Matthew 14
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” 34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
Recently a new movie version of Frank Herbert’s science fiction masterpiece, Dune, was released. It has brought renewed attention to this fascinating story. One of the most famous quotes from the book—probably the most famous—is the “Litany against Fear” from the Bene Gesserit rite, that is recited by the character Paul. Paul, facing a frightening challenge, tells himself that he must not fear and then recites the Litany:
Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn to see fear’s path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.[1]
I like this. It is poetic and powerful. As a general truth it has force and the ring of truth about it. And yet, in Dune, it is presented as a somewhat solitary litany, something that we might actualize if we try hard enough. The latter half of Matthew 14 mentions fear more than once. It confirms some of what the “Litany against Fear” asserts, yet it says more: that it is in viewing Christ rightly and understanding His power that we are able to overcome fear, the mind-killer and the faith-killer.
In this text, the disciples likewise find themselves facing a daunting challenge. They find themselves afraid in the midst of crisis. But it is in the midst of this crisis that Jesus shows up most powerfully and with great faith-building results!
It is in crisis that we grow, and the crisis may be either allowed or sent.
When we face crisis, we can either be crippled by fear or we can grow. The disciples found themselves in one such crisis.
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
Craig Blomberg offers a helpful assessment of the “long way” (or “considerable distance”) of this last verse.
The “considerable distance” of v. 24 is, literally, many stadia. One stadium equaled approximately six hundred feet. John says they have rowed twenty-five to thirty stadia (three to four miles), and the lake was approximately four to five miles wide.[2]
This would have been a long and difficult journey in such perilous conditions, not to mention a truly frightening one! Matthew continues:
25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
The waters were frightening and haunted places to the ancients, as they remain to many moderns as well! They are mysterious, dark, and foreboding. In the world of the disciples they were places of chaos and demonic power. There can be no wonder that they are terrified! They are already frightened by the storm and the danger, but now they see Jesus “walking on the sea” and take him for a ghost. The words of Jesus are reassuring. There is something He asks them to take up and something He asks them to let go of: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Take up your courage!
Set down your fear!
These words would certainly have seemed absurd to the beleaguered disciples, storm-tossed and exhausted as they were…not to mention being addressed by what they saw as a ghost!
What is most telling, however, is that Jesus clearly believes they can act in the seemingly absurd way He is telling them to act: with courage, with an absence of fear. In other words, in this crisis moment they can grow, they can break free of the expected reactions, even what most would consider the reasonable reactions! They can break free of the way they are supposed to act and become different, be changed.
And there is another truth behind this fact that we need not miss. David Platt brings it out when he writes:
Jesus is the One who sent the disciples off into the boat, probably sometime around seven to nine o’clock at night. Later, the text tells us that Jesus came out to them on the sea in the fourth watch of the night, which is anywhere between three and six o’clock in the morning. This means that the disciples were in the boat by themselves for at least six hours, if not more, while Jesus was over on the mountainside. During this time a windstorm arose, and we know from Matthew 8:23-27 that Jesus had control over such things. This entire episode was His design. During the time that these disciples were battling this wind, Jesus was holding both the disciples and the wind in His hands.[3]
In other words, we must remember that Jesus either caused this crisis or allowed it. These are two different things, of course, and the difference must be acknowledged, but they have one reality in common: He did not stop it from happening when He could have.
What this means is important: when Jesus fails to avert a crisis it is, at least in part, because He wants to do something in your life through it. Again, the distinction between “allowing” and “causing” (which may be what Platt means by this crisis being “His design”) needs to be upheld. Regardless, crisis is the arena in which we can grow.
“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
There are three statements there:
- Take heart.
- It is I.
- Do not be afraid.
The center statement is what makes the final statement possible. Between despair and growth is the presence of Jesus: “It is I,” which should be rendered more literally, “I Am,” which many commentators suggest is an intentional usage of the divine title of Yahweh God.
In your worst moment, in your darkest moment, in your most frightening moment, the Lord God is present in the person of the Son. Jesus is with us! Jesus allowed it and, in some cases, may have caused it, and that means there is purpose in the crisis. You can pass from fear to courage.
The step of faith in the time of crisis is a huge leap of growth precisely because it is so frightening!
Not only are crises arenas of growth, they are potentially arenas of great growth! Interestingly, this becomes evident in Peter’s failure to achieve this in the famous scene of him stepping out of the boat to come to Jesus. Watch:
28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
In addition to “normal” crisis growth—if you will allow the phrase—Peter literally took a step toward a staggering advancement in his own faith. His courage and recognition of the possibility of this is evident in verse 28: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Here, Peter (a) dares to believe that it is Jesus and (b) dares to believe that he might do what Jesus was doing. Peter was living out the amazing promises of Jesus from John 14:
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Peter dared to do what Jesus Himself was doing and He did so on the basis of a faith-fueled request: “command me to come to you on the water.”
Alas, we know the result all too well.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
Great growth in faith and followership was there in Peter’s grasp, but, tragically, he gave in to his fears and began to sink. There is something beautiful even here, though, for in his despair he cries out to Jesus: “Lord, save me!” Is this not ever and always the heart cry of the struggling child of God? Is this not what we always need? “Lord, save me!” And then, the grace of God: Jesus “took hold of him.” He does not do so without a loving rebuke, for Peter missed in his fear what he could have taken hold of in his faith: growth and greater communion with Jesus. So Jesus says to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Then we are told that “the wind ceased.”
The crisis passed, and with it, that particular moment’s opportunity to grow.
We grow best in the storms. We can grow too on calm waters, to be sure, but it is in the storms that God seems to do His most dramatic work! Peter had an amazing breakthrough with his audacious request. And let us not miss the fact that Peter did, in fact, walk on the water and came to Jesus, even if he soon fell.
But all of the disciples grew in this crisis, as the next verses reveal.
It is in crisis that our worship deepens.
One of the telling realities of our text is the way that it reveals how crisis can shape and strengthen our faith just it can also deepen our worship. The wind stops and then we read:
33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Here is yet another reference to Christ’s divinity, along with the earlier “I Am” (v27). The disciples worship! This tells us that the cessation of the wind was no mere coincidence of weather. No, the Lord of the wind and seas stopped it. The disciples knew this. This, along with Jesus walking on the water, draws forth awe and praise! “Truly you are the Son of God!”
One of the great tragedies of our age is the way in which some will separate themselves from the church and corporate worship during times of crisis. “I just disappeared because I was going through a difficult time.” How heartbreaking! The reality is that crisis can deepen our worship and compel us closer to Jesus if we will dare to let it, if we will dare to step out of the boat.
See in our text how fear turns to joy, how despair turns to faith, how crisis gives way to worship! This is yet another evidence of the deity of Christ: the worshipping of Him by the disciples. And because they draw near and worship they are there when Jesus continues His great ministry of healing and miracles.
34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
Do not despair in the darkest night!
Do not give up faith!
See Him there walking on the waters! He is walking to you! You are not alone in the storm.
[1] Herbert, Frank. Dune (p. 370). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
[2] Blomberg, Craig L. Matthew (The New American Commentary) (p. 234). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
[3] Platt, David. Exalting Jesus in Matthew (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.