[It is God] Who alone stretches out the heavens and tramples down [treads upon] the waves of the sea; - Job 9:8
Good morning, friends! In our sermon 2 weeks ago, we read that Jesus and His apostles traveled to the desolate countryside near Bethsaida where, to their surprise, they found a large crowd waiting for them. So Jesus spent the day teaching them about the kingdom of God and healing all sorts of their diseases and ailments. Last week we read that that same evening, around supper time, Jesus fed the 5,000 plus people that were there with just 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. What a spectacular day that must have been! But we’re not done yet…
In this morning’s message we will continue this story right where we left off last Sunday. That remarkable day was about to be followed with an equally amazing night! This sermon is titled “Walking on the Water” and is the 18th message of our current sermon series. The story is recorded in 3 of the gospels - Matthew, Mark, and John. Each of these writers provide unique details that, when placed together, give us a complete picture of what happened that night. So, rather than reading from just 1 passage as we’ve typically done in this study, for this week’s message we are going to read from all 3.
I. JESUS STAYS BEHIND (Mark 6:45-48a; Matthew 14:22-24; John 6:15-18)
After the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus perceived that the excited multitudes were going to take Him by force and make Him king. Therefore, He preemptively sent the crowds away. He also instructed His disciples to go on before Him across the sea, so they got in their boats and departed. Having been left behind, Jesus was finally alone and went up on the mountain to pray. Later that night, well after dark and a few miles out to sea, the disciples got caught up in a wind storm. Though He was not physically with them, Jesus knew what was going on.
As you may recall, Jesus had withdrawn to the desolate area near Bethsaida to be alone, or at least be alone with His disciples. That didn’t happen at first, but finally, after a full and wonderful day of ministry and miracles, Jesus got a few hours of private time to pray. However, His solitude would be cut short because while He was praying, He saw that the disciples were in trouble. Jesus’ knowledge of their peril, though they were 3 or more miles away, is yet another example of His omniscience.
II. JESUS CATCHES UP (Mark 6:48b-50; Matthew 14:25-27; John 6:19-20)
Jesus ended His prayer time and departed to find His disciples. He did not take a boat, but instead walked on the water across the Sea of Galilee in the middle of the night. He finally caught up with them and came near their boats during the fourth watch, sometime between 3am-6am. Jesus intended to pass by them, but when the terrified disciples saw Him, they mistook Him for a ghost and cried out in fear. Jesus turned to them and said, “Take courage. It is I! Do not be afraid.”
Think of it! Jesus walked on the water for several miles, some of which on turbulent waves during the middle of a violent wind storm. This is truly remarkable. His intention wasn’t to ignore the apostles by passing them by, but rather to reveal Himself and His magnificent glory just as God had done when He passed by Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 33:18-19). Jesus was wanting to encourage them with a clear display of His deity, but they didn’t recognize Him… at least not at first.
III. JESUS BECKONS PETER (Matthew 14:28-31)
When the apostles realized that it was Jesus, Peter asked if He might come to Jesus on the water. Jesus told him to come, so Peter climbed out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Him. However, he was distracted by the stormy winds and, becoming frightened, began to sink. Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus stretched out His hand, took hold of Peter, and said to him, “You of little faith. Why did you doubt?” The pair walked together on the water back to the boat.
Let’s be very clear… Peter wasn’t able to walk on the water because of his great faith. In fact, his faith proved to be pretty weak (at this point in his life). Rather, he was able to walk on the water because Jesus allowed him to. Peter asked and Jesus granted Him permission. Beloved, though not always, sometimes when we ask for a miracle the Lord answers, “Yes!”. This should motivate us to continually and persistently pray and ask. But again I repeat, the determining factor is not the strength of our faith, but rather if it's the Lord’s will.
That said, it often takes a degree of faith and courage to do that which the Lord has willed. Even though Jesus had invited him to come, Peter still had to get out of the boat. This episode also highlights the importance of remaining focused on Christ and not becoming dismayed by the various storms of life raging around us. We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus! If we allow fear and doubt to overtake us, we will surely begin to sink. Fortunately, even when we falter, Jesus is there to deliver us if we cry out to Him.
IV. JESUS GETS IN (Mark 6:51-52; Matthew 14:32-33; John 6:21)
When Jesus (and Peter) got into the boat, immediately the winds stopped and the seas stilled. The disciples were amazed and worshiped Jesus as the Son of God, but they still had a lot to learn from Him. At that very moment, their boat or boats were instantly transported to the place where they were going (likely either Capernaum or Genesseret).
Though we include this story as a single entry on our list of Jesus’ miracles, in truth there were actually 4 separate miracles that took place. First, Jesus walked on the water. Second, with Jesus’ permission, Peter walked on the water. Third, Jesus calmed the stormy seas. Fourth, the Lord translated the boat or boats from the middle of the sea immediately to their destination. All of these are natural miracles that defy the laws of nature and physics.
As for the manner of these miracles, Jesus just did them without saying anything in particular or making any type of specific gestures. He simply used His divine power to walk on the water, calm the seas, and relocate the boats. As for Peter walking on the water, Jesus verbally invited him to “Come!” and upheld him as he did so. For this reason I will collectively categorize these miracles as “willed and obeyed”.
And finally, why did Jesus walk on water across the Sea of Galilee and perform these other miracles? Well, let me ask you this, why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side! Joking aside, this was a sign of His deity and a display of His magnificent glory. Jesus was revealing Himself to His apostles, that they might continue to grow stronger in their faith.
CONCLUSION
Next week we will be conducting our 13th annual Calvary Baptist Church Fall Revival. Our guest speaker will be preaching from the Psalms. We’ll resume our series on “The Miracles of Jesus” in 2 weeks. This week I encourage you to be in prayer for our upcoming revival, that God would move among us in a powerful way to strengthen and renew us as we strive to do what He has called us to do!
Good morning, friends! In our sermon 2 weeks ago, we read that Jesus and His apostles traveled to the desolate countryside near Bethsaida where, to their surprise, they found a large crowd waiting for them. So Jesus spent the day teaching them about the kingdom of God and healing all sorts of their diseases and ailments. Last week we read that that same evening, around supper time, Jesus fed the 5,000 plus people that were there with just 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. What a spectacular day that must have been! But we’re not done yet…
In this morning’s message we will continue this story right where we left off last Sunday. That remarkable day was about to be followed with an equally amazing night! This sermon is titled “Walking on the Water” and is the 18th message of our current sermon series. The story is recorded in 3 of the gospels - Matthew, Mark, and John. Each of these writers provide unique details that, when placed together, give us a complete picture of what happened that night. So, rather than reading from just 1 passage as we’ve typically done in this study, for this week’s message we are going to read from all 3.
I. JESUS STAYS BEHIND (Mark 6:45-48a; Matthew 14:22-24; John 6:15-18)
After the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus perceived that the excited multitudes were going to take Him by force and make Him king. Therefore, He preemptively sent the crowds away. He also instructed His disciples to go on before Him across the sea, so they got in their boats and departed. Having been left behind, Jesus was finally alone and went up on the mountain to pray. Later that night, well after dark and a few miles out to sea, the disciples got caught up in a wind storm. Though He was not physically with them, Jesus knew what was going on.
As you may recall, Jesus had withdrawn to the desolate area near Bethsaida to be alone, or at least be alone with His disciples. That didn’t happen at first, but finally, after a full and wonderful day of ministry and miracles, Jesus got a few hours of private time to pray. However, His solitude would be cut short because while He was praying, He saw that the disciples were in trouble. Jesus’ knowledge of their peril, though they were 3 or more miles away, is yet another example of His omniscience.
II. JESUS CATCHES UP (Mark 6:48b-50; Matthew 14:25-27; John 6:19-20)
Jesus ended His prayer time and departed to find His disciples. He did not take a boat, but instead walked on the water across the Sea of Galilee in the middle of the night. He finally caught up with them and came near their boats during the fourth watch, sometime between 3am-6am. Jesus intended to pass by them, but when the terrified disciples saw Him, they mistook Him for a ghost and cried out in fear. Jesus turned to them and said, “Take courage. It is I! Do not be afraid.”
Think of it! Jesus walked on the water for several miles, some of which on turbulent waves during the middle of a violent wind storm. This is truly remarkable. His intention wasn’t to ignore the apostles by passing them by, but rather to reveal Himself and His magnificent glory just as God had done when He passed by Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 33:18-19). Jesus was wanting to encourage them with a clear display of His deity, but they didn’t recognize Him… at least not at first.
III. JESUS BECKONS PETER (Matthew 14:28-31)
When the apostles realized that it was Jesus, Peter asked if He might come to Jesus on the water. Jesus told him to come, so Peter climbed out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Him. However, he was distracted by the stormy winds and, becoming frightened, began to sink. Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus stretched out His hand, took hold of Peter, and said to him, “You of little faith. Why did you doubt?” The pair walked together on the water back to the boat.
Let’s be very clear… Peter wasn’t able to walk on the water because of his great faith. In fact, his faith proved to be pretty weak (at this point in his life). Rather, he was able to walk on the water because Jesus allowed him to. Peter asked and Jesus granted Him permission. Beloved, though not always, sometimes when we ask for a miracle the Lord answers, “Yes!”. This should motivate us to continually and persistently pray and ask. But again I repeat, the determining factor is not the strength of our faith, but rather if it's the Lord’s will.
That said, it often takes a degree of faith and courage to do that which the Lord has willed. Even though Jesus had invited him to come, Peter still had to get out of the boat. This episode also highlights the importance of remaining focused on Christ and not becoming dismayed by the various storms of life raging around us. We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus! If we allow fear and doubt to overtake us, we will surely begin to sink. Fortunately, even when we falter, Jesus is there to deliver us if we cry out to Him.
IV. JESUS GETS IN (Mark 6:51-52; Matthew 14:32-33; John 6:21)
When Jesus (and Peter) got into the boat, immediately the winds stopped and the seas stilled. The disciples were amazed and worshiped Jesus as the Son of God, but they still had a lot to learn from Him. At that very moment, their boat or boats were instantly transported to the place where they were going (likely either Capernaum or Genesseret).
Though we include this story as a single entry on our list of Jesus’ miracles, in truth there were actually 4 separate miracles that took place. First, Jesus walked on the water. Second, with Jesus’ permission, Peter walked on the water. Third, Jesus calmed the stormy seas. Fourth, the Lord translated the boat or boats from the middle of the sea immediately to their destination. All of these are natural miracles that defy the laws of nature and physics.
As for the manner of these miracles, Jesus just did them without saying anything in particular or making any type of specific gestures. He simply used His divine power to walk on the water, calm the seas, and relocate the boats. As for Peter walking on the water, Jesus verbally invited him to “Come!” and upheld him as he did so. For this reason I will collectively categorize these miracles as “willed and obeyed”.
And finally, why did Jesus walk on water across the Sea of Galilee and perform these other miracles? Well, let me ask you this, why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side! Joking aside, this was a sign of His deity and a display of His magnificent glory. Jesus was revealing Himself to His apostles, that they might continue to grow stronger in their faith.
CONCLUSION
Next week we will be conducting our 13th annual Calvary Baptist Church Fall Revival. Our guest speaker will be preaching from the Psalms. We’ll resume our series on “The Miracles of Jesus” in 2 weeks. This week I encourage you to be in prayer for our upcoming revival, that God would move among us in a powerful way to strengthen and renew us as we strive to do what He has called us to do!