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“Take courage, it is I”

Matthew 14:22-33

[Mt 14:22] Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. [23] After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. [24] But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. [25] And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. [26] 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 courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
[28] Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” [29] And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. [30] But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” [31] Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” [32] When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. [33] And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

Matthew 14:22-23

“He was there alone.”

Remember that this trip began because Jesus sought solitude following his cousin’s, John the Baptist, arrest. The crowds followed Jesus to the wilderness like children, they responded to Christ without reservation: “Wherever Jesus is; he will care for us.”

Do we feel that way about Jesus too? Wherever we go, if he is there, we will grow. Would we bravely go anywhere—even if we went totally unprepared—confident that as long as Jesus was there we would have what we needed?

Jesus himself did not turn away this crowd or act like they were an intrusion on his personal time. Wherever he was, whoever the day brought him, however great the need; God would be faithful. Is that my attitude? Would I be frustrated by the interruption or angry at the crowd’s intrusion into my time? So caught up in my own grief that I would turn others away? Or, would I say (as our Lord said in verse 18) “Bring them here to me.”

Jesus sees the crowd—not as an intrusion but as God’s plan unfolding. He sees their needs—not as an unconquerable obstacle—but as a potential opportunity for God to reveal his glory. When all is over he even oversees the cleanup while sending his disciples away. Was it possible he was perturbed by their lack of faith?
Jesus was not superhuman while on earth, he was like us in all ways, yet he was tireless. His stamina was not due to any physical anomaly but to a spiritual factor. Jesus tapped into the abundance of God through the Holy Spirit. That abundance was not solely available to Jesus; it is fully available to us! We just need to follow our Lord’s example. After sending away the crowds, Jesus “went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.”

That is how Jesus opened his day (see Chapter 13:1) and that is how Jesus ended his day. That is what made Jesus such a conduit, so available and powerful for God. What is our source of power? What will help us see each day—even every interruption—as a miracle? What will enable us to translate emptiness into opportunity and hunger into fullness? Let’s do what Jesus did; let’s seek alone time with God.

Matthew 14:24-27

[24] But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. [25] And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. [26] 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 courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

“For the wind was contrary”

The wind was “contrary [NT1727 enantios],” this is a great term for us to learn. No matter which way the disciples set their sails and no matter how hard they worked; the wind blew the opposite way. The boat itself was “battered” [NT928 basanizo], a word meaning tortured or torn apart. Why are those terms important to us? Matthew wants us to understand the circumstances in which Jesus miraculously appears in our lives. Look for our Lord when the wind is contrary and our vessels are tortured. Matthew—who witnessed this event—wants us to know that it is when we feel most torn apart that we can also be most expectant of our Lord’s miraculous appearance. In fact, Matthew tells us that Jesus doesn’t appear until the “fourth watch.” That is the darkest watch of the morning. That’s when Jesus is wonderfully present. The fourth watch of the darkest storm when our boats are most tortured. Expect Jesus then!

Remember it was Jesus who sent them out into the night. Don’t be afraid to go where Jesus sends you. Don’t be afraid of venturing out into the storms. Don’t be afraid of those stormy times when you are most battered. Just when you think your life is at its absolute worst our Savior will be there to surprise you.

“Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Here is one of Christ’s most prominent sayings, “Take courage.” He uses it to heal the sick and possessed in Matthew 9:2 & 22, and in Mark 10:49. Then again in John 16, he commissions the disciples with the same word for courage:

John 16:33

[Jn 16:33] “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

In John, we see the whole point of the water-walking miracle: “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” In order to understand this word in its fullness we have to look at the Old Testament. This phrase comes from the Hebrew definition of Shalowm [OT7965]; Peace. To Christ, here is what peace means:

Daniel 10:19

[Da 10:19] He said, “O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
“Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!”

Is that what we mean when we wish people peace? Are we telling them to “take courage and be courageous?” It wasn’t a term meant for quiet solitude on a beach away from chaos. Peace was a term used to get ready for an important mission. It was the word the Lord used to send Gideon into battle:

Judges 6:22-24

[Jdg 6:22] When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” [23] The LORD said to him, “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.” [24] Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it; “The LORD is Peace.” To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

“Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.” That is the type of peace the Lord offers us. Peace in adversity, strength in trial, inner calm in the midst of an outer storm. We must understand that the Lord gives us his peace to send us out into service and not in out of difficulty. Therein lies the heart of the Gospel; Go out. Go out in service. Go towards the storm and I will give you courage in the chaos.

Too often we expect Jesus will give us peace by freeing us from chaos when, in fact, Jesus wants us to take his peace into the chaos and become servants.

Matthew 14:28-31

[28] Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” [29] And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. [30] But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” [31] Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

“You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

You have to love Peter. His successes are always no more than a sentence away from his failures, but his failures take place at the fringes where others wouldn’t even dare be found.

Peter begins with; “Lord, if it is you…” Didn’t Jesus just say; “It is I; do not be afraid.” Yet, Peter dares to venture out of the boat when the rest of the disciples are just thankful to be clinging to it. How many of us would be willing to go that far? For most of us our failure is that we never leave the boat. Forget about sinking while trying to walk on the top of the water!

Peter actually does walk on the water a few steps, but then something goes wrong and he begins to sink. What happened? He took his eyes off Jesus. He must have started thinking either, “I can’t do this,” or, “look what I’m doing.” Either way, he begins to gulp water.

If we count on the world, the world won’t help us achieve the miraculous. By ourselves, we’ll never achieve the miraculous. Only when our eyes are on Jesus can we do the miraculous in a stormy world. What Peter then does correctly is cry out to Jesus when he starts to flail; “Lord, save me!”

Do we have the sense to call out his name when we are sinking?

Jesus responds “immediately,” without hesitation. He lifts Peter up regardless of his failure. Jesus admonishes Peter for his lack of focus not for his inability to do the miraculous: “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

To doubt [NT1365b distazo], means to be of two minds, to be between decisions even more than to be indecisive. Most of our stress is between decisions. Once we commit ourselves to a determined course we can deal with the issues that arise. Our commitment will overcome the doubt. Peter doesn’t know whether to go forward or backward. He doesn’t know what to cling to, his own ability or the Lord’s. He cannot hold on to both and neither can we.
Doubt is one of a follower’s worst enemies, as James would say:

James 1:5-8

[Jas 1:5] But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. [6] But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. [7] For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, [8] being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Faith is not certainty of knowledge; it is certainty of spirit. It is a choice to believe—no matter what.
Choose faith for we are called to the miraculous; we are called to stand in the storm.

Matthew 14:32-33

[32] When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. [33] And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

“You are certainly God’s Son!”

Jesus had fed the thousand’s, healed the crippled, cleansed the lepers but the disciples didn’t validate his messianic claim until he saved their bacon from the fire. So often, we hear the testimonies of others and see the change in someone else’s life but we won’t believe in Jesus until he comes to us in the storm.

It would be so much better if we didn’t have to wait for a crisis to occur before we call out like Peter: “Lord, save me!”

Still, the Lord understands the depth of our doubtful nature and waits eagerly for our cry. However, there is no reason to wait. Why wait one more minute to experience the eternal joy that is available to us today? Let this be the day, let this be the hour; “Lord, save me!”

About the Author

Jerry Goebel is a community organizer who started ONEFamily Outreach in response to gang violence and youth alienation in a rural community in Southeastern Washington. Since that time, Jerry has worked with communities around the globe to break the systemic hold of poverty by enhancing the strengths of the poor.

A primary philosophy of ONEFamily Outreach is to teach; “poverty is a lack of healthy relationships.” And, a primary focus of ONEFamily Outreach has been to break down the barriers of poverty through creating “cultures of intentional courtesy.”

As well as having developed ongoing mentoring outreaches in his own community, Jerry travels extensively to work with church leaders, community governments, and educators.

Jerry has received five popular music awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, a Best Educational Video Award from the National Catholic Education Association, and a lifetime achievement award from the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry for living Gospel Values.

To contact or book Jerry for a presentation in your area write or call:

Jerry Goebel
ONEFamily Outreach
jerry@onefamilyoutreach.com
http://onefamilyoutreach.com
(509) 525-0709

Copyright Notice

Scripture Quotations noted from NASB are from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION of the bible. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

The New Testament Greek Lexicon based on Thayer’s and Smith’s Bible Dictionary plus others; this is keyed to the large Kittel and the “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.” These files are public domain.

The Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon is Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon; this is keyed to the “Theological Word Book of the Old Testament.” These files are considered public domain.