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Introduction
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Matthew fourteen begins with
the record of the death of
John the Baptist and the
burial of his headless body
(Matt. 14:12). Upon hearing
of the murder of His cousin
John, and while we are not
told why the Lord left that
area, He did move away. In
the murder of John Baptist
Herod sought to silence the
voice of God to his
conscience, but his very
“agitation” about who Jesus
was and his own surmising,
it is evident his conscience
was still troubling him.
Later, when Herod had the
Lord sent to him, the Lord
was silent. Herod silenced
the voice of God and then
the voice of God was silent
to him. |
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a) |
This is a very solemn truth
for saved or unsaved. The
individual never knows when
the voice of God speaks to
them for the last time while
on this side of death. The
conscience of the individual
may have troubling thoughts
but the voice of God will be
silent. God has decreed,
“My Spirit shall not always
strive with man” (Gen.
6:3). No wonder the
scriptures record how God
called to Israel, “To day if
ye will hear His voice,
Harden not your hearts”
(Heb. 3:7, 15; 4:7). |
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Moving from that region, the
Lord goes to a desert place
(Matt. 14:13). The people
went out seeking the Lord
and then we read how that
Jesus “went forth” (Matt.
14:14) to where they were.
The individuals who
earnestly seek the Lord, He
will come to where they
are. The Lord came to seek
the lost, “For the Son of
man is come to seek and to
save that which was lost” (Lk.
19:10). Therefore, in this
section we have three
occasions of the Lord coming
to where people are, who
either were seeking Him or
those who were in dire
straits without Him (Matt.
14:25). When Peter began to
sink and called on the
Lord, He “stretched forth
His hand, and caught him”
(Matt. 14:31).
In the wilderness the Lord,
having compassion on those
who were sick, healed them.
As the day progressed the
disciples suggested that the
crowd of 5000 men besides
women and children (Matt.
14:21) (so possibly over
15,000) be dispersed so they
can go and get food in the
surrounding villages. But
Jesus intervened and fed the
multitude with the five
loaves and two fishes.
Having fed the people, the
Lord would not permit waste
and told the disciples to
gather the fragments which
remained. Astoundingly,
they gathered sufficient to
fill twelve baskets.
Marvelous reality, they
ended up with more than they
had at the beginning (Matt.
14:19, 20; Mk. 6:41, 43; Lk.
9:16, 17). |
The Storm
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Having fed the multitudes,
the Lord as Commander sent
two groups of people away.
He sent the disciples away
because they were, among
other reasons, to learn
several important truths.
He then sent the people away
for they wanted to make Him
King but this was not the
time, place or manner for
Him to be King. The Lord
then went up into a mountain
alone to pray (Matt. 14:23). |
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a) |
As the evening turned into
night and then the early
hours of the morning, the
Lord left the mountain and
began to walk on the sea to
where the disciples were. A
storm had arisen and little
headway was being made since
the storm was contrary to
them. While never on a
small boat with a wind
against you, I know from
experience of cycling that a
strong headwind makes moving
forward very difficult. |
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b) |
There are a number of
contrasts to another time
when there was a storm on
the sea. This time the Lord
did not still the storm
since this was not a storm
from Satan using the
elements. On this occasion
the Lord walks on the sea
and faces the contrary wind
more severely than the
disciples (Mk.
4:37-39). What a truth
is in this. In the storms
of life which the Lord
causes us to face, that of
sickness, financial loss or
bereavement, the Lord has
known more deeply what those
experiences are like. In
Hebrews the Lord is called
our Captain, “For it became
him, for whom are all
things, and by whom are all
things, in bringing many
sons unto glory, to make the
captain of their salvation
perfect through sufferings”
(Heb. 2:10). The word
“Captain” is the thought of
being a Leader. In Africa
when the men went out in the
morning, the file leader
went first. He got the
soakings of the early dew,
any dangers in the way he
was there first. The
followers had some
experiences but not as his
were. So the Lord in the
experiences we face. He has
known them but more fiercely
than we ever have or will. |
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c) |
They were in the boat part
way across the storm lashed
sea and since this was in
the fourth watch of the
night (Matt. 14:25; Mk.
6:48),
somewhere after 3:00 AM,
they saw a figure
walking on the sea. The
natural reaction was, “it is
a spirit” and in terror they
cried out. Very calmly the
Lord speaks, “Be of good
cheer (comfort), it is I; be
not afraid” (Matt. 14:27). |
The Coming of The Lord To Them On
The Sea
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I am sure that if any of us
had been on that boat and
saw a figure walking on the
water, it would have freaked
us out. The children of
Israel did not walk on water
when crossing the Red Sea or
the Jordan. It was dry land
by a double miracle. This
however was quite different
and certainly not normal. |
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a) |
Aware of their fears the
Lord said, “It is I, be not
afraid”. This was all that
was needed for quietening of
the heart and mind. The
Lord was with them in the
storm. I am reminded of a
flight when an adult was
sitting beside a little
child. During the flight it
hit dreadful turbulences,
yet the child sat
contentedly drawing in her
little book. The adult
asked her, “Are you not
afraid?’ The child
answered, “No, my daddy is
the pilot”. That was all
that was needed, her daddy
was there. Likewise with
the disciples, the Lord was
there. In the storms of
life our blessed Lord is
there saying, “Be of good
cheer, it is I, be not
afraid”. The hymn writer
put it so well, “The
hands my many sins have
pierced are now my guard and
guide”. |
Peter Walking On The Sea
It is so easy to find fault with
Peter when he saw the wind and
waves, but I wonder how many of us
would get out of a boat in a storm
to walk on the water? When he began
to look at the natural happenings
and losing sight of the fact that
the Creator was there before
him, he began to sink. Jesus heard
Peter’s cry of fear, “Lord, save me”
and immediately put out His hand and
caught him (Matt. 14:30, 31). Thank
God the Lord will not allow for our
distress one minute longer than is
needed for us to express in heart
and desperation our need for His
securing. What a stupendous truth is
in this latter incident. It was the
hand of Almighty God which was
stretched forth to
catch Peter and not Peter catching
the hand of the Lord.
What Was The Purpose of The Lord
Sending The Disciples Ahead of Him?
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1) |
Remember Jesus had directed
the disciples to “go before
Him unto the other side”
(Matt. 14:22). When He told
them this He automatically
indicated He would follow,
but they had not expected
Him to follow in the way He
did. In life, circumstances
often prevent us from seeing
the Lord. He comes to us in
a way, or in circumstances,
we had never known before.
The disciples were brought
into this situation at the
command of the Lord so that
they would learn a new truth
about him that they could
not have learnt any other
way.
They
learnt that the man Jesus
was master of the wind and
waves. They could not have
learnt that on the dry land
and in so doing, they saw
the wonder of who the Lord
was. |
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2) |
The same to us who are
children
of the Lord. He directs us
at times to, unbeknown to
us, be delivered through
the stormy situations of
life. The Lord is as it
were, pushing us out to
strengthen our faith and
learn by experience that no
matter how dreadful the
situation, He grants us
peace when He says, “Be of
good cheer (courage) it is
I, be not afraid”. It made
all the difference when the
Lord got into the ship
having rescued Peter, and
the wind ceased. |
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