Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountain side by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land,
battered by the waves because the wind was against it. 

Matthew 14:22-24 

Christ often puts us in situations where faith is necessary. Our text gives us an example from the experience of the disciples. Jesus had done a massive creative miracle by feeding 5,000 men, plus women and children with five loaves of bread and two fish. Immediately after this He made his disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side. The Sea of Galilee is relatively shallow and subject to highly turbulent storms. As the disciples traversed the water, the wind caused great upheaval for the boat. The disciples were there, at the behest of the Master, and things were not going well. If there was ever a situation that warranted faith this was it. Christ puts us in situations that require us to exercise faith. We may be absolutely certain He has led us into a particular place to do what we are doing. We are here at His behest. We know what He revealed to us and have no doubt we are doing what He wants us to do. Perhaps things are not going well. The wind is against us and our boat is tossing about and taking on water. All these circumstances call for faith and are a challenge to faith at the same time. We know He has sent us here. All we can do is continue where we are and trust He knows what He is doing. In such circumstances faith is necessary.  

Our Wise and Holy Savior, 
we rejoice that You know all things. 
We praise You that even when circumstances 
seem to be against us, 
You are still accomplishing Your will. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him saying, Truly You are the Son of God.  

Matthew 14:32-33 

Christ is always moving us toward a better understanding of Him and an increased faith in Him. In the scene preceding our text, He walked on the water in the midst of a storm; bid Peter come to Him on the water; saved Peter from drowning; taught him to have more faith, and caused the wind to cease. The conclusion the disciples reached was, ‘Truly You are the Son of God.’ They had come to a better understanding of Who Christ is, and they had more faith in Him. This kind of thing would occur over and over again, as they followed Christ. The ultimate confirmation of Who He is, which would increase their faith in Him exponentially, would be His resurrection from the dead. This would surpass all other proofs and would become the theme of their preaching, teaching and writing for the rest of their lives. John’s whole purpose for writing is that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. We do believe. We proclaim His message on the same foundation the Apostles and Prophets have laid. After all we have seen and heard of Him, we can arrive at no other conclusion and preach no other message. The disciples believed it. The people of God have believed it. We believe He is the Son of God. 

Our Glorious, Living God, 
we rejoice that You have revealed Christ, Your Son to us. 
We praise You that He is the brightness of Your Glory, 
and the express image of Your Person. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying Truly You are the Son of God. 

Matthew 14:31-33 

Christ brings peace to troubled situations. The disciples were in a boat in the middle of a turbulent storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus came to them, walking on the water. Peter exercised his faith and walked on the water at Christ’s command. He became intimidated by the circumstances and began to sink. When he cried out to Jesus, He picked him up out of the water with the question, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ Thus, He taught Peter, who had some faith, how to have more and better faith. The lesson now completed, the two of them returned to the boat and the wind ceased. Thus, having taught all the disciples something about faith, and Peter in particular, He brought the class to a close with the cessation of the wind. The disciples worshipped Him as the Son of God. Our experiences of faith lead us to the same conclusion. Everything Christ has said and done convinces us more thoroughly He is the Son of God. We did believe; do believe, and shall believe. After the lesson is done, the wind has ceased, and the sea is calm, we are all the more convinced that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and utterly worthy of worship. If we have learned to have more faith, we can be sure He will lead us into new circumstances in the future that will increase our faith even more.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You teach us like no one else does. 
We praise You that each new experience, 
teaches us to trust You more. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

So, He said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? 

Matthew 14:29-31 

We have our doubts. None of us is without them. They surface in our difficult moments. Great people of faith have had them at various times. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, and Job all reflect doubt at various moments of their spiritual walk. Peter had adventured himself to request that Christ permit him to walk on the water. Christ bid him come to Him. Peter stepped out and, for a few moments, carried on bravely. Eventually, the magnitude of the situation overcame him. He saw the wind and waves were boisterous and he began to sink. He cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus reached down and grasped him by the hand, pulling him up to safety, saying, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ One thing which is worth considering is, this was a private conversation between two friends, a Teacher and His student. They were away from the boat in the midst of the storm. In order for Matthew to record it, Peter would have had to tell him what Christ had said. Also, this was not a beratement, as much as it was a teaching moment. Peter had shown some faith, more than the others, and Jesus was teaching him to have more faith. Christ does the same for us. We have demonstrated some faith, have at times struggled, and He has taught us to have more faith. He will continue to teach us as we walk with Him.  

Our Good and Wise Savior, 
we rejoice that You teach us along the way. 
We praise You that You seize the moment, 
to teach us to have more faith. 

Tomm Tice

Where the Bush is Burning