WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.500 So this passage, we're actually going to focus in 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:05.900 on the two prominent stories in the passage 00:00:05.900 --> 00:00:10.400 on Jesus feeding the 5,000 and on Jesus and the storm 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:12.000 and walking on the water. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:14.500 And these two stories actually show us 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:17.800 how to have all our deepest needs met. 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:21.800 Of course, others look to us to address their needs 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:24.000 and we see that in the story of the feeding, 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:26.000 this huge hungry crowd. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:28.800 And we have a lot of needs around us, 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.199 especially in this particular season of life. 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:34.299 The global need, the local need can be overwhelming. 00:00:34.299 --> 00:00:37.600 Jesus is going to show us how to begin to address 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:39.299 the needs around us. 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:42.299 But we also have needs inside of us. 00:00:42.299 --> 00:00:45.600 And those needs will be met as well. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:47.600 So let me just talk about those two kinds of needs 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:48.799 for a minute. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:51.100 So first of all, we all know what it's like 00:00:51.100 --> 00:00:56.400 to feel helpless in the face of overwhelming need 00:00:56.400 --> 00:00:58.100 around us. 00:00:58.100 --> 00:01:01.200 Now, I barely have to mention this. 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:03.200 We're in the middle of a pandemic. 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:07.500 And it feels like, you know, sure, I can wear a mask 00:01:07.500 --> 00:01:10.200 and wash my hands, but I'm just one person. 00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:15.700 What can I do to really turn the tide of such a great need? 00:01:17.099 --> 00:01:22.500 We're facing issues of bigotry and racism and injustice. 00:01:22.500 --> 00:01:24.799 And we can change laws and we can vote 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:26.700 and we can do our duties. 00:01:26.700 --> 00:01:28.400 But it's just, you know, it's just me. 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:29.100 It's just you. 00:01:29.100 --> 00:01:30.200 What can we do? 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:32.000 It's like a drop in the bucket. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:36.700 Well, our families and our friends also bring needs to us 00:01:36.700 --> 00:01:37.200 as well. 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:39.400 That's part of being in relationship is actually being 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:44.400 in a position of, in relation to somebody's need, 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:46.500 especially parents. 00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:50.000 Your children, you know, someone told us when we had 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:52.600 our first kid, the babies are just a bundle of need 00:01:52.600 --> 00:01:53.800 and swaddling cloth. 00:01:53.800 --> 00:01:55.200 And it's so true. 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:58.400 Children are God's picture to us of what we look like to him, 00:01:58.400 --> 00:01:59.000 in a sense. 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:03.600 And children come to us as parents with their needs. 00:02:03.600 --> 00:02:06.799 Now at a certain stage of life, now your parents, 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:09.800 as they age, may come to you with needs as well. 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:14.400 So we're surrounded by a lot of different types of needs. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:17.400 And as disciples of Jesus, you know, we're taught to not 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:19.000 ignore the needs around us. 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.400 We don't get to just turn a blind eye. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:26.400 The Old Testament particularly is full of God indicting 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:30.400 his people and saying, look, I want you to do justice. 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:32.000 I want you to love mercy. 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:33.500 Don't look away. 00:02:33.500 --> 00:02:37.000 Have compassion on the lowly and on the oppressed. 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:39.900 Jesus says, if someone begs from you, give to them. 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:41.800 Don't ignore the need. 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:44.400 So we have to deal with that. 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.900 Now the Bible's metaphor, it's predominant metaphor 00:02:47.900 --> 00:02:50.400 through the entirety of the Bible. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:54.000 It's picture to talk about that kind of need, 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:57.200 the needs around us, is food. 00:02:57.200 --> 00:03:00.700 That's the quintessential model the Bible uses to speak 00:03:00.700 --> 00:03:03.700 of those needs, is lack of food. 00:03:03.700 --> 00:03:06.700 So when God wants to show us that he meets our physical 00:03:06.700 --> 00:03:09.900 needs, our deep needs in that way and the needs around us, 00:03:09.900 --> 00:03:13.300 he talks about Joseph storing up food in Egypt. 00:03:13.300 --> 00:03:15.400 He talks about manna in the wilderness. 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:17.700 He talks about feeding the 5,000. 00:03:17.700 --> 00:03:19.599 He talks about the Lord's Supper. 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:25.099 And the wedding feast of the Lamb in the book of Revelation. 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:29.000 Now the other aspect of need is the needs that are within us 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:32.500 and we all know what it's like to be helpless in the face 00:03:32.500 --> 00:03:36.199 of our own needs as well. 00:03:36.199 --> 00:03:40.900 So when catastrophe strikes, you lose your job. 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:43.199 A loved one dies. 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.500 Expectedly or unexpectedly, it's still a catastrophe. 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:47.900 And you feel that there's no foothold. 00:03:47.900 --> 00:03:49.700 There's nowhere to put your feet down. 00:03:49.700 --> 00:03:53.400 And you can kind of thrash about and try to solve the problems, 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:58.300 but all it does is exhaust you and wear you out. 00:03:58.300 --> 00:04:00.300 And then, so you know, there's catastrophes, 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:04.800 but then there's sin and we need to be rescued from this sin. 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:09.900 And when we fall into sin, it's like we can't get our heads 00:04:09.900 --> 00:04:14.400 above water and again, thrashing around just wears us out 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:16.199 and spends our energy. 00:04:16.199 --> 00:04:18.399 And now the Bible's metaphor to talk about that kind 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:23.399 of need is predominantly drowning. 00:04:23.399 --> 00:04:26.399 So the sea, we've talked about this a little bit before. 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:29.800 In the ancient mind, the concept of the sea represented chaos 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:33.199 and disorder and evil and everything that will terrify 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:35.500 and overwhelm you. 00:04:35.500 --> 00:04:39.099 And so the Bible uses this imagery, especially in poetry, 00:04:39.099 --> 00:04:44.800 of drowning because you can't get your head above water. 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:46.900 You get entangled. 00:04:46.900 --> 00:04:48.600 And the point is, no matter what kind of need, 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:51.600 whether it's kind of the catastrophic needs in us 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:56.100 or the massive overwhelming needs around us, 00:04:56.100 --> 00:04:59.400 ultimately we find that we're helpless. 00:04:59.400 --> 00:05:02.699 And often, I think to myself, what can I do? 00:05:02.699 --> 00:05:06.300 It's just me. 00:05:06.300 --> 00:05:09.400 So in chapter 13, well, in this section of Matthew, 00:05:09.400 --> 00:05:14.100 Jesus has been meeting a tremendous number of needs. 00:05:14.100 --> 00:05:17.100 He's been doing all these mighty works and healing people 00:05:17.100 --> 00:05:19.900 and casting out demons and calming storms. 00:05:19.900 --> 00:05:22.300 He's meeting the needs of the people around him. 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:25.200 And in chapter 13, just before this passage, 00:05:25.200 --> 00:05:28.800 he goes back to his hometown and the people in the hometown, 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:32.700 they're like, isn't this Joseph's son, the carpenter's boy? 00:05:32.700 --> 00:05:36.500 Where does he get the power to meet these needs? 00:05:36.500 --> 00:05:37.500 That's their burning question. 00:05:37.500 --> 00:05:40.200 Where does he get this power? 00:05:40.200 --> 00:05:43.300 But then we read at the beginning this little aside 00:05:43.300 --> 00:05:46.199 about Herod and John the Baptist. 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:49.300 Matthew mentions that bit about the death of John 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:51.900 because Herod's question is also, 00:05:51.900 --> 00:05:55.400 where does Jesus get the power to do these things? 00:05:55.400 --> 00:05:58.800 He must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:00.699 And of course, at the end of Matthew 14, 00:06:00.699 --> 00:06:03.900 we actually get the answer given to us very plainly. 00:06:03.900 --> 00:06:06.100 He's not merely the carpenter's son, 00:06:06.100 --> 00:06:07.600 and he's certainly not John the Baptist 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:08.800 come back from the dead. 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:11.199 He's the son of God. 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:15.800 That's where Jesus gets the power to meet the needs around him. 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:19.199 But Jesus actually looks his disciples in the eye 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:21.899 and he changes the question. 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:24.000 We say, where does he get the power? 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:25.099 Jesus looks at us and says, 00:06:25.099 --> 00:06:28.300 where will you get the power to meet the needs around you 00:06:28.300 --> 00:06:31.500 and the needs in you? 00:06:31.500 --> 00:06:34.000 So let's talk about the needs around us. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:35.399 This is the first point. 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:37.899 There's only two, thankfully. 00:06:37.899 --> 00:06:40.500 So Jesus gets the news of his cousin's death 00:06:40.500 --> 00:06:43.899 and he's grieved and he goes off to a desolate place 00:06:43.899 --> 00:06:46.300 to grieve and to pray to his father. 00:06:46.300 --> 00:06:49.199 But this massive crowd, thousands of people, 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:54.699 5,000 just men, so probably 7,000, 8,000, 9,000 or more, 00:06:54.699 --> 00:06:57.500 huge crowd follows him out. 00:06:57.500 --> 00:06:59.500 And of course, Jesus looks at them 00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:02.500 and he has compassion because it's Jesus. 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:06.000 And he sets aside his own needs and wants at that moment 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:08.600 and he ministers to them and he has them sit down 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:12.300 and he teaches them all day, gets to be evening 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:13.900 and they're famished. 00:07:13.900 --> 00:07:18.100 So the disciples want Jesus to send the crowds home 00:07:18.100 --> 00:07:20.700 for them to feed themselves 00:07:20.700 --> 00:07:23.700 because thousands of hungry people 00:07:23.700 --> 00:07:28.400 and 12 disciples with just a little bit of bread and fish, 00:07:28.400 --> 00:07:29.700 they felt helpless to meet that need 00:07:29.700 --> 00:07:31.400 and they were, they were helpless. 00:07:31.400 --> 00:07:35.400 And Jesus looks them in the eye and says, you feed them. 00:07:35.400 --> 00:07:38.400 Can you imagine how the disciples must have felt 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:40.299 when Jesus said that? 00:07:40.299 --> 00:07:44.899 Like, there's 12 of us and you're the miracle worker 00:07:44.899 --> 00:07:47.099 and there's thousands of them. 00:07:47.099 --> 00:07:49.399 What could we possibly do? 00:07:51.099 --> 00:07:52.599 I mean, don't you feel that way 00:07:52.599 --> 00:07:54.699 when you read the news sometimes 00:07:54.699 --> 00:07:59.699 or when you think of politics, social injustices? 00:08:01.299 --> 00:08:05.099 We know that feeling of what difference could I possibly make? 00:08:05.099 --> 00:08:08.000 And that must have been what the disciples were feeling 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:09.500 in this moment. 00:08:10.500 --> 00:08:13.899 And Jesus looks at just this little meager offering 00:08:13.899 --> 00:08:15.800 they have of bread and fish 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:19.100 and he says, bring it to me. 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:20.500 Now, it could have just said bring it here 00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:22.199 but actually says bring it here to me. 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:24.600 He's emphatically talking about himself and saying, 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:26.699 bring it to me. 00:08:26.699 --> 00:08:28.699 There's your solution. 00:08:30.500 --> 00:08:31.899 He gave thanks. 00:08:31.899 --> 00:08:33.799 He gives it back to the disciples. 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:35.100 He puts it back in their hands 00:08:35.100 --> 00:08:38.100 and the disciples feed the crowd. 00:08:38.100 --> 00:08:40.500 I wonder if you've noticed that before. 00:08:40.500 --> 00:08:43.000 You know, we talk about it that Jesus feeds the 5,000 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:46.399 and that's true in as much as the crowds ate 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:47.800 from the hands of the disciples 00:08:47.800 --> 00:08:50.800 and so from the hands of Christ himself. 00:08:50.800 --> 00:08:52.700 Isn't that fascinating? 00:08:52.700 --> 00:08:54.600 Jesus gives it back to them. 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:55.800 So I told you at the beginning 00:08:55.800 --> 00:08:58.000 that these two stories show us 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:00.100 how to have all of our deepest needs met 00:09:00.100 --> 00:09:02.800 and here's the first part of the answer. 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:07.000 Jesus takes what we bring him and he multiplies it 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.399 and he gives it back to us 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:13.599 so that we can serve and feed others. 00:09:13.599 --> 00:09:16.599 And so we'll only be able to really minister 00:09:16.599 --> 00:09:19.099 to the needs of the people around us 00:09:19.099 --> 00:09:21.699 if we go to Jesus first. 00:09:21.699 --> 00:09:24.399 That's crucial. 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:28.000 When Becca and I were preparing to move here 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.099 we had about four months left to go 00:09:30.099 --> 00:09:32.500 and I was in the marketing industry 00:09:32.500 --> 00:09:35.200 and my contract came to a sudden end 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:36.600 then my client ran out of funding 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:38.899 and it was over too soon. 00:09:38.899 --> 00:09:44.899 And we found ourselves with pretty steep financial need 00:09:44.899 --> 00:09:48.399 you know, prior to getting here with visa costs and all that. 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:52.100 But also we had about one month's worth of mortgage money 00:09:52.100 --> 00:09:56.100 set aside but we had four months of mortgage left to pay. 00:09:56.100 --> 00:09:58.200 That was actually a very, as you can imagine, 00:09:58.200 --> 00:09:59.399 you know, you can't really job hunt 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:01.500 when you're leaving the country in a few months. 00:10:01.500 --> 00:10:03.399 It was a very difficult time. 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:04.500 It was a very sweet time 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:06.399 and I wouldn't trade it for anything 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:07.700 because the Lord was with us 00:10:07.700 --> 00:10:10.700 and was very near in that season. 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:14.700 And by His grace as we looked to Him 00:10:14.700 --> 00:10:18.000 as really the thing we needed 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:19.899 all of our needs were met. 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:24.100 And then some 12 baskets left over. 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:28.200 When God fed the Israelites in the wilderness with manna 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:30.000 it was just enough for that day 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:31.500 and they'd go back out the next day 00:10:31.500 --> 00:10:32.799 and there'd be just enough. 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:36.799 And that's kind of how those sorts of miracles worked 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:38.700 in the Old Testament. 00:10:38.700 --> 00:10:40.700 But in the age of the Messiah, 00:10:40.700 --> 00:10:42.500 King Jesus is on the throne. 00:10:42.500 --> 00:10:45.200 It's an age of abundance. 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:48.399 And now I'm not talking about just material blessing. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:50.399 This is no prosperity gospel. 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:52.200 This isn't about getting more stuff. 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:53.799 Beck and I didn't come out of that season 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:57.000 with a thicker bank account and a bigger wallet. 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:58.899 We came out of that hard season 00:10:58.899 --> 00:11:01.699 with a bigger view of God. 00:11:01.699 --> 00:11:04.899 A greater sense of Jesus and who He is. 00:11:04.899 --> 00:11:09.699 Jesus is our provider and our provision. 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:15.199 So how do we practically do that? 00:11:15.199 --> 00:11:16.399 It's all well and good in theory. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:20.500 But how do we actually take the needs of those around us? 00:11:20.500 --> 00:11:23.000 You know, how am I going to feed my kids without a job? 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:25.399 How do we take that kind of need to Jesus 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:29.500 and put it in His hands so He can help us? 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:32.100 Well, the gospel of Matthew is a journey to the cross 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:35.000 and a journey through the cross. 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:37.600 And all of His miracles are signs. 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:38.899 They're not just for their own sake. 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:42.500 The miracles are signs that point to who He is 00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:46.299 ultimately and what He ultimately came to do. 00:11:46.299 --> 00:11:49.399 Because we don't ultimately need a wonder worker. 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:52.799 We need a Savior. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:57.899 So we see in Matthew 26 at the end of the book, 00:11:57.899 --> 00:12:00.599 Jesus sits down for his final meal with his disciples 00:12:00.599 --> 00:12:02.599 before he's executed. 00:12:02.599 --> 00:12:05.500 And he picks up a loaf of bread and he breaks it. 00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:07.399 He blesses it and he passes it around. 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:10.500 He says, take, eat. 00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:16.000 This is my body broken for you. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:20.000 The disciples feeding the 5,000 in Matthew 14 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:23.399 only make sense in light of Christ feeding the disciples 00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:25.899 in Matthew 26. 00:12:25.899 --> 00:12:30.200 We have to go to the one who himself is our bread 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:33.899 if we are going to feed others. 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:37.899 Jesus actually bore all of our deepest needs on the cross, 00:12:37.899 --> 00:12:41.299 his body broken like bread for us. 00:12:41.299 --> 00:12:43.600 And it's when we look to him as provider and provision 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:46.299 that we can start meeting the needs around us. 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:49.100 So we have to really take hold of this fact 00:12:49.100 --> 00:12:54.200 that our deepest need is actually Jesus, 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:56.200 not the stuff that comes with it. 00:12:56.200 --> 00:12:58.800 We need Christ. 00:12:58.800 --> 00:13:01.300 Now there's two dangers as disciples that we face here. 00:13:01.300 --> 00:13:03.000 One is to over-spiritualize 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:05.500 and one is to under-spiritualize this. 00:13:05.500 --> 00:13:08.399 What I mean is if we say, okay, great, 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:10.100 our deepest need is Jesus. 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:13.300 So I can just tell the gospel to people 00:13:13.300 --> 00:13:16.700 and not do anything about their physical needs. 00:13:16.700 --> 00:13:18.200 That would be over-spiritualizing it. 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:20.300 The under-spiritualize would say, 00:13:20.300 --> 00:13:23.600 you know, really we just need to get their needs met. 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:27.400 That's what Jesus would do and that's that. 00:13:27.400 --> 00:13:28.800 You know, we'll become philanthropists 00:13:28.800 --> 00:13:29.800 who feed a lot of people, 00:13:29.800 --> 00:13:32.500 but we'll leave a lot of hungry souls. 00:13:32.500 --> 00:13:35.000 Jesus did both. 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:38.400 Jesus fed the crowds and he died for the crowds 00:13:38.400 --> 00:13:41.000 and we as disciples do not have an easy out 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:43.400 to just choose one ditch or the other. 00:13:43.400 --> 00:13:45.300 We stay on the road in the middle. 00:13:45.299 --> 00:13:49.000 We really minister to people's whole need 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:52.399 by giving them Christ and by God's grace and ability, 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:58.299 helping us to minister to them physically as well. 00:13:58.299 --> 00:13:59.199 So the hungry crowds, 00:13:59.199 --> 00:14:01.099 they eat from the hands of the disciples 00:14:01.099 --> 00:14:04.199 and so from the hand of Christ. 00:14:04.199 --> 00:14:05.099 The disciples could do it 00:14:05.099 --> 00:14:09.399 because Jesus ultimately was meeting their needs. 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:10.399 They could feed the crowds 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:13.899 because they would feed on Christ. 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:16.100 So point number two is the needs in us 00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:19.699 and we're going to shift to the next chunk of the story 00:14:19.699 --> 00:14:21.699 about the storm. 00:14:21.699 --> 00:14:28.399 So let me just reread a few verses here starting in 22. 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:30.600 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:32.100 and go before him to the other side 00:14:32.100 --> 00:14:33.699 while he dismissed the crowds 00:14:33.699 --> 00:14:35.000 and after he dismissed the crowds, 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.600 he went up on the mountain by himself to pray, 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:41.500 which by the way is what we all must do. 00:14:41.500 --> 00:14:45.700 Jesus also had to be nourished and fed and sustained 00:14:45.700 --> 00:14:50.500 and we all need to follow this example to us so much 00:14:50.500 --> 00:14:54.299 to go to our Father with all of our need 00:14:54.299 --> 00:14:58.500 and all of our weariness for refreshment and new strength. 00:14:58.500 --> 00:15:02.700 If Jesus did it, we certainly need to do it. 00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:05.000 When evening came, he was there alone, this is verse 24, 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:07.299 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, 00:15:07.299 --> 00:15:10.799 beaten by the waves for the wind was against them. 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:12.099 And in the fourth watch of the night, 00:15:12.099 --> 00:15:14.500 that's between three and six a.m., 00:15:14.500 --> 00:15:17.699 he came to them walking on the sea. 00:15:17.699 --> 00:15:20.799 All right, let me just pause there. 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:26.599 So this storm sweeps in, it batters and beats the disciples down 00:15:26.599 --> 00:15:29.799 in this boat and they're at great risk of drowning. 00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:32.000 They fought against the wind all night. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:33.299 Again, the fourth watch of the night 00:15:33.299 --> 00:15:34.699 is very early in the morning. 00:15:34.699 --> 00:15:37.699 So they very likely have been out on the water 00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:41.100 fighting this storm for hours and hours, 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:45.700 surely wondering where on earth Jesus is. 00:15:45.700 --> 00:15:49.700 And isn't that just what Jesus always does? 00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:54.000 He waited until those crowds were famished 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:57.300 in the late night before feeding them. 00:15:57.300 --> 00:16:01.400 He waited until the disciples had just exhausted themselves 00:16:01.400 --> 00:16:06.400 fighting against this wind before going out to them. 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:10.500 God in his wisdom and kindness allows us to come to the end 00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:14.799 of ourselves before swooping in to rescue us. 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:17.399 How kind of him to allow that hunger? 00:16:17.399 --> 00:16:19.899 How kind of him to allow that storm? 00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:24.399 Otherwise, we wouldn't see the glory of Jesus in this passage. 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:27.500 An old pastor told me once that when he was a kid, 00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:29.899 there was an older man in the church. 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:34.600 And every time the church came to face some huge crossroads 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:38.500 where they didn't have the means to do what needed to be done, 00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:41.300 this old fatherly figure would say, 00:16:41.300 --> 00:16:47.700 well, now we have the opportunity to see what only God can do. 00:16:47.700 --> 00:16:51.100 That's what the storms and the hunger in our life brings us 00:16:51.100 --> 00:16:53.800 is opportunities to see what only God can do. 00:16:53.800 --> 00:16:55.700 And that's where that's the good stuff. 00:16:55.700 --> 00:17:00.399 That's where we see Jesus's glory shine brightly. 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:04.000 Jesus is actually drawn to us in our need. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:07.799 He is not repulsed by our need. 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:10.599 I tend to be that way. 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:12.599 I think a lot of us tend to be that way. 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:15.900 Neediness kind of keeps us at a distance. 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:18.099 It's exactly the opposite for Jesus. 00:17:18.099 --> 00:17:20.299 Neediness draws him toward you. 00:17:20.299 --> 00:17:22.099 Isn't that comforting? 00:17:22.099 --> 00:17:25.299 So don't ever tell yourself yet your need pushes Jesus away. 00:17:25.299 --> 00:17:28.799 And don't ever tell yourself Jesus helps those who help themselves. 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:30.299 Nonsense. 00:17:30.299 --> 00:17:33.400 Jesus's ministry was not to the Pharisees and the scribes, 00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:37.100 but to the blind, the lame, the sick, the deaf, and the oppressed. 00:17:37.100 --> 00:17:41.100 Jesus helps those who are helpless in themselves. 00:17:41.100 --> 00:17:44.900 That's you and me, and that's good news. 00:17:44.900 --> 00:17:50.100 So anyway, Jesus comes out walking on the sea. 00:17:50.100 --> 00:17:52.600 How weird is that? 00:17:52.600 --> 00:17:55.200 I think if you and I saw that, we would think, 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:00.300 oh, that's a stunt, or that's cool. 00:18:00.299 --> 00:18:06.099 For the first century mind, that came loaded with meaning. 00:18:06.099 --> 00:18:09.899 Now, of course, they first thought ghost, so that was incorrect. 00:18:09.899 --> 00:18:13.200 But by the time Matthew wrote his gospel, he'd molded over 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:17.799 and he realized what's going on, certainly. 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:21.599 So again, we talked about... 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:22.599 Well, I'll get back to that. 00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:25.700 So the Old Testament paints a picture of Yahweh, 00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:31.799 the God of Israel, the God who introduced himself to Moses as, I am. 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:35.600 The Old Testament calls Yahweh basically the wave-treader. 00:18:35.600 --> 00:18:36.600 Isn't that cool? 00:18:36.600 --> 00:18:39.100 The wave-treader. 00:18:39.100 --> 00:18:42.700 Job chapter 9, verse 8. 00:18:42.700 --> 00:18:45.900 Job says that Yahweh alone stretched out the heavens 00:18:45.900 --> 00:18:49.900 and trampled the waves of the sea. 00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:52.900 So you remember that to the ancient mind, the sea represented 00:18:52.900 --> 00:18:57.800 everything terrifying and overwhelming and disorderly and chaotic. 00:18:57.800 --> 00:19:01.800 Those waves that surge up and just push your head down under 00:19:01.800 --> 00:19:05.400 and make you panic, Yahweh tramples those waves. 00:19:05.400 --> 00:19:07.900 That's how mighty God is. 00:19:07.900 --> 00:19:11.300 That's how Job talks about God. 00:19:11.300 --> 00:19:15.900 Again, in Psalm 77, and this is verses 17 to 19, 00:19:15.900 --> 00:19:19.700 Asaph is talking about how Yahweh rescued the people from Egypt. 00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:25.200 That great picture of the gospel itself, how we are rescued from the slavery to sin 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.200 that we have all been in. 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:31.000 And he says this, the clouds, this is a picture of a storm. 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:32.799 The clouds poured out water. 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:34.799 The skies gave forth thunder. 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:37.200 Your arrows flashed on every side. 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:39.600 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind. 00:19:39.600 --> 00:19:41.100 Your lightnings lighted up the world. 00:19:41.100 --> 00:19:42.700 The earth trembled and shook. 00:19:42.700 --> 00:19:45.100 Your way was through the sea. 00:19:45.100 --> 00:19:47.600 Your path through the great waters. 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:51.599 Yet your footprints were unseen. 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:55.000 Jesus is not just performing a stunt. 00:19:55.000 --> 00:20:04.799 He's coming to them as the wave treacher, their Savior, God Almighty. 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:08.500 Of course, the disciples respond in fear. 00:20:08.500 --> 00:20:11.699 They're terrified now of the wind and of the wave treacher. 00:20:11.699 --> 00:20:13.599 And what does Jesus say to their fears? 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:15.699 Look at verse 27. 00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:22.000 He says, take heart, it is I. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:22.900 I love that. 00:20:22.900 --> 00:20:29.799 Very literally in the original language, it says courage, I am. 00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:33.799 It reminds me of this scene from C.S. Lewis' voyage of the Don Treader 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:36.900 in the Chronicles of Narnia series. 00:20:36.900 --> 00:20:39.900 And I don't remember a whole lot about that, about this scene. 00:20:39.900 --> 00:20:42.500 I remember they're on a boat and the sailors are afraid. 00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:46.000 And there's this albatross flying around the mast. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:49.700 And as it gets lower, I remember Lucy. 00:20:49.700 --> 00:20:53.799 Here's the albatross say to her, courage, dear heart. 00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:56.599 And she recognizes the voice of Aslan. 00:20:56.599 --> 00:21:00.299 And then a sweet smell fills the air and she's comforted. 00:21:00.299 --> 00:21:06.000 And I think of that here, courage, dear heart. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:11.599 In our storms, as in theirs, God usually seems far off. 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:16.500 They must have spent hours in this boat thinking, where is Jesus? 00:21:16.500 --> 00:21:18.500 He calmed a storm for us before. 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:25.000 Why is he not even with us this time? 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:30.000 Remember what we said about the Bible's metaphor for catastrophe 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.599 and sin being drowning? 00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:38.199 It's very poignant here. 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:45.500 The wave Treader, God, Jesus, the Son of God, comes out to us in our storms, 00:21:45.500 --> 00:21:50.799 drowning in our own sins, overwhelmed with life's catastrophes. 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:55.600 And he says, courage, dear heart. 00:21:55.600 --> 00:22:01.200 In the moment of their greatest need and exhaustion, just trying not to drown, 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:06.000 Jesus gives them himself. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:09.200 That is his gift to meet their need. 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:13.599 He does not say, take heart, the storm will pass. 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:16.299 Or he doesn't say, take heart, it's not that bad. 00:22:16.299 --> 00:22:18.400 Or take heart, here's a bigger boat. 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:21.299 He says, it is I. 00:22:21.299 --> 00:22:27.099 Jesus himself is the answer to their needs and their fears. 00:22:27.099 --> 00:22:28.000 So there it is. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.400 That's the payoff to the promise I made earlier at the beginning, 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:37.500 that we'd learn from these two stories how to get all of our deepest needs met. 00:22:37.500 --> 00:22:42.000 The answer to them all is Jesus himself. 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:48.100 Now, Jesus, the good moral teacher, never met anyone's needs. 00:22:48.100 --> 00:22:52.900 Jesus, the philosopher, the sage, the guru. 00:22:52.900 --> 00:22:56.700 That Jesus never comforted anybody with his presence. 00:22:56.700 --> 00:23:02.600 We need the real Jesus, the wave treader, God himself. 00:23:02.600 --> 00:23:09.200 And if Jesus will be our savior amid the catastrophes and the sin that we are drowning in, 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:17.500 we have to see that the mighty one who treads on the waves was cast into the depths 00:23:17.500 --> 00:23:22.700 and was overwhelmed by those waters for you. 00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:29.600 He was beaten by the storm so that we could be saved from the storm. 00:23:29.600 --> 00:23:36.100 He experienced the greatest catastrophe in history as the Son of God hung executed like a criminal 00:23:36.100 --> 00:23:42.799 in your place and in my place so that he could save us from catastrophe. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:52.100 Jesus drowned in our sins to save us from drowning in our sins. 00:23:52.099 --> 00:23:56.500 And he came out the other side, a resurrected savior. 00:23:56.500 --> 00:24:03.899 So if we are to be saved from drowning, we have to look to him as the one who doesn't just calm the waters 00:24:03.899 --> 00:24:07.699 but was drowned in them in our place. 00:24:07.699 --> 00:24:12.899 Because for all of those needs, Jesus gives us himself. 00:24:12.899 --> 00:24:18.199 He gives us himself as bread and strength so we can feed and nourish others. 00:24:18.199 --> 00:24:21.599 He gives us his presence in our storms. 00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:24.099 He leaves hungry people satisfied. 00:24:24.099 --> 00:24:27.399 He always leaves hungry people satisfied. 00:24:27.399 --> 00:24:28.799 And he gets right into the boat with us. 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:30.000 Do you see that in the story? 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:32.399 He gets into the boat with them. 00:24:32.399 --> 00:24:34.500 Isn't that comforting? 00:24:34.500 --> 00:24:39.500 So you do not have then one need that Jesus is not the answer for. 00:24:39.500 --> 00:24:43.199 Now I know you don't believe that because I barely believe that. 00:24:43.199 --> 00:24:46.899 But it's absolutely true. 00:24:46.899 --> 00:24:51.299 If we need strength for today, Jesus says I'm your strength. 00:24:51.299 --> 00:24:58.799 If we need something better than our temptations, something stronger to come to us in our storms, 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:02.500 look to the one who was drowned for you. 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:09.399 If you need the wells of emotion and compassion for people around you that you don't have, 00:25:09.399 --> 00:25:11.299 drink from those waters. 00:25:11.299 --> 00:25:13.299 Go to Christ and feed on him. 00:25:13.299 --> 00:25:18.500 I was just reading this morning in the book Gentle and Lowly, 00:25:18.500 --> 00:25:22.099 which I need and is really helpful for me because I tend to be harsh and proud. 00:25:22.099 --> 00:25:25.400 So it's a good counterpoint to show the heart of Christ. 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:30.500 And the author was recounting a story talking about the emotion of Jesus. 00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:38.200 He was recounting a story in India where he was walking down the street and saw a man sitting in a cardboard box 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:43.400 missing all these fingers and realized he was suffering from leprosy. 00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:48.200 And the author shares his emotional response to that. 00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:53.799 And he says it was compassion, but compassion restrained. 00:25:53.799 --> 00:25:59.299 Restrained by sin because we feel bad for the man, but we don't want to get too involved. 00:25:59.299 --> 00:26:03.799 And it seems messy, you know, and we just don't want to, we don't know what we could really do. 00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:09.700 And so it's compassion restrained by our sinful unwillingness to give ourselves. 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:16.900 And he makes this point that Jesus, as the perfect human, experienced true compassion 00:26:16.900 --> 00:26:19.800 without the restraint of sin. 00:26:19.800 --> 00:26:27.600 Can you imagine the depth of compassion of Jesus for us? 00:26:27.600 --> 00:26:30.200 So how do you drum up compassion for that man? 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:34.100 How do you drum up emotional energy for the kids at six in the morning? 00:26:34.100 --> 00:26:44.500 You have to start by looking to Jesus who has in himself these wells of emotional compassion 00:26:44.500 --> 00:26:48.900 and energy for us in our need. 00:26:48.900 --> 00:26:50.900 I said earlier that Jesus changed the question. 00:26:50.900 --> 00:26:57.099 People were asking, where does he get all these, the power to do all these things and meet all these needs? 00:26:57.099 --> 00:27:03.799 And Jesus changes the question to the disciples and say, where will you get the power? 00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:07.900 So, you know, the disciples fed the crowds when they looked to Jesus. 00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:15.500 Peter, remember, got out of the boat and walked on the water when he looked to Jesus. 00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:23.400 So I ask you, where will you get the power to meet the needs around you and the needs in you? 00:27:23.400 --> 00:27:27.800 Let's pray. 00:27:27.800 --> 00:27:30.700 Heavenly Father, we confess that we barely believe this. 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:36.700 We barely believe that you are sufficient to fill us up and actually meet our needs. 00:27:36.700 --> 00:27:38.400 Please help our unbelief in that. 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:48.000 Minister this good news to our hearts and show us something more of the fullness of Christ for our every need. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:55.900 We come to you now in the face of great need, many without jobs in this country and all around the world 00:27:55.900 --> 00:28:01.100 as the economic crisis begins to swell. 00:28:01.099 --> 00:28:11.399 We come to you with our grief of looking around at all the suffering, all the sickness, all the pain and the loss 00:28:11.399 --> 00:28:17.399 that many of us have experienced in our own families and friends as well. 00:28:17.399 --> 00:28:23.299 We come to you with our sin that just easily entangles us and would drown us. 00:28:23.299 --> 00:28:28.699 And for it all, Jesus, we look to you. 00:28:28.700 --> 00:28:35.900 Please be our sustainer, our provider and our provision, Lord, for the glory of Christ. 00:28:35.900 --> 00:29:03.900 Amen.