Jesus said to them; "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

 

"Here comes Jesus

See him walking on the water

He'll lift you up

And he'll help you to stand

Here comes Jesus

He's the master of the waves that roll

Here comes Jesus

He'll make you whole."

 

         That chorus has some years on it, but it is remarkably on track in its message. In the midst of our fear, Jesus comes to us; he appears with healing and saving grace. Do we act out of fear, or out of faith? When the wind blows against us, do we find our peace in the presence of Jesus?

         These chapters in the middle of the Gospel of Matthew deal with the question of fear and faith. The sudden death of John the Baptist casts a shadow on the Gospel. The name "Herod" now reappears. In chapter 2 it was King Herod who tried to kill the baby Jesus, and in the process a number of infants lost their lives. Now the name of Herod appears again. He arrests John for telling the truth, and then makes good on a foolish, perhaps drunken, promise, and puts him to death. The disciples must feel the fear of King Herod. Who will be next? Will he now kill Jesus?

         Then comes the Feeding of the 5,000, which shows the disciples' fear of the crowds. You start to minister to people and all of a sudden their needs are far beyond your resources. "Jesus, send them away, so they can buy themselves something to eat."

         After that great event of seeing Jesus feed 5,000 people, the disciples are sent away in a boat, while Jesus goes off to pray by himself. They row through the night, but the wind is against them. Perhaps they get blown off course. They make no progress. The wind defeats them.

         During the fourth watch of the night, which would be very early morning, Jesus is present to them. The emphasis here is not on Jesus' ability to walk on water, but rather on his presence with the disciples and his power over the wind.

         The presence of Jesus is not at first comforting to the disciples. In the darkness or gloom of pre-dawn, they think he may be a ghost; the word used here is "phantom." There was a popular superstition in the ancient world that evil spirits lived in the sea; some said those who had drowned at sea remained to haunt the water. So the disciples are afraid.

         But it does not take long for Jesus to dispel their fear. Note what Jesus says:

"Take courage" or "Be of good cheer," and "Don't be afraid." He sounds like the angels talking to the shepherds on the night when he was born. In between these two words he says, "ego emi," which means "It is I" but also literally "I am."

When Moses encountered God at the burning bush, God revealed his name as a form of "I am." In the Gospel of John Jesus uses many "I am" statements. "I am the Good Shepherd." "I am the bread of life." "I am the light of the world."

         So Jesus says to the disciples,

         "Take courage!"

         "I am."

         "Don't be afraid."

         So, what Jesus says here is far more than "It's me, Jesus." He says, "I am." He is saying they are in the presence of the Son of God. Even more than that, we see that these words, "I am," drew Peter close to Jesus. Peter reacts in faith. He wants to be in the presence of Jesus who is the I AM. In fact, Peter is always at his best when he is close to Jesus. He falters when he is separated from Jesus. Think of him in the courtyard during the trial of Jesus, and he is filled with fear and denies even knowing Jesus.

But then think of him after the resurrection, an incident recorded in John 21, when he and the others are fishing, and Jesus calls to them from the shore. Jesus provides a great catch of fish, and Peter recognizes him and immediately jumps into the water. He does not walk on the water, but he wants to be close to Jesus. He knows that he needs to remain in the presence of Jesus.

         Here, in the storm and wind, he moves towards Jesus, walking on the water, but he sees the wind and he becomes fearful and he begins to sink. Just after being told not to be afraid, it says "he was afraid." And then Jesus lifts Peter up and they get into the boat and the wind dies down. In the presence of the "I am" the wind dies down. They worship him as Son of God. Do you know that Herod is not mentioned again in the Gospel of Matthew? The powers that cause fear are defeated in the presence of Jesus.

         There is this intriguing verse in II Timothy: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." Through faith in Jesus Christ, the spirit of fear is replaced by the spirit of power and love and self-control. We are to live in the presence of Jesus.

         But the wind still comes up against us in our lives. The powers and authorities still rise up and threaten people. The wind can make you fearful. I think of what a privilege it was to be able to go to Russia a few years ago and to speak to a number of evangelical Christians there. Now I wonder what life is like for them. Missionaries are being sent home, evangelical churches are having difficulty. The invasion of Georgia must feel like a wind blowing against them. There must be a lot of people there wondering what will come next.

         Sometimes people who are in power, or who hold positions of authority, make decisions that change our lives, or at least threaten to. When we wonder about what may happen next, it is good to hear Jesus say "Take courage. I am. Don't be afraid." He calls us to faith, and to move close to him.

         Sometimes a wind comes up against the boat we are in and it stops us from making progress, maybe blows us off course. Whenever our strength is not enough, we need to find our strength in Jesus.

         Sometimes a wind comes that causes us to sink. I feel there are very strong cultural imperatives these days that push people away from Jesus, that make it difficult for people to cultivate a close personal faith in Christ.

         Notice here that Peter is not focused on the miracle of walking on the water. He is not asking for an extraordinary experience. His desire is simply to be close to Jesus. But his fear of the wind stops him from being in Jesus' presence, and causes him to sink.

What stops you from being close to Jesus? It can be sin, or self-indulgence or doubt or living by the priorities of the world. These are forms of wind in our lives. They push us away from Jesus.

You might say "I don't give much time to prayer because..."

"I don't give a very high priority to worship because..."

"I do not always obey Christ because..."

Then listen to your reasons, and especially the power beneath the reasons, the wind.

"Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him." That is when the wind calms down.

         Perhaps it is helpful to look once more at Peter in John 21. Peter jumps out of his boat, even though the nets are full of fish. Why? Because once he sees that it is the Lord who is on the shore, he feels compelled to draw close to him. He jumps in the water and does not sink. Maybe the water is shallow. The point is that nothing keeps him from being close to Jesus.          And then there is breakfast, and afterward a very close and renewing conversation with Jesus. "Peter, do you love me?" "Feed my sheep." Peter moves out of his fear and receives the Spirit of power and love and self-control.

         Here comes Jesus

See him walking on the water

He'll lift you up

And he'll make you to stand

Here comes Jesus

He's the Master of the waves that roll

Here comes Jesus

He'll make you whole.

         Amen .