where it's safe. We certainly know, don't we, how fear, how confusion in the midst of a storm can take our thoughts away from what we know to be true. But then, as we see in the story, the restoration of the Lord is sufficient to prompt faith in us. I've said this a number of times recently, but the life of a believer is one of constantly remembering the God that we serve, the Christ who has saved us, and the blessings that have come to us through Him. We have to remember these things. We have to be reminded of them. Each Lord's Day, on the Sabbath day, we gather for renewal and remembrance. We gather for the covenant which God has made with us to be renewed again and again in the Lord's gracious words of kindness, greeting, grace, pardon for sinning, and calling. But also, not only is there a covenant renewal taking place, each Lord said, but is it also through the Word a place where we remember the God that we serve, the Christ who has saved us, and the blessings that we've received. And that's what we see in this passage. There's distress, there's trouble, there's forgetfulness, and then, by faith, the light is restored, clarity is regained, and they can go forward as changed men. That's the whole purpose that Luke says he wrote his gospel. that we would understand these things and that we would be changed. That we'd understand, pardon me, Matthew, where Luke records that. And so in this section, in chapter 14, it builds on, as I've said, the whole question of what are the limits on Jesus. But where chapter 13 has been focused on what is the kingdom like, where Jesus describes in a number of different sayings and parables what the kingdom of heaven was like. Here in these sections, in the aftermath of that teaching, Jesus shifts to descriptions and accounts of what the king is like. For faith in the king gives rise to faith in his kingdom, especially when that kingdom is not visible to us. And it is of such central importance that we understand who the king is, but also have revealed for us the nature, the identity, but also the surpassing power and greatness of this king. He's not a regular king. That much should be plain. Regular kings are not able to conjure food from virtually nothing to make a feast for everyone. And regular kings don't walk on water. And regular kings don't restore their drowning disciples by taking them by the hand in the midst of the sea. And regular kings don't get to tell storms what to do. And regular kings don't come back from the dead. And so we're being instructed in what is the king like? And how do we respond? And as we see in the beginning of this section in chapter 22, or I mean verse 22, the first thing that happens is that Jesus sends out his disciples in the crowds. And he sends them back to the world while he prays. There's a real sense in which while they are with Jesus that they are engaged in an otherworldly task, one of listening to the Son of God. But then Jesus sends them out almost to what the older language would be, to the mundane things, to the things of this world. Our forefathers in the faith would talk of things which were sacred and things which were secular or mundane. The sacred things are the things of heaven and the things of heaven breaking into the earth of Christ's incarnation. And even that the gift of the church and the ministry of the word And that is to occur and be focused on, but also there were many things that the older voices would say occur in the mundane activities of this world, the regular activities of this world, or secular, meaning just of this world. And that's what Jesus sends them off to. You've been fed with word, and in this case with food, real food, But now go out. That's the sense of being dismissed. It's one of the reasons that as the Christian church reflected on the liturgy of worship, one of the chief hallmarks of a Christian worship service is the benediction. The dismissal with the benediction or the blessing of God. Go forth in the name of God. Go forth with the blessing of God. And here Jesus dismisses them. And he says, go forth in your boat. I will rejoin you, but I must first see to my father's business. I must first pray. Meanwhile, the crowds are also dismissed, as it were, to their regular lives. With the implication being that they were to be changed individuals going out to do what they had previously done. We see this with John the Baptist in Mark's gospel, when John preaches the gospel of repentance. And then people began to ask him, what should we do now? And he said, go do your regular work. If you're a tax collector, take no more than is owed. If you're a soldier, submit to your commanders and treat others well. If you're a regular person, go forth and do right. And so these people are dismissed. by Jesus, he's dismissed them with his blessing. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Who is the king? He is a man who prays to his father. He is a man who petitions his father, who brings his needs to the father. who communicates through prayer. So we think of our own responsibility and calling to pray. It should humble us that even Jesus prayed. And if Jesus prayed, then we are actually doing what he did when we also pray in his name. That if it was suitable for Jesus to pray, Jesus, the man who is revealed here in this passage, as the great sovereign ruler of heavens and earth, If He would stoop to pray, bow the knee to pray to His Heavenly Father, then doesn't it give us a greater confidence to do the same? To know that we are heard. To know that we can do this. And so He prays. He prays. And meanwhile, His disciples are in the world. His disciples are in the world. They are doing a mundane thing. They are traveling across the lake. And they fear what they do understand in this world. That would be the first bit. We'll see when they don't understand what's going on. But first, they fear what they do understand. They understand the chaos of the deeps when it's stirred up. And the Sea of Galilee was capable of being stirred up in a moment's notice. There were essentially funnels on the eastern side of the lake that would be able to bring hot, hot desert air whooshing down onto the cold of the Sea of Galilee and stir up incredible storms. Storms could also come from the north, cascading down and entering into this cauldron, which is actually not that large of a lake. We can go there and see across the lake, you can see the other shore. And yet here they are, and they realize that these winds and these waves that they are seeing, they are a known obstacle. But more than that, they're a known terror to seaworthy men. Several of the men in this boat were seasoned sailors. When evening had come and Jesus was alone, the boat by this time was a long way from the land, almost say right in the middle of the lake, and was being beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. The Greek word for the wind being against them is interesting. It's almost a sense, it can be used in the sense of battle as a wind which was hostile to them. Their summary if they had a radio might have been, we're in for it. This thing's a bad storm. Hurricane force winds pounding that boat, bringing distress to them. Here they are in the world going about this regular task, but they face something they know is bad. And they're in distress. They're filled with fear. And it's the fear of losing life. It's the fear of drowning in the midst of the sea and being far enough from land that it would be nearly impossible to get to shore. They fear what they understand. But then Jesus approaches in an unexpected way. Jesus approaches in an unexpected way. Maybe that's downplaying it. Jesus walks on the water to them. Jesus reveals His sovereignty over the chaos of the deeps. If the deeps and the waters are stirred up by the wind to create this chaotic scene in which you can only see as far as your hand, then in the midst of that you have the Lord walking on the water. The Lord walking on the water. revealing his sovereignty. We read that in the fourth watch of the night, that would be around 3 a.m., between 3 a.m. and 6 p.m., or 6 a.m., he came to them walking on the sea. Matthew doesn't have to explain how this occurred, for by this point we should see plainly what is being revealed here. He walked on the sea as only he could do. as only He had the power to do. He approaches in the most unexpected way, which leads then to the disciples fearing what they do not understand. As I said before, they understand storms, but they don't understand this. They understand storms, but they don't understand a man walking on the water, the chaos of an unexpected figure coming near to them, Things just went from bad to worse in their view. For when they saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, it is a ghost. And they cried out in fear. This is the understandable terror of facing the unexpected. Facing the unexpected and unknown. They're grasping at straws. They grasp at some answer to this question. What is going on? It is a ghost. Herod had thought the same thing when he heard reports of supernatural powers in his terrain, in his realm. The disciples also recognize here this unexpected power, and they say, it is a ghost, and they cry out in fear. Whether this has anything to do with Jesus' appearance, seems less likely. More that they're just grasping for straws, trying to figure out some way to make sense of what they see going on around them. We are pattern-seeking people. It's in our nature to seek patterns and to try to make sense of things that happen in light of what we know to be true. People don't walk on water. So it must be some apparition, some sort of a ghost. So now the disciples are doubly fearful. They are fearing what they do understand, the chaos of the deeps, but they're also fearing this unexpected figure that has come upon these waters and is drawing near to them. But if Jesus had approached them in this unexpected way, then do we take heart in the way that Jesus reassures his fearful disciples? In the most loving way? It is the most loving thing which Jesus does here. For immediately, we read, verse 27, immediately, Jesus spoke to them. As he came into view, as he came into sudden view, and they cry out, and he immediately responds, saying, Take heart, it is I. Those great words in the Gospel of John, Ego eimi. I am. It is I. Do not be afraid. This is a summary of the Gospel message, isn't it? Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid. Take heart. I have come. Do not be afraid. Take heart. I have come to bear your burden. Take heart. I have come to you in your distress and fear. Take heart. I've come to bring peace and order in the midst of chaos and distress. The scriptures echo with Jesus' words to us. These words echoing forward even into our own time. Jesus addresses each one of us, take heart, it is I. Take heart, know who I am. Take heart, I am the Son of God and I have come near to you. Do not be afraid. The knowledge of God is the most powerful antidote to fear. The knowledge of God's ministry and intervention for us is the most powerful antidote to all fear. Fear both of things we understand, but also fear of things that catch us off guard or things we don't understand. And the disciples in stops and starts are starting to understand this. Because Peter, Peter jumps up. Jesus' words find deep resonance in Peter. It's almost as if Peter thinks, well, in that case, I want to be with you, Jesus. And Peter answered him. He said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. I liked how D.A. Carson explains it. He says, what is more natural than for a fisherman who knew and respected the dangers of Galilee to want to follow Jesus in this new demonstration of supernatural power. If Peter could be with Jesus, it would mean, for one, that he was no longer in the boat that might sink. Rather, he was with the one who was displaying his power over the water by walking upon it. But I think there's more to it. There's a desire to be with Jesus. A desire to walk with the Savior, even if it's in the midst of the storm on the top of the waves. Jesus sees the faith of Peter. That faith which apprehended who Christ was and therefore went out, desire to go out to him. And so Jesus said, come. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. The story would be incredible if it ended here, right? But it's made all the more incredible by what follows. And it's made all the more relatable by what follows. For when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink. Notice the trigger. His fear results in his sinking. But what does that result in? He cried out, Lord, save me. His fear resulted in his sinking, resulted in trouble. What can that result in? What does that lead to? What is it that that brings for us? For we do fear, and we do feel that we are sinking. We do find ourselves in deeper trouble. But then what does the Lord say? Oh, if the Lord had said to Peter, oh, you of little faith, and left him sinking in the waves, it would set the most bleak example for us. But Peter cried out, Lord, save me. Lord, save me. Jesus who says, here I am, is the one who answers the prayer, the call, the cry of the dying man. Your Savior knows when you are sinking. Your Savior knows when you were afraid. Your Savior hears when you cry out on account of His purity, peace, and power. As Carson again says, his faith in Jesus was strong enough to get him out of the boat and walking on the water, but it was not strong enough to stand up to the storm. And so Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt? He takes him by the hand while reproaching him, while addressing him, while ministering to him in Peter's weakness. Subtext of what Jesus is saying is you do not need to doubt. I am who I am. You do not need to doubt. Live with faith. Jesus rescues Peter who is at once faithful and then faithless. And he also rescues the disciples. They're the ones that remain in the boat. They're the ones that are getting tossed to and fro. They're the ones that are in the midst of the storm, crying out, seeing ghosts, wondering what's all going on. And when they got into the boat, that is Jesus and Peter, the wind ceased. One of the attributes of God described in Job is that the Lord is the one who says to the waves, this far you shall come and no further. Jesus, after his incarnation as a child born of men. And a man walking in the midst of weakness reveals his identity as the very Son of God by ordering the wind to cease. And it does. The waters obey him. The chaos of the deeps is overpowered by him. And what is the response? Jesus has approached them, Jesus has rescued them, and now the disciples are moved to worship. The climax of the story is not the wind ceasing, but it's actually this confession and this worship of the disciples. For those in the boat worshipped Him, saying, truly you are the Son of God. No truer statement has ever been spoken. Truly, you are the Son of God. Not only are they relieved to be rescued, but they are also awed by the man before them. It all clicks together. This is one of the most pronounced moments of them comprehending who Jesus is. Remember how he said Matthew 13 asks the question, what is the kingdom of heaven? Matthew 14 has been asking the question, who is the king and what is he like? The Pharisees and the people of Nazareth had gotten it wrong. Herod had gotten it wrong. Even the crowds were somewhat confused on this and some of them only wanted him to be a bread maker. But here in a crescendo, A climax in this moment. The disciples utter what is true. You are the Son of God. And they have only the calm waters around them to declare that truth over and over and over again to them. Which leads then, not only to the rescue of the disciples, Jesus' purpose in crossing the water. But then it also leads to their continuation of ministry, the continuation of Jesus caring for those who are in need of rescue, caring for those who are in distress, caring for those whose lives are marked by a feeble faith, a flickering faith, but one that Jesus is pleased to recognize For when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick. On all sides of the lake, Jesus is now being approached. Lord, if you will have mercy, bring healing. They implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. They beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten God. and as many as touched it were made well. The woman with the perpetual bleeding was not the only one who was healed in this manner, for his power and his presence among them brought healing even through the most slightest of touch, the fringe of his garment, which has its own purpose in raising the question if the fringe of his garment can make a man well. And the touch of the fringe of his garment in that moment could drive away the demons. What then of his whole being, of his whole person, of his entire power? Even Jesus' mastery over the waves in the Sea of Galilee was a masked mastery. It was only a portion. You could say that the slightest of touches or the slightest exercises of authority. Just as when you take a shower, you use up only the slightest portion of the water that is found in the reservoirs of the Metro Vancouver water system. So Jesus here, by doing so with his unlimited power, was demonstrating who he was. That great question. He not only stills the sea and walks upon the waters, but he also heals and drives away the demons. And so the whole episode is beautiful. It's encouraging. It's uplifting. But the whole episode can also be viewed after the fact. And I'll close with this. It can be viewed as a metaphor. for the remarkable incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God into human history as our Redeemer and Lord. For at the forefront is the historical events that unfolded on the Sea of Galilee. But I'm struck by the way in which it also offers a parallel to what Jesus did in the big picture, in all that he did. For in the first place, we are sent into the world sent into the world, just as Jesus sent the crowds and the disciples into the world. So the Lord, when he created man, sent us into the world to carry out our mundane tasks in filling the earth, to carry out our regular responsibilities. And the Lord, in fact, calls each one of us to continue to do so in our calling as image bearers. We're sent out We're dismissed with blessing. But then storms arise. Storms arise. In the broadest picture, it's the wages of sin, the entrance of death. What greater storm, what greater travesty is there? The wrath of the stirred up hearts provoking rage, the trials and storms of life in this fallen world causing us to cry out in our distress. So the disciples fear what they do understand in this world, and surely that is the case writ large. We see the powerful potency of evil in this world. How many are led astray by the evil one? Foretelling what the future holds for the Christian Church in North America is one that has brought many people to a state of fear or anxiousness. or a frantic trying to beat back the changes that are happening. Storms arise. Who comes to us? Who comes to us? Not we to Him, but He to us. The Incarnation is the most incredible truth of the Lord. He comes to us. The disciples did not gain an audience with the Lord by going up to Him. The believer does not gain an audience with the Lord by being presented in His presence spotless in our own strength. We do not ascend. He descended to us. He came and found us. He approached us in our need. Yet we do not understand Him until our eyesight is granted to us. Just like the disciples who wondered, is this a ghost? So in the whole of this story of humanity, we see that many could not see, could not understand, until we recognize our Savior. John writes, the true light which enlightens everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world. And the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who received Him, who believed in His name, who saw Him and beheld His glory, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. The greatest rescue which the Lord has brought about so that we would be born again of God, made alive, when we were perishing. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, John writes, and we have seen His glory, glorious of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. We don't understand who He is until our eyesight is granted, but once we do, how grand, how spectacular seeing the Son is. which results in actions born of faith on the part of us disciples, like Peter, or like the ones who stayed in the boat, although such actions certainly do not constitute the necessary salvation of our souls, yet they move us to step out in faith, to have boldness, to have courage, even though we are as weak as Peter's faith was when he saw the storm and waves, and yet Jesus rescues and strengthens us. lifts us up when we fall. Oh, how we need that. So that we would worship Him. Worship follows the Lord's saving works. That's why we worship. That's why we worship on the first day of the week to celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead. To celebrate salvation. so that we would worship Him and then that the whole world might know, that word might spread, that the calling might go out for many more to come to the one in whom life is found. And so the Sea of Galilee illustrates this gospel story through such vivid brushstrokes that we don't want to take our eyes from it. This is the Christ, the Son of God. And so there's nothing in this text that is difficult to understand. We take God at his word that Jesus truly walked across the waters of Galilee and stilled them. But there's something in this text that we must adopt as our own confession. So there's nothing in this text that's difficult to understand, but there's something that we must take away with us. That is this confession in verse 33. of the worshipers who say, truly, you are the Son of God. May that be the fountain of your worship as well. May that be the source of your confidence. May that be the balm which brings comfort to you and stills your fears. That He, the Son of God, in His grace and the fullness of His mercy, has rescued you, redeemed you, suffering and dying in your place so that you might rise with Him and be assured of everlasting life. Look to the Lord. He will redeem you, rescue you, and grant you great joy in your deliverance. Amen. Our Father We praise your holy name with thanksgiving on account of the keeping of promises that you have made on the revealing of the son of glory, of the ministering to us in our weakness. Help us, Lord, to call upon you in all circumstances and trials. Lord, rescue us. Save us. for you are the Son of God. Jesus, you are the Son who has come in the flesh. Jesus, you are the Son who has come to an ungrateful multitude to save for yourself a privileged people. And so would you humble us to receive your grace all the more as we see the day approaching when Christ will be revealed not upon the waters, but descending from the heavens with glory to judge the living and the dead. We praise your name. We worship you. We honor you, Lord, God of our fathers. We pray this all in the name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.