Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our father and from our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Introduction: Jesus Creates and Sustains
His Disciples
The primary text for our meditation this morning is our gospel reading
from Matthew chapter 14.
And for the context of our reading, we have to understand that this is a
continuation of what we heard last week where Jesus fed the 5,000.
And when he fed the 5,000, he was proving to the crowds and to us that
he is the one who has power and authority over all creation.
And he has the power and authority to provide for all of our needs of
body and soul.
So at the beginning of our reading for today, Jesus dismisses the crowds
and then is off by himself to pray while he sends his disciples across
the sea to go on ahead of him.
And it doesn't take very long until the disciples are in peril, in need
of their Lord once again.
And just like Jesus had compassion on the crowds and cared for them by
giving them food, Jesus will not leave his disciples alone to perish,
but he comes to them and he controls the wind and the sea to save them.
But Jesus does so much more than just giving them a little miracle, but
he also shows his almighty power and shows them exactly who he is.
And then that creates the second great miracle of that day. The first
great miracle, him walking on the sea in controlling the storm. The
second great miracle, him declaring himself and his word to his
disciples. and the disciples hearing and believing and declaring him to
be the Son of God.
And that's the main message that our text has for us today that Jesus is
the one who creates and sustains his disciples through his word.
Through Jesus revealing to us who he is in declaring to us who he is, he
creates faith in us, making us his disciples.
And then he sustains us in that faith throughout all of our days of this
life through his word.
Jesus creates and sustains his disciples through his word.
And at the beginning of our reading, we hear, "When the evening came, he
Jesus 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." # Jesus Is the Lord God Almighty
Now Jesus certainly shows great power by walking on the sea.
But the point of Jesus walking on the sea wasn't just so his disciples
could say, "Wow, Jesus is walking on the sea.
That's kind of impressive." It's so much more than that. By walking on
the sea, specifically in calming the storm, he is declaring to them that
he is the Lord God Almighty.
He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
He is their God who comes to them to save them.
And that's really how you should think about all the miracles of Jesus.
Not as if it's just some random trick and Jesus could have done anything
else. All of the miracles of Jesus are very intentional.
So he shows you exactly who he is and what he comes to give you.
And by walking on the sea, Jesus shows himself to be the Lord God
Almighty who has power over the sea.
Because we know from Genesis chapter 1 that it is the Lord who causes
the sea to have its limits. It is the Lord who causes the earth and the
sky and the sea and everything in the world.
And he brings this about through the power of his word.
And then in John chapter 1, we hear that Jesus is that word. In the
beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.
He was in the beginning with God and all things were made through him
and without him was nothing made that was made.
So Jesus was there from the beginning and he from eternity has this
power over the sea and over the sky and over the land and then he shows
his disciples today that he is that Lord God Almighty who takes on human
flesh and he standing right there in front of them is that Lord who was
there for them. Do not be afraid.
This is what we heard in our Old Testament reading from Job chapter 38
that God's the only one who has power over these things.
And God uses these as questions to challenge Job. Are you the one who
laid the foundations of the earth? He's wanting Job to realize this
crucial fact that he is a human.
He is creation only and is limited.
And in contrast, the Lord is God.
God Almighty.
And that's a conclusion that all of us have to come to sometime in our
lives that God is God and we are not God.
That's what God is wanting Job to realize on that day.
So he gives this this series of questions. Or who shut in the sea with
doors when it burst out from the womb?
When I made the clouds its garments in thick darkness it swaddling band
and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors and said thus far
shall you come and no farther and here shall your proud waves be stayed.
The Lord makes clear that the Lord alone has power and authority over
these things.
But then what does Jesus show his disciples today?
And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
So what's Jesus showing them?
He is that Lord God Almighty who has power over creation.
And then later on in our reading from Job chapter 38, God asks the
devastating question to Job that Job surely cannot answer yes to because
it's something that only God has the power to do. Let me see if you
caught it.
God asked, "Have you entered into the springs of the sea or walked in
the recesses of the deep? Have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
Certainly, that's not something a mere man could do.
That's not something you could even do in calm water.
But think for a second about this churning storm, this raging wind and
the raging waves.
But then what does Jesus do?
He tramples on this chaos.
He tramples on the raging of the sea and puts it under his feet, showing
that he has a he has power and authority over even the most dangerous
and terrifying things of this life.
Through this, he shows that he is the Lord God Almighty.
And then Jesus not only shows his disciples this, but then also tells it
to them through his word.
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." # "Take Heart. It Is I. Do Not Be Afraid."
And at this display of Jesus' power and might, what's the reaction of
the disciples? They're terrified. They have fear.
And they don't really understand that it's Jesus at that very moment.
They think it's a ghost.
But also part of their terror is because they believe that something
really serious is going on that they are doomed for witnessing.
This is often the reaction that mortal man has when he comes into an
encounter with perfect, holy, and mighty God. You could think about
Exodus chapter 20 when God descends on Mount Sinai and the mountain is
burning and smoking. What's the reaction of the people now?
When all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the
sound of the trumpet and the mountains smoking, the people were afraid
and trembled and they stood far off.
When we as sinful humans encounter the might of perfect and almighty
God, it is a natural reaction for us to say, "I'm a little bit terrified
because I know that I'm not supposed to be here because I'm sinful and
God is perfect and I know that I deserve his wrath.
But yes, God is powerful. Yes, God is mighty.
But then also God is compassionate and merciful.
And Jesus displays this when he tells his disciples, "It is I. Do not be
afraid." And this is so reminiscent of the way that God always speaks to
his people in the Old Testament like he does in Isaiah 41:10. Fear not,
for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen
you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
So just like Jesus looked out on those crowds before the feeding of the
5,000 and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
He shows his great power and might.
But then he also says, "Do not be afraid because I'm here for you. I'm
here to forgive your sins. I'm here so that you can have life and
salvation in me." And then not only this, but Jesus identifies himself
with God by using the divine name for himself in this phrase, be
encouraged, it is I. Do not be afraid.
Our English translation rendered it as it is I.
But if you translate it literally, it says I am.
And if that word I am sounds familiar, you know that that is the name
God uses for himself all throughout the Old Testament, you can think
back to when Moses is talking to God in the burning bush in Exodus
chapter 3.
God said to Moses, "I am who I am." And he said, "Say this to the people
of Israel. I am has sent me to you." God also said to Moses, "Say this
to the people of Israel. The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.
This is my name forever.
And thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
And now Jesus stands before his disciples and says, I am. Do not fear.
He's declaring to them, I am your God. The God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God who brought you out of the land of
Egypt with his mighty right hand. The God who strengthened and preserved
your fathers, the God who promised salvation for you.
And here I am right now to bring that salvation to you, save you here on
the storm, save you eternally from your sins through his death and
resurrection. # Jesus Creates Faith Through His Word
And when the disciples hear all this and then when they see the display
of power of Jesus, the other great miracle that Jesus performs is that
they believe in him.
The end of our text says, "And those in the boat worshiped him, saying,
truly you are the Son of God." And the reason why I say this in itself
is a miracle is because this is the way that the Bible describes faith.
Is faith ever something that we could come to by our own power?
Absolutely not.
What is your state all by yourself?
St. Paul says in Ephesians 2:1 that you are dead in your trespasses and
sins.
So that's the spiritual state that you are without Christ and without
his spirit dead unable to do anything. You cannot come to Christ by your
own power. Two chapters later in the Gospel of Matthew when Peter
confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus
says that flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my father who
is in heaven.
And then in the same way Luther says this in his explanation to the
third article of the creed talking about the Holy Spirit when he says I
believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus
Christ my Lord or come to him.
So my state by myself dead in my trespasses and sins unable to come to
God. I can't even believe in God by my own reason or strength. I truly
need a miracle in order to come to Jesus.
And that's exactly what Jesus brings about through his word, through
declaring himself through his actions and declaring who he is through
his word to his disciples. This word creates faith in the hearts of his
disciples through the power of the Holy Spirit.
That's exactly what St. Paul said in our epistle reading from Romans
chapter 10. Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of
Christ.
And this is a great gift to you. Your salvation is completely the work
of God. It's the work of Jesus on the cross, him fully.
And then even you believing in him is the work of God as God works this
in you through the Holy Spirit, through the word.
And Jesus saves his disciples from the peril on the sea and then also
saves them eternally with the forgiveness of sins through his word. As
St. Paul declared in Romans chapter 10, if you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved.
So Jesus through his word creates his disciples.
This is the same for the disciples on that day.
This is the same for you. You believe in Jesus because he has created
that faith in you through the Holy Spirit through the word. You are
reliant on Jesus for this.
And you are also reliant on Jesus to sustain that faith in you through
his word throughout your entire life. # Jesus Sustains His Disciples
Through His Word
And we see this truth very perfectly brought out by the example of the
disciple Peter in Matthew chapter 14 here.
When Peter heard the words of Jesus, um he said, 'Lord, command me to
come out to you on the water.
And Jesus said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the
water and came to Jesus.
Obviously, this is not something he could have done with his own power,
but at the promise and word of Jesus, he walks on the water.
And when he has his eyes fixed on Jesus and believes in the promise that
Jesus gave him to come out of the boat onto the water, he does.
But then 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, "Oh, you of
little faith, why did you doubt?" So Peter walks on the sea when he
hears the promises of Jesus.
And when he has his eyes set on Jesus, Peter sinks when instead of
looking at Jesus and looking at his promises, he looks to himself.
And when he looks to the waves in the wind around him, the things that
terrify him.
He takes his eyes off of Jesus.
He fears and he doubts.
And Jesus says, "Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And this is
something that we have to understand about what Jesus is saying here.
Sometimes when people have this conversation with someone or with
themselves, they say, "Why don't you just try a little harder? Why don't
you just dig deeper into yourself? Why don't you just make yourself have
a little bit more faith?" But that's not really the way that the Bible
talks about faith.
That's not really the way that Jesus is talking about faith here. He's
not telling Peter to just dig a little deeper. He's not telling Peter to
just look into himself.
What is he telling him to do? He's telling him to fix his eyes on Jesus
and see who he is.
He is the Lord God Almighty.
So should Peter fear the wind in the sea? No.
Because he knows that his Lord who was right there in front of him has
power over all of these things.
So when Peter doubts, what is he really saying? He's saying that these
problems around me, the wind and the sea, they are too big for my Lord.
My Lord is too little for the wind and the sea.
But that's not what Jesus declares to us.
He declares that he is powerful over these things.
He is the Lord God Almighty.
So have faith in him, but don't look to yourself. Don't try to dig
deeper and just muster out a little bit more faith. Look to Jesus. Look
to his promises and see his power because you are going to find times in
your life where you look around and see things that are frightening, see
things that are terrifying.
But what is the promise that you have from Jesus? Take heart. I have
overcome the world.
He has suffered.
He has died.
He has risen again crushing death under his feet.
So then like St. Paul said in Romans chapter 8 a couple chapters before
that we talked about a few weeks ago, nothing can separate me from the
love of Christ.
So when you have the storms of life raging around you and you are
terrified, you know that none of these things can separate you from the
love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord because he has suffered and died
for you, given his forgiveness, given his life to you.
Focus on Christ and do not be terrified by the things of this world
which cannot kill your soul because Christ has given you life. # Christ
Sustains His Disciples Through His Gifts
All disciples of Christ must be sustained by Jesus.
And that's something we have to keep in mind when we're going to have
our adult confirms make their confession before the church today because
they're going to be saying things like, "I confess that I will stay in
this confession in this church even unto death." And that's something
that you all confessed before the church when you were brought into the
church.
But here's the key.
What do they say when they answer? I will with the help of God. I will
by the grace of God.
Because if it was up to me, I could not make that confession.
But Christ has created that faith in my heart. Christ sustains that
faith through his word. Christ will sustain me in that good confession
until the day I die.
And Christ sustains his disciples through the gifts that he gives to his
church. His word.
He seals us in holy baptism, making us his own, joining us to himself
and then feeding us with his body and blood for the forgiveness of our
sins and the strengthening of our faith each and every week so that we
can go on and continue to live in him in faith.
That's what Jesus gives to his church.
He stands before you and says, "I am the Lord Almighty who has saved
you. Do not fear." So throughout your life, look to Jesus. Hear his word
that creates faith and life in you. Receive the gifts that he wants to
give you for the strengthening of your faith.
And receive the very body and blood of Jesus in the Lord's Supper for
the forgiveness of your sins and the strengthening of your faith. Look
to Jesus for he tells you, "I am." Do not be afraid for you have the
promise everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
Amen.
And now may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard
your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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