Matthew 14:27, 30-31 NIVUK
[27] But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’
[30] But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ [31] Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’
A few years ago, my family and I were on a short break to see the islands of Southern Leyte, Philippines. We were staying in a small inn in Libagon that had a swimming pool and a beautiful view of the sunset over Sogod Bay. It had been a hot day, and my wife and I were in the pool, cooling off before we went to sleep.
She got into the pool before me and warned me that the pool was deceptively deep. As she’s shorter than I am, I didn’t take her seriously. I stepped away from the edge.
Immediately I sunk beneath the surface. She can swim. I can’t. I struggled. I couldn’t put my feet on the bottom.
She grabbed me by the trunks and shoved me unceremoniously away from the deep.
I had been out of my depth.
She had saved me.
There is something remarkable about this part of the Bible. Both Matthew and Mark highlight it.
There are two struggles on Lake Galilee (Matthew 8:23-27, 14:22-33; Mark 4:35-41, 6:44-53).
There are also two times when Jesus fed multitudes (Matthew 14:13-21, 15:29-39; Mark 6:30-44, 8:1-10).
In both situations, we can see that the disciples were out of their depth. They were in difficult situations that they could not change.
And Jesus carried out awesome miracles.
Yet they didn’t understand:
Mark 8:14-21 NIVUK
[14] The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. [15] ‘Be careful,’ Jesus warned them. ‘Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.’ [16] They discussed this with one another and said, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ [17] Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? [18] Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? [19] When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’ ‘Twelve,’ they replied. [20] ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’ They answered, ‘Seven.’ [21] He said to them, ‘Do you still not understand?’
Jesus had showed His disciples with four spectacular miracles that He was God: that they could trust Him to provide for them and to look after them.
But they didn’t get it.
You might wonder why it is that I am returning to a narrative about the disciples getting into difficulty on Lake Galilee. You might think that we’ve been there with an earlier post, so why go back?
Because we are just as prone to forget this lesson.
Because we often believe our situation is too far gone for Jesus and panic when we can’t save ourselves.
Because we are just like the disciples.
So what we see here is just as powerful a lesson for us as it was for them.
We’ll look then at three things they struggled with during this miraculous event and how Jesus resolved them.
The first was The Struggle On The Shore.
The Struggle On The Shore
If you read my previous post on the Feeding of the Five Thousand, you’ll know all about this struggle. Within a relatively short time, Jesus lost His earthly cousin John the Baptist, had His disciples add to the inevitable attention on Him by carrying out successful ministry, He found Himself facing the almost insatiable demands of thousands of people and then had to escape their grasp when they wanted Him to be King.
That was quite a few days.
They had been a lot. No doubt about that.
And we have to be fair to the disciples here. Would we not have been a little bewildered at all that happened? Would it not have left our heads spinning?
So what Jesus does next is quite brilliant.
Firstly, we see what He did with the disciples.
Matthew 14:22 NIVUK
[22] Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.
This sounds so banal, so simple. They had brought their boat from the western side of the lake. It stands to reason they would have to take it back eventually.
But the timing is just brilliant.
These disciples have been so far out of their comfort zone that they would not have seen it with a telescope. They had experienced success, yes, but also profound stress and busy-ness.
So what does Jesus do?
He sends these men – mostly fishermen – back across the lake by boat.
Where there were not thousands of demanding people.
Where they had worked before they followed Him.
At night, when it was quiet. And tranquil. And peaceful.
After all the noise and clamour of the recent days, how restorative would that have been?
Even more so because He was sending them from a world they did not know to a world they did know.
He was sending them from a place where their confidence had been tested to the full, to a place where they could be confident because it was what they were used to.
When we are faced with a significant challenge, it’s easy to panic and freak out. However, when I was sitting exams at school, I was given a piece of advice that has always stuck with me since: start with what you know. Begin where you are confident, with what you can do, and use that to build momentum and confidence for the things with which you struggle.
It seems that, after a busy, trying time, that was what Jesus was doing for His disciples.
We also see what He did for Himself.
Matthew 14:23 NIVUK
[23] After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.
We touched on this in my last post, but it is worth reiterating. For Jesus, steps forward often begun with a step backwards. Instead of rushing headlong into situations He needed to solve, Jesus firstly took a step back to pray.
This is game-changing advice.
There have been times in the summer, when it hasn’t been raining, where I do something that my wife thinks is a little bit mad. At lunch time, in the middle of a busy working day, I will take off and spend a few minutes at the edge of woodland around ten minutes walk from my house.
Why do I do that?
Because the quiet permanence of God’s creation gives me a fresh perspective on my situation: all my work stresses are small; God is great. And I use that time alone to bring them to the Lord.
Each time I come back home, I return rejuvenated, and often with good ideas.
Jesus’ brother James stated this:
James 1:5 NIVUK
[5] If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
There is a profound wisdom in these words alone. Jesus Himself taught us:
Matthew 7:7-8 NIVUK
[7] ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. [8] For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 11:28-30 NIVUK
[28] ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’
If you have read my series on the Lord’s Prayer, you will know that the last verses from Matthew are the very essence of what prayer is truly all about.
So we know that Jesus and the disciples faced a very stressful time leading into the Feeding of the Five Thousand, and even although that wondrous miracle was a profound statement victory, it also brought its own stresses. But Jesus met these by sending the disciples back to a world they were used to and spending the night in prayer.
After this struggle was done, we see The Struggle On The Sea.
The Struggle On The Sea
Matthew 14:23-27 NIVUK
[23] After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, [24] and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. [25] Shortly before dawn 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. [27] But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’
Now, this is a very interesting situation.
Among the disciples were experienced sailors – fishermen by trade. It was their business to know every nook and cranny and vagary of the Sea of Galilee. I don’t doubt for a second that they would have experienced these conditions before. After all, it was not unusual.
But I want you to notice four characteristics of this event.
Firstly, Jesus told them they would make it. He told them to go ahead of Him to the other side of the lake – to sail in an approximately south-westerly direction – when the wind seemed to be blowing them away from it. The very fact that He told them they would be going ahead of Him implied that He would meet them there, and therefore their struggle would not be in vain. They would arrive at their destination, despite the wind.
Secondly, Jesus sent them into it.
Now this is a point we have to understand. Jesus sent them onto the lake and into a contrary wind. In other words, Jesus sent them into a situation where they would face resistance and struggle.
And this is a thought we ourselves struggle with.
Why?
Because we see this verse:
James 1:17 NIVUK
[17] Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
So we assume that since God is good and His gifts are good, then He cannot send His children into struggle and suffering.
But that is wrong. As James says in his letter:
James 1:2-4 NIVUK
[2] Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, [3] because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. [4] Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
So, you see, James is saying here that trials and struggles and battles are themselves a good thing, and not necessarily comfort and ease.
That may sound surprising, but consider the example of a child at school. The temptation is for a parent to do their homework for them, to do their projects for then, to help them as much as possible.
Our daughter resisted that quite strenuously. She wanted to be the one to do all her school work, not us.
Of course, that led to some difficult and emotive discussions when she was struggling with her homework. But those struggles helped her academically because she figured things out for herself.
Her exam results bore this out. We couldn’t do her exams for her. She had to do them for herself. And her results were excellent.
There are situations where struggle makes our children better, and ease will make them worse. So, even though it hurts, as parents we have to let them struggle so they learn and understand certain things for themselves.
That is what Jesus is doing here. He is sending the disciples into a struggle to strengthen their faith – to face difficult conditions at sea without Him in the boat so they learn and become ready for bigger trials.
That is why we see this verse, written by someone who suffered for Jesus more than any of us ever will:
Romans 8:28 NIVUK
[28] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
‘In all things’. That includes our struggles.
But there is a third aspect, which for some of us is even more shocking: Jesus didn’t help them with it – at least, not at first.
We read this in Mark’s account:
Mark 6:47-50 NIVUK
[47] Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. [48] He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, [49] but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, [50] because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’
Jesus saw the disciples struggling. John tells us that they had rowed for around three to four miles (John 6:19). It was now around 3am. They had likely been rowing for hours and were only about halfway to their destination. Jesus was walking on the water. He had the power to help them.
Yet He was about to pass them by!
That, again, seems truly extraordinary.
Why would Jesus do that?
Could it be that He trusted in them to be able to make the crossing by themselves?
Could it be that their struggle was because they did not?
Fourthly, we see that Jesus terrified them.
Why?
Because in the pitch black, they see His form, possibly silhouetted against lights or torches from the boat or faint lights from the shore, strolling nonchalantly on the choppy waters, while they were straining against an inclement wind.
They would not expect Jesus to be there. They had no reason to do so.
And yet there He was!
That’s why they initially believed He was a ghost. And why He had to reassure them that He was not.
There is another key lesson for us here. The disciples were struggling; Jesus was strolling.
Both faced the same conditions. Jesus was fine; they were not.
Isn’t that just the way? We face the same situation as someone else, but they seem to be coping with it fine and we do not?
It’s like at school, when they introduced a new topic such as, for example, algebra. I had quite an analytical mind. I got it quickly. As did many others in my class. But you would always get one or two who, weeks into the course, would raise their arm in class and ask, ‘But Miss, why are we using letters? This is Mathematics. It isn’t English.’
Comparing ourselves with others is always foolish; comparing our struggles with theirs is equally as bad.
There was a good reason why Jesus could stroll while the disciples struggled. He was about to explain this to Peter in detail, as we move from the struggles on the shore and on the sea to The Struggle in the Soul.
The Struggle in the Soul
Matthew 14:28-31 NIVUK
[28] ‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ [29] ‘Come,’ he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. [30] But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ [31] Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’
This is the part of this event where most sermons concentrate. And I can understand why.
But I hope you can also see why I have structured this meditation in this way.
This particular conversation and what followed is framed by the two previous struggles: on the shore as the disciples struggled with fame and, to a degree, infamy, with lack of rest, lack of food and lack of understanding, and also on the sea, because they were struggling while Jesus strolled, in a situation that they had understood well, but where Jesus’ appearance more than slightly threw them off their game.
Now we come to the encounter which is at the heart of this event: between Peter and Jesus in very trying circumstances.
Note carefully the three stages:
Firstly, evidence. Peter is looking for evidence – he wants hard proof that what they are seeing is not some ghost or a trick of the early morning light, but is, in fact, Jesus.
There is absolutely no doubt that Peter was rather impulsive here. He was leaping before he looked. He’d let his mouth write cheques that his faith could not cash.
That is obvious.
But even a skim reading of the Gospels would tell you that’s how Peter was.
Many praise Peter for being willing to take here what they call a ‘step of faith’.
But I’m not convinced it was.
I think it was actually doubt. He wasn’t testing himself, he was actually testing Jesus. Look at what Peter says: ‘Lord, if it is You...’
He isn’t convinced.
And to assail the storm in his soul, to defeat his doubts and fears, that is why he asked Jesus to call him into the water. Jesus’ form and His voice are not enough.
Peter wants more evidence than that.
He is putting Jesus to the test. He is acting the same way as Gideon, who, when faced with a huge challenge, looked for a sign from God (Judges 6:36-40). He is acting like Hezekiah, who sought a sign that God would heal him (2 Kings 20:1-11).
Peter was testing Jesus.
If you know you are out of your depth, or feel called to head out of your depth, do you do this? Do you put God to the test?
That was something satan tempted to Jesus to do, but He refused (Matthew 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-12).
Jesus’ presence and His voice should have been enough for Peter, but weren’t.
Are they not enough for you?
As well as the evidence, we see the summons: Jesus responded to his request and called Peter into the water.
Peter had been testing Jesus, but now Jesus was testing Peter.
But look what happened: Peter answered the call. And for that, he must be commended. He stood on the water. Then he began walking.
Lo and behold, Peter was walking on the water, just like Jesus!
Now, there is one thing we must make clear here. Illusionists and magicians sometimes recreate this feat, but they do it on calm waters, because they can hide glass or plastic panels in the water and no-one will notice. But this water was not calm, it was choppy. And the wind was against them.
This was actually pretty impressive.
But I want you to notice what happened next, as we move from the evidence and the summons to the indictment.
Because Peter made a very big mistake:
Matthew 14:30-31 NIVUK
[30] But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ [31] Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’
Peter was experiencing something none of his fellow disciples ever did. This was something absolutely special: during rough weather, with the wind very much against them, Peter was walking on Lake Galilee.
What a privilege!
And right in front of him was the man who was making it possible: Jesus.
And step by step, despite all that was against him, Peter was drawing ever closer to Jesus.
But then...
Peter took his eyes off his Sustainer and set them on his situation. He didn’t see Jesus – he only saw the wind and the waves.
And he began to sink.
Much earlier, in what we call the Parable of the Sower – which Peter heard – we see these words:
Mark 4:18-19 NIVUK
[18] Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; [19] but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Here Peter is letting his worries choke Jesus’ words. Jesus had summoned him to come across the waves. Did he think for one second that Jesus would let him drown?
It seems that he did.
Look very, very carefully at what Jesus said is the root cause of this issue:
Matthew 14:31 NIVUK
[31] Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’
It was faith, not physics, that caused Peter to sink – or rather, his lack of faith. He was facing the exact same conditions as Jesus: the same wind, the same waves, the same water. Yet Jesus could stroll on those waves, and Peter struggled.
Why?
Because Peter believed the wind was more powerful than Jesus.
This, right there, is the reason why two people can find themselves in the same position, and one sinks while the other swims. It is simply a case of perspective: which seems bigger, our situation or our Saviour? Peter saw his situation as bigger and his Saviour as smaller, and so he struggled
But Jesus, well, He was always more powerful than the waves. So He strolled.
For many of us, this is a very relevant lesson in how to survive the challenges of life.
However, there is one last part of this miracle to which we should pay our attention: The Serenity in the Boat.
The Serenity in the Boat
Matthew 14:32-33 NIVUK
[32] And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. [33] Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’
Or, as John states:
John 6:21 NIVUK
[21] Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
Four things arrive in this little boat, tossed about by the waves and beaten by the wind:
The saved. Jesus rescues Peter – both from the waves and from himself. Interestingly, He doesn’t cast Peter out or leave him to struggle for himself, despite his lack of faith. He still saves Peter. He still welcomes him into the boat. Peter might have made quite an embarrassing mistake in front of the other disciples, but that doesn’t disqualify him from following Jesus.
This is a message we must hear. Yes, there are times when we let Jesus down. Yes, there are situations which we should be able to cope with fine, but with which we struggle. Yes, we feel bad about it.
But Jesus does not cast us off. He still welcomes us back into the boat:
2 Timothy 2:11-13 NIVUK
[11] Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; [12] if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; [13] if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
Secondly, we see The Saviour. Jesus not only gets into the boat with the man He saved from the deep, He was also with those who did not have the courage or the faith to step out into the deep; who may have had their doubts as to who Jesus was, but did not put these doubts to the test; who were happy to struggle on rather than call on their Saviour.
That is something else of which we need to take note.
Jesus did not cast them aside either, even though they had failed in a different way.
Thirdly, The Serenity. Jesus boarded the boat, and everything became calm. Not a single word was spoken. Not a single gesture was made. His presence was enough to slow the wind and stay the waves.
Isn’t that just the way?
In the middle of one of the noisiest psalms in the Bible, that mentions the forces – natural and human – which could destroy our peace and our faith, we see this:
Psalms 46:4-7, 10-11 NIVUK
[4] There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. [5] God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. [6] Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. [7] The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
[10] He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’ [11] The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Perhaps the reason why it feels like our boat is sinking is because Jesus is not in it.
Or rather, He is, but we are not aware of Him.
Or rather, He us, but we think our situation is bigger than Him.
Either way, if we want to make it through our struggles, we must, absolutely must, make sure that we see Him in them, and know He is bigger than them.
Otherwise we will feel hopelessly alone.
And we will sink.
Fourthly, The Sense of Direction. For hours, the disciples had struggled against a headwind that was not with them. Now, their struggle had ended.
They got to where they needed to go.
Because Jesus was with them.
And that changed everything.
As John noted:
John 6:21 NIVUK
[21] Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
The Greek translated as ‘immediately’ can also be translated as ‘soon’.
Whichever translation is correct, what we can understand is that the act of welcoming Jesus into their boat brought an end to their struggle and brought them to their destination.
Here we see again why we struggle so badly in situations where we should be strolling: could it be that we quite simply do not have Jesus with us in our boat? Were we so self-confident, or so willing to do things our own way, that we simply left Him behind?
Jesus was the solution to their struggle.
Could He possibly be the solution to ours too?
Conclusion
While my wife and I were in the middle of processing her spouse visa in the Philippines, we came across a Welsh man, living in a shack in a poor part of Cebu City, cleaning so many of his children’s clothes in cold water that his knuckles were bleeding. Due to our application, we struck a conversation with him to see why it was that he was still in the Philippines with his wife.
This guy was full of rage and frustration at the British government for not granting his wife a visa. It was actually quite concerning for us. So I started to ask him about various aspects of his situation.
It was then the truth came out.
I asked him if he'd had a job. He didn’t have one back home. He had been unemployed.
I asked him if he’d had somewhere to live. He hadn’t. He had been living with his parents.
Two absolutely critical requirements for a UK visa. He’d had neither.
It was obvious why his application had failed.
He'd been way over his head.
Often the reason why we end up in situations like this is because we have not read and obeyed the Word of God.
But sometimes not.
Sometimes it’s because we should be where we are, but we have not applied the Word of God to our situation.
If we are in either of those situations, then like that Welshman, any complaints we have over our situation are pointless and futile. Our struggle is self-inflicted. What matters is how we get out of it.
The disciples here faced three different struggles, each of which had their own solutions:
The Struggle On The Shore was solved by seeking God and starting to do what they understood, in places where they were confident.
The Struggle On The Sea should have been resolved by recognising Jesus and trusting in Him.
The Struggle in the Soul is resolved when we stop seeing our struggle as bigger that God and starting seeing God as bigger than our struggle.
When we take this to heart and apply it The Serenity in the Boat is what results, and the struggles that stand in our way soon seem like nothing.
There are words written on all wing mirrors in the United States: ‘objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are’. And that can be a problem, when our past seems to be more important than it was.
Equally as problematic is when we see our present problems as larger and more dangerous than they are. As Paul wrote later:
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIVUK
[16] Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. [17] For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. [18] So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
There are problems in life that are huge and life-threatening. There are many that are not, but we perceive them as such, and end up struggling when we should be strolling.
May God give us the grace to know the difference, and to trust Him in them all.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, forgive me for the times when I make life much harder for myself by struggling when I should be strolling. Come into my life, I pray. Grant me the right perspective that sees all of my problems as way smaller than You. Amen.
Questions
What three struggles did the disciples face? How did they react to them? How should they have reacted?
What problems and struggles do you face? Do you always react as you should?
What lessons have you learned from this passage about how you should react to problems and struggles? How will you apply those lessons?
Timely and important lessons for all believers in Christ!