Jesus Walking on Water

Father, as we come to worship you through your word, through listening to your word,

I ask that you would touch our hearts, that you would bring your word in the deepest parts of

our hearts, that we would know the freedom that you bring, the liberation that you bring from sin

and from the evils that dwell so closely to us. So Lord, as we come here at this point of the

service, would you bless us and pour out your Holy Spirit upon us. In Jesus' name, amen.

And you may be seated.

So just a couple of weeks ago, I was walking to the pool. I like to go to the pool every morning,

or I try to go every morning. I'm for five days a week. I get four usually, and it's one of the ways

that I manage my stress. And as I was walking towards the location, one of my neighbors kind

of called me over. And so I went over, and I hadn't really talked to him before. So we started talking,

and we talked about, you know, his children and my son, because he had seen my wife and our son

walking together down the street. And we eventually got to talking about what I do for a living. So I

told him that I'm a pastor and that I, you know, I study theology as well. And he, you know, he was

totally fine with that. He said, you know what, I actually, I believe in God. And he said these

words. He said, I'm about 99% sure of God. And there's always, you know, that always that 1% doubt.

And I thought, you know, that's interesting. And so I shared with him, you know, I, you know,

God did a, like, a marvelous work in my life that, and God did a full 180 in my life. So I know that

for sure that God exists. But then as I was saying that, I was remembering, you know, I've had doubts

in my life as well. I've had doubts even as a Christian. And so I shared that with him too.

And it's kind of a weird mix. And maybe some of you were listening very carefully in the Matthew text

that I read earlier. But Jesus has some pretty interesting words about doubt. And so I'll invite you to

turn to that. You know, we have some big questions about that because we all experience doubt. And so

what would Jesus say if he were, you know, in the conversation with my friend and I talking about

that 1% of doubt? Would Jesus be okay with that? Or how would that work? Maybe some of you have asked

questions to Christians and they said, just believe. So we'll look at that. We'll look at Matthew chapter 14

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

and see what Jesus has to say about our doubts. Now, before we start at verse 22, it's helpful for

us to remember that Matthew, who is the author of this gospel or this book in the Bible, Matthew is

writing a historical account. He's claiming to be writing a historical account. Historical in the sense

that he's an eyewitness. Historical in the other sense that this is part of a long train of God's acts

in history. This is part of something, a continuation of something that God has been doing. So these are

the two basic claims. We see that in the genealogy at the beginning of the book. And the third thing is

that it has big implications for us today. So let's look at verse 22 and we'll start there.

Matthew chapter 14, verse 22. Immediately, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before

Matthew 14:22

him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. So just for a bit of context, Jesus just performed a

big miracle. He just fed 5,000 people, 5,000 men, plus women and children. And before that, he had just

heard the news that his cousin, John the Baptist, was executed. So he was going to find solitude.

And on his way towards finding solitude and spent time with God, he stopped and he saw a big crowd

that was following him. He had compassion on them. He fed them. And now he's dismissing the crowds and

he's sending his disciples over because they have a mission to do. He's sending them over across the sea.

Okay, so now in verse 23, we see that, and after Jesus had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the

mountain by himself to pray. And so Jesus was finding the solitude after hearing the news and after a lot

of teaching and miracles and all these things. Now, some of you might be wondering, like, Jesus is praying?

You know, if we had, you know, if some of our friends, my wife and I's friends were, you know, when they come

over to dinner, we pray in Jesus's name. And so they would maybe hear this and wonder, you know, is Jesus

praying in Jesus's name? Like, how does that work? Like, is he just talking to himself? Well, and another part of

this confusion around why Jesus would pray is that, you know, we think that prayer is only useful because

we're in a bad situation. So why is Jesus praying? Well, very essential to prayer is communion with God.

Jesus, from all eternity, has been in communion with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit. And so Jesus

is just continuing fellowship, communion with God. This is very right for Jesus. Why would he not pray?

Why would he not spend time with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit? And this is really, I know,

this really, the reason why I'm spending time on this is because it really convicted me this week.

You know, I haven't been spending that much time in prayer, maybe the last couple of weeks, actually.

And maybe some of you are in that boat as well. That prayer has only become a duty where, you know,

you're in need and you pray. You need something, you pray. You're in a bad situation, you pray.

But a huge part of prayer, a central part of prayer, is that it's communion with God. And so Jesus is

reminding us of that essential truth today. So verse 23, we'll continue there. Verse 23b.

Now when evening came, he was there alone. So the evening, just before the evening, they had supper,

they left, and now we're getting into later into the evening. Jesus was alone in the mountain and

praying. But verse 24, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves,

for the wind was against them. Now this section depicts a very common experience where we might

sense that Jesus is leading us to a particular place, and then things are going wrong. Things are

not going well. You're starting to fear for your life. And you're probably starting to wonder, Jesus,

like, what were you thinking? Like, you sent me there. I'm sure some of you have asked that. I have

asked that many times. Jesus, why did you allow me to go in this area and spend, you know, months here

in this place where it seems like there was no fruit, where I was in danger? Jesus, why would you

do that? Like, did you call us here? See, and based on our circumstances, we start to doubt

and judge Jesus. God, I thought you led me to this job, or had me marry this person, or give this up,

or to adopt these children, or fill in the blank. I thought you were calling me to this. Didn't you know

that it would turn out this way? And this is a big mystery in the Christian faith, is that we don't

always have an answer to that dilemma. We don't always have an answer at the end of our circumstances.

Sometimes we find out why God led us to a place. Other times, we don't. So I studied at McGill

University, and I became a Christian there. Years after that, it became very obvious to me why

after I had applied to the University of Toronto and received a substantial scholarship,

was refused from the school a couple of months later. I went from full scholarship to refused from

University. That didn't make sense to me. Years later, I became a Christian. That made sense to me.

God wanted me to go to Montreal so I could hear the gospel. That made sense to me. But, you know,

why did I become a Christian at 19 and not at 12 or 3 or at 30? I don't know. Probably won't know

until I see Jesus, until I get to heaven. But as the disciples are delivering these big life questions

while holding on for their lives, something completely shocking and unexpected happens next.

In verse 25,

But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,

the disciples were terrified and said,

It is a ghost. And they cried out in fear.

Sorry, I think I skipped there.

Verse 25.

And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea.

Okay, so the fourth watch is between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

So smack it right in the morning.

And just by the way, if you call me between 3 and 6,

I probably won't answer. I'll be sleeping. I have headphones.

Or not headphones, I have earplugs.

But Jesus here is coming.

He's coming to them.

He's coming to them on the sea.

It's really, really unexpected.

This setting really shows us the helplessness of the disciples.

They're on the middle of the sea.

And in the ancient cultures, the sea

was known as the area of chaos,

of death.

And maybe some of you come from

a northern community.

Maybe we have someone from an indigenous community.

You likely know

quite a few people who have drowned.

I know some people in my family

who have drowned.

The waters are a dangerous place.

We haven't mastered them completely.

And so they're in this place of chaos.

And not only that,

but Jesus is in the mountain.

Jesus is not useful in the mountain.

They need Jesus right there on the sea.

And there's, I mean, there's no flare guns.

There's no emergency helicopters.

No phones.

Everyone's asleep between 3 and 6.

Things are going really, really badly for them.

But Jesus is walking on the water

towards them.

So here we are.

The miracle.

Okay, so some of you are thinking,

okay, walking on the water.

How are you, Jonathan?

How on earth,

or maybe how on water,

Jonathan, are you going to explain this to me?

Like, please tell me that you're going to take

a very symbolic view of this.

Like, are you going to ask us to believe

this really happened?

If some of you have looked at this passage before

and looked at commentaries,

you would notice that many people

have written many things about this.

And I'll just say there's a lot of foolishness

that's been written about this.

Some people have said that there's a low tide

at that moment.

And that Jesus is coming

because there's a low tide.

So there's no miracle.

He's just walking on the bottom of the sea.

But if any of you have seen any pictures

of under the water at the bottom of the sea,

there's coral reefs and rocks.

And so Jesus would be walking like this

and cutting his feet

and not enjoying this.

Like, I don't think that makes sense.

Someone else wrote that there's,

that Jesus projected an image of himself.

Okay, well, wouldn't that be equally miraculous?

That Jesus projected an image of himself?

Someone else wrote that Jesus

is still close to the shore.

He's walking on the shore,

maybe a couple feet down from the shore.

Okay, so Peter walks in the water?

Like, how does that make sense?

Because Peter walked from the boat towards Jesus.

So Jesus doesn't walk on water,

but Peter walks on water?

And other people have compared it to myths,

but the literary genre is not the same.

And some people said that it was first understood as myth,

but later thought of as historical,

but there's no proof for that.

So what is happening here?

What is, is Jesus really walking on water?

Well, if we can have our first point, Andrew,

I think this will help us to remind us

of what is happening.

So this is the point that we've been reminding ourselves

as we are looking at these miracles

over our series.

This is a true story about Jesus

and a real miracle.

At least this is the claim that Matthew is making.

And we have to take him for what he's saying.

We can't just think he's foolish,

think he's stupid.

This is a true story about Jesus

and a real miracle.

Now the examples above,

to me at least,

sound quite ridiculous.

And part of that,

I think,

is because we don't,

often we don't check our assumptions.

We have very strong assumptions

and a lot of people

have strong assumptions

about the miraculous

and about the world.

And they bring those assumptions to the text

and they can't,

they can't listen to the text anymore.

It's not making them more rational

to have these very strong assumptions.

But we need to check our assumptions

to be able to be reasonable

with our assumptions.

I wish I had the quotes with me,

but Stephen Hawking,

you might know him

as one of the greatest physicists

that ever lived,

wrote a book in the Grand Design.

And at the very beginning of his book,

in the thesis of his book,

he talks about how laws created the universe.

So we see,

we can observe that there are laws,

therefore the laws have always been there

and the laws sustained the universe

in the way that the whole universe functions.

So therefore,

the laws must have brought the universe

into existence.

But how was,

how were there laws

before anything appeared?

Like that just,

the logic doesn't make sense.

There's a really good book

on his,

as a response to the Grand Design

by John Lennox,

who's a Christian scientist.

And even the title of the book,

The Grand Design,

like when you have a Grand Design,

would you think

that there's a Grand Designer?

Like,

doesn't that just

logically follow?

See,

God,

who is the Grand Designer,

the lawgiver,

can reveal himself

within his created order.

There's no controversy with that.

It seems perfectly logical.

And I was,

I was thinking of how can I,

what is a good image

for me to communicate this

with you this morning?

And I tested this

at the eight o'clock service,

and there was no riots

or nothing,

no objects thrown at me.

So I'm going to share it

with you as well.

I think this is helpful.

If it's not,

come tell me afterwards.

But,

for God to enter his creation,

an act miraculously

would be like a jazz artist

improvising a stunning tune

above the underlying chord sequence.

I'm assuming a tiny bit

of music knowledge

and some experience

with jazz music.

Some of you maybe think

that jazz is completely chaotic.

It's just people

playing random notes.

I assure you,

that's not the case.

There's,

they have a sheet

where there's a sequence

that's happening

and there are chords

and the person

who is improvising

is improvising

within those chords

something that is

quite logical

and it's quite masterful,

actually.

It's very impressive.

Years ago,

when I was at McGill,

I studied French horn

at McGill,

I was asked to join

the jazz ensemble,

the McGill jazz ensemble

for a concert.

They had a special guest

from the States conducting

and I was the third

French horn player they asked.

So you can,

you can understand

that French horn players

don't usually like to be asked

to play jazz

in a jazz ensemble.

So we,

so I went,

I did the gig,

I thought this would be cool

and this will be fun

but the conductor asked me

to play a solo

and I told him

very kindly,

sir,

I don't play solos.

I don't improvise.

I'm a French horn player

not a saxophone player

and he said,

ah,

you'll be fine.

Just pick two notes

and just play them

over and over again

in a very good

rhythmic sequence

and you know what,

actually I remember

there was a French horn player

once that played a solo

in my band

and he played

this very famous tune

and he just played

a little bit more jazzy.

You'll be fine.

So I thought,

okay,

I can do this.

So I got to the concert,

made a total fool of myself.

It was completely chaotic.

It had no sense

with the music

but the rest of the ensemble

sounded great.

So,

okay,

that's a little anecdote

to help us understand

that for Jesus

to walk on water,

he's not obliterating

the laws of nature

but he,

because he created

the laws of nature,

he understands them

so well

and because he's sovereign

over the laws of nature,

he can exercise

his sovereignty

over them

in a way

that is completely compatible

even though

he's walking on water.

He's the one

who created those laws.

Okay,

so not only does Matthew

claim the event

to be historical,

he also claims

that it relates

to a historical sequence,

that God has been acting

with his people

for years,

for centuries

and millennia.

We see that God

created the universe.

We already looked

at that briefly

but he also revealed

his mercy

by delivering his people

through a body of waters,

the Red Sea.

And not only that

but we see the prophets

who have done miracles

that God had enabled them

to do water miracles

and the psalmists

who sing about God

delivering people

from out of the water.

See,

this is completely

consistent

and historical.

It's following

the historical sequence

of what God has done.

And now Matthew

is recording God

before him

walking on the waters.

So we've got

our next point,

Andrew.

I think this will help us

summarize what is happening

so far.

So Jesus walking on water

isn't an impossibility

or an isolated event.

It's an announcement

that the sovereign Lord

is here.

Jesus walking on water

isn't an impossibility

or an isolated event.

It's an announcement

that the sovereign Lord

is here.

So how do the disciples

respond to Jesus

walking on water?

Like,

do they yell,

like,

Jesus,

come over here,

save us,

help us,

we're dying here.

Is that what they do?

Let's look at verse 26.

We read,

Now you might be thinking,

like,

that's odd.

Like,

didn't they just see

Jesus multiply bread

and feed over 5,000 people?

Like,

why wouldn't they just believe

that Jesus was there

and walking on the sea?

Now I think this verse

is very helpful for us

to understand

that this is a real miracle,

that people don't expect

people to walk on water.

And it also,

you know,

just as a side note,

like,

this really shows

that Jesus is

both human,

but also God,

fully human,

fully God.

And so there he is

walking on water.

And these people

who are seeing

this man,

who is God,

walking on water,

are in awe.

Is this a ghost?

Now some of you

also might be thinking,

okay,

this is strange,

but bear with me

for a moment.

Like,

some of you

have gone to the dentist.

Maybe it was

the 50th time

you've been to the dentist.

And,

you know,

you're fine,

everything's good.

The dentist,

you know,

it's three in the afternoon,

the dentist has been doing this

for five hours already.

They're well trained,

they know what they're doing.

But all of a sudden,

when the buzzing instrument

is coming close to your mouth,

you're starting to wonder,

uh-oh,

is this the time

when they're going to get it wrong?

Right?

We all of a sudden

start to forget,

we start to fear.

Just last week,

I was flying from Halifax,

and as you see in the blog,

I went to Halifax

to a conference,

and I was sitting by the window.

I love the window seat.

I was sitting by the window,

and I saw the wings

kind of going like this

in the turbulence,

and I started to wonder,

how is this plane made?

Like,

are the wings

kind of like,

you know,

drilled from the top,

and there's kind of like

a thing that goes on top,

or are they like

really built into the body?

And I started to doubt,

I started to fear,

and it's poured,

so they give you a drink.

I was looking forward

to my drink at that moment,

so I can forget

about what was,

about my fear,

that,

wow,

the wings might just like

pop off,

and the body,

like,

do these pilots,

are these pilots trained

for these moments?

So,

okay,

so I think that something

similar is happening here,

that even though we have

full confidence in something,

or in someone,

there's still times

when we fear,

because that's who we are,

that's,

that's,

that's,

that's just who we are

as human beings.

We,

we fear,

our emotions

can,

can flood

the,

the rational part of us

that,

that causes us to fear.

So,

where am I here?

Okay,

so here's,

if I can have my,

my next point,

Andrew.

We are cast away

from God's presence.

Therefore,

our hearts become faint

as we strive to survive.

Now,

I use the word

cast away here,

deliberately.

Some of you have seen

the movie cast away,

and you see what

being on the sea

and being in a boat

for a long time

does to you.

But,

the whole idea here

of being cast away

from God's presence,

and therefore our hearts

becoming faint

as we strive to survive,

brings us back

to the very beginning

of when God created

everything,

and created a garden,

and created human beings

to put them in the garden,

and to relate to them.

See,

in the garden,

God created

a place

where love

abounds,

where there's provision,

where we don't have to worry,

we're in communion with God,

everything is provided,

and we enjoy.

But now,

now that human beings

have sinned

and rebelled against God,

God

exiled us

or cast us

out of the garden,

out of this place

of harmony with God,

full provision with God.

So then,

you know,

we strive to survive,

we fear,

we get anxious.

That's just part of life.

And in some way,

this,

you know,

we as human beings

long for this return

to harmony,

so we create

these institutions

or politics

and technology

and the sciences

to try to capture

that goodness

and that harmony,

that safety

and security

that we had

with God.

But,

but this,

you know,

in these education systems

or political systems

or the sciences,

although they,

you know,

we try to use them

as means for salvation,

they are not what,

what will bring us

satisfaction.

They are not the presence

of God.

Our salvation

or our rescue

really is being brought back

into that relationship

where God comes to us

and rescues us

to safety with him.

And this is what we see

Jesus doing

in verse 27.

Let's look at verse 27.

But immediately,

Jesus spoke to the disciples

saying,

Take heart,

it is I,

do not be afraid.

He says,

Take heart,

it is I,

do not be afraid.

If I can have my next point,

Andrew.

So this is the next point.

I'm just,

I've looked at the Greek

and part of the original language

is written in such a way

that this would be

a very logical conclusion.

This is what the disciples

would have heard.

They would have heard,

Take courage.

I am is here.

Do not fear.

Take courage.

I am is here.

Do not fear.

And when they would,

when they would have heard this,

they would have,

you know,

like in the movie

when there's the memory flashback

that comes

and you just see

the different scenes

of one's upbringing,

they would have,

you know,

Peter and Andrew and John,

they would have heard,

you know,

they would have been brought back

to the stories

of when they were children

and hearing of the God of Moses,

the God who revealed himself

to Moses saying,

I am that I am.

Or the God who spoke

to Isaiah saying,

I am the Lord your God.

Do not fear.

They would have heard

that divine name.

They would have heard

that God is with them.

And this story tells us

in a very powerful way

that in the midst

of our storms

or our fears

or our uncertainties,

the Lord mercifully comes

to comfort

and to rescue.

Jesus is saying,

Friend,

your body is failing you.

I am is here.

You're facing poverty.

I am is here.

You're feeling lonely.

I am is here.

You're afraid of the future.

I am is here.

You're feeling hopeless.

I am is here.

Your marriage

or your relationships

are crumbling

before your eyes.

I am is here.

I am is here.

And I think this is

further pointed out

by the bracketing statements,

Take courage

and do not fear.

These are words,

the most common commandments

of God in the Old Testament.

Take courage.

I am is here.

Do not fear.

Now, I understand

that sometimes

God comforts us

with the promise

of the future,

a future rescue.

And other times

he rescues us

as a sign

of the future rescue.

And so there's always that,

we're always pointed

towards that future

culminating rescue

when God makes

all things new

and brings us back

into his presence.

And this story tells us

that Jesus came to us

in our exile

and comes to us

ready to help.

Now, I often forget

that God is near

to my friends

and my families

and neighbors

who are now Christians.

I often forget that.

I often forget that God

is somehow

in his providence

near to them.

When I became a Christian,

I remember

kind of looking back

at my life

and being able to see

some significant moments

that I think the Lord

was kind of pointing to me

that he was there.

He was there.

He was directing me this way.

He was preparing me for that.

He allowed this to happen

so that I would cry out

to him one day.

It didn't make sense

to me then.

It made sense to me after.

And so this, I think,

is a very good encouragement

for us

to remember

that God is near

to our unbelieving friends

and families

and neighbors.

And this is part

of Matthew's thesis.

Emmanuel,

God is with us.

We pray

because God is near.

So what would you do

if you were

with the disciples

in that boat

in the middle of the sea,

in the middle of the storm,

and saw Jesus

walking towards you

and saying,

I am is here.

Take courage.

Do not fear.

I am is here.

Would you say,

Jesus,

bad grammar.

I am here.

Well, let's see

what Peter does.

Verse 28.

And Peter answered Jesus,

Lord, if it is you,

command me

to come to you

on the water.

And Jesus said,

come.

So Peter got out

of the boat

and walked on the water

and came to Jesus.

Now when I read this,

I don't see myself

in Peter's shoes.

I think,

wow,

like what an imagination.

Like he sees Jesus

walking on the water?

I want to walk

on the water too.

I just don't relate to that.

I'm maybe more fearful

or I'm more careful maybe.

That's the word

that I like to use,

but I'm just more

of a wimp.

I don't see these opportunities

and think,

wow,

I should do that too.

So anyway,

wow,

like what an imagination.

What,

you know,

what ambition

that Peter would ask Jesus

to walk on water with him.

It's worth noting

that many,

many people

have written,

you know,

very polarized

opinions on this scene

that Peter,

you know,

like Peter is testing the Lord.

He's putting the Lord

to the test

and that's why

he falls in the water.

So we shouldn't do that.

It's not a lesson for us.

Other people,

on the other hand,

say,

wow,

like Peter asked

and it was his faith

that led him to ask

and he walked on water

and the others,

they just stayed in the boat.

Like they weren't faithful

or they weren't full of faith

but Peter had faith

and we should be like Peter.

And so it's like,

woo,

like you're being pulled

into the two extremities.

Like what do we believe

about this?

Well,

I see this not as a prescription

but as a description.

I think we can get lost

when we focus too much

on the disciples

and try to gain,

you know,

too many insights from them.

We can sort of

get ourselves

into fog

when we do that.

I think that it's better

for us to focus on Jesus

and so I think,

you know,

I take the view

that our faith

and personality

aren't necessarily

isolated from themselves.

Peter's personality

and faith combined

had him ask Jesus

to walk on the water.

Okay,

good.

And both were involved

in his,

yeah,

in his request

but Jesus isn't surprised

by these

but he works with them.

He works with our personality.

He created our personality.

He works with our faith.

He gave us faith.

He works with both.

I don't see this

as a,

necessarily as a prescription,

however.

I see that as a description.

And what happens

in verse 30

is shocking.

Let's take a look

at verse 30.

It says,

But when Peter saw the wind,

he was afraid

and beginning to sink,

he cried out,

Lord,

save me.

And Jesus immediately

reached out his hand

and took hold of Peter

saying to him,

O you of little faith,

why did you doubt?

And so we see here

that even though Peter

had great faith

and then doubted,

that Jesus was merciful,

Jesus was strong,

Jesus was able

to pull him out of the water

and I think

this is what the text

is having us contemplate,

is the faithfulness

of Jesus

and the mercy of Jesus.

Now this brings up

some pretty significant questions,

some big questions.

Like,

you might be thinking,

like he actually,

like Peter actually

went out of the water,

unlike the others.

Like,

why did Jesus

speak so harshly?

Why did he say

you had little faith

and doubted?

Like,

isn't that,

isn't that a bit harsh?

Like,

is Jesus punishing Peter

for his ambition?

Can I have the next point,

Andrew?

Jesus may allow us

to fall

so that our faith

won't lead to arrogance

but to a call

for mercy.

Jesus may allow us

to fall

so that our faith

won't lead to arrogance

but to a call

for mercy.

And this,

this might be a bit hard

for us to,

to kind of,

you know,

wrestle with,

but it really does go

against what we would expect

if Jesus' sole purpose

was to cater

to our felt needs.

You know,

if we have that relationship,

if we think that we have

this relationship

with Jesus

where,

you know,

he should just cater,

he should just serve us

and he should answer

every,

every prayer

like we want him to,

that's not a relationship

and that's not how he works.

And I think

Jesus may allow us

to fall

so that our faith

won't lead to arrogance.

It won't lead to that

towering over God

and trying to put him

in a box

and say,

God,

you owe this to me.

But,

that we would cry

and call for mercy.

Jesus,

save me.

Lord,

save me.

That we would have

that posture

before him,

that posture

of humility.

And so,

we see in this story,

this very powerful story,

that God's mercy

forms the basis

of our faith

and sustains us

through our journey.

And this,

just by the way,

this is one of the reasons

why I really like

the Anglican way,

the Anglican liturgy.

I think mercy,

seeking the mercy of God

is at the very center.

And it's so easy

for me to become arrogant.

I become way more arrogant

than I become humble.

Who would have guessed?

But I have the suspicion

that you might have

that experience as well,

that it's way more easy

for us to become arrogant

or proud

or heart of heart

and think that others

owe us certain things.

You know,

when we drive,

like,

you cut me off,

well,

you better drive fast

because,

like,

I'm going to tailgate you.

I don't know,

like,

how dare people do that to us?

But,

but we're creatures.

We're fallen creatures.

And we're all in need

of God's mercy.

Now,

some of you

are probably thinking,

okay,

I can understand

that Jesus is merciful

by pulling Peter

out of the water.

That's very good.

That's very fine.

But he rebukes him

for doubting,

like,

we mentioned that

just earlier,

but,

like,

Jesus rebukes Peter

for doubting.

Like,

isn't that,

like,

isn't that just one

of those weird

religious tactics

to have people

completely buy into

the cult,

like,

without thinking

things through?

Like,

you're not allowed

to ask questions.

You have to just believe.

You have to believe

wholeheartedly.

No questions,

no doubts.

And if you have

questions or doubts,

God is going to be

angry with you.

God's going to curse you.

Is this,

is this what's happening

here in the text?

And I think this touches

on what my friend and I

were having a conversation

over.

You know,

is Jesus okay with

that one percent

of doubt?

Now,

doubt is a very,

very big theme,

and I can't unpack

the theme exhaustively.

There's someone

from our congregation

whose sole purpose,

his job,

in his job,

is to be a good doubter,

is to read proposals

and doubt every single

word and phrase

that is in the proposals

and report to say,

this is wrong,

this is not good,

this is not a good estimate,

this is bad,

you shouldn't do this,

and, like,

just completely doubt

everything that the people

sent him.

Other people,

like myself,

like I was pursuing

a music career,

and some of you

maybe are musicians

or are doing job interviews,

and your sole purpose

is to not doubt.

If you doubt,

you'll miss your opportunity.

You'll overthink things,

so you try to suppress

that aspect of you

that doubts,

and you just try to have

full confidence

in what you're doing.

But I understand

that many of us

are facing trials right now

that have us doubting,

so I want to be careful.

I've tried to think

of different degrees

in different ways

that we doubt.

I think one of the ways

that we doubt

as human beings

is that we use doubt,

we use skepticism

or questions

as a mask

or as a hand

that says,

I'd rather keep

my autonomy,

thank you.

I think a classic example

of that is Jordan Peterson.

We see him,

you know,

talking about God a lot,

but talking about Jesus,

no,

and then he has

very sophisticated ways

of walking around

the issues of the historicity

of the Gospels

and all that.

So in some ways,

he wants to adhere to that,

but no,

like,

if it's going to cost me

my life,

no thank you.

And we use questions

and we try to use doubt

in that way

to create a barrier.

And others who have

intellectual doubts

that,

you know,

if they were resolved,

we would happily embrace

the Christian faith

or some truths

about the Christian life.

like,

I just,

I'm struggling with Jesus

with this one thing.

Do you really mean that?

And we feel pressed inside

emotionally

where we're not sure.

But if the answer

were to come,

we would embrace

that truth.

We would embrace Jesus.

That's,

I think,

the second way

that we tend to doubt.

And the third way,

I think,

is

when we have

circumstances

that

bring trial

over us

and our emotions,

you know,

they get the best of us.

And we wonder,

God,

are you good?

Are you good in this?

Are you still good in this?

Are you faithful?

Are you going to be faithful?

God,

are you going to be with us?

Are you going to be with me?

And I think we see this

with Peter,

that he was convinced

of Jesus walking on the water.

Wow,

like,

Jesus,

invite me.

But then he saw the wind

and he got afraid.

And so he began to sink.

But what I find

really interesting

about this text

is that

there's no resolution

to the question.

Oh,

you of little faith,

why did you doubt?

Then it moves on.

We see in verse 32,

it just moves on

to,

and when they got into the boat,

the wind ceased.

See,

I think Matthew

used this question

as a rhetorical device,

as a very powerful way

to have

you and I

ask that question

of ourselves.

What is my doubt?

What is my 1% of doubt?

Is it

a mechanism

that I use

to preserve

my autonomy

and preserve myself

and do what I want?

Is it a license

to live my own

personal lifestyle

and enjoy

things that are

contrary to God's will?

Or,

you know,

are my doubts

really about

finding out more?

Is it true skepticism

where I would love

to have the answer?

And if you're in that

position right now,

if you're asking

those big questions,

feel free to talk

with me

or some of the others

after the service.

I would love to pray

and walk through

that with you.

And

for others,

you know,

it's really about

the goodness of God.

so-and-so

in my family

is sick.

Is God still good?

So let's see

how this story

wraps up

in verse 32.

We see here,

it says that

when they got

into the boat,

the wind ceased.

And those in the boat

worshipped Jesus,

saying,

truly,

you are the Son

of God.

And so here we see

in this story

the power of Jesus

as the Lord,

the sovereign Lord

over creation.

We see the mercy

of Jesus

walking towards

his disciples

who are in trouble.

He's walking on the sea

in the middle

of their trials

and he's there

with them.

We see his mercy

and he rescues Peter.

We see the big theme

of salvation

and worship

where Jesus

rescuing them

and ceasing

the wind

brings worship.

That they worship,

they see Jesus

and they say,

truly,

you are the Son

of God.

See,

this story,

Jesus powerfully

conquered the deadly

powers of the sea

and saved those

on the sea.

But this also

powerfully captures

what he would

later do

on the cross.

So if we have

our last point,

Andrew.

Jesus on the cross

is God's

strong hand

extended

to all who cry,

Lord,

save me.

Jesus on the cross

is God's

strong hand

extended to all

who cry,

Lord,

save me.

See,

you and I

are,

in some ways,

we're Peter.

We're sinking.

We're sinking

and we are

completely dependent

upon the rescue

and the mercy

of Jesus.

and there's no

better way for us

to contemplate

the mercy of Jesus

than looking at the cross

where Jesus,

the Son of God,

who was all-powerful,

gave up

his splendor,

gave up

his glory,

everything that,

all the praise

that was due to him,

all the praise

that he had in heaven,

he laid it down

and he came to die

for us

so that he could

offer the ultimate

rescue

over our

sin,

over our death

and he will one day

put all of creation

back into its

proper order

so that we will have

full harmony

with God

like in the garden.

Please stand.

Jesus can meet

you in the storm.

Jesus can meet

us in our fears,

in our uncertainties,

in our hypocrisy,

in our lack of faith,

in our doubts,

and any other situation.

Some of you have doubts

and again,

I invite you to come

talk with me after

or talk with someone else

and others of you

are feeling lost

or running away

and you know it

in the deep

parts of your heart

and you're wondering,

you know,

if I call out to Jesus,

will that be good for me?

Will that be good?

And I assure you,

it is good.

It is good to call out

to Jesus.

He will save you.

He will save you

from the deadly waters.

Let us pray.

Father,

you are the

ultimate giver

of life

and you sent

your son Jesus

that we might have life,

that we may have life

in him.

And I thank you,

Lord,

that you,

Jesus,

died on the cross

for us,

for our salvation.

And I pray

that the truths

of your gospel

would touch us

so deeply today

that,

Lord,

many of us here

would understand

the goodness

that comes

through our

relationship with you,

through repenting

and turning to you

and asking

for your mercy.

So,

Lord,

as we meditate

upon these words,

as we meditate

upon the cross

and what Jesus

has done

for us,

I pray that you

would bless us,

that you would

bless us

and grow us

and allow us

to know

that goodness

of fellowship

with you.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.