Beyond A Reasonable Doubt
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22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
He has just fed the 5000… besides women and children.
Jesus was sending his disciples to Capernaum, and he was taking time to pray and to dismiss the crowds… not in that order!
23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
Dismissed the crowds. Went up on the mountain to pray… by himself. And when the evening came he was there alone.
24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
They had wind, a troublesome wind was working against them.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
Between 3 am and 6 am, Jesus comes walking on the sea.
26 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.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Take Heart- be marked by confidence and assurance, don’t be rattled.
28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
“If it’s you”= it is a real condition. A bold request. But a request all the same. Prove that you are Jesus by letting me walk on the water.
29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
beginning to sink- drown. To die from being submerged in water, getting water into the lungs, and asphyxiating.
This was not that Peter lost faith in himself. His faith in Jesus, which was strong enought to get him out of the boat and walking on the water- was not strong enough that he could stand up to the storm.
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
O you of little faith why did you doubt
little faith- a weak belief, trust, and reliance on something . understood in numerical terms as a faith of small quantity.
Doubt- doubt, waver. verb, aorist, active, indicative, second person, singular.
Little faith is an adjective; it describes the faith of Peter.
Doubt is a verb, it describes what Peter did. He doubted.
32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Some have called this last verse, an epiphany of jesus to the disciples, after the order of the transfiguration.
The climax of this story is not the stilling of the storm. It is not Peter walking on the water. The Climax of this story is the confession and worship of the disciples: Truly you are the Son of God.
The climax of the story is the growing of the faith of the disciples.
The Son of God. This is the first time Jesus has been addressed by the disciples with this full title. This is their first realized understanding of who Jesus truly is. But note, Satan has already used the title twice- in the temptation (Matthew 4:3 and Matthew 4.6),
In Matthew 4:3, Satan is speaking to Jesus in the temptation.
3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
If you are the son of God, satan says. The problem with that, Satan KNOWS He is the son of God.
The next point is Matthew 4:6, again in the Temptation
6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
In both cases, Satan knows that Jesus IS the Son of God. His temptation is not that Jesus prove that point. Satan already knows that . His temptation is for Jesus to use His authority and power in a way inconsistent with who He was and is.
And the point for me to bring this into this message is this: Satan already believed. It does not mean that He had faith. It means that He believed. In fact, Satan had verifiable proof and belief of who Jesus was. They’d met before.
Satan, being a fallen angel, always knew who Jesus was. Moreover, his belief in Him was nothing like faith in Him. Satan’s belief was knowledge, not faith. Faith, being the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen, is far different from belief.
james 2.19 says that Satan believes and he trembles. He believes. He knows who Jesus is. But belief is all that Satan has. He wasn’t looking to extend his faith…he was challenging Jesus’ authority and deity- trying to help him lose it, as a matter of fact.
so when someone says, “I believe”, that’s not necessarily faith. Faith includes belief, but it grows.... faith is so much more than just belief.
Faith includes belief- but belief is not faith. The fact that I believe Jesus exists, does not qualify for faith. Faith changes our attitudes, our our worldview, our priorities,… Faith makes our heart change, our finances change, our thought life changes and our priorities change.
Satan wasn’t asking Jesus to prove He was the son of God- he was asking Jesus to throw it all away using it for himself or in a fashion that would not be consistent with His father’s will. That’s not faith. That’s trickery and trying to make jesus fall based upon what satan believed.
The next time we see this epiphany statement, “you are the son of the living God”, is with Peter. Remember is Matthew 16. Jesus has asked his disciples, “Who do People say that I am?” And the disciples all say, “Thou art the Son of the Living God.” And Jesus recognizes that for Peter… Yes Peter, and humans haven’t revealed this to you, God has. You’re the rock. Your’e going to have a lot of authority ..... the church will be built on this.” It’s all good, right?
Well, Yes and no. Because in the very next passage, you will recall, Jesus tells Peter He’s going to go to the cross and be crucified and Peter argues with Jesus. Far be it from you, Lord. And Jesus says, Get the behind me, Satan. You value the things of humans, not of God.
So much for those epiphany moments. Seems Peter had one and immediately lost it in his disbelief that Christ could die that kind of death for any reason- even if it was God’s love for Peter!
You see, that seems to be the thing about faith and doubt- Just when we move ourselves close to Christ, we seem to lose that trust and faith in Him because of the very things He tells us or places in our lives.
In Matthew 27:40, Jesus is on the cross. And the crowd is screaming at him , mocking and shouting. And look at what they say.
40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
If you are the son of God. IF. And the thing is, these people have no belief. They aren’t starting down the road of faith.... they are outright mocking who He was and who He said He was.
This Epiphany phraseology appears at 3-4 other places in Mathew’s gospel that are worth noting. But the other places are all declatory statements of belief, much like Peter’s statement. “you are the Son of God,” . peter’s statement, the 2 demon possessed men in the tombs of the gadarenes, and the centurion at the death of Christ when the earthquake occurred.
The one’s that say, “If you are the Son of God” are always either challenging Jesus’ divinity- Satan, the High Priest, the crowd at the cross… or, they are asking Jesus to grow their faith.
And with that information, I want to go back to Peter and the disciples on the Sea of Galilee in a storm in the fourth watch of the night.
They were doing EXACTLY what Jesus had told them to do. Go across the lake and wait for Him. They were halfway over and were caught in these winds that were fighting against them fulfilling their task. So much so, that they were running late.
And here comes this apparition on the water. Why did they think he was a ghost? They had never seen a man walking on water at all, let alone in a storm.
And Jesus says, in their fright- “Take heart, Don’t be afraid. It’s me. I’m with you.” (Don’t be afraid- don’t act on your doubts.)
And church, this is what I want you to see. Peter says to Jesus, “IF IT’S YOU, command me to come on the water.” Peter is unsure if this apparition on the water is really Jesus. The winds blowing , the water spray is flying, the disciples have identified Jesus as a ghost or worse- and Peter says, Jesus… if it’s you, do what you and you only could do.
I know you can walk on water… let me walk on water.
I know you can walk on water because I believe in you. I’ve just seen you feed over 5000 people with five loaves and 2 fish. I believe in you.
But, if it’s you, help me move to or grow my faith. Let me walk on water.
So, Jesus says come. And Peter comes. And Peter walks on water.
But he saw the wind, and became afraid, and he began to sink. and he cries out to Jesus.
this story is a picture of the life of faith- or the life of half-faith, faith mixed with fear and doubt, and is typical of many Christians as it was with the disciples.
Matthew wants us, the reader, to “hear” this story in the terms of our own journey of faith. and our struggles with doubt.
DOUBTS MAKE MOUNTAINS OUT OF MOLEHILLS;
DOUBTS MAKE MOUNTAINS OUT OF MOLEHILLS;
FAITH MAKES MOUNTAINS INTO MUD
FAITH MAKES MOUNTAINS INTO MUD
And Jesus reaches out his hand and takes hold of him and says, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Little Faith- Adjective; A quantification of faith.
Little faith- Like the father of the boy with the unclean spirit- says to Jesus, “I believe: Help thou my unbelief”.
Little faith is faith; it just feels to us like it could grow. Any faith should grow. Until we are with him and like him.
Abraham in Romans 4:18-20
18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”
19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.
20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
Remember James, the Lord’s Brother, in James 1:6-8
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Doubt-…Look at what Jesus says, “Why did you doubt?”
Doubt is a verb- it is an action. It is what Peter did.
We talk about acting on our faith- what happens when we act on our doubt? We begin to sink. to drown. to die.
And when they got in the boat the wind ceased. Jesus doesn’t stop the storm until they are back in the boat. Jesus can either stop the storm- or hold your hand to get you through it.
How long, Lord? How Long? Psalm 13:1
Jesus can easily stop the storm- but most of the time He’s there to hold your hand to get you through it.
Sometimes, it can seem that God isn’t listening. In a future message, I am going to preach on Job… He’s gone through it all… and at one point, he questions if God hears him or even knows about his situation. God won’t answer prayer.
Ever been there?
Felt like God is in a distant land and you are on hold. His answer is that you are 150, 989 person in line.
Imagine Abraham.... offer Isaac, your only son, Isaac.
When Peter got into the boat, the wind ceased. Not a second sooner.
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
When Peter got into the boat, the wind ceased. Not a second sooner.
And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Why did they say this? What brought the epiphany? This is about the other disciples… they became the audience to this scene. Much like Peter James and John watched Jesus Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration, they are watching this interaction with Peter and Jesus.
Was it that Peter walked on water?
Was it that Peter began to sink but didn’t because Jesus took his hand?
Was it because they realized they had less faith than Peter- they never were out of the boat, but Peter’s situation emboldened theirs.?
Was it because Jesus stopped the storm when Peter got into the boat? Or was it because Peter made it through the storm and got into the boat?
Whatever it was, it meant a great deal to those who were in the boat.
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. They learned this, beyond a reasonable doubt. Much like CS Lewis , they’ve been given the choice of Jesus being a liar, a lunatic, or the Messiah. And this situation helped them move to faith instead of doubt. It wouldn’t be reasonable to consider that the God of the ages chose to be bornin a stable and take on human form. That’s not reasonable at all. Because all that reason is what forms our doubts. But faith, it takes you beyond a reasonable doubt, doesn’t it?
The disciples weren’t considering who Jesus was, they were convinced who Jesus was. Beyond A Reasonable Doubt.
Jesus didn’t calm the storm until they got back in the boat.
And the fact that we can be moved beyond a reasonable doubt, is the benefit of the doubt.
When you are in a storm and you are in the very center of where God wants you to be- and the Lord gets you through, it bolsters your faith. The next storm isn’t so bad because you can trust Him.
Are you a believer? Or do you have faith?