Truly the Son of God

Here is a sermon I preached on Matthew 14:22-33.

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Dear friends, our text this morning has a message for us, which you must hear. The message comes at the end of the gospel passage: And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’ This text is interesting in many ways, indeed, it is remarkable—Jesus walking on water, and Peter with him! Maybe you are tempted to ask how this possibly could have occurred. Perhaps this question is valid, but it will not concern us this morning. This morning we will simply let Jesus present himself to us, we will let the text speak to us, we will let it give us its remarkable message—which is this: And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’ No message could be more relevant or urgent, that the Son of God is among us to be worshiped as our Lord and Savior and God. Why have you come to church today? Why come at all? Friends, we come to church not to hear from ourselves, but to hear from God, to hear his Word, which is above every other word. And his Word to us this morning is this: this man, Jesus of Nazareth, the one who walks on water, the one who comes to his disciples in the darkest hour of the night, the one who holds power over all creation and exercises it for us, he is truly the Son of God who alone can rescue us.

First, let me simply rehearse this remarkable story, for it can speak for itself. It was a dark a stormy night, and the disciples had been sent across the lake to reach the other side before Jesus, who had gone up on a mountain to pray.  And as out text says, their boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land for the wind was against them. There they were in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, and as was prone to happen, a storm had swept in and overtaken them. In the middle of the night, out on the water for hours, probably lost, probably terrified, certainly tired and exhausted, the disciples were in trouble. And unlike the last time this happened (Matt. 8:23-27), Jesus was not with them in the boat. They were alone.

Then something happened. Our text says that it was the fourth watch of the night, that is, it was between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. The sea is ominous and terrifying at night, how much more so during the darkest hours of the night? No one wants to be up during the fourth watch of the night, especially if it means battling a storm. And in the midst of the chaos, the disciples saw something, a figure walking toward them on the sea. And they did what any of us would have done at such a site. They cried out in fear and exclaimed, “It is a ghost!” You see, during the fourth watch of the night, when you are tired and not thinking clearly, all the superstitions about the sea become believable. “Oh no! The spirits of those who have died at sea really do live in the sea! And one is coming toward us!”

But as soon as the disciples were overcome with fear at the shadowy figure coming toward them, the figure spoke: “Take heart; it is I; do not be afraid.” It was Jesus, not a ghost! He was the one walking on the water toward them, and because of this the disciples need not have been afraid. Jesus was coming to them not to haunt them, but to do what he alone can do; he was coming to save them. But in the fourth watch of the night with a storm raging, Jesus was not easily recognizable. So Peter shouted from the boat, “Lord, it if is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus replied, “Come on.” And so Peter stepped out of the boat, and, miracle of miracles, he began walking to Jesus! But poor Peter, so easily distracted, took his eyes off Jesus, realizing that the storm was still raging around him. He became afraid and so he started to sink. He turned back to Jesus and cried out, “Lord, save me!” And as soon as the words escaped his mouth, Jesus’ hand had caught Peter, and Jesus said to him, “Hey little-faith, why did you doubt?”

And so they got back into the boat, and as soon as they did, the storm ceased. The wind stopped, the waves stopped, and Jesus stood in front of them. And the disciples did the only thing they could do. They worshipped Jesus, saying to him, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Friends, this text is a proclamation of Jesus Christ, and so a proclamation of the Gospel. It is no cute fable, but a powerful depiction of Jesus Christ our Lord. And this Jesus we encounter in our gospel lesson, he is risen from the dead, and so he is with us today as the one he is in this text, coming to us here as he came to those in the text. This passage is not first and foremost about something we must do, such as muster up more faith than our poor friend Peter. No, friends, you must first let your minds and hearts be drawn to the center of this story, to Jesus himself. Jesus is the one who sends his disciples across the lake, Jesus is the one who comes to them in their distress, Jesus is the one who commands Peter to come out of the boat, Jesus is the one who rescues him from his little faith, Jesus is the one who is worshipped at the end of the story: “Truly you are the Son of God.” This story is meant to tell us about Jesus.

Here in this text, some have said, we have an Easter story before Easter. On Easter, Jesus is revealed to us as the One he is, as the One whose life is the very life of God, as the One who, raised from the dead by the Father, is one God with him, and so the possessor of all authority in heaven and earth. But here in this story we get an Easter revelation before Easter. Here is one of the few times in the gospels where we are told with no qualifications that Jesus’ disciples worshipped him. This must fill us with wonder, for it was Jews who were worshipping Jesus, and the number one rule for any Jew is that God alone is to be worshipped. But we must say they were right to do so. For who but God has authority to command the wind and the waves? Who but God has the authority to say to people in impossible situations, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Who but God uses the sea for his walkway? Listen to a remarkable portion of Psalm 77 with our gospel story in mind:

The waters saw you, God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water, the heavens resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightening lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.

And so the disciples fell down and worshipped Jesus, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

So what is it to us that Jesus is the Son of God? What really does that mean? Friends, it means this: that Jesus is the help sent from God. Jesus means help and salvation. When you think of God you must think of Jesus, and so you must know that God comes to you in your distress, you must know that you can call upon God for help and salvation. As I said before, Jesus, even today, comes to us as he came to his disciples amid the raging storm. Friends, what distress are you under? What burdens are you bearing? Perhaps you are laden with guilt this morning, perhaps your heart is cold, perhaps you are suffering some tragedy, or perhaps you are simply dealing with life, which is enough trouble on its own. Know this, Jesus, and so God, comes to you. He has come to you, is coming to you, and will come to you. Look to him, hear and believe his promises, hear and believe what he says to you: “It is I; do not be afraid.” Know that he takes over responsibility for you. Know that he can calm the storms of your life.

But that Jesus is the Son of God also means this: that help and salvation come from God. Friends, it is not we who can help ourselves, however much we might like to. To receive help we must turn away from ourselves, we must drop our pride and fear and acknowledge that help comes from God. We must stop our vain attempts at constructing our own lives. Such attempts are like the disciples in their boat out on the raging sea. We battle furiously but get nowhere. We must stop and turn to Jesus. Also we must realize that our help, because it comes from God, is not to be taken for granted. Grace is not a thing we possess and use at our own control. God’s help comes to us, yes, but it always comes new and fresh and mysteriously, like Jesus walking on the sea at night. One who has truly encountered God’s help in Jesus can only be startled and not a little amazed, just like the disciples for whom Jesus calmed the sea.   

Here is my charge to you this morning: that you turn to Jesus and from the heart confess to him, “Truly you are the Son of God.” And in this confession, surrender to him. Cast your burdens upon him, cast your sins upon him, and ask him to command you to come him. Truly Jesus is the Son of God; he is your help and salvation from God.

Now, finally and lastly, we turn to poor Peter. What can we say about him? The decisive thing seems to be this: Peter began to sink because he became afraid, not the other way around. Peter had no reason to fear; he had no reason to doubt; Jesus was right in front him. But as soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus, he thought he had something to fear; unbelief crept into his heart. Friends, are you doubting this morning, struggling with unbelief in your heart like Peter, and sinking because of it? What I must say to you is this: turn to Jesus and see him in front of you, for he is there. He may be shadowy and blurry from the storm, but he is there. Don’t be unbelieving, you have no reason to. There is a quote by Karl Barth I like very much, and perhaps it may help some of you: “Everyone who has to contend with unbelief should be advised that he ought not to take his own unbelief too seriously. Only faith is to be taken seriously; and if we have faith as a grain of mustard seed, that suffices for the devil to have lost his game.”

But even should you continue to doubt. Even if this morning your heart cannot believe, know this: Jesus will never let you go. He is the help sent from God, and so a help beyond our imaginations and expectations, a help stronger than our fears and weaknesses. Peter was rescued even in the middle of his unbelief. Jesus reached out and grabbed him even as his unbelief was causing him to sink. His faith did not save him, Jesus did. And Jesus saves you. Truly he is the Son of God. Amen.