If You Are...
"His Mighty Hand" by Yongsung Kim
Click here to listen to the sermon.
Immediately [Jesus] made the disciples get into
the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds.
And after He had dismissed the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to
pray. When evening came, He was there alone, but the boat by this time was a
long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And
in the fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea. 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. But immediately Jesus spoke to them,
saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
And Peter answered Him, “Lord, if it is You,
command me to come to You on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of
the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he
was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus
immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of
little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind
ceased. And those in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of
God” (Matthew 14:22–33).
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ!
In his painting, “His Mighty Hand,” Yongsung
Kim depicts the moment when Jesus rescues Peter. (You can see the painting on
the insert in your worship bulletin.)
When other artists have painted this scene,
they have given you a good view of both Jesus and Peter. From a distance you see
Jesus standing on the water reaching out toward Peter who is sinking in a
storm. Kim, however, has chosen a different perspective. He painted this moment
from an underwater view. Kim invites you to take your place, submerged underwater
with Peter. As you look up, the water obscures your vision. The body of Jesus
is simply a dark shadow. His face is a little clearer. But clearest of all is
His hand, breaking through the surface, reaching out to rescue you. In his
painting, Kim asks you to imagine that you are with Peter, drowning and yet
graciously being saved.[i]
What Kim does with imagery in this painting,
Matthew does with dialog in his narrative. If you listen to the dialog between
Jesus and Peter, you can hear what it is like to be drowning in your prayers,
and yet graciously being saved.
But first, let’s set the stage.
Without explaining why, Matthew tells us that Jesus
compels His disciples to embark and to ahead of Him in the boat. He will join
them in a little while. While they are getting underway, Jesus is then ready to
do what the disciples had earlier requested: He dismisses the crowds.
After dismissing them, Jesus goes up on a
mountain to pray. By this time, the boat is already two or three miles out on
the lake. The disciples are doing fine under their own power, even though they
have to work hard at it because of the wind.
In the fourth watch of the night (between 3:00 to
6:00 am), Jesus comes to the disciples in the boat, walking on the sea, and the
disciples see Him. Their reaction comes in three parts, which are matched by
Jesus’ responses.
Before laying out the correspondences, however,
let me point out that the disciples’ problem in this text is most assuredly not
the storm or any danger that comes from it. There is not even one hint of such
a thing, in marked contrast to the first storm scene in Matthew 8 (vv. 23-27).
Even though the waves are tormenting the boat, the disciples know what they are
doing, and they have already progressed a few miles out into the lake. Their
problems are caused when they are confronted by the true identity of Jesus and
they must come to terms with the fact that here is a man who is also, at the
same time and mysteriously, God.
Matthew tells us of a threefold response when
the disciples see that Jesus is walking on the sea: (1) The disciples are
troubled. (2) They speak a sort of anti-confession: “It is a ghost!” And (3)
they cry out from fear (Matthew 14:26). The disciples assume that whatever
being has appeared to them in such close proximity cannot bring good news. They
are in the presence of something beyond their comprehension, and they are
afraid of such power and mystery. They do not know who or what this is.
Jesus immediately matches the disciples’
responses perfectly. Because they are troubled, Jesus calms them with His
invitation to “Take heart.” Because their anti-confession shows that they don’t
know who He is, Jesus responds simply and absolutely, with overtones of the
Lord’s own speech: “It is I.” Because they have cried out from fear, Jesus
speaks assuring words, “Do not be afraid.” He matches their need, immediately,
in their presence.
The message is clear and straightforward. The
amazing being who has mastery over the sea and who comes to them in a fearful
epiphany is none other than Jesus, their Master. Because it is He, they can
know that this awe-full figure is for them. They do not have to be afraid. In
this, His reassuring word, He has given them everything, and it is enough. He
has not come to torment or to test. He has come to rescue, to encourage, and to
defend His disciples in the midst of the storm.
In the presence of such a powerful
self-revelation, however, Peter falls into prayerful confusion. Peter responds to the words of Jesus by saying, “If it is
You, Lord, command me to come to You on the water.”
“If it is You,” a conditional
sentence in which the “if” part is assumed to be true for the sake of argument.
Peter says, “If it is You, Lord, and for the sake of argument, let’s assume
that it is You, then...” This is not a confident confession in Jesus, like:
“Since it is You Lord, command me to come to You on the water.” It is also not
a complete dismissal of Jesus: “Yeah. Right. You’re Jesus. If it’s You, then
command me to come to You on the water.” This is somewhere in between. “If it
is You, and for the sake of argument, let’s say that it is, then...” Peter is
wavering here, like the windblown waters that rocked the disciples’ boat. He
wants it to be Jesus, but he is not completely sure.
How many times have we
spoken to Jesus like that? How often have we wavered in the water? Have you
ever prayed an “If You are...” prayer?
·
If
You really are out there, Jesus, then help me.
·
If
You really love me, Jesus, then fix my marriage.
·
If
You really listen to prayers, Jesus, then help me find a new job.
·
If
You really care, Jesus, then heal my dad’s dementia.
·
If
You really support truth and justice, Jesus, silence my accusers and clear me
of their false charges and lies.
In so many situations in
life, we can find ourselves praying like Peter, “If You are the Son of God,
then...” And, when we do this, we are confused in our prayers, wavering like
the waves of the water, and will soon be drowning like Peter. As James writes,
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all
without reproach, and it will be given him. 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” (James 1:5-6).
But that is what is so
amazing about this account. When Jesus hears these words from Peter, what does
He do? He invites Peter to come to Him. And when Peter fails, He does not let
Peter drown. He reaches out and rescues him. Jesus has come to be the Savior of
people who cry out to Him, even in prayerful confusion.
When Jesus was tempted by
Satan in the wilderness, He heard the same kind of language. Satan tempted
Jesus with his, “If You are...” demands. “If You are the Son of God, then
command these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3). “If You are the Son of
God, then throw Yourself down” (Matthew 4:6). When Satan spoke like
that to Jesus, Jesus resisted. He repelled him.
Yet again, that is what
is so amazing about this narrative. When Jesus hears these words on the mouth
of Peter, He does not censure him. He does not cast him away. He answers him.
He invites him. Why? Because Jesus came to defeat Satan, but He did not come to
defeat His people. He came to save them. Even when we cry out in wavering
prayers, Jesus reaches out to save us with His unwavering grace.
A bruised reed, He will
not break. A smoldering wick, He will not snuff out. At the heart of it all
lies a simple cry, “Lord, save me,” and a simple response, Jesus, reaching out
to rescue His people from dying.
God has immersed you in
the waters of baptism. There, He has joined you to the death of His Son. No
matter how far down you fall into the wavering waters of “If you are...”
prayers, Jesus is there. Today, He has come to say, “I am here. Therefore, take
heart and do not be afraid. I have borne the punishment for sin. I have
defeated death itself. I have risen from the grave and I rule over all
creation. I have overcome all your enemies, including your worst enemies of
sin, death, and the devil. Nothing can separate you from My protection and
nothing can separate you from My love.”
Though we may waver in
prayerful confusion, Jesus is risen and ruling in His unwavering love. Go in
the peace of the Lord and serve your neighbor with joy. You are forgiven for
all your sins.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
[i] Gospel: Matthew
14:22-33 (Pentecost 11: Series A),
https://www.1517.org/articles/gospel-matthew-1422-33-pentecost-11-series-a-2023.
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