o A sermon based on Matthew 14:22-33, Rev. J. Orlando Flahn
This afternoon, God invites us to prepare ourselves—to die to everything that holds us back from moving forward in faith and believing God for the impossible. The Bible reminds us that with God, nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37).
The challenge is to reflect deeply on our willingness to leave doubt behind and boldly step out in faith with Jesus—to walk on water. The mission is incredible, and the call to courage is unmistakable. Remember, Peter attempted to walk on water with Jesus—at least he tried. Though he faltered because of doubt, his effort wasn’t wasted. Like Peter, we have likely tried and stumbled. But perhaps, my friend, it’s time to pause and reconsider what we truly mean by failure.
We’ve all heard that if we want to walk on water, we just need to step out of the boat like Peter. That if we have enough faith and keep our eyes on Jesus, we too can walk on water. That we can do anything—absolutely anything—we set our minds to, if we just believe. That even the impossible becomes possible if we truly believe.
The problem is that faith in Jesus Christ doesn’t just require us to trust God to do what we want—it calls us to keep trusting even when we walk through the fire or when our faith is tested.
We know that there were genuine believers aboard the Titanic on that dreadful night in 1912—people of faith who, by that logic, should have simply walked home. Yet, the ship still sank. Was it their fault? Did they not truly believe?
We all have had those moments like Peter: “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.”
The Father affirms the identity of His Son Jesus in Matthew 3, following His baptism by John in the Jordan River: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17). Immediately afterward, out in the wilderness, we hear another voice—the voice of the evil one—saying to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple…” (Matt 4:6). The devil even quotes Psalm 91: “He will command His angels concerning you…they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Are you willing to accept that, Jesus? It’s like the popular saying, “Just do it!” This voice, urging spectacle and self-testing, most often belongs to the tempter. It is not the voice of genuine faith.
We see that Peter was sincere—he had faith. Yet Peter, the rock, began to sink like a stone and cried out desperately, “Lord, save me!….Did Jesus save him? Yes, He did—Jesus reached out and rescued him, but not without a gentle rebuke: “O you of little faith.”
In Matthew 8, during another boat ride through a storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus was asleep in the boat, seemingly unconcerned as the disciples panicked. In fear, they woke Him, crying out, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
Jesus replied, “Oh, you of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then He arose, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. The disciples, amazed and puzzled, began to ask one another, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Listen, Our Savior Lutheran Church: the disciples in these stories—all those “little-faith” fellows—represent us. We all often have what’s called “foxhole faith”—the kind of faith that only moves us to call out to God for help in the midst of our fears: when the waves are crashing, the bombs are falling, our child is sick, the doctor’s report is troubling, or our church attendance and finances are declining. “Lord, save us!”
But are we really faithless? I’m not so sure, my friends. The problem isn’t necessarily whether we have faith in God; it’s that even as we trust Him, we also fear the wind and the waves. So often, we can’t help but jump to the conclusion that God is asleep on us in the storm—that He doesn’t care about us in the wind and waves, or that He has left us out on the waters alone.
And so, we cry out in fear—and sometimes even lash out in frustration—which only makes things worse. We start blaming one another, and too often, we even blame God for our troubles. “God, why did you let Pastor Peter leave, and give us this African man who seems unfamiliar with leading a Lutheran Church as we know it?” But the issue isn’t a lack of faith; it’s that the waves are crashing down on us and we are afraid. In such stormy moments, fear can drown our faith and blind us to who God is and what He is doing.
There is one final lesson God reveals in this episode. Notice what happens when Jesus takes hold of Peter as he’s sinking—He brings Peter back into the boat, reuniting him with the other disciples. And where was Jesus taking this boat full of “little-faith” followers? They were heading straight into the most violent storm of all.
In Matthew 20:18-19, Jesus says to them, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.”
We’re heading for Jerusalem, guys, where the Son of Man will be swallowed up and die…… You remember…..Peter tried to prevent this from happening?…. Jesus finally knew who was behind this… “Get behind me, Satan!”
In Jerusalem, Jesus did not walk on water—and if you think true faith means only performing miracles, think again. Listen to the Son of Man in the garden, crying out in agony and pleading, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” …..And guess what? All this happened after one of His closest friends had betrayed Him and handed Him over to His enemies.
What’s the worst that could happen? As Jesus’ body began to fail on the cross, the tempter’s voice taunted Him one last time: “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross! Save yourself! O King, didn’t you walk on water?” And in the end, we hear Him cry out in desolation, as He sinks beneath the waves: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Conclusion:
In the waters of our baptism, all who are joined to His life, death, burial, and resurrection go down with Him beneath those same waves and sink with Him all the way to the depths.
And here is the incredible truth: it is there, in the bottomless pit, in the terrors of hell—when all seems lost—that we discover the astonishing good news: that even there, Jesus is truly Lord for us!
No matter where we end up, and wherever your faith journey leads you, Jesus has always gotten there first.
Today, He calls you and me: “Come with me. You find your life by losing it.” Just as God raised Jesus, He now raises us to new life—day after day, again and again—as we drown and die in our baptism, only to be lifted by God’s Spirit from our graves of fear and doubt, and then sent into the world to live the life that is crucified with Him.
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