In the case of this trip across the Sea of Galilee, we find something quite unusual. First, this is mentioned in three gospels – Matthew, Mark and John, but not in Luke – curious. And then, John does not tell us about Peter’s little venture onto the boisterous waves. Mark is often thought to be the gospel of Peter – that Mark got most of his material from Peter. Peter, as rough and gruff as he sometimes could be, could also be humble and contrite. In the Book of Mark, we often see Peter’s failings – his confessions, so to speak. And in this case Peter’s walk on the wild water is also recorded for us in Matthew. But remember that John’s gospel is more directly interested in the deity of the Lord Jesus. We are not surprised not to find a record of Peter’s faith and subsequent failure in the Gospel of John.
I see three ways to approach this wonderful story, and I plan to eventually walk down all three of those paths. I see the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I hope to share that with you this morning. Then this afternoon we will look at the disciples. Then next week I want us to consider the subject of faith – as seen in Peter. But this morning, I’d like us to concentrate on Christ Jesus.
Let’s begin where we left off last week – CHRIST THE CREATOR.
In order to give his tired evangelists a bit of a break, Jesus commissioned a little trip across the lake. It also didn’t hurt to leave the realm of Herod for a few days, letting the king cool down just a bit. The group wasn’t headed toward any cities, because there weren’t any major cities on the eastern side. They were planning on spending time an area of wilderness. But they were followed by a crowd of Galileans, whose numbers swelled as word was passed along. Sure enough, they eventually caught up with the Lord, and Jesus was moved with compassion on them. Once again He taught them the word of God and even healed a few of their sick.
Then in the late afternoon, some of the disciples, perhaps Philip, suggested that the crowd be dismissed. “This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.” But Christ, knowing exactly what He intended to do, asked Philip, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat.” The disciple replied that it would take a great deal of money to buy bread for everyone. After all, there were about five thousand men – along with some women and children. Jesus then asked how much food was at hand, and after a quick search, Andrew returned with a boy who had five loaves and two small fish. The Lord said that would be plenty. When the crowd was told to sit in companies of fifties, the bread and the fish were miraculously divided and distributed to everyone there And of course everyone was filled with good food.
Unbelievers want to laugh at this story. They say, “That is exactly what it is – a story.” They say that it doesn’t take a mathematician to know that one can’t multiply anything by division. And yet that is exactly what the Bible says took place.
What those people fail to recognize – refuse to recognize – is that Christ Jesus is the divine Creator. This man, who had been teaching in the desert, had formerly spoken the entire universe into existence. That is the declaration of the Word of God – a book which I whole-heartedly believe to be true. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” “For by (Christ) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”
Bible believers are not surprised that Christ could multiply those fish by dividing them among His servants. We aren’t surprised that Christ could feed those thousands of people, because we believe that He has been feeding the people of the world for the last six to ten thousand years. We aren’t surprised by the events of Matthew 14, because we remember what Jesus did at the wedding in Cana, when He turned water into wine. We are talking about the Creator here – we are talking about the eternal Son of God. No wonder this event is recorded in all four of the Gospels – May Jesus Christ be praised!!!
Besides the Creator, I see THE MASTER here in this scripture.
“And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.” Then He dismissed the multitudes, and immediately walked away into the growing darkness. I am not going to try to tell you that there was something spectacular or mysterious in this. There isn’t. Anyone in authority might be able to do the same sort thing – breaking up the crowd.
But there are a couple of things which Matthew doesn’t tell us. John says, “Then those men (the crowd), when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.” When that great throng of people began to understand the extent of the miracle they had just seen, they concluded that this miracle man was the promised Messiah. They were once again, prepared to carry Him down to Jerusalem, or at least back to Galilee and to declare before Pilate or Herod that they were casting their political allegiance behind Jesus of Nazareth. and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that some of the disciples were ready to join in this political revolution. After all, if Jesus were made King of Israel, wouldn’t His closest friends and disciples be given positions of importance and responsibility in the new government?
Indeed, Jesus is the Christ – the Messiah – the anointed of God – that prophet spoken of in many scriptures. But the time of the Lord’s enthronement was not to be for another two thousand years. He had a far more important ministry to fulfill before the Millennium and His accession to David’s throne. As Master of His disciples, He ordered their departure, and they reluctantly obeyed. Oh, how more powerful Christianity would be today, if the Lord’s disciples obeyed as quickly as these men. Then Jesus ordered the unruly crowd to disband and to go home. But He didn’t wait for obedience – “When he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.”
JESUS’ PRAYER is my third point for this morning.
Is there a person here this morning who prays as much as the Son of God prayed? Think about this for a moment…. Theologically, God the Father and God the Son are one – and yet separate persons. There has never been a closer relationship than that of this Father and Son. Essentially, they think the same thoughts, and they carry the same emotions, if I may anthro-pologize. Their purposes were the same; their power and authority were both omnipotent. I can’t tell you that I fully understand this – but due to their divine union, it doesn’t seem necessary that Christ actually pray to His Heavenly Father. But we often see that He did – sometimes spending whole nights or the better part of a night in prayer.
And if the Lord Jesus prayed like that – then what should it suggest to us? Christ is not fallible, but you and I are; Christ is not short-sighted, but you and I are. Christ is not spiritually insensitive, but you and I are. You and I are not omnipotent, but Christ is. Logically speaking, you and I should spend ten times as much time in prayer as the Lord Jesus. But He was a man of prayer while you and I, for the most part, are not.
Is there proof here that Christ, our Saviour, is OMNISCIENT?
The Gospel of Mark tells us that while Jesus was up there on that mountain top, He could see the struggles of His disciples. “When he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing, for the wind was contrary unto them.” Had night already fallen? It appears to me that it had. The Sea of Galilee was about ten miles across, and they were at least half way across when Jesus joined them, so how far were they at this point? They may have been two or three miles away. How did Christ see them?
I’ll tell you how He saw them. It was in the same way that Christ sees you and me today – in the midst of our trials and problems and joys. It wasn’t with the human eye that the Lord saw His disciples – it was with the eye of omniscience – the eye of God. “Neither is there any (saint of God) that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” “We have not an high priest which (is not) touched with the feeling of our infirmities.”
When their problems were sufficient to bring the disciples to the end of themselves, Christ joined them.
“The ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.” John Gill says, “The Jews at this time divided the night into four watches; the first was from six o’clock in the evening till nine, the second from nine to twelve, the third from twelve till three, and the fourth from three till six.” The Gospel of John says, “So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing night unto the ship.” That means that they were about half way across. But the Gospel of Mark says, “About the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.”
What a curious and inexplicable statement – “and would have passed by them.” Does this mean that Jesus intended to walk past them and on into Capernaum? Or does it mean that He merely wanted them to THINK that He was passing them by? I suggest that if the Lord had intended to leave them to their human struggles, He didn’t need to walk to Capernaum at all. As the infinite God, He could have just appeared there; or the Holy Spirit could have transported Him. No, I think that He wanted to provoke His disciples.
Perhaps I should leave this point for more development this afternoon, but I want to bring it up now. Do you remember the last time that Satan planted the thought in your heart that the Lord no longer really cared about you? Let me assure that it was a Satanic lie – “Cast all your care upon Christ Jesus for He does care for you.” It may appear that the Lord has passed you by, or that He is passing you, but that is only to bring you out of your little boat.
So we see CHRIST WALKING on the WATER.
This scripture has been laughed at for two thousand years. Conversely, some have suggested that the saints of God ought to be able to walk on water. That is foolishness. I know of only two times when water-walking actually took place – both right here – and the cause was Christ’s miraculous power. No true Christian should even think to tempt God into defying this law of nature. If you want to walk on water, make sure that the temperature is well below zero and the ice has had enough time to get sufficiently thick.
On the other hand, the Creator of the Universe can do whatever He likes with the laws that He has created. If He had jumped from the pinnacle of the temple as Satan had urged, He didn’t need angels to bear Him up. If those wicked men had thrown Christ over the cliff has they had wanted, our Lord could have disappeared over the edge and then subsequently walked or floated up over their heads. He who can multiply by division, certainly has no problems in walking on water or whatever. Oh, worship this man – this Son of Man – this Son of God.
Perhaps you’d like me to spend a lot of time analyzing, studying and applying this miracle. But I’m not sure that I can add anything to what is written. I’m not going to try to prove that it took place in exactly the way that it is described. There it is in the Word of God – of course it took place in exactly this way. I believe it explicitly and whole-heartedly, and so should you.
What else do we see in these verses?
How about the Lord’s encouragement? I won’t deal with the disciples’ problem right now, just as I can’t deal with all of your problems. But I will point out the words of the Lord Jesus, “Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid.” No matter what it is that you fear, we have the encouragement of Christ Jesus.
I asked my computer to give to me every use of those words “be of good cheer.” What it kicked out could be made into a wonderful sermon outline. Is your problem a guilty conscience filled with fear over your sin? “And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” Perhaps you have concerns over what lies ahead in your life. There are lots of Christians who foolishly fear the upcoming Tribulation – the time of Jacob’s Trouble. Or perhaps it is tribulation in the sense of persecution that they fear. Christ Jesus gives them the same encouragement that He gave to His disciples that night. “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Perhaps it is just the way that your life is at the moment – that pain you have – that disease – that storm. “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.” On that occasion the lives of people around the Apostle Paul seemed to be imploding. But Paul had the comfort and encouragement of the Lord. “I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.”
I can assure that there is every reason to be of good cheer – Jehovah reigns. “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Another thing seen here which relates to the Lord is His INVITATION TO PETER.
I will come back to this later, but briefly, Peter asked for an invitation and Christ gave it. “And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come.”
Among other things, it appears to me that Christ is delighted when we show a desire to test our faith. He not only gives permission to step out of the comfort of our little boat, but He will enable us to do some spectacular things. I picture “encouragement” as the Lord’s arm around our shoulders and His warm guidance with a little push. I picture His invitation as a summons or perhaps a challenge to come out and join Him. Where is the Lord today, and where does He want you to go? Wherever it is, you can be sure that He is already there. He was in Noah’s ark, and He was in the burning fiery furnace. He was in Daniel’s lion’s den and He was already walking on the water in the midst of the storm. With the Lord’s permission, it is all right to step out by faith.
I am sure that we’ll come back to the Lord Jesus again in our next two messages, but there is one more major item which demands our immediate attention.
“Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him. Saying, of a truth thou art the Son of God.”
I suppose that some of us would like to trouble the disciples. It sounds like they were saying, “‘now’ we know that you are the Son of God.” And that may have been the case to some degree, but I’m not going to criticize them. That is in spite of the fact Mark puts them into even murkier light when he says, “For they considered not the miracle of the loaves; for their heart was hardened.” I’m going to table that for the time being.
What I will stress is that Jesus Christ is worthy of our worship. He is worthy – whether or not we see Him walking on water. He is the Son of God whether or not he feeds us with miraculous food or just everyday food. Remember that as John was bringing his Gospel to a close, he said, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” John recorded both the feeding of the five thousand and Jesus’ walk half way across the Sea of Galilee in order that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. A few verses later he added, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” It would be a good thing if we could see more and more reasons to worship Christ. It would be wonderful if there was a continual string of events which brought us to our knees again.
But let me close with a word of caution – be careful about HOW you worship Christ. The Bible elsewhere tells us that – “God also hath highly exalted (Christ) and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” But the worship described there will be under duress so to speak – not as willingly as what John meant. At that time it will be impossible to deny who Christ is. John said, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
The most important question for this morning is NOT, “Do you believe that Jesus walked on water?” The important question is – “Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?” Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Saviour, the One sent from Heaven to save and deliver you from your sins? The most important question is, “Are you willing to repent before the Son of God – the One who can do such things.” And will you trust His grace, His love and His sacrifice to the saving of your soul? Is your faith such that “believing you have life through His name?”