Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Our text for today’s meditation is the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 14

Jesus fed the crowd of more than five thousand the bread of life in the wilderness with just five loaves of bread and two fish. They were physically full and satisfied. They were looking for the Messiah, their king. The crowd realized Jesus provided for them just as an earthly king would. The only problem is Jesus is not an earthly king. They are looking for him to continue to provide for their physical needs as an earthly king should but Jesus knows that is not who He is or His purpose so he dismisses the crowd so he can be alone to pray.

Before Jesus dismissed the crowd He compelled the disciples to get into the boat and row to the other side. He is protecting the disciples from themselves and the trappings of instant notoriety; after all, they are the king’s helpers. Jesus knows the temptation this would bring and removes them from the situation by sending them to the other side.

On the way to the other side of the lake the disciples encounter a strong wind that beat the boat with waves. Rowing was surely difficult but remember most of the disciples are fisherman and this kind of weather is not uncommon. So, we have a boat full of disciples.

Have you heard the one about the three pastors fishing in a boat? A Baptist preacher, a Presbyterian pastor, and the new Lutheran Vicar in the boat on a lake fishing. The Baptist preacher excuses himself to use the facilities; he steps out the boat, and walks across the water to the shore. A few minutes later he returns across the water, gets back in the boat and sits down. The Lutheran vicar is amazed. Soon the Presbyterian pastor excuses himself and walks across the water the same way to the shore and back. Now the Lutheran vicar is beside himself. He thinks if the two of them can walk on water he surely should be able to. He thinks long and hard and finally decides to excuse himself as well. He steps out of the boat and sinks to the bottom like a rock. He swims back up gets into the boat for a minute and decides to try again. Straight to the bottom he goes again. As the Lutheran vicar is on his way up from the bottom the two pastors look at each other and the Baptist preacher says "Do you think we should show him where the rocks are?"

Jesus walks on water in order to meet the disciples on the lake. How is He able to walk on the water? Do you think he knew where the rocks were? No, there were no rocks in this lake. Jesus truly walked on the water. This miracle reveals to the disciples and to us who Jesus is. Turn to your readings, Job 38 verse 4. "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" This is God asking Job questions. Verse 8, "Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the tomb?" and verse 11, "Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed?" God is the creator of the earth and it is at His command. As you see Jesus has command over the water in such a way that it will support Him. He has command over the earth which is something only God has.This miracle reveals to us and the disciples that Jesus is God. C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying "Belief in God includes belief in His supernatural power." Jesus has these supernatural powers and is the Son of God.

Jesus draws near to the disciples on the lake and they become terrified because they think He is a ghost. Imagine being in a boat in the middle of the lake at night. The likelihood of another boat approaching you is slim let alone someone walking up to the boat. They didn’t expect this because they still don’t get who Jesus really is. Jesus says "It is I" and His voice calms them. Peter, being the impulsive one, asks Jesus to make it possible for him to walk on water as well and Jesus commands Peter to come. Peter steps out of the boat in faith. What do you think the rest of the disciples are thinking? Probably the same thing the two pastors in the boat were thinking about the new vicar; "He is going straight to the bottom." Peter walks toward Jesus, he didn’t sink, he didn’t use any rocks like we need to, it is a miracle. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus and started to see all the troubles around him, Peter started to sink. What happened to Peter’s faith? It was his faith that allowed him to walk on the water, right? Can we have miracles in our lives if we just have enough faith? When the trials of the world crept into sight for Peter, he lost his faith and started to sink, right? That means that if we don’t let the trials of the world creep into our sight we can have a miracle too? If it was Peter’s faith that allowed him to walk on water, who’s faith was needed to allow Jesus to walk on water? Does Jesus need our faith to do miracles? Does He need our mortal beings to have faith in Him in order to command the earth and sky? No, Jesus doesn’t need anything from us in order to do a miracle. Peter walking on the water has nothing to do with his faith and everything to do with who Jesus is, God! Peter started to sink because he broke the connection with Jesus. He allowed that battle line the devil puts between us and God to separate him from Jesus. Miracles in our lives are not based on faith. Jesus does rebuke Peter for being of little faith. Faith isn’t needed for a miracle; the miracle is there to increase his faith. Jesus once more commands the wind and calms the sea. As you see, the faith of the disciples in the boat has increased. They declare Jesus to be the son of God and worship Him. The miracles increased their faith.

How can we increase our faith? The miracles are recorded in the bible for us. They can increase our faith just as it did for the disciples. Turn to your reading sheet again. Look at Romans 10 verse 17 toward the bottom. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." Our faith is increased by the word of God. Daily exposure to the Word of God will increase your faith. We are sick, we are sinful human beings and Jesus wants us to get better. He wants us to have faith in the gift of His death and resurrection which forgives us all our sins and therefore puts us into a relationship with Jesus eternally. If a doctor gave you a prescription so you would get better you would follow the instructions? Verse 17 is Jesus’ prescription to us, a daily dose of God’s word. Earlier in the chapter of Romans, verse 8 it says "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart." So, let the Holy Spirit work in your heart to increase your faith in Jesus through daily reading of the scripture. Faith in Jesus, who has command over all the earth and gave himself to be crucified for your sins and mine and rose victoriously to conquer sin, death and the devil.