Message Text: Matthew 14:22-36
So, last week I spoke to you out of Mark 6:45-52. Well, in the parallel passage of Matthew 14, there’s four interesting verses that Mark leaves out in his rendition of this story and they have to do with something that happened to Peter. One commentator calls our passage today a “story within a story.”
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A Test Case
Jesus knew that the weather toward Him was going to be changing. After the feeding of thousands, thousands walked away because Jesus refused to play the role of miracle worker, nor would he be king or liberator. Jesus wasn’t going to be as popular as He used to be with some people.
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Also, Jesus knew that the weather was going to be changing for his disciples, both spiritually (following Jesus would get harder) and literally (a storm was brewing). So He promptly put them on a boat. They were going to face a storm – both literally and spiritually. It was a kind of test-case for what was ahead of them.
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The disciples experienced two physical storms in their three-and-a-half-year residency with the Savior. In the first storm, Jesus was present, but asleep on the boat. But in the second storm, Jesus had withdrawn to a distant hill. And although He could see them, the blindfold of darkness prevented them from seeing Him.
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Message in a Nutshell
Jesus seems to be saying through this, “Boys, when the crowds want you to go in a certain direction and they walk away when you don’t; when you are asked by the Master to get in the boat despite your objections; when you face the scariest situations of your life and you don’t have Me visibly present with you – you must know that I see you at all times and I can walk on the water to reach you if necessary." The disciples came away from this experience with a new conviction: “Jesus, you may be out of my sight, but I am never out of yours.” Even in our sinking moments, when life is heavy and we’re losing buoyancy, you show up with an outstretched hand at just the right time to keep us from going under.
