This 14th chapter of Matthew's Gospel is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, and contains some of my favorite preaching material!
The chapter begins with a fairly awkward retelling of the death of John the Baptist. When Jesus hears of John's death, he withdrew to a deserted place with his disciples to reflect and recover from this great loss. Jesus did not have many people in this world that understood him, perhaps no one as well as John the Baptist.
When Jesus arrives at his retreat location word spreads of his whereabouts and the crowds come to him. Jesus is moved with compassion for them and he heals the sick and when the disciples try to send them away Jesus instructs them to feed the crowds. The disciples concerns are legitimate. The crowds are 5,000 - 15,000 people, and they have only 5 loaves and 2 fish.
The process of this miracle is fascinating to me, Jesus takes what they have, blesses it, breaks it and gives it back to the disciples so they can feed the crowds. This will preach all day long friends. Jesus still takes what little we have, blesses it (and us), breaks it and gives it back to us and it is enough for the task at hand!
The chapter closes with the disciples on the sea alone in a storm. Late at night Jesus comes walking on the sea to them! The first reaction of the disciples is fear - I bet mine would have been too! But then Peter, the Big Fisherman calls out into the storm "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." Matthew 14:28 NRSV. Jesus simply responds, "Come."
What courage, how presumptuous! But remember, Jesus had called Peter to follow, and Peter is willing to do just that! Here's the part where I get very emotional and often come to tears. Jesus had called all 12 of the men on the boat, so why didn't all 12 of them climb out over the rail onto the lake? Instead of Jesus and Peter walking together in the storm there should have been a large circle dance on the sea that night.
When the Lord comes walking today, climb out and walk with him in the storm. Don't miss your chance to brave the waves!
About Me
- Pastor Bill
- I am a committed follower of Jesus Christ, a happy husband, father and grandfather!
5 comments:
Bill, The way you cover this chapter brings a tear to my eye as well..... All I can say is AMEN.
Amen. What a great glimpse of even more detail in this chapter - Thanks, Bill. It's crazy because that whole deal with John The Baptist I hadn't thought too much about, then when Sara and I took art history, we saw the painting of Herod receiving the silver platter, and the story became much more clear to me. How crazy is it that that girl got exactly what she asked for, and that whole "she did a dance that he liked thing" confused me - what kind of dance was so awesome to be worth JTB's life? I guess the anger/hatred goes deeper, but it's clear that John really died for standing up for what he believed.
I LOVE the feeding of 5,000, because I love eating and this passage helps me to remember that Jesus takes care of our needs, and doesn't leave us hungry. What a great promise and blessing. I can always relate this story to kids saying "picture me walking into the cafeteria and saying, I can feed everyone with this slice of pizza..." It just wouldn't seem real or feasible.
There should have been a party out there on the water with those disciples...but who are we to say? We all took that first step out of the boat and began our relationships with Christ, but do we ever remain strong enough to know that Jesus can help us do anything, like walk on water? That sure takes some confidence...and even when he did it, he lost his faith and fell in. I would love to say that with my faith, I could maintain solid ground despite the crazy storm underneath, keeping the faith in God...so when he says "Come," I will definitely go. I can't miss that chance...
Thanks again, Bill.
Hope all is well!
Marshall
I'm struck by the fact that it's once Peter gets out of the boat that he lets fear overwhelm him, and I think about how we do that too: get ready to follow, even get started, and then get overwhelmed by what we've gotten ourselves into!
Have you ever heard the song "The Voice of Truth"? It is about David and Goliath and Peter and the walk on the water - great song!
Bill
yeah that is a great song! I just was singing it yesterday. It's great to be able to hear the scriptures in music...and be able to remember them so well!
Marshall
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