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Good morning Southside and thank you for taking time to spend some time with the Lord today. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew and today we pick up where we left off yesterday. Look at Matthew 14:22-36:

“Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that His disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while He sent the people home. (23) After sending them home, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. Night fell while He was there alone. (24) Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. (25) About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. (26) When the disciples saw Him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, ‘It’s a ghost!’ (27) But Jesus spoke to them at once. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ He said. ‘Take courage. I am here!’ (28) Then Peter called to Him, ‘Lord, if it’s really You, tell me to come to You, walking on the water.” (29) ‘Yes, come,’ Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. (30) But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. ‘Save me, Lord!’ he shouted. (31) Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. ‘You have so little faith,’ Jesus said. ‘Why did you doubt Me?’ (32) When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. (33) Then the disciples worshiped Him. ‘You really are the Son of God!’ they exclaimed. (34) After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. (35) When the people recognized Jesus, the news of His arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed. (36) They begged Him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of His robe, and all who touched Him were healed” (NLT).

To do justice to this passage, we are going to break it into several parts. Today will be part 1 and on Tuesday, and possibly Wednesday, we will look at this in greater detail. This is one of those stories in the Bible you never forget – walking on water? We have no problem with knowing Jesus did this, but we are often quick to criticize Peter for his lack of faith and sinking. But are we any different? We come to church and praise the Lord – that’s “walking on water” – and then an emotional or physical or relational storm hits us and we start to sink fast in the waves of that storm. Can anyone relate to this?

Immediately after feeding the thousands, Jesus abruptly left. Why? John’s Gospel tells us in John 6:15. So, before the crowd could become a riotous and unruly mob, Jesus made His disciples get in a boat and go to the other side of the sea of Galilee. It is possible that the disciples felt the same way as the people wanted to join them in their charismatic emotional desire to make Jesus their King. As the disciples were making their way across the Sea of Galilee, Jesus went up into the mountains to pray. 

Now critics will go to this passage and say it contradicts other passages in the Gospels. Mark’s Gospel records that Jesus told His disciples to go to Bethsaida (see Mark 6:45). According to John 6:17, the disciples set sail for Capernaum (see John 6:17). We know from other writings of and around that time that these two communities were named Bethsaida. Luke’s Gospel uses these two city names interchangeably (see Luke 9:10). When we lived in KY, we lived in a small town named Prospect. It was adjacent to the city of Louisville. But when we told people where we lived, we typically said Louisville, because it helped people know geographically where we lived. My brother lives in Whitsett, but no one hardly knows where that is. So, he will often say, “Burlington.” 

One of the realities that stands out about Jesus is His prayer life. Jesus often spent time in prayer alone with God the Father. Jesus was always in constant contact with God the Father. IF Jesus needed to do that, how much more do we? Though we are not told what Jesus prayed on the mountain top, maybe it was to not be tempted to get distracted from His mission from God the Father to make Himself their king. Maybe it was to overcome the temptation to avoid a death on the cross. We do not know, but Jesus intentionally went into a mountain wilderness to be alone with God the Father. 

Matthew’s Gospel stresses how Jesus taught what the Kingdom of God was to look like and be. First, Jesus healed all the sick (Matt. 4:24). Here are the healings Jesus has done so far in Matthew’s Gospel that we have seen:

These miracles show us something about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of heaven. When we look at the parables in Matt. 13 and Jesus’ miracles in Matthew 4-14 (Matt. 4-14), 10 chapters, we see that the Kingdom of heaven is for both rich and poor, religious and non-religious, Jew and Gentile, male and female, adult and child. The Kingdom of God is for anyone who will recognize their spiritual deprivation and allow the Father to draw them to the Son (John 6:44) in faith for repentance of sin and salvation. These miracles above teach us about the nature of the Kingdom, but they also reveal the identity of the King. 

Assignment: When you think of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of heaven, what comes to your mind? What do you do when the Lord sends you into a crowded boat in the middle of the night in the dark to face an unknown violent storm? We may love to sing the hymn. “Wherever He leads I’ll go,” until a storm hits us. Jesus left His disciples alone in the boat so He could go pray. Have you ever felt the Lord has left you alone when a storm hit you in the dark – out of nowhere? What storms has Jesus used to teach you to “walk by faith and not sight?” 

Scripture To Meditate On: Luke 17:20-21, “One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Jesus replied, ‘The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. (21) You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you” (NLT).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, let people see Your kingdom in me. It is scary to walk by faith and not sight. Please help me to do this. Lord, wherever You lead, I will go. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly



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