Week 31 ———  Jesus Walks on the Water
Matthew 14:22-33 — Mark 6:45–52 — John 6:16-21

Jesus got the bad news about John’s death.  He wanted to go off by himself to grieve but ended up healing and teaching a large crowd and then performing a miracle to feed them.  

Matthew 14:22-23  Immediately, he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.  And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.

Jesus made (not asked)¹ the disciples get in a boat to go to the other side of the lake.  He finally gets some time alone and goes to the mountain to pray.

Matthew 14:24-25  …but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.  And in the fourth watch of the night…

You remember the last time the disciples made a night trip in a boat a few weeks ago.  The storm was so bad they thought they would die, but Jesus was in the boat with them, and he calmed the storm.  Well, the wind was against them again, and this trip should have only taken a few hours in the boat, but now it is the fourth watch (between 3-6 am).  They have been rowing a boat against the wind for 6 hours.  They are exhausted and getting nowhere.  Matthew tells us they are “many stadion.” (A stadia is about 600 feet²⁾   The sea is beating them down, and Jesus is not in the boat with them this time.  They are on their own.  During the last storm, Jesus said they had no faith, zero faith.  Jesus is now testing their faith.  Have they learned anything from the previous storm, from the last few weeks of teaching and miracles?   

Matthew is telling these stories to let us know how Jesus taught them what it means to be a disciple — a disciple of one who controls the wind and waves, one who always acts out of compassion, one who fills the needs of people when there aren’t resources.  A disciple must have the faith to do what is asked despite any circumstances.   So he made them get back in the boat and gave them another storm.  And the Bible doesn’t say they are scared to death- good, maybe they have faith now.  But the test is not over.

Matthew 14:26   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.

So the wind and waves don’t scare them. But they see this figure walking on top of the water (this same water that is so churned up they can’t get anywhere).  And they are terrified again.

Mark 6:48-50   And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified.  But immediately, he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 

He meant to pass by them.  (Thanks for the smile, Mark.) In the last storm, Jesus was sleeping; this time, he was just out for a stroll.  What’s the message?  Don’t be afraid of storms.  Don’t be scared of ghosts.  What is the most common command in the Bible?  Do not fear!   

Matthew 14:28  And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came to Jesus.

Peter wanted to be a disciple.  Again, the goal of a disciple is not to know what the rabbi knows; it is to be who the rabbi is.  To do what he does.  To follow.  And this is not Peter’s brashness talking.  He wouldn’t step out of the boat unless Jesus told him to.  At this point, we would all say of Peter, “Wow! he sure has a lot of faith!”   I don’t see the other 11 disciples stepping out.  But keep reading…

Matthew 14:30-31   But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”  Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

What happened?  Jesus says Peter has no faith.  We talked last week about how Jesus defines “little faith.”  It is less faith than the smallest thing in their world, a mustard seed.  It is zero faith.  Jesus seems to say that you either have faith or don’t.  It is not a measurable commodity.  And here, Jesus says Peter does not have faith.  But let’s look at that scripture:

Luke 17:5-6   The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”   And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 

The disciples thought faith was measurable and that you could get more of it. We know this because they asked Jesus for more faith. Then Jesus tells this parable that, at first, looks odd.

Luke 17:7-10  “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’?  Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’?  Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?   So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

The story’s point is that the slave is just doing what he is supposed to do.  His position is to be obedient to his master.  And when he is obedient, he is not greatly rewarded for his obedience.  He is not invited to the table to eat but is expected to serve the meal. The master does not lavish honor and thanks on the servant; he is just doing what he is supposed to do.  And when the slave has completed his tasks he says: “I don’t deserve a reward; I have done only what was expected of me.”

What a strange answer to a request for more faith!  But wait, maybe it isn’t so strange.  What it tells us is that faith is not something I am given as a reward.  It is not something given as a sign of privilege.  Faith comes by obedience – and obedience is expected!  We are not obedient to God to earn a reward or honor.  We are obedient because it is our position to be obedient.  He is God.  We are not.  And God does not owe us anything for our obedience.  What God gives us, especially salvation, is not due to our obedience but out of his love, mercy, and grace.  

If you ask for more faith, God will not just go to his cabinet, get out a bottle of faith, and pour more on you.  He will simply give you more to do.  If you obey Him, you will discover that your obedience is the faith you desire.  To request an increase in faith is to ask for the opportunity to be more obedient.  The times in my life that I have felt my faith was the strongest was after I had been obedient to some difficult things.

You don’t need more faith; you just need to continue being obedient. The power to fling mulberry trees or mountains around is not dependent on the measure of our faith but on the measure of God’s power, which is limitless.  

Paul said that faith comes through obedience, in a much-misunderstood verse.  

Romans 10:17   So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God.

Paul is not saying that you get faith by reading the Bible.  This verse is only valid if you remember that Paul is a Jewish Rabbi.  To Paul, hearing is not just listening but obedience. Shema (Hebrew for ‘to hear’) means to hear AND obey.  So, in this verse, Paul says, “Faith is a result of hearing the word of God and doing it.  Faith is not the prerequisite for obedience but the result of obedience.  First, I am obedient to what God calls me to do, and by doing so, I discover that I can stand on his word.  That is faith.  Faith is impossible without obedience. If you do not obey God, you have no faith.

Peter steps out and stands on the water, but he ‘sees the wind’ and then starts sinking.  Of course, you can’t see the wind; you can only see the results of the action of the wind.  You can’t see faith either; you can only see the actions of faith  – because faith is obedience.)  What did Peter doubt?  He didn’t doubt Jesus; Jesus seemed to be just fine standing on the water waiting for him.

What is doubt?  There is no Hebrew word for doubt.  Why not?  The answer is in Genesis 3.

The serpent asks, “Did God really say that?  You won’t really die.  You will be like God, able to make your own decisions and decide for yourself.”  So Eve looks at the fruit, and to her, it looks good, so she weighs that against what God said, decides for herself, and is disobedient.  It is what makes sense to her.  She didn’t doubt God; she just decided that she was a better judge of what was best for her.  

The Greek word for doubt is ‘distazo.’  It comes from a root meaning ‘two.’  Peter looks at the wind and waves and how crazy this is. Like Eve, he weighs that against what Jesus has shown him and decides for himself.  He should have kept walking but stopped and considered the two options.  Is God right, or is my understanding of physics right?  He hesitates to walk any further while he tries to decide between the two viewpoints.  And he sinks.  

It is okay to ask God ‘why’.  It is not okay to wonder if God is telling the truth, if God means what he says, or if God is God.  What kind of arrogance does it take for someone to think they are smart enough to decide if God is right or wrong?  It takes Adam’s and Eve’s kind of arrogance, yours, and my kind of arrogance. This is the opposite of faith, and it is sinful.  When Jesus asks Peter why he doubted, he is asking why he stopped walking.  Doubt is hesitation; it is stopping your obedience to consider if God is right.  James said it this way:

James 1:6-8  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

I have to think James is thinking about the story of Peter on the water, comparing doubt to a wave in the sea.  Doubt is being double-minded, wavering between two worldviews.  

Let’s tie this all together.  Jesus is trying to teach these young men what it means to be a disciple.  Look at the world and have compassion for the people.  Don’t walk through the world with blinders on.  We pass by people who are hungry and homeless and depressed and sick and tired and hopeless without Jesus every day.  See the needs around you.  Then, take it to Jesus.  Pray to Jesus:  these people need help!  And Jesus will smile at you and say, “Good, you go help them.”  And then bring whatever you have to Jesus to solve the problem.  Even though there is no way your little can begin to solve a huge problem.  Bring it to Jesus; be willing to bring your all.  And Jesus will multiply it and give it back to you to hand out.  Don’t waver.  Don’t be double-minded.  Don’t hesitate on your obedience by stopping to consider how it doesn’t make sense.

It doesn’t make sense that you can feed thousands of people with five loaves and two fish; it doesn’t make sense that you can treat a hundred children with four antibiotics.  It doesn’t make sense that you can walk on water.  It doesn’t make sense that God would love us, despite our rebellion, that he would send his Son to suffer and die for our sins.   And the issue is not how strong your faith is but how strong the object of your faith is.  It is not the power of your faith but how powerful God is.  We don’t need faith in our faith, but faith in Jesus.  And faith comes by obedience.  

1. The Greek verb for ‘made’ (the disciples get into the boat) is ‘anagkazo’, a very forceful verb, elsewhere in the New Testament translated as ‘compelled’ or ‘forced’.  It makes you wonder if the disciples might have hesitated to get back in a boat in the evening after their most recent evening trip that ended in a storm that scared them to death.
2. The Greek stadia was a measure of length equal to 1/8 of a Roman mile or about 600 feet (or about 1 furlong for horse racing fans). This is the distance of two 100-yard football fields. Interestingly, the plural ‘stadion’ came to refer to the race track itself. The track at Olympia was 192 meters or one stadia. From this, we get the word ‘stadium’ to refer to the facility with the running track and then to any sports event.