Who Is This Jesus Guy? "Truly, you are the Son of God."

20 years ago, 20 plus years ago, I was invited to a pickup football game in Columbus, Ohio.

I was just out of college. I had a unrealistic sense of my own athletic abilities.

And so I show up to this field thinking, man, you're going to see something today, folks.

Well, we got into two different teams, and the guy that I was assigned to cover me was a rather large fellow.

And I thought that my quicks versus his girth, I'd win every time.

Plus, he had a phenomenal mullet.

And so all party in the back, all business in the front.

And so it gave me this sense, I think if I just get the ball, I can run around this guy.

So we get into the huddle, and I say, give me a quick pass.

Let me do a little dance, and I'll hit pay dirt.

Set hike, throws it to me.

I catch the ball, and upon the ball hitting my fingertips,

all I can remember is see this mullet and these like 20-foot arms grappling, circling around me,

and I'm down on my back.

I bounce back up, shake off.

I'm like, okay, everybody gets a chance one time, you know, gets lucky.

Go back in the huddle, say, okay, do a quick pitch to me.

Set hike, quick pitch.

I catch the ball, and the guy with the mullet just wraps me up and drops me on my back again.

It was instantaneous.

And I'm starting to think, who is this guy?

I go back to the huddle.

I'm like, okay, one more time.

Give me a five yard out.

Set hut.

Five yards out upon catching the ball.

Again, 20-foot arms around me.

He was on me like white on rice.

Who is this guy?

It was completely humbling.

He's bigger, better, more athletic, more intelligent, and had a way better mullet than I did.

Turns out this guy was the starting linebacker for his D1, D2 college team, and it was completely humiliating to me.

Who is this guy?

If you would open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13, I'm going to read you a length of Scripture.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

I'm going to read Matthew 13, 53 all the way through chapter 14.

And as I'm reading this, be asking yourself this question.

Who is this guy?

Who is this Jesus?

And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there.

And coming to his hometown, he taught them in their synagogue so that they were astonished.

And said, where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

Is not this the carpenter's son?

Is not his mother called Mary?

And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

And are not all his sisters with us?

Where then did this man get all these things?

And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, a prophet's not without honor except in his hometown and his own household.

And he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

At that time, Herod the Tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, and he said to his servants,

This is John the Baptist.

He has been raised from the dead.

That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.

For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.

Because John had been saying to him, it's not lawful for you to have her.

And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people because they had held him to be a prophet.

But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod,

so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.

Prompted by her mother, she said,

Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.

And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests, he commanded it to be given.

He sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl,

and she brought it to her mother.

And his disciples came and took the body and buried it.

And they went and told Jesus.

Verse 13,

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself.

But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd,

and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said,

This is a desolate place, and the day is now over.

Send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.

But Jesus said to them, his disciples,

They need not go away.

You give them something to eat.

And they said to him,

We have only five loaves here and two fish.

And Jesus said,

Bring them here to me.

And he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass,

and taking the five loaves and the two fish,

he looked up to heaven and said a blessing.

Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples,

and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

And they all ate and were satisfied.

And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

And those who ate were about five thousand men besides women and children.

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 dismissed the crowds,

he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

When evening came, he was there alone.

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,

he came to them,

walking on the sea.

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.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying,

Take heart, it is I.

Do not be afraid.

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 and walked on the water

and came to Jesus.

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 do you doubt?

And when they got into the boat,

the wind ceased.

And those in the boat worshipped him,

saying,

Truly, you are the Son of God.

And when they had crossed over,

they came to the land at Gennesaret.

And when the men of that place recognized him,

they sent around to all the region

and brought to him all who were sick

and implored him that they might only touch

the fringe of his garment.

And as many touched it,

were made well.

It's the Word of God.

Who is this guy?

Who is this guy?

In these verses,

there are five little clips about Jesus.

five little vignettes

all having to do with this question,

Who is this guy?

Matthew starts us in Nazareth.

And then he moves us to Herod's palace.

And then we find ourselves in a desolate place.

And then all of a sudden,

we're on the Sea of Galilee.

And then we end up in Gennesaret.

And there is this question being asked.

Who is this guy?

So let's look at what happens in Nazareth.

And then we're going to move to Herod's palace.

And then we're going to move to the desolate place.

And we're going to spend the bulk of our time

on the Sea of Galilee.

And we'll wrap up in Gennesaret.

So who is this guy?

If you look at verses 53 through 58,

what happens is Jesus shows up in his own town,

teaches his hometown people in Nazareth,

one synagogue,

and what happens is they're astonished.

They're amazed.

And why they're amazed

is the same reason they were amazed

back in Matthew 7

after he preaches the Sermon on the Mount.

They're amazed that he's teaching

with this kind of authority.

And so they're amazed,

but they don't stay astonished.

Their astonishment quickly turns to unbelief.

And it's an unbelief that shows up

in a set of questions.

You can see those questions

starting in verse 54.

Where did this man get his wisdom

and these mighty works?

And then in 56,

where then did this man get all these things?

And the where that they're talking about

is not like Walmart.

They're not talking about him going to a store.

The where is a reference of source.

What gives him the right

to speak with this kind of authority

to us?

After all, he's just the carpenter's son.

Isn't his mom's name Mary?

We know his brothers.

Aren't his sisters among us?

We know this guy.

What gives him the right

to speak with such authority to us?

Now remember, when Jesus preached,

he would be saying things,

repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.

And then he would,

remember the Sermon on the Mount,

he would say,

you know, you've heard this said,

but I tell you.

And he would put a claim on the people.

And so his authoritative preaching

would call people to respond.

And so the people that thought they knew him,

when he preaches this way,

he's like, who is this guy?

And what gives him the right to do this?

They didn't like that.

In fact, if you look at verse 57,

it says,

and they took offense at him.

And the Greek word for that word,

took offense,

is the word we get scandal from.

They were scandalized by him.

It was scandalous for their hometown boy

to be speaking on behalf of God

and calling them to something.

They felt the claim.

They felt the authority.

But they were unwilling to believe it.

They were unwilling to believe

who this one really, really is.

Jesus responds by saying,

hey, a prophet's not without honor

except in his hometown.

Don't miss what Jesus is saying.

He's saying,

I have come to speak on behalf of God

to you all.

He came as the prophetic Messiah

speaking to his hometown.

And they wouldn't have anything of it.

His hometown resisted his messianic authority.

They thought they really knew him.

They thought they knew him fully.

But really, they just knew him partially.

Everything they said about him is true.

But they miss the greatest thing about him.

This is the Messiah in their midst.

Their unbelief resulted in them rejecting him.

And today, people do the same thing.

They presume to know everything about Jesus.

But in reality, they don't.

Their presumption blinds them to who Jesus is.

They don't have eyes to see.

They don't have ears to hear.

They don't have a heart to believe.

So if you're a parent in the room

and you hear this being preached

and you're thinking,

oh man, what does this mean for my kids?

Here's what this means for your parenting.

When you raise your children

in the fear and admonition of the Lord,

you pray for them.

You ask God to give them eyes to see

and ears to hear the Savior.

And then you know what else you do?

You paint big pictures of Jesus for them.

You point them to the Bible.

Again and again,

this is who Jesus really is.

He's glorious.

He's not just the carpenter's son.

What we're going to see is

He is the I Am incarnate.

So that's Nazareth.

Who is this guy?

Is he just the carpenter's son?

No, he's the unrecognized prophet,

Messiah, king.

They didn't recognize Him.

And so when you get to Gennesaret,

what you're going to see is

a people who barely knew Jesus

recognized Him.

The people who grew up with Jesus

didn't recognize Him.

So let's move on now from Nazareth

to Herod's palace.

Who is this guy?

Matthew just had us in Nazareth.

Now he brings us into a conversation

between Herod the Tetrarch

and his servants.

Now what you need to understand

about Herod is

this is a different Herod

than the Herod in Matthew 2.

That was Herod the Great.

And he was a royal jerk

to be honest with you.

And Herod,

this Herod in Matthew 14

is Herod Antipas.

And he is one of Herod the Great's

three sons.

And he's a Tetrarch.

He has control over one quarter

of Herod the Great's kingdom.

And that involved Galilee

where Jesus spent most

of his time on earth.

But what we see here

is a conversation.

Herod has gotten wind

of Jesus.

Specifically the miraculous works

that Jesus is doing.

And if we were to ask Herod,

Herod, who is this guy Jesus?

He gives us the answer.

Look at verse 2.

I'll start verse 1.

At that time Herod the Tetrarch

heard about the fame of Jesus

and he said to his servants,

this is John the Baptist.

He hears about Jesus

and he says to his servants,

it's John the Baptist.

And not just,

it's John the Baptist.

He says,

it's John the Baptist

raised from the dead.

And that's why he's doing

these miraculous works.

Now, what were his servants thinking?

We don't know.

But what are you thinking right now?

You're thinking probably

something like,

why would Herod think that Jesus

is John the Baptist

and when did he die?

Well, what Matthew does for us

in verses 3 through 12

is he shows us the back story

of why John the Baptist died,

of how he died.

And the story is brutal.

John the Baptist

had been preaching

against Herod

because Herod

had taken his brother's wife.

That's Philip's wife.

Her name is Herodias.

And when that happened,

John the Baptist,

we can just call him JTB,

JTB started preaching

against that

and he's saying,

it is unlawful

for you to have

your brother's wife.

Well, that really ticked

Herodias off.

And so Herodias

kept on pushing Herod

to arrest the guy,

throw him in prison.

And so Herod

finally did that.

And then Herod

kept him in prison.

He wanted to kill him,

but he wouldn't

because he feared the people.

And then there's this one day

where Herod's birthday

comes along

and he decides

to have this big banquet

and bring in

all these powerful people

and Herodias' daughter,

Salome,

does a little dance.

And Herod's impressed

and he says,

you just tell me

anything you want

and I'll give it to you.

And Salome looks over

to Herodias

and she says,

what should I ask for?

What should I ask for?

And she says,

ask for John the Baptist's

head on a platter.

And so Herod,

now fearing his guests,

has to stick with what he says.

Has John the Baptist beheaded

and his head brought on a platter?

What you need to see

is the fear

that is in Herod's heart.

He feared Herodias,

his wife.

And so he's like,

yeah, I'll have this guy arrested

just to get you off my case.

He feared the people.

He was the Tetrarch over Galilee.

And so he feared

what the Jewish people in Galilee

thought of him

if he were to kill John the Baptist

because they thought

John the Baptist was a prophet.

And so he feared what they thought.

And then he feared the company,

his guests at this banquet.

He would not renege

on having John murdered

because of these esteemed guests

in his presence.

And that all kind of points to

why he would be so JTP phobic

when he hears about Jesus.

He thinks that it's John the Baptist

raised from the dead

because he is fearful,

he is ashamed,

and he feels the guilt

of murdering someone

who is preaching the truth.

And so now he hears about Jesus

and he goes,

oh no,

it's John the Baptist

raised from the dead

and he's come to haunt me.

Now before you think

that this is just

a John the Baptist problem,

we all do that.

We allow our shame

and our fear

and our guilt

inform what we think

about Jesus.

Jesus.

Here's how it works out.

Over and over again,

I have heard this.

I myself have experienced this.

It's this kind of thinking.

Maybe you've said this.

Maybe this has come out of your lips.

Or maybe it's in the back of your mind.

God can never forgive me of that.

That is so wrong.

That thing I did

is so awful.

That that cannot be forgiven.

Do you know what that is?

That's shame.

That's fear.

That's guilt.

And what that does

is it begins to inform

what you think about Jesus.

Instead of going to God's Word

and saying,

God, what do you say about Jesus?

Our experience starts to inform

our theology.

Instead of our theology

informing our experience.

And so what people can think is,

oh man,

I've blown it awfully

and so many times

Jesus can never forgive me of that.

But the reality is,

oh, He can.

He can.

That's why He came.

That's why He walked this earth.

That's why He died on the cross.

He just didn't come from sinners.

He came for the worst of sinners.

That's why He came.

And so when we see Herod

kind of flipping out

and thinking that

Jesus is John the Baptist

because of His shame

and His guilt,

we've all been there

to some degree.

We've all allowed

our fear and shame

and guilt

to shape Jesus

into something He's not.

You know what the reality is?

The only thing that Jesus says

is unforgivable

is when you attribute

a working of the Holy Spirit

to Satan.

That's called blaspheme

of the Holy Spirit.

That's the unforgivable sin.

Everything else is forgivable.

Let me give you some good news.

If you would turn in your Bibles

to 1 Corinthians 9.

1 Corinthians 9.

1 Corinthians 9.

1 Corinthians 6.

Starting in verse 9,

you read this.

Or do you not know

that the unrighteous

will not inherit

the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived.

Neither the sexually immoral,

nor idolaters,

nor adulterers,

nor men who practice

homosexuality,

nor thieves,

nor the greedy,

nor drunkards,

nor revilers,

nor swindlers

will inherit

the kingdom of God.

And right now,

you may be saying,

well, Mike,

that doesn't sound

like really good news

because I fall into

at least one of those categories

and what I just heard

is that that condemns me

to a life apart

from the kingdom.

Well, look at verse 11.

And such were some of you.

But you were washed,

forgiven.

You were sanctified,

made holy.

You were justified,

declared righteous

in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

and by the Spirit of our God.

Did you notice the sin list?

Those aren't small sins.

But you know what Jesus offers?

complete and utter forgiveness

for it all.

Don't let your fear

misinform

who you think Jesus is.

Jesus came to forgive it all.

The blood He shed

is a powerful blood He shed.

It is able to forgive.

We tend to be more like Herod

than we think.

We don't need to be afraid.

Jesus,

but we'll see,

He is the I Am

and He is present.

Who is this guy?

Well, Herod thought

he's John the Baptist

raised from the dead.

And we know that's not true.

He's not some ghost haunting.

He's God in the flesh saving.

So now let's move towards

the desolate place.

We've moved from Herod's palace.

Now let's move

to this desolate place

starting in verse 13.

Here's what happens.

Jesus gets word

and what He gets word of,

it's most likely,

not John the Baptist's death,

it's most likely

He gets word

that Herod

is afraid of Him.

That's what He probably hears.

And He withdraws.

We see the same,

similar thing happen

in Matthew 12,

Matthew 12:14

verses 14 and 15.

When the Pharisees

start planning

to destroy Him,

He withdraws.

Because He's careful

not to let things

disrupt His messianic plan.

His time had not come yet.

So He withdraws

and He withdraws

to the other side

of the Sea of Galilee.

He was in Nazareth

and He takes a boat

over to what's probably Bethsaida.

And what happens is

there was a crowd of people

that saw Him leave

and as He's on His boat,

this crowd of people,

there's like this massive group

of people that walk over

kind of the northern rim

of the Sea of Galilee

and they are actually

waiting for Him

when His boat pulls up

on the other side.

And what we learn is

Jesus wanted to get away

from the crowds.

And He shows up

and here are at least

5,000 men

and what we read is that

He had compassion on them.

And He heals them.

It's late.

His disciples say,

hey, we've got to get

these people out of here

so they get some food.

Jesus says,

you guys feed them.

They're like,

we don't know

what you're talking about.

We only got five loaves

and two fish.

Jesus says,

bring that stuff to me.

He prays.

He blesses it,

breaks it,

gives it to His disciples

and gives it to the 5,000 men

and everybody eats

until they're satisfied

which means

they ate their fill.

And so it's just not

5,000 men.

You could probably double that

with the women

and children there.

So we're probably talking

10,000 people.

Now here's what is

going on.

It's very subtle.

So let me try to

draw it out for you.

Do you remember

where we were just at?

We were in Herod's palace.

And that place

was a prestigious place.

And when you're at a banquet

with Herod,

do you know what kind of food

you're eating?

You're eating the best food

and you're eating

a lot of food.

And so probably

there was more food

than people

at the banquet

Herod threw

for his birthday.

And then it was

Herod's company.

Do you remember

the people that were

with him?

These were his company.

We read about it

in Mark chapter 6.

Mark 6 · chapter mention

They were the nobles,

the military commanders,

the leading men

of Galilee at the time.

So we had the hobnobs

going on there.

Eating the best of food.

What was going on

in Herod's heart?

Fear.

Fear upon fear

upon fear.

The picture that Matthew

shows us is a man

in power who's afraid.

Trying to use his power

to keep it.

And then it culminates

in his brutal action.

This murder

of John the Baptist.

But what do we see

going on here

in Matthew 14

when Jesus pulls up

in his boat?

His location?

Is it a palace?

It's a desolate place.

It's a wilderness.

Do you notice his company?

It's not the hobnobbers

of the day.

We're talking

10,000 nobodies.

No one would have known them.

What are they eating?

Nothing.

There's more people

than food.

You get to see his heart.

It's not one of fear.

It's one of compassion.

And that compassionate heart

leads to selfless action.

He performs a miracle

in which he satisfies

all 10,000 people there.

Instead of selfless

or selfish,

brutal murder,

selfish,

compassionate

provision.

Life.

That's what we see going on.

And so what Matthew is doing

is he's showing us

a difference between

the leaders

of the people.

I mean,

Jesus is the leader

we all want.

He's the one

who rules in a way

that's always best

for his people.

He is compassionate.

He is selfish.

He gives self less.

He gives his people

what they need

in the wilderness.

Now this may ring a bell.

God's people

in the wilderness,

they have nothing to eat.

The leader calls upon God

to provide bread.

Ring a bell?

Moses leading his people out.

Jesus is the better Moses.

Jesus is greater than Moses

leading a better Exodus.

And he outclasses

Herod huge.

It's interesting

when Herod the Great,

his dad,

learned about Jesus coming.

He talks to his scribe,

where's this guy coming from?

Where is the Christ

to be Lord?

He's going to be born

in Bethlehem.

And from that place

will come a ruler.

And that ruler

will be the shepherd

of God's people.

And here is the son of Herod

and he's being matched up

with the Christ.

The true ruler

of God's people

and it's on display

in the feeding

of the 5,000.

It stands in sharp contrast

to Herod.

Do you see it?

Who is this guy?

He's the true shepherd.

And what we're now going to see

is he is the I Am.

We move from

the desolate place

and let's move now

to the Sea of Galilee.

In chapter 14,

verses 22-32,

this is the climax

of this stretch of Scripture.

It's all moving here.

Now, the location

is on the sea.

It's in the boat.

It's during a storm.

And we're going to have them all,

Jesus and his disciples,

together again.

The last time that happened

was Matthew chapter 8

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

and Jesus is asleep

and his disciples

are freaking out

and they wake him up

and Jesus with words

says,

peace be still.

Everything's quiet.

The disciples marvel.

And we're going to see

here's something here

that's even more astounding.

Jesus has just fed the 5,000.

He gets his disciples

into the boat.

He says,

go before me

to the other side.

He's purposefully

staying behind.

Why is he staying behind?

We see the answer to that

in verse 23.

He stayed behind to pray.

We learn from John 6, 15

that this crowd

that he's just filled,

they want to forcefully

make him the king.

And so what Jesus does,

he dismisses the crowd,

sends out his disciples,

and goes and prays

on the mountainside.

His time had not come.

And then,

as the focus of this passage

moves to the Sea of Galilee,

we see something

breathtaking.

If you were on the boat,

you would have responded

in just the same way

as the disciples.

The disciples in verse 24

have been laboring

at their oars

of the fishing boat.

They're crossing back

the Sea of Galilee.

They're going to go

to the other side,

back around Capernaum.

They're going to land

in Gennesaret,

which is just south of Capernaum.

There's a headwind.

Waves are hitting them.

Big wind,

big waves.

And they're pressing on.

In verse 25,

we learn that they,

this is the fourth watch

of the night,

which,

according to Roman time,

is 3 to 6 a.m.,

graveyard shift.

And so what's been happening,

the estimate is

these guys have been

rowing for six to nine hours

when Jesus gets out to them.

So imagine rowing a boat

for six to nine hours

into a headwind

at night

with big waves

pounding you around.

You're going to be wet.

You're going to be miserable

and cranky.

And then something happens.

If it wasn't in our Bibles,

we would say

it is simply unbelievable.

Jesus came to them.

He didn't come to them

on a jet ski.

He didn't come Baywatch style

on a surfboard.

He didn't come in a kayak.

He didn't come in another

fishing boat.

Matthew's very clear.

He came to them

walking

on the sea.

It's a miracle.

It defies physics.

Now,

His disciples probably thought

He was just going to walk

back around the rim

of the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus' mind is like,

no,

I'm taking the most direct path

between two points,

maybe.

Billy, Matt, and I

were talking at our staff

meeting this week

and we're talking about this

and we're trying to imagine

what this would have looked like

to the disciples.

So if it was windy and wavy,

so the waves are going up and down.

So how was Jesus doing that?

Was He kind of walking up,

walking down?

Or was He doing the thing

where He's just

blasting through?

You know,

when you're walking out

into the Lake Michigan,

big waves,

and you're like,

pow!

Explosions.

What are the disciples seeing?

Well, we're not told,

but in verse 26,

here's what we're told.

They freak out.

They think it's a ghost,

which makes this

the second haunting

of our passage.

Herod has already been haunted

by the thought of Jesus

being John the Baptist

raised from the dead.

But this is no ghost.

This is Jesus.

And so,

they say,

it's a ghost!

And they start crying out,

terrified.

And what Jesus does is

He immediately says,

take heart.

It is I.

Do not be afraid.

I want you to say that with me.

Say it.

Take heart.

It is I.

Do not be afraid.

All together.

Take heart.

It is I.

Do not be afraid.

Take heart means be courageous.

Do not be afraid.

Jesus isn't saying,

hey, don't be afraid of the waves.

He's saying,

don't be afraid of me.

And what is in between

the be courageous

and do not be afraid

is the it is I.

Do you see it?

It's the meat of the sandwich.

It's the reason why Jesus can say,

take courage.

And it's the reason why Jesus can say,

do not be afraid.

It is I.

Now, if you looked at that

through the Greek language,

that phrase,

it is I,

are two Greek words.

Ego eimi.

They show up in the Gospel of John,

John 8:58

chapter 8, verse 58.

Before Abraham was,

ego eimi.

Before Abraham was,

I am,

Jesus says.

And remember what the Jews did?

They pick up stones

to stone them for blasphemy.

It's a reference back to

Exodus chapter 3,

Exodus 3:14

verse 14,

where God,

Yahweh,

discloses Himself to

Moses as,

I am who I am.

Do you know what's going on

in the Sea of Galilee right now?

Do you know who just showed up

to this boat?

I am incarnate

is on the sea.

And He's walked out

to His disciples.

And Mark said

His plan was to actually

walk right by Him.

He stopped!

It's amazing.

And with those words,

take heart,

it is I,

do not fear.

There's an instant change

in Peter's heart.

Look at verse 28.

Peter,

Lord,

if it is You,

command me to come to You

on the water.

Peter,

Jesus says in verse 29,

come.

Peter steps out of the boat

and he steps

onto the solid ground

of God's Word.

Steps onto the solid ground

of that command,

come!

He steps out in faith.

Two things.

It's still windy and wavy.

And the disciples

are all watching this.

Peter starts making

his way to Jesus.

He gets distracted.

The fear of the wind

causes him to lose sight

of Jesus,

of the Word come.

And he starts to sink.

Fear has this tendency

to crowd out faith.

Fear is like a bully

that pushes aside faith.

It can govern our whole hearts.

When you fear something,

it takes the place

of prominence

in your heart

and you end up

being ruled by it.

So Peter's fear

of the wind

pushes aside

faith in Jesus' Word

and he begins to sink.

But he had enough faith

left to say,

Lord, save me.

And immediately,

Jesus reaches out His hand,

takes hold of Peter,

and saves him.

But here's what you need

to understand.

Jesus isn't in His own boat.

He's not in a kayak

dragging Him out.

He's not back in

the fishing boat

with the disciples.

He's still on the water!

Jesus is on the water

and He pulls Peter

out of the water

while He's on the water.

They're not in the boat yet!

And Jesus says to him,

O you of little faith,

why do you doubt

while on the water?

It's another reference

to unbelief.

But Peter had

just enough little faith

in his big Jesus

that the big Jesus

saves him.

verse 32,

they get him

into the boat.

Again,

Jesus didn't swim him over

lifeguard style.

He walked him over.

As soon as they get

into the boat,

the wind stops

and His disciples

worship Him.

His disciples

have just seen Him

feed the 10,000.

The disciples

have just walked

out on water.

They just saw

Simon, Peter,

step out on the water

and Jesus pull him

out of the water

and bring him to the boat

and when they got

in the boat,

the whole storm stopped.

They just saw it all!

They were just

experiencing it all!

And what do they do?

They look at their clocks

and say,

well, it's time for pizza.

They worship Him!

And they confess

with their mouths

to Jesus,

truly,

you are the Son

of God.

Did they fully know

all that Jesus meant?

when He said,

take heart,

it is I,

ego,

and me.

Do not be afraid.

Do they fully realize that?

No, they wouldn't fully realize that

until after Jesus

is raised from the dead.

But they had enough sense

that this is somehow

God doing a work

in their midst

that they bow down

and worship Him.

And what Jesus done

is like,

don't do that,

don't worship me.

He says,

no,

you should be worshiping me.

You should be confessing me

that I am

the Son of God.

Who is this guy?

He's the,

who does He say He is?

Ego eimi.

I am,

I am.

He wants us

to worship Him.

He wants us

to confess

to Him

that you are

truly

the Son of God.

So here's how

we're going to apply it.

We have chartered a boat

to go out

on Lake Michigan

the next time

it's really windy

and rainy.

No,

I'm just kidding about that.

You guys have enough

wind and waves

in your life right now.

Maybe it's at the end

of the month,

it's,

you're trying to make

ends meet

and ends meeting

is out the window

and you're just

starting to fear

that you're going to be

put on the street.

That's where you're

living right now.

You're afraid.

And it can take

the place of prominence

in your heart.

Maybe you've been

without a job

and you fear

another week

of feeling useless.

Maybe you're fearing

what is going on

in your body

right now

wondering how

you're going to die.

Maybe that you are

an exhausted mom

and you fear

losing it again

with your 4 year old

or your 14 year old.

Maybe you're a brother

in the room

who fears

having your secret sin

found out.

Maybe you are

paralyzed by fear

of what people

think about you

because you're

always wondering

if people think

that you're too fat

or too ugly

or too incompetent

or too whatever

and it paralyzes you

and it rains

in your heart.

You know what

Jesus says to that?

Take heart.

It is I.

Do not be afraid.

Jesus

is alive.

He's not dead.

He's been raised

from the dead.

He's living

and reigning

right now.

Which means this.

You combine that

with His promise

that says

I will never leave you

nor forsake you.

I am with you always

even to the end

of the age.

No matter what happens

to you this week,

no matter the waves,

no matter the wind,

no matter what happens,

He's with you.

The I am

is with you.

Who is this guy?

He's unlike anybody

you know.

He's more than

a carpenter's son.

He's not John the Baptist

risen from the dead.

He's not Herod-like

in His ruling

over the people.

He is God's shepherd.

He is the guy

that walks on water

and shows up

in the storm

and bails us out

again and again.

When Jesus

ends up in Gennesaret,

He shows up

on the beach

and people instantly

recognize Him

and they gather

everybody they can

around Him

and they just want

to touch His garments

and He heals everybody.

It's very unlike

Nazareth

where minimal healings

took place.

They got it.

This morning,

I want you to ask

this question.

Who is this guy?

And have you

called out to Him,

confessed to Him,

truly,

you are

the Son of God?

Let's pray.

God in Heaven,

Lord Jesus,

we thank You so much

for Matthew 14.

Jesus,

we need Your help.

we're so grateful

that we can cry out

to You again

and again and again,

Lord, save me.

Lord, save us.

And You do

again and again

and again.

Lord Jesus,

You are our risen King,

our only hope.

You are the One

who reigns over all

and You are the treasure

of our souls.

May all glory

and blessing

and power

and praise

be to Your name.

Amen.

Amen.