Transcription
Well, hello everyone. This is Mike Howard and I am here with Beverly Howard. We're gonna do a Bible study. We're in the second part of the Gospel of Matthew. The title of the lesson is courage. Uh, if you've got your Bibles, we're in Matthew chapter 14. We're going to focus on the part of chapter 14 that deals with Jesus walking on water. It's a very simple lesson, very powerful message for us today. Uh, but I think I can give in the lesson some context that will maybe bring it more, uh, alive to you than maybe you've seen in the past.
Courage is the confidence to act because God is with us. And today Peter is going to have confidence, at least at the beginning, to step out of the boat because Jesus said, "Come to me." And, uh, unfortunately, he doesn't keep his confidence for long. So, let's kind of do a bit of a review to let you know where we, where we are today. Uh, Matthew part two, chapters 24 through 28. In part one, what we just finished, God takes on flesh. Jesus is born in Bethlehem. He grows up, launches his ministry when, and then he, when he is baptized by John the Baptist. John shows up at the beginning of part one. He shows up at the beginning of part two. Jesus chooses his apostles. He begins teaching and healing mostly north of the Sea of Galilee in Capernaum, uh, Corazin, Bethsaida, that area, just a northern rim around the Sea of Galilee. Crowds, as he continues to heal and teach, the crowds become larger and larger. His fame spreads throughout the region and, uh, they grow large. Jesus then shifts his focus in part two to training the apostles and he begins teaching, uh, only in parables that are a little difficult to understand. At the beginning of part two, John the Baptist is killed. Uh, Herod, uh, cuts his head off, uh, to appease his wife's daughter, and, uh, Jesus then, uh, changes direction. He begins the journey toward Jerusalem and eventually, ultimately, the cross. So that's where we stand.
Uh, the events of this particular chapter, chapter 14, of course, starts out with John the Baptist being killed. Uh, Jesus and the apostles then, uh, retreat. They go to a retreat. Remember, Jesus is going to try to spend most of this second half doing training, uh, just with the apostles or as few people as he can, as he can manage. So Jesus and his apostles, uh, get in a boat. They go to a deserted place. Unfortunately, the crowd follows around the shore and 5,000 men plus plus here. And what that means is plus women, plus children. So we don't really know how large the crowd was. Could have been as many as 10,000, but and as at least 5,000. They follow Jesus and Jesus teaches them. He has compassion on them. Uh, they are like sheep without a shepherd. Then, uh, the day becomes, uh, afternoon and and early evening and they haven't eaten. So, uh, Jesus feeds all 5,000 plus plus of these people with five loaves and two fish. Talk, uh, about multiplication. That's some serious multiplication. Uh, then after, uh, he feeds them, uh, John tells us, the Gospel of John tells us, that they, the 5,000 were so impressed or overwhelmed that they made, they were talking about seizing Jesus and forcing him to become their king. Well, Jesus ultimately will be the king of Israel, but that, that's not the plan right now. So Jesus sends the apostles back home towards, back toward Capernaum and ultimately they land in Gennesaret and Jesus himself, after he dismisses the crowd, goes up to a mountain and he prays and he prays pretty much all night, uh, until it says the fourth watch, which is between 3 and 6 in the morning.
So, a strong wind that, remember, the, the apostles are back in the boat and they're headed back to the west, uh, toward their home because they had been in Bethsaida, which is to the east. And while they were headed back, a strong wind came up and it was, it was blowing directly against their boat. So, they were rowing, uh, as hard as they could, but they weren't making much progress. Uh, towards the, uh, probably 6:00 in the morning, just before dawn, Jesus walks on the water and catches up to them. And then once Jesus calms the wind and the waves, uh, they then proceed and land, uh, just to the west of, um, of Capernaum in a, in a place, an area called Gennesaret. And when they got there, everybody there knew who he was. So they pulled all their sick people around and they came and, uh, were healed by Jesus. So Jesus begins with this incredible miracle of feeding and healing 5,000. He ends chapter 14 with having compassion and healing all the ill people, uh, in Gennesaret, the region of Gennesaret.
Now let me show you what this looks like on a map. We don't know where Jesus and his apostles or disciples were, uh, when he received news of John being beheaded, but we, we probably can guess that he was at home there in Capernaum. He then takes his disciples and they, uh, get in the boat and go over here to the, to a wilderness area just south of Bethsaida. And that's where we think, uh, Jesus feeds the 5,000. He then goes on up to a mountaintop and tells the disciples to get in a boat and go back over toward home to, and they eventually land in, uh, Gennesaret. While they're there or while they're trying to go, there's a wind and the wind is blowing directly against them from the west. And, uh, then Jesus, of course, as, as they get about here, Jesus, uh, gets in or shows up walking on the water. So that's kind of positions the event that we're going to talk about.
Now back to how Matthew, uh, portrays Jesus in his gospel. Uh, all of the teachings of Jesus, Matthew is going to show us in parable form and then some of those parables Jesus will actually explain to the disciples, like the one we had last week, the, the weed and the tears. Uh, so Jesus is going to teach people, uh, in parables so that he can reveal the kingdom of heaven to them. That's the purpose of his teachings. But then Jesus is going to have a lot of things that he does in the Gospel of Matthew. But all of those things, you remember the, the title slide was, uh, uh, prophecy fulfilled. Well, Matthew, uh, is going to focus on explaining, uh, how Jesus is fulfilling all of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. So his actions are to reveal that he, Jesus, is the very nature of God, equal with God, and you can find that in Philippians chapter 2, verse 6. So all prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus.
Now, last week we were in Matthew 13 and it was all parables. This week we're in Matthew 14 and it's all, uh, Jesus acting, his all his miracles, uh, and, and, and these miracles, uh, point to who Jesus is. So it, his teaching is in parables about the kingdom. That was last week. This week, Matthew 14, Matthew shifts gears and he's going to have Jesus performing a lot of miracles and that's going to be to reveal who he is. He is God. So now let's go ahead and get started. These, um, remember Matthew is going to point in all these miracles. He's going to point back to the Old Testament to show us how Jesus is fulfilling, uh, all of these prophecies. Well, it turns out, uh, the prophecies that he's going to fulfill in, in Matthew 14, uh, can be linked directly to Job, of all books, chapter 9, some Isaiah chapter 51, some Exodus chapter 33, but the bulk, uh, is going to be found in Job chapter 9. Now, why Job? Well, Job goes on a rant in, uh, chapter nine, telling God all of the things that he sees about God, how wonderful God is. So, so Jesus is going to do the things that Job is talking about. Watch this. In Matthew 14, Jesus feeds the 5,000 plus plus and he heals everyone at the end of the chapter in Gennesaret. And look at Job chapter 9, verse 10. He, that's God. Everything that Job's talking about isn't about Jesus. It's about God. So now what Matthew is saying is Jesus, God, same. Okay. So Job chapter 9, verse 10, "He, God, performs wonders that cannot be fathomed." That's all throughout Matthew 14. "And miracles that cannot be counted." Pretty cool, huh?
So after feeding the 5,000 plus in chapter 14, verse 22, this is our focal, uh, lesson about the walking on water. "Immediately Jesus made the disciples get in the boat." And John tells us it's because the, the people that he just fed were about to seize him and force him to become their king. So he had to act fast. "Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat to go ahead of him to the other side, which is over towards Gennesaret or Capernaum, while he, Jesus, dismissed the crowd." So after he had dismissed them, the 5,000 plus plus, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray pretty much all night and he was there alone. So he's got the apostles in the boat by themselves. He's left them alone and now he's praying all night. And here's where the walking of water steps up. Between three and six, the fourth watch, the boat, just before dawn, the boat was already a considerable distance from land, probably about halfway, four maybe five miles out, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against the boat. So the, of course, the wind, you can't see the wind, but you can see the waves. The waves are, are, are beating against or going against the, the boat, causing them to have to row very, very hard. So they worked all night. They were, I bet they were completely and absolutely worn out. So shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them walking on the, and the NIV calls it the lake. The ESV and the King James, they call it the sea. Uh, it's, I think the sea is a better, uh, translation, even though clearly, uh, the Sea of Galilee is a lake, uh, but in, in order to properly understand, uh, the Old Testament version of seas, we need to call this what, uh, the word is called, sea. So let's go and find where you get that in Job chapter 9. It says, in fact, in verse 8, "He, God, alone stretches out the heavens and does what? Treads on the waves of the sea." So only God can walk on water.
Uh, interesting Job and interesting Matthew. So when Jesus gets close, they see what appears to be a ghost. So they did not really perceive Jesus. "When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It's a ghost,' they shouted and they cried out in fear." So, let's take a look at that. In Job, they really couldn't tell it was Jesus. Job chapter 9, verse 1, "When God passes me, I can't see him. When he goes by me, I can't perceive him." Now, you can also find this in Exodus 33. Remember Moses in Exodus 33, he says, "I really would like to see you, God." And God says, "Look, I'm going to put you in the cliff of the rock. I'm going to put my hand over you and then I'm going to pass by, but you can't see my face. Once I've passed by, then I'll remove my hand and you can see only my back." So that's kind of a fulfillment of Job. And this, as Jesus is walking on the water, heading it out to the boat, that's the ultimate fulfillment of Job 9:11. In this case, God is Jesus. And they're, they're not even able to perceive him until he tells them, "Hey, look, it's me, guys."
So, here's how he says it. Moses to Israel before the sea. Uh, but Jesus immediately said to them, "Take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid." Those three things, those are the same three things that Moses said to the nation Israel as they're standing at the edge of the Red Sea. They're trapped. They can't swim. Uh, there's millions of them and Pharaoh is coming after them. And instead of, and of course, they're panicked because they're afraid they're going to drown. And so, but Moses said to them, "Look, take courage. Have confidence. God is here. He is with you, so don't be afraid." And that's exactly what Jesus tells them. It's exactly what God told Joshua just before Joshua leads Israel across the Jordan River into the promised land. "Take courage. I'm with you always. Don't be afraid." In Isaiah 51:10, "Was it not you who dried up the great sea?" Isaiah said, "The waters of the deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over? I, even I, am he who comforts you." And that's pretty cool because "it is I" is exactly the same wording in Greek as the Hebrew, "I, even I, am he who comforts you." So Jesus basically says, God, "It is I, God. I am Yahweh. I am here." So you don't need to be afraid. You can have confidence. You can have courage because I am with you. So Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged. For what? The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." So it's before Joshua crosses the Jordan, before Moses crosses the Red Sea. Of course, Moses was not allowed to cross the Jordan. So Joshua, which is Hebrew for Jesus, crosses the Jordan, by the way. Well, I'll get to it in a minute, but it's pretty cool.
So Peter has bold faith. This is, of course, only Peter, uh, would do this. Uh, but Peter says this once he realizes who, that it's Jesus. He says, "Lord, if it's you, then tell me to come to you on the water." Now, this is, let me put this into context. Um, Israel and water were not friends. Uh, throughout the Old Testament, water was not the friend of Israel. You can remember them, Moses having to strike the rock to get water, but you can also remember that they were afraid of drowning in the Red Sea. So God had to part the water in the Red Sea for them to walk across. And you remember the Jordan River was at the flood stage when, uh, Joshua was leading the, the nation across. And so they didn't know how they were going to get across until he said, "Look, put the ark of the Lord into the water. Choose one person for each tribe to go with the ark to lead out." Jesus has got 12 disciples, apostles in a boat and they're headed across the Jordan. Now, I'm not going to put the map back up, but the Jordan River flows down, enters into the Sea of Galilee, flows out of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea. So after the Sea of Galilee, south of the Sea of Galilee, north of the Dead Sea is where Joshua led Israel across the Jordan. What we're seeing in this lesson is the apostles, the twelve apostles being going across the Jordan. Now, at this point, it's a sea. It's not just a river, but they are going to the west and to the promised land under Jesus's commands, and he's going to join them to help. His presence is going to get them across the Jordan the same way the ark of the covenant did. There were 12, one from each tribe of Israel, that went with the ark. And there are 12 apostles that are in this ark of a boat going across the, the Jordan. Pretty cool.
So, "Tell me to come." And by the way, uh, they, they didn't like water at all. That most Jews couldn't swim. They were desert people. That there wasn't much water to swim in. Um, as a matter of fact, when John the Baptist was baptizing people, they all clearly understood, the ones being baptized clearly understood that being put under the water was a symbol of dying. Coming back out of the water was a symbol of being born again. That was clear to them. For us, it's like, okay, we understand because it's, it's written in the New Testament, but you might not have understood that talking about swimming. Uh, Beverly doesn't swim very well. Uh, my mother didn't swim very well. So as a result, she sent, uh, my sister and I to every swimming course the YMCA offered. And by, uh, I did for our kids, uh, and, and barely did for our kids. Uh, so our kids swim like fish. Uh, I had my, um, uh, lifeguard license by the time I was 14 years old. Uh, so I swim like a fish. For me, for me, let me put this in context. For me, if I'd have been out on the Sea of Galilee and I saw Jesus, it would not have taken a lot of confidence for me to say, "Hey, I'm going to jump out of the boat and I'm going to come to you." Because I knew, I know that if I sunk, I could just paddle back to the boat because I can swim. Peter was, Peter, the Jews couldn't swim. Most of them. They, he, even though they were fishermen, getting out of the boat, they were going to drown.
So watch exactly how Peter reacts. Verse 29, Jesus is going to respond to Peter's request. He says, and this is a bold request from Peter because he, he doesn't have any confidence that he can swim. "Come," Jesus says. Then Peter got out, down out of the boat. He walked on the water and he came toward Jesus. But when Peter saw the wind, he can't see the wind. So he kind of saw the waves and he felt the wind. Peter was, he was afraid and he began to sink. And because he couldn't swim, he cried out, "Lord, save me." Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter and says this to Peter, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" You know, I'm with you. God is with you. I'm God. I, I am here. Why you, as long as you were kept your eyes on me, you were fine.
It's when you started thinking about the wind and the waves. So, it's a simple story. We all know it. So the wind, once, um, they got, once he got Peter, they climbed, he and Peter climbed back into the boat. And once they were in the boat, the wind became calm and then it was easy for them to row the rest of the way. Then those who were in the boat, the apostles, they worshiped Jesus saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
It's a good response. Let me talk about God versus the sea here. The symbolism of the sea. In the Bible, the sea typically represents chaos, disorder, and forces that are contrary to God's ordered creation. The sea is viewed as dangerous, uncontrollable, and destructive, and a destructive abyss. It often symbolizes what we just talked about, the realm of the death of death, evil, or even pagan nations. If you remember the story back in just a few chapters ago in Matthew chapter 8, Jesus is actually in the boat with them this time when they come up against a storm. It's not night, it's day. And the disciples went to Jesus and they woke him up because there's a giant storm and the water's coming over the edge of the boat. And, uh, they said the same thing that Peter said. He said, "Lord, save us. We're going to drown." And Jesus said the same thing he said in chapter 14. "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then Jesus got up and look at what he does. He, he doesn't just say, you know, "Wind be still, waves be still." The wording is interesting. He says he got up and rebuked the waves and the wind. The wind and the waves. Winds and the waves. And once he rebuked them, they were completely calm. And their response this time was a little less than in chapter 14. And this time they said, "What in the world kind of man is Jesus? Even the winds and the waves obey him." Well, the term rebuked is the same term that is used when Jesus casts out a demon.
So, let me go backwards a slide. Forces contrary to God's ordered creation. That's how they saw, that's how God portrays the sea in the Old Testament. And lo and behold, when Jesus is calming the sea, he has to rebuke it. So the waves represent trouble that the winds have created. And the winds, of course, are evil spirits. So the winds represent the evil spirits. And that's how it happens in all of the Old Testament. And the waves then are the trouble that these spirits cause, circumstances, problems in your life.
That's good.
So God brings order out of chaos. This is where it gets really interesting. If you take a look at the sea at the beginning of God's word, the Bible, in Genesis chapter 1 versus the sea at the end of the Bible in Revelation 21. Look at the difference. And then there's also the sea that is in heaven as we speak. So there's the crystal sea. So let's look at all three seas and you're going to see the importance of a calm sea. In Genesis 1:2, "Now the earth was formless and empty." So this is, it's created, but it's chaos. It's, there's no order in it whatsoever. So God is going to have to bring order out of the chaos. So the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the, of the deep, of the deep, the sea. It was all sea. It was all chaos. It was all sea. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the water. The Spirit of God hovered over the waters and brought order to the chaos. That's the beginning of the Bible. Look at what the sea, the current status of the sea in heaven is. In heaven, the sea is so calm that when John sees it, to him it looks like a sea of glass. I used to water ski with my roommate in college and we would go out sometimes really early in the morning when there was no breeze whatsoever and we would ski and the water was like glass and it was beautiful. And John sees this sea, it's water, okay? He sees this sea in heaven. He says it looks like, doesn't even look like water. It just looks like a sea of glass. It's clear as crystal. How cool is that? So in heaven, where there is no sin, because remember Satan and the demons are kicked out. Where there is no sin, the sea is calm.
Look what happens at the end of the Bible in Revelation 21. Order is completely restored and there is no longer a sea at all.
Wow.
Because the sea, remember, is disorder and, and, uh, and evil. Uh, represents that unless it's calm. Revelation 21. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth." This is the new one. Okay. "For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea." You can't have any trouble. You can't have any waves. You can't have any winds that disturb it because Satan is now in hell forever.
So let's apply it. Two applications. Number one, Jesus saves. And number two, the promise that he gave in the Old Testament, the promise that he gives in this story, and the promise that we have forever. Salvation is revealed. Uh, and it all happens on water. In Genesis, the ark, remember Noah's ark, the ark is going to save Noah and his family and the animals from the sea. In Joshua chapter 3, the ark of the covenant is, which is God's presence, is going to part the Jordan River so that Israel can enter into the promised land. In Matthew chapter 8, Jesus is in the boat, or the ark, with the disciples and he calms that sea. But in today's lesson, Matthew 14, Jesus is alone when he saves the apostles. Look at the revelation that we come through here. And ultimately and eventually, it's the presence of Jesus alone that saves.
It's not the boat. It's not the ark of the covenant. It's not Noah's ark. It's Jesus alone that saves. Acts chapter 4, "Salvation is found in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." The promise for all of us. Jesus sends the apostles out to sea without him. He sends us out because he's in heaven. Okay. When the wind, those are the powers. When they're stirred up, they stir up the waves. That's the trouble in your life. Jesus came to save the apostles. And he tells them the same thing. He tells us, "Take courage." And why can they take courage? He says, "Because it's me. I am with you." Jesus appears at the end of a very hard night. The same way that he appears, appears in our life when we're struggling and we're having problems. Don't be afraid. Have faith in me. Matthew 28, Jesus says, "I am with you always to the very end of the age." Hebrews 12:1 and 2 tells us what Peter should have. If Peter had only read Hebrews 12:1 and 2, he would have been better off. "Let us run the race with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, who is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith." Remember what Jesus says, "Oh you of little faith." If he'd have kept his eyes on Jesus, Jesus would have perfected his faith. James 1:6, "When you ask, you must believe. You shouldn't doubt because the one who doubts is what? It's like a wave of the sea. He's blown and he's tossed about by the wind."
Courage equals a calm heart. John 14:27, Jesus says, "Look, I'm going to calm your sea. I'm going to rebuke the wind. Peace I'm going to leave with you, and my peace I'm going to give you. I don't give my peace the same way as the world gives peace. Don't let your hearts be troubled. Have courage because I am with you. You don't need to be afraid." Pray with me. Father, it's a simple story. Uh, Jesus is walking on water, even though that's an impressive miracle. Uh, really, he's just fulfilling prophecy.
He's doing the only, he's doing what only God can do. Only God can tread the waves. Only God can walk on water. Only God can do this. Only God can rebuke the wind and the waves. Only God can forgive sins. Only God can be the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is just saying out loud in an outside voice, "I am God." And because he is, he can lead us through our trouble and calm our seas and take us from one side of the Jordan River to the other side into the promised land that is forever with him, where the sea will be no more and we will live with him forever. Thank you, Jesus, for walking on the water and for calming their fears. In your name we pray. Amen.
Amen. See you next week. It was a simple story and it's profound because all we need to do is keep our eyes on Jesus.
Amen. He is always with us. Till next week, know that we love you. Take care. Bye bye.
Bye.