First Steps – Matthew 14:22-33 – Richard Jones, 7/2/23

We are continuing with our theme for the month in preparation for VBS, 7/17, “Twists & Turns, wherefollowing Jesus changes the game of life.” Life is not all fun and games – even after becoming a follower ofJesus; it’s full of twists and turns that can leave us feeling like we’ve taken one step forward and two steps back.We are looking at 4 encounters Jesus had with His friend Peter this month. Peter messed up,stumbled, and wasn’t perfect. But even when he messed up, it wasn’t ‘Game Over.’ God still worked throughPeter to help others learn about Jesus.Last Week we saw Peter’s Aha! Moment where and when He first recognized Jesus for who He reallyis!Today we see Peter’s first steps of faith in Jesus, when he trusted Jesus enough to risk stepping out infaith!During our Youth Week, we had a time of team-building each day where Susan Prevatt helped us getbetter at forming strategies for trusting each other. “Trust” happens to be our discussion theme today – andhow Jesus is trustworthy!Jesus is trustworthy even when I doubt“Trustworthy” means “honest, dependable, ethical, virtuous, and incorruptible.” Trust is necessary inany relationship. The main question for you is, “Do you think Jesus is trustworthy? Why or why not?”Today we’re looking at the encounter Peter had with Jesus when Peter first acted on his trust in Jesus,or exercised faith. And when he did, he got to experience something really amazing! And I hope we’ll all seethat Jesus is trustworthy even when we doubt.This particular encounter with Jesus is recorded in Matthew 14 and occurs just as Jesus and discipleshad finished feeding the 5,000 men, besides women and children, from just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.Verse 20 tells us, “They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls ofbroken pieces that were left over. That’s 12 doggie bags for the disciples to remind them of what they didtogether!Matthew 14:22-33 – 22  Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of himto the other side [across the Sea of Galilee], while he dismissed the crowd. 23  After he had dismissed them, hewent up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24  and the boat wasalready a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.The account as John recorded it in John 6 says the disciples had gone 3 or 4 miles out by the time Jesuscame to them. Because of the strong wind, they had rowed and rowed, not gaining much distance.In a normal trip across the northern end of the Sea of Galilee (where they were), the boat would nothave traveled more than a mile or two from shore at any point. The storm had obviously carried it severalmiles south, out into the middle of the lake, with these guys rowing against the flow the whole time. On topof that, they were battling exhaustion before they even got into the boat.[v25-26] 25  Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26  When the disciples sawhim walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.Jesus walked a great distance – miles -on the water to get to them! Suddenly, in the stormy mist, Jesusis walking toward them on the sea. They reacted in terror, imagining that they were seeing a ghost. They allcried out in fear. They thought they’d left Jesus back on the mountainside.Besides, no one had walked on water before! This was not a taken-for-granted Sunday School lessonyet. This was a “How can things get any crazier” moment. Enter Jesus.

[v27] 27  But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”Their need was real; their fear was real. But in the presence of Jesus, fear can be dismissed.I came across a great statement in Dr Tom Constable’s Expository Notes: “Fear is unwarranted where Jesus ispresent.” I believe this is in the mix of what comes next when Peter, in the middle of a cr