Jesus Walks on Water

JESUS WAS NO PHANTOM
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
“And when the disciplessaw him walking on the sea,
they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit;and they cried
out for fear.” Matthew 14:26.
New Living Translation
When the disciplessaw him walking on the water, they
were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a
ghost!”
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
A First LessonOn The Spiritual Presence
Matthew 14:26
R. Tuck The answerof the disciples to the sight of Jesus walking onthe sea
revealedthe factthat they shared the superstitious sentiments of their age.
They said, "It is a spirit." "Orientals continue to believe, as of old, in
supernatural agencies,not only in the all-pervading and all-controlling
providence and personalinfluence of the Deity, which they have ever pushed
to extreme fatalism, but also in the existence and activity, either for goodor
for evil, of spirits and invisible beings, who people the air." Our Lord desired
to guide his disciples to worthier apprehensions of spiritual things, through
the proper apprehension of himself as a spiritual Being and a spiritual
Messiah. Our Lord had wrought many miracles which displayed his power,
and revealedhim as

(1) Lord of Nature in all her moods;
(2) of death in all its stages;
(3) of devils in all their forms of mischief;
(4) of souls in all their spiritual needs.
Now, by this walking on the sea, he would revealto them something of the
mystery which belonged to his own Person. And this particular revelationwas
calledfor by the fact that the disciples had encouragedthe attempt of the
people to make their Mastera merely earthly king (John 6:15).
I. CHRIST'S BODILY PRESENCEDID BUT ILLUSTRATE HIS
SPIRITUAL PRESENCE. Itshould be clearly seenthat our Lord was with his
disciples in a double sense. He was with them spiritually, just as he is still with
us; but, besides that, he was with them in bodily relations, in ways that could
be apprehended by their senses. Thatbodily presence was givento teachthem
what the spiritual presence is and involves. The record of that bodily presence
is preserved that it might do the same thing for us. Christ, by coming on the
sea, taught the disciples two things.
1. That he would be with them when they could not see him.
2. That they must not wonder if he came to them in strange forms and
manifestations. He was teaching them how to use their wings in the spiritual
atmosphere, as the mother bird teaches her fledgelings.
II. CHRIST'S BODILY PRESENCE WAS PRESENTLYTO PASS INTO A
SPIRITUAL PRESENCE. The first suggestionwas the loss of bodyweight
which enabled Jesus to walk on the water. The secondsuggestionwas the
passing of the bodily into the spiritual at the Resurrection. The third was the
passing of the spiritual body beyond the apprehension of the sensesatthe
Ascension. The illustrative bodily presence has gone now, and gone forever;
the reality of the spiritual presence ofChrist is the possessionand the glory of
his Church today. - R.T.

Biblical Illustrator
And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled.
Matthew 14:26
Christ walking on the sea
E. H. ChapinHere are presented two points.
I.Human need.
II.Divine help. These two facts are involved in the two aspects ofhumanity.
I. I ASK YOU TO CONSIDER THE ATTITUDE OF MAN TOWARDS THE
SUPERNATURALAND THE UNKNOWN. "They cried out for fear." This
was the cry of men tossedand toiling on the wild deep, in the gloom of night.
Very startling must have been to them the appearance ofthat form, advancing
through the shadow and over the sea. But that was a cry of our common
nature; it was a spontaneous human utterance from a mysterious depth,
which under all forms of civilization, and all kinds of religion, abides in the
soul of man. Every man awakens to the conviction that there is something
beyond this world. It may not be a very practical conviction; thousands may
live without any steady appreciationof that to which such a convictionpoints.
But there are occasionswhenit is suddenly realized. There are three
conditions of nature which are especiallyadapted to stir these feelings of
mystery and awe, and all three are involved in the circumstances ofthe text.
These are night, the night sky, and the sea.
1. Witness the common terror of the dead night-time and the dark, not a mere
childish superstition, but a solemn awe creeping over the innermost fibres of
the heart, "In thought from the visions of the night," said Eliphaz, "when
deep sleepfalleth on men," etc. Even the scepticalmind has actedupon the
conviction that something must people that undefined space into which the
visible world melts away.
2. Or, again, who has ever lookedup through the darkness and gazedupon
those orbs of light and glory that shame all splendours of the earth, without
the spontaneous convictionof powers and intelligences dwelling outside these
beaten ways of our traffic and our thought? What influences rain upon us
from those starry depths? What unseen messengers glide down these awful
solitudes?
3. Or, once more, considerthat elementin which the greatnessand the
mystery of nature and of life are represented. What suggestionsofthe
supernatural and the unknown rise upon us from the bosom of the sea. What
intimations beyond our sight; what a convictionof our impotence. Regarding

thus this attitude of human need, WHAT HELP HAS BEEN FOUND FOR
IT?TWO answers have come — one from the side of human sentiment, the
other from human reason.
1. One answerelicitedin this attitude of human need appears in various forms
of superstition. Rock-temples andbloody altars, and human sacrifices
proclaim the fact that human nature does not all gravitate to sense and the
darkness of annihilation. The superstitious sentiments need some explanation.
2. The answerthat comes from the side of reason. Law, force, order, are
sublime facts, but not enough for human nature. You cannot by scientific
explanation of the seenrepress man's earnestinquiry about the unseen. To
our human need, and our attitude towards the supernatural, Christ has come.
There is only one voice that can say, "Be of goodcheer, be not afraid."
II. CONSIDERTHE ATTITUDE OF MAN RESPECTING THE NATURAL
AND THE KNOWN, AND HERE YOU WILL OBSERVE THE
CONDITIONSOF HUMAN NEED AND DIVINE HELP. These men who
"criedout for fear" had been "toiling in rowing." We are troubled here
amidst the perplexities and trials of daily life. In one way or another many of
us are "toiling in rowing" — the toil of pleasure — or we are rowing through
heavy waves of care. Our need calls for Divine help. In seasonsofgloom,
looking out upon the world around us through shadows, we discernobjects at
which we shudder. That which excites our fears may be a blessing;but we
know it not, and need the assurance thatcan bid us be of goodcheer.
(E. H. Chapin)
Jesus no phantom
C. H. Spurgeon.I. IT IS TOO COMMON AN ERROR TO MAKE A
PHANTOM OF CHRIST.
1. HOW often is this done in the matter of sin and the cleansing ofit. Our sin
is real to us; but is Christ as real to us?
2. In the matter of our acceptancewith God after pardon. Our shortcomings
real; equally real the righteousness ofChrist.
3. In the matter of sanctification.
4. In times of trial.
5. In time of death.
6. In Christian work.
II. WE MAKE CHRIST A PHANTOM MOST WHEN HE IS MOST
REALLY CHRIST. When He walkedon the waves there was more of Christ

visible than on land; His Godheadvisible. In the pardon of greatsin you see
most of Christ; so in greatdistress and danger.
III. OUR GREATEST SORROWSARISE FROM OUR TREATING OUR
LORD AS UNREAL. TO some Christ is an indifferent spirit. Many a poor
sinner imagines Him to be an angry spirit and cries out for fear.
IV. If we could but be cured of this desperate mischief, our Lord Jesus Christ
would have a higher place in our esteem, and many other beneficialresults
would follow:
1. Knowledge.
2. Worship.
3. Service.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Easternbelief in Spirits
Van Lennep.The belief is quite generalin the Eastthat there exists a class of
beings whom they call "Jins," both male and female, goodand bad, which
hold an intermediate position betweenangels and men, were createdbefore
the latter, are made of fire, or perhaps of gas, and are capable of assuming a
variety of forms, or of becoming invisible at pleasure. They eat, drink, and
marry — sometimes human beings — as well as die, though they live several
centuries. Many events are accountedfor in the Eastby the agencyof the Jins;
so that they do not exist in stories alone, but are recognizedas active agents in
human affairs,
(Van Lennep.)
The magic of the Saviour's voice
A. L. R. Foote.Itis a wonderful organ, this human voice — wonderful in itself,
and no less so in its effects. It is wonderful as an exponent of individual mind
and character, being somehow very closelyconnectedwith a man, and
contributing largely to constitute that aggregateofspecialqualities we call
individuality. So much so, that one is known, is revealedand recognized, by
his voice almostas much as by anything outward.. And it is wonderful as an
instrument for affecting others. The Saviour's voice on this occasionoperated
like a charm; it wrought like magic upon them. It is amazing what power the
living voice, especiallya long-knownand much-loved voice, has to touch the
heart, and to awakenconfidence andpeace, and emotions of all kinds, that
may have been long dormant in the soul.
(A. L. R. Foote.)

COMMENTARIES
BensonCommentaryHYPERLINK "/context/matthew/14-26.htm"Matthew
14:26-27. And when the disciples saw him, they were troubled — “It is well
known that it is never entirely dark on the waternot to urge that the moon
might perhaps now be in the last quarter, as it must have been, if this was
about three weeks before the passover.”By that little light, therefore, which
they had, the disciples, seeing him, but not perfectly discerning who he was,
were much terrified: saying, It is a spirit, Οτι φαντασμα εστι, It is an
apparition: for they justly supposedthat no human body could be supported
by the water. Although the original word here used is not spirit, but
apparition, yet that the Jews in general, particularly the Pharisees, believedin
the existence ofspirits, and that spirits sometimes appeared, is evident from
Luke 24:37; Luke 24:39, and Acts 23:8-9. And they cried out with fear —
Through their dread of what might be the consequence:for, Mark 6:50, they
all saw him, and were troubled. We see here, that even appearancesand
approaches ofdeliverance may be the occasions oftrouble and perplexity to
God’s people, who are sometimes put into greatfear when they are most
highly favoured. See Luke 1:29, and Exodus 3:6. To allay the fears of his
disciples, Christ immediately drew near and spake to them, in a tone of voice
with which they were all perfectly acquainted, saying, θαρσειτε, Take
courage:it is I — Your Lord and Master;be not afraid — Either of me, who
am your friend, or of the violent tempest, which cannot hurt you while you are
under my protection.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary14:22-33Those are not Christ's
followers who cannot enjoy being alone with God and their own hearts. It is
good, upon specialoccasions, andwhen we find our hearts enlarged, to
continue long in secretprayer, and in pouring out our hearts before the Lord.
It is no new thing for Christ's disciples to meet with storms in the way of duty,
but he thereby shows himself with the more grace to them and for them. He
can take what way he pleases to save his people. But even appearances of
deliverance sometimes occasiontrouble and perplexity to God's people, from
mistakes about Christ. Nothing ought to affright those that have Christ near
them, and know he is theirs; not death itself. Peter walkedupon the water, not
for diversion or to boast of it, but to go to Jesus;and in that he was thus
wonderfully borne up. Specialsupports are promised, and are to be expected,

but only in spiritual pursuits; nor can we ever come to Jesus, unless we are
upheld by his power. Christ bade Petercome, not only that he might walk
upon the water, and so know his Lord's power, but that he might know his
own weakness.And the Lord often lets his servants have their choice, to
humble and prove them, and to show the greatness ofhis powerand grace.
When we look off from Christ, and look at the greatness ofopposing
difficulties, we shall begin to fall; but when we call to him, he will stretch out
his arm, and save us. Christ is the greatSaviour; those who would be saved,
must come to him, and cry to him, for salvation;we are never brought to this,
till we find ourselves sinking:the sense ofneed drives us to him. He rebuked
Peter. Could we but believe more, we should suffer less. The weaknessoffaith,
and the prevailing of our doubts, displease our Lord Jesus, for there is no
goodreasonwhy Christ's disciples should be of a doubtful mind. Even in a
stormy day he is to them a very present help. None but the world's Creator
could multiply the loaves, none but its Governor could tread upon the waters
of the sea:the disciples yield to the evidence, and confess theirfaith. They
were suitably affected, and worshipped Christ. He that comes to God, must
believe; and he that believes in God, will come, Heb 11:6.
Barnes'Notes on the BibleThey were troubled - They were afraid. The sight
was remarkable. It was sufficient to awe them. In the dark night, amid the
tumultuous billows appearedthe form of a man. They thought it was a spirit
an apparition. It was a common belief among the ancients that the spirits of
people after death frequently appearedto the living.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible CommentaryMt 14:22-26. Jesus Crosses to the
WesternSide of the Lake Walking on the Sea—Incidents onLanding. ( = Mr
6:45; Joh 6:15-24).
For the exposition, see on[1303]Joh6:15-24.
Matthew Poole's CommentarySee Poole on"Matthew 14:27".
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd when the disciples saw him walking
on the sea,....It being now morning, and perhaps might have moon light; and
besides, there is always more light upon the waterthan land; they were able to
discern something like a man, walking upon the surface of the sea, but had not
light enough to distinguish what, or who it was;and, moreover, had no
thought of Christ, or expectationof seeing him; and the appearance ofa man
walking upon the waters being so unusual, and astonishing,
they were troubled, saying it is a spirit: a nocturnal apparition, a demon in
human form. The Jews, especiallythe sectof the Pharisees, hada notion, from

whom the disciples might have their's, of spirits, apparitions, and demons,
being to be seenin the night; hence that rule (u),
"it is forbidden a man to salute his friend in the night, for we are careful, lest ,
"it should be a demon".''
They say a greatmany things of one "Lilith", that has its name from "the
night", a she demon, that used to appear in the night, with an human face,
and carry off young children, and kill them. Some such frightful notions had
possessedthe minds of the disciples:
and they cried out for fear, as persons in the utmost consternation, in the
greatestdanger, and in want of help: the fear of spirits arises from the
uncommonness of their appearance;from their superiority to men in power
and strength; from the enmity there is betweenmen and evil spirits; and from
a generalnotion of their doing hurt and mischief: hence, demons are, by the
Jews, called"hurtful", or "hurting", all their study being to do hurt to men;
and the same word is here used in Munster's Hebrew Gospel:add to all this,
that the fear of the disciples might be increased, through a vulgar notion
among seafaring men, that such sights are ominous, and portend evil to
sailors;and they might the more easilybe induced to give credit to this, and
fear, since they were already in such imminent danger.
(u) T. Bab. Megilla, fol. 3. 1. Sanhedrim, fol. 44. 1.
Geneva Study BibleAnd when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they
were troubled, saying, It is a {d} spirit; and they cried out for fear.
(d) A spirit, as it is takenhere, is that which a man imagines to himself vainly
in his mind, persuading himself that he sees something when he sees nothing.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT CommentaryHYPERLINK "/matthew/14-26.htm"Matthew 14:26
ff. Ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης (see critical notes):upon the sea. There, just at that spot,
they saw Him walking as He was coming toward them over the sea (Matthew
14:25). Observe the appropriate change of cases. Forgenitive, comp. Job9:8.
περιπατῶν … ἐπὶ θαλάσσης, Lucian, Philops. xiii. ἐφʼ ὕδατος βαδίζοντα, 14
:hist. ii. 4, al.
φάντασμα]They shared(Luke 24:37)the popular belief in apparitions (Plat.
Phaed. p. 81 D: ψυχῶνσκιοειδῆ φαντάσματα;Eur. Hec. 54; Lucian, Philops.
29; Wis 17:15). Comp. the nocturnos Lemures in Horace, Ep. ii. 2. 209.
Matthew 14:27. ἐλάλ. αὐτ.] ἀπὸ τῆς φωνῆς δῆλον ἑαυτὸνποιεῖ, Chrysostom.

Matthew 14:28-31 are not found in any of the other Gospels, but their
contents are entirely in keeping with Peter’s temperament (ὁ πανταχοῦ θερμὸς
κ. ἀεὶ τῶν ἄλλων προπηδῶν, Chrysostom).
βλέπων] not: as He perceived, but: as He saw;for, when on the sea, He was in
immediate contactwith the manifestations of the storm.
καταποντίζεσθαι]“pro modo fidei ferebatur ab aqua” (Bengel); namely, by
the influence of Christ’s power, for which influence, however, he became
unreceptive through doubt, and accordinglybeganto sink.
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK"/matthew/14-26.htm"Matthew
14:26. φάντασμα:a little touch of sailorsuperstition natural in the
circumstances;presupposes the impression that they saw something walking
on the sea.
Bengel's GnomenHYPERLINK"/matthew/14-26.htm"Matthew 14:26.
Ἐτάραχθησαν, they were troubled) We often take Christ for another rather
than for Christ: cf. Matthew 14:2. The disciples now fearednot only the sea,
but also the Lord.—φάντασμα, anapparition) φάντασμα and φάσμα are
identical in meaning. See Wis 17:15;Wis 17:4. Nor does φαντασία greatly
differ from them. Ibid. Matthew 18:17.
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 26. - And when the disciples saw him walking on the
sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit - an apparition (RevisedVersion,
φάντασμά ἐστιν) - and they cried out for fear.
Vincent's Word StudiesA spirit (φάντασμα)
Of which our word phantasm is a transcription. Rev., rather stiffly,
apparition. Wyc., phantom.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
Matthew 14:22-36: “Jesus’ Disciples Become Fearful In The Boat As They
Are Crossing The Sea Of Galilee / Peter Walks On The Water”
by

Jim Bomkamp
Back BibleStudies HomePage
1. INTRO:
1.1. In the laststudy we saw that Jesus revealedGod’s ability to meet every
need in our lives by miraculously feeding the 5,000
1.1.1. It was just after this that Jesus sentthe disciples acrossthe Sea of
Galilee while He stayed behind to pray
1.1.2. The disciples then gotinto trouble when a storm came up, and Jesus
came back to them walking on the water and stilled the seas
1.2. In this incident we will see that Jesus is testing the disciples to see whether
or not they have learned anything from His miracle of the feeding of the 5,000
1.2.1. Oftentimes in our lives as Christians the Lord teaches us things and
then puts us in a test to see if we have learned our lessonyet
1.2.2. If we don’t learn our lessonthe first time God will testus again
afterwards to see if we have learned, for we will continue to be testedin this
way until we learn the lesson
2. VS 14:22-23 - “22 And immediately He made the disciples get into the boat,
and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23
And after He had sent the multitudes away, He went up to the mountain by
Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone” - Jesus forced
His disciples into a boat to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and then
sent the multitude away

2.1. I have a theory as to what was happening after Jesus fed the five
thousand. I believe that the twelve actually got carried up in emotion after
seeing Jesus perform this miracle. I think that perhaps they suddenly began to
sense that Jesus coulddo anything, and they were beginning to conceive of
Him as being the prophesied Messiah. Therefore, I believe that they became
ring leaders among the multitude and perhaps even tried to incite them to
take up Jesus by force to Jerusalemand make Him king. These are my
reasons forthis opinion:
2.1.1. In John 6:14, we read that the effectof Jesus’performing the miracle of
feeding the five thousand is that the multitude began to marvel and sayaloud
that Jesus must be the Messiahwho is to come, and they were intending to
come and take Him by force to Jerusalemto make Him king, “14 When
therefore the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is
of a truth the Prophet who is to come into the world. 15 Jesus therefore
perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force, to make
Him king, withdrew againto the mountain by Himself alone”
2.1.2. In Matthew 14:22 strong language in the Greek is used in describing
Jesus’having had to force the disciples into the boat to go to the other side of
the sea, howeverin a milder language it is written that He ‘sent’ the multitude
away
2.1.3. Luke in his gospelaccount(which is not meant to be a sequential
account)does not include the next story Matthew has about Jesus coming to
the disciples walking on the sea, but rather in Luke 9:18-20 we read that the
next thing that Jesus did with the disciples was to ask Him who He was, and to
this Peterreplied that He was, ‘The Christ of God’: “18 And it came about
that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He
questioned them, saying, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?” 19 And they
answeredand said, “Johnthe Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that
one of the prophets of old has risen again.” 20 And He said to them, “But who
do you say that I am?” And Peteransweredand said, “The Christ of God”
2.2. I believe that when the multitude was intending to take Jesus up by force
and make Him king, Jesus was tempted similarly as He was in His temptation
of the 40 days in the wilderness, to take up the kingdom by physical means,
howeverHe rebuffed the temptation because He knew that He could not be
king of the people without being the king of their hearts, and that He must go
to the cross and pay for the debt of the sins of mankind

2.3. Jesus oftenwent to be alone with the Father in order to pray, and
certainly He knew that He and His disciples neededprayer at this point in
time, for He must have been physically exhausted after the events of the day
2.3.1. If Jesus the Eternaland sinless Son of God often needed to retire away
to pray to the Father, how much more do we need to do so in our lives
3. VS 14:24-26 - “24 But the boat was already many stadia away from the
land, battered by the waves;for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth
watchof the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the
disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were frightened, saying, “It is a
ghost!” And they cried out for fear” - Jesus came to His disciples walking
upon the water
3.1. It could be that part of the reluctance of the disciples to getting into this
boat and crossing the sea was that they saw that a storm was approaching
3.2. The Roman military had divided up night watches into four 3 hour
watches, andwith this being the fourth watch it was approx. 3 hours before
daylight when this incident occurred
3.3. It appears that the disciples had originally begun to head out across the
narrow northern tip of the lake to go from Bethsaida to Capernaum, on the
westside. However the wind and the waves had now blown them out into the
middle of the lake and they were now about 3-4 miles off of the shore (John
6:19) and at peril of sinking and drowning in this storm
3.4. We see in this story that in Jesus’day there was superstition that existed
in people concerning seeing ghosts ofdeparted people, as exists in our culture
even today, and even though the disciples should have just been trusting Jesus
knowing that since He told them to go across the lake that they were going
across the lake, they instead lost their perspective and became frightened
when they saw Him, thinking He was a ghost
3.4.1. How often the disciple of Christ tends to lose focus upon the Lord and
walking in faith
3.4.2. Whenthe Lord tells you to go across the lake, you are going to go across
the lake
3.5. But, to the disciple’s credit they had remained steadfastlyobedient in
trying to row to the other side of the lake, and at this point they had been
working hard rowing for about 8-9 hours

3.5.1. The disciples need to be commended here for continuing steadfastlyin
obedience to Jesus commandto try to row to the other side of the lake
3.5.2. One author has written that really the only place of safetyand security
is the place of obedience, for as this story illustrates, the Lord protects those
who labor obediently for Him
3.6. When Jesus sentthe disciples across the lake He knew that the storm was
approaching and He wantedto teachthem a lessonthrough the storm, for He
realized that they hadn’t learned the lessonthat they were supposedto have
learned from His miracle of feeding the five thousand
3.6.1. We as Christians sometimes become hard of heart and do not learn the
lessons that the Lord is trying to teachus, and this causes us to have to learn
the same lessonoverand over againuntil we get it
3.6.2. In Mark’s accountof this story, Mark 6:51-52, we read that when Jesus
got into the boat with the disciples that the wind stopped and the disciples
marveled because they hadn’t learned anything about from the incident of the
loaves, “51 And He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and
they were greatly astonished, 52 for they had not gained any insight from the
incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened”
4. VS 14:27 - “27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take
courage, it is I; do not be afraid”” - Jesus tells the disciples to take courage
and not be afraid
4.1. The perilous storm which Jesus had previously rescuedHis disciples from
had been less of a testin their faith, for they had Jesus with them the whole
time, only at that time He was asleepin the bottom of the boat, howeverwhat
was more frightening in this testing was that the disciples were alone and
about to perish
4.1.1. In this testing, Jesus is trying to prepare the disciples for the time when
He would no longer be with them, and in the perilous times they would face
then they would need to trust in faith that though they couldn’t see Jesus with
the eye that His presence was with them none-the-less
4.1.2. The disciples had forgotten that Jesus had previously sent them out on
their missionary journey to preach, heal, and castout demons, and that they

went out at that time with the authority and power of Jesus, though He wasn’t
physically presentwith them
5. VS 14:28-31 - “28 And PeteransweredHim and said, “Lord, if it is You,
command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And
Petergot out of the boat, and walkedon the water and came toward Jesus. 30
But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out,
saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretchedout His hand
and took hold of him, and *saidto him, “O you of little faith, why did you
doubt?”” - Peterwalks on the water
5.1. Here againwe see the impetuousness of the apostle Peterin asking the
Lord if He could also walk on the water, for it had not been the Lord’s plan
through His walking out to them in the boat for the disciples themselves to get
out of the boat and walk on the wateras He was walking, rather it was just to
show them that they need just to trust Him in every situation and not to have
fear
5.1.1. Peter’s impetuousness is also seenin the fact that he overestimatedhis
own faith and committed himself to something for which he was not able to
perform
5.1.2. However, the Lord did not rebuke Peterin his request, but seeking to
teachhim his ownvulnerability and lack of faith, He allowedPeterto walk on
the water
5.1.3. It is commendable that Peter ‘asked’the Lord if he could walk out on
the waterand that he did not just getout of the boat and in faith try to walk
5.1.4. We have to realize that if any of us figuratively get out of our boat and
begin to walk on the waterin our lives, and that it is not the Lord’s will that
we do this, that we will sink, for the faith that we have is not faith in faith
itself, not mind overmatter, but it is faith that is placedin the Lord and His
Word
5.1.4.1.WeChristians are warned not to ‘put the Lord to the test’ and place
ourselves recklesslyin harms waytrusting that the Lord will protectus
5.2. We can learn from this incident something that can apply to eachday in
our life, for just as Peter lookedatthe wind and waves and beganto sink, if

we take our eyes off of the Lord and begin to look insteadat our
circumstances, we also willbegin to sink in despair and unbelief
5.2.1. As someone once said, “If we gaze upon the Lord the bigger and
mightier He becomes, andthe smallerour circumstances then become;
however, if we gaze upon our circumstances they become biggerand mightier,
and the Lord becomes smallerand smaller”
5.3. I like the fact that because of the Lord’s compassionand mercy He first
savedPeterfrom sinking before He rebuked him for his lack of faith
6. VS 14:32-34 - “32 And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33
And those who were in the boat worshipedHim, saying, “You are certainly
God’s Son!” 34 And when they had crossedover, they came to land at
Gennesaret” -When Jesus and Peterenter the boat the wind immediately
stops
6.1. In John’s account, John6:21, John adds an additional detail that is very
significant yet left out of the other three gospelwriter’s accounts. He recounts
for us that when Jesus enteredthe boat that the wind immediately stopped but
also that they were immediately at the shore where they had been going, as if
they were transported there, “21 They were willing therefore to receive Him
into the boat; and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were
going”
6.1.1. You see whenwe allow Jesus to be in our boat with us we will be truly
safe and nothing shall be able to cause realharm
6.2. The effect on the disciples in seeing this miracle is that for the first time
they:
6.2.1. ‘worshippedHim’
6.2.2. beganto understand that He was ‘God’s Son’
6.3. It is no wonder that since this miracle had produced this effecton the
disciples that as Luke 9:18-20 reveals to us, Jesus next askedthe disciples the
two part question:

6.3.1. ‘Who do people say that I am?’
6.3.2. ‘Who do you say that I am?’
6.4. Notice here that Jesus did not rebuke them for worshipping Him, for He
was the Son of God from all eternity, and He knew that He was worthy of
worship
6.4.1. If Jesus were not God and He did not rebuke people from worshipping
Him this would have been the most evil of things that He could have done, for
a desire to be worshipped was the horrible sin that causedLucifer to fall
6.4.2. Notice thatmuch later, after Jesus was raisedfrom the dead, that in
John 20:28 it is recordedthat Thomas, afterhe had first missed being with the
twelve when Jesus appearedto them, when Jesus appearednext to them he
worshipped Him and said, “My Lord and my God”, as Jesus appearedand
askedThomas to thrust his hand into His side and feelthe spearwound, that
in that instance as in all others in which the disciples worshipped Him after
He had been raised from the dead, Jesus never refusedtheir worshipped nor
rebuked them
7. VS 14:35-36 - “35 And when the men of that place recognizedHim, they
sent into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick;
36 and they beganto entreatHim that they might just touch the fringe of His
cloak;and as many as touched it were cured” - The men of that place
recognizedJesus and brought their sick to Jesus so that they might just touch
the fringe of His cloak in order to be healed
7.1. This is just one of many accounts ofmultitudes of people coming to Jesus
with all of their sick and those afflicted with demons, and Jesus healing them
all
7.2. Here in this incident the people were coming just so that they might touch
the fringe of His cloak in order to be healed, and all who did so were healed
7.2.1. The multitudes might have heard of Jesus’former miracle where the
woman with the hemorrage of 12 years came and touched the hem of his
garment in faith and that she was healed
Matthew.htm"

ALAN CARR
HIDDEN BLESSINGS IN THE STORMS OF LIFE
Intro: In this passage ofScripture, we find the disciples of our Lord trapped
in the grip of a fierce storm. They find themselves in that storm, because they
have been commanded by the Lord to cross the Sea of Galilee, v. 22. These
men are in the will of the Lord and yet, we see them struggling againstthe
storm. Try as they might, however, it appears that they are unable to make
any headway. The wind is in their faces, v. 24. These 12 men are stuck in a
storm and are unable to getout.
Have you ever found yourself in that place? Have you everfound yourself
stuck in one of life's storms, and no matter how hard you try, no matter what
you do, it seems that you cannotmake any headway? Well, we all have times
like that! It may seemto you like the storm will never end and that there is no
possible goodthat can come from what you are facing. Thankfully, however,
there is some goodnews for us tonight from the word of God. While the
storms of life are never pleasant, they do produce certain benefits in our lives
that we would do well to make note of this evening. "Now no chastening for
the present seemeth to be joyous, butgrievous: nevertheless afterward ityieldeth
the peaceablefruitof righteousness unto them whichare exercised thereby.:
Heb 12:11.
I would like for us to join the disciples this evening in their storm. As we do, I
want to show you that the storms of life contain some hidden blessings forthe
children of God. I do not know what kind of storm you are facing this evening,
but I do know that the Lord has a purpose in allowing that storm to rage in
your life. Perhaps that purpose will become clearthis evening as I preachfor
a while on The Hidden BlessingsIn The Storms Of Life.
I. V. 25 STORMS ARE GOD'S MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION
(Ill. The very thing the disciples feared. The sea, was the very thing the Lord
used as the vehicle to revealHimself unto them. He will do the same in your
life and mine. Notice how Jesus came to them that night.)
A. He Comes In The Face OfDarkness - The Bible says that Jesus came
to them in "the fourth watch". Sometime between3 AM and 6 AM,
during the darkesthours of the night, Jesus came walking on the water!
(Ill. You may be walking in darkness this evening and wondering where
Jesus is. You may be facing some of the darkestdays of your life right
now. Let me remind you that our God is ever with you, Heb. 13:5! Let
me remind you that even in the darkesthours of life God is still God

and He is still in control of your life. 1 Kings 8:12, "Then spake
Solomon, The LORDsaid that he would dwellin the thick darkness.";
Psalm139:11-12, "IfI say, Surely the darknessshall cover me;even the
nightshall be lightabout me.Yea, the darknesshideth not from thee; but
the nightshineth as the day: the darknessand the lightare both aliketo
thee." Even the darkesthours of life cannothide you from the face of
God. He is there even when you cannot see Him.)
B. He Comes In The Face OfDisaster - The disciples were in a fight for
their lives. Mark 6:48 says that they were "toiling in rowing". Thatis,
they were struggling againstthe storm. I getthe impression that these
men were afraid for their lives. When they thought all hope was gone
and that they were doomed, Jesus came walking on the waves!
(Ill. There are times when we all feel like we have lost the battle with
our storm, but may I remind you that just as surely as the Lord is in
control of your blessings, He is also in charge ofyour storms? When
things look the bleakest, justlook around, Jesus is about to show up!
Remember, He may not keep you from going into the storm, but He will
keepyou in the midst of the storm! Think of the 3 Hebrews, Daniel, and
Noah. God did not prevent any of these from going into the storm, but
He saved them all in the midst of their storm. What He did for them, He
will do for you!)
C. He Comes On The Face Of The Deep - The very thing the disciples
feared, the raging sea, was the very thing God used as His vehicle to
come to them. What a testimony this was!He was not telling them that
the storm was not fierce, He was telling them that He was greaterthan
the storm!
(Ill. That is still His word to you this evening! Regardlessofwhat you
are facing in life, remember that Jesus is greaterthan that storm you
may be facing. If you will be patient and wait for Him, He will show up
right on time. You will see that the storm was used by the Lord to make
Himself clearto you. The very thing you fear will be the vehicle He uses
to show up in your life!)
(Ill. The Apostle Paul - 2 Cor. 12:1-10. God used Paul's storm, a thorn
in the flesh, to show up in and on Paul's life.)
(Ill. What I am trying to tell you is this: "Do not fear the storms of Life!
They have been designedby the Lord as a means of bringing Him closer
to you. He planned them and they are for your good- Rom. 8:28")
II. V. 25-31 STORMS ARE GOD'S MEANS OF TESTING

A. V. 25-27 TheyRevealThe Savior - When Jesus did come walking on
the water, the disciples did not recognize Him. They thought He was a
ghost. They cried out in fear. But, thank God, Jesus came with a
messageofpeace and of power. He came to them with a word of peace,
"be of good cheer." He came to them with a word of power, "It is I". He
came to them with a word of potential, "benot afraid."
(Ill. The storms of life have the potential to reveal the Savior to us in a
way we may have never consideredbefore. When He comes to us,
walking on our storm, He gives us the same messageofhope that He
gave to the disciples that stormy night.
1. A MessageOfPeace - Note:They were still in the storm when
He told them to cheerup. By His power, the Son of God cangive
us peace in the midst of our storms. That is the peace He refers to
in Phil. 4:6-7.
2. A MessageOfPower - When Jesus showedup, He came
declaring His identity. "It is I", is an emphatic personalpronoun.
It is the same statementJesus used when He said, "I am the
door"; "I am the way, the truth and the life.";"I am the bread of
life"; "I am the goodshepherd". Do you get the picture? Jesus is
telling His Disciples to "cheerup, God is here!" If we can ever
graspthe truth that Jesus is the greatI AM. That He has all
powerin Heaven and in earth, Matt. 28:18, then we can enjoy
peace in the midst of trials.
3. A MessageOfPotential - Jesus also issue a command to His
disciples:"be not afraid."This statementliterally reads, "You stop
fearing and don't you ever fear again."You see, if we canever get
hold of the factthat Jesus is in control of every area of our lives,
that He is God, and that He possessesallpower, then we can come
to that place where we can trust Him fully through all the storms
of life.
(Ill. The storms of life are a blessing because they revealthe
Savior in a brand new way.)
B. V. 28-29 TheyRefine The Saint - When Peterheard that it was the
Lord, Peterwanted to join Jesus in walking on the water. Jesus simply
told Peterto come. Peterobeyed and he too walkedon the water. Jesus
used the storm as a means of helping Petergrow in the faith.
(Ill. When the storms of life are howling all about us, if we can get hold
of the truth that Jesus is the Masterof the Storm, then we too can rise

above our circumstances and walk on the waves with the Lord. I realize
that Peter's walk didn't last long. In just a moment he took his eyes off
the Lord and he beganto sink. However, Peterhad a story that none of
the other disciples had! Peterwas the only one who could say, "I walked
on my storm!" The storms of life will focus our faith if we will allow
them to. God van use the difficult days to teachus more about Himself
and to help us grow in the Lord. He will use the storms to make you
more like Him. Remember, there were 12 men in that boat, but only one
could say he walkedon the storm like Jesus.)
C. V. 30-31 TheyRemind The Saint - Peterwanted to walk on water
like Jesus. He put the Lord to the test and stepped onto the waves.
However, he soontook his eyes off the Lord and when he did, he found
himself in trouble. He remembered Who was in control and he calledon
the Lord and found the help he needed.
(Ill. The storms of life also serve to remind us of Who is in control. Like
Peter, there are times when we get our eyes off the Lord during our
storms. When we do, we are doomed to fail. We need to remember Who
is in charge of this whole thing. You see, if we successfullynavigate the
stormy waters oflife, we deserve no credit for our abilities or our
success. If we are successful, it is because there is One Who is greater
than we are holding our hand! Our successin the storms of life hinges
upon our being willing to acknowledge Jesus as the Masterof the
storm.)
III. V. 32-33 STORMSARE GOD'S MEANS OF TESTIMONY
A. They Testify Of His Power - Jesus calmedthe storm! He didn't say a
thing, He just got into the boat with the disciples and the sea was
calmed.
(Ill. One day, he'll do the same in your life! The storm will rage until it
has accomplishedHis purpose and then He will cause the winds to cease
for you. All He is trying to getus to see this evening is that He is in
control of the storms of life. It isn't me and it isn't you. Jesus is the
Masterof the Sea and He is the Masterof the Storm as well.)
B. They Testify Of His Person - When Jesus stilledthe storm, the
disciples knew that they were in the presence ofGod. They confessed
Him and they bowedbefore Him in worship. His power in the storms
and over the storms of life testify of His person. They tell us that He is
God and that He is in control of all the affairs of life. When the storms

come, they are designedto bring us to the place the disciples found
themselves in at the end: on our knees in worship before Him.
(Ill. Here is a secretto make the storm much more bearable for you:
Don't wait until the storm is over to bow before Him. Bow now, while
the waves are still threatening your boat. Bow now, while the winds are
still contrary to you. Don't wait until blue skies are seento humble
yourself before the Lord. Nothing reveals your faith in the Lord more
than you being willing to acceptHis will and love Him, even when things
look the worse for you. Bow before Him, it honor the Lord!)
Conc:Sometimes, it is hard to see the blessings for the storm, isn't it?
Sometimes it is hard to imagine the Lord bringing any goodout of what you
are going through. I don't know the nature of the storm you are facing this
evening, but I know the One Who still walks onthe waves. I know that is you
will bring your need to Him, He will hear you and He will help you tonight.
Who knows, He might just show up this evening striding on your storm. If you
need help from the wave walker, then this alter is open. Bring your need to
Jesus and let Him have His way in your life. Will you do that right now?
CHRIST AND HUMAN NATURE
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Matthew 14:22-36
7-24-66 7:30 p.m.
On the radio you are invited to turn with us to God’s Holy Word and read it
out loud together. Matthew chapter 14, beginning – Matthew chapter 14,
beginning at verse – well, I did not intend to read the whole context. Let us
read it all; verse 22, the passage that the pastor is going to expound tonight is
Matthew 14:22 to the end of the chapter, so let us read the whole passage. I do
not know how to break into it, so let us read it all. And on the radio, get your
Bible and read it out loud with us. Matthew chapter 14, verse 22 to the end.
Now everybody, reading together:
And straightwayJesus constrainedHis disciples to get into a ship, and to go
before Him unto the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.

And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain
apart to pray: and when the evening was come, He was there alone.
But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossedwith waves:for the wind
was contrary.
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus wentunto them, walking on the
sea.
And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled,
saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
But straightwayJesus spake unto them, saying, Be of goodcheer;it is I; be
not afraid.
And PeteransweredHim and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto
Thee on the water.
And He said, Come.
And when Peterwas come down out of the ship, he walkedon the water, to go
to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he
cried, saying, Lord, save me.
And immediately Jesus stretchedforth His hand, and caught him, and said
unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying, Of a truth
Thou art the Son of God.
And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Genneseret.
And when the men of that place had knowledge ofHim, they sent out into all
that country round about, and brought unto Him all that were diseased;
And besoughtHim that they might only touch the hem of His garment: and as
many as touched were made perfectly whole.
[Matthew 14:22-36]
Last Sunday night – and you are listening on the radio to the First Baptist
Church in Dallas, and this is the pastor bringing the messageentitled Christ
and Human Nature. In our preaching through the life of Christ, last Sunday
night we left off with verse 21, which is the concluding verse of the miracle of
the feeding of the five thousand [Matthew 14:15-21]. Thentonight we begin
with verse 22 and preach through to the end of the chapter [Matthew 14:22-
36].

Now the miracle of the feeding of five thousand andron, men, "beside the
women and children" [Matthew 14:21], there could easilyhave been as many
as fifteen or twenty thousand people there in that desertplace on the
Gadarene, the eastern, the Decapolisside of the Sea of Galilee. And in that
vast multitude, for a man to feed that great aggregatewith five little barley
biscuits, a fare of the poor, and with two little fishes [Matthew 14:19], such as
a boy would catchout of the lake – for a man to feed a multitude like that
incited and excited.
Oh, how volative were the spirits of the pilgrims from over the Jewishworld
who were then in Palestine. "Whylook at this Man," they said, "look atHim.
He can raise the dead by the word of His mouth [John 11:43-44]. And He can
feed a greatarmy by just multiplying loaves and fishes." And they said, and
now I’m quoting from the sixth chapter of the Gospelof John [John 6:5-14] –
well, this miracle of the feeding of the five thousand is the only one that is
recounted in all four Gospels, andJohn says that when they saw that
marvelous, miraculous endowment of the Savior, that they would "take Him
by force and make Him a king" [John 6:15].
And I can just see that. "Why, here is a man that can raise the dead. And if
our soldiers are killed, he can bring them back to life and put them in the
army to march again. And here is a man that canfeed the vast multitudes by
just breaking, by just giving out." Why, you have the logistics ofevery kind of
enemy attack, andenemy destruction, and a march on your own part. Why,
it’d be unbeatable. You’d have the thing made. So the multitudes were
excited, and they sought to make Jesus king. "We’ll overthrow that Roman
tyrannical power, and we’ll make Jerusalemthe head of the nations of the
earth. And we will march againstour enemies, and Jesus will be our king."
Now that pleasedthe disciples very much. They eggedit on. I canjust see
James, and John, and Simon, and Bartholomew, and Thaddeus, and Matthew,
and the little James, and Simon the Zealot. And I can just see all of them, just
working out there like a ferment; "That’s right, that’s right. He is the king.
He is the one. We can win. We’re unbeatable, unstoppable, impregnable,
invincible, let’s go!" And James had it in his head he was going to be
chancellorof the exchequer, and John had it in his head that he was going to
be prime minister, and one of the others added here he was going to be chief
of staff. And somebody’s going to lead the air force, and somebody’s going to
lead the navy, and somebody’s going to be in charge of all of the armies of
occupation. Why, I can just see that. I can just see that. It was a greatday for
the disciples.

And when Jesus saw – and this is the way John wrote it – when Jesus saw that
they would come and by force make Him a king, He grabbed those twelve
disciples – and you canimagine, grabbing all these kids and bringing them
down here to Vacation Bible School. That’s exactlywhat Jesus did with these
twelve disciples: He grabbed those twelve disciples – in their exuberance, and
in their enthusiasm, and in all their marvelous plans, and visions, and dreams
– He grabbed those twelve disciples, and He forced them in a boat, and He
sent them out to sea, right in the midst of that marvelous triumph [Matthew
14:22;John 6:116-17].
And the Lord went up in a mountain alone to pray: "And when He had sent
them away, He Himself went up into a mountain apart to pray; and when the
evening was come, He was there alone" [Matthew 14:23]. Think of that. In the
midst of the acclaimand excitement, the kingdom offered Him – Satandoing
it again– the kingdom offered Him – push it all aside, look upon it as nothing.
Send those who were leading all the exuberant enthusiasmaway, up there in a
mountain apart, kneeling down to pray [Matthew 14:22-23].
I suppose the whole sky turned into a marvelous open door into glory. I
suppose the Shekinahthat burns in the presence ofGod flamed the more
brilliantly, glad to see their Prince again. I suppose the angels stoppedtheir
praising to listen to what the Son of heaven had to say, up there in a mountain
alone? No. As it was in the beginning, evermore and shall be with the Father.
And what an astonishing thing, that He prays [Matthew 14:23]. Why, in His
hands slumbers omnipotence. With the very word of His mouth He can bring
back to life the sheeteddead [John 11:43-44]. He can stop the wind and the
roar of the tempest, He canstill the sea [Luke 8:23-24]. The demons and the
devils obey Him [Matthew 8:28-32, 17:18]. Yet He prays, and sometimes in
agony[Luke 22:44]. That’s our Lord, kneeling before the Father, resting in
the Father, hoping in the Father, trusting in the Father [John 17:1-26]. "(In
the roll of the book it is written of Me,) Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God"
[Hebrews 10:7,9], and He bowed in the will of the Father [Matthew 27:32-50].
But oh, these disciples, these disciples;while our Lord is in that mountain
apart, praying and pouring out His soul [Matthew 14:23] – while the Lord is
up there, these disciples, look at them! They are mad! They are disgusted!
They are so ill-spirited! The Lord put them in that boat [Matthew 14:22] and
there they are on that sea. And at six o’clock in the morning they had rowed
barely three miles [John 6:16]. I can just see them out there, just a-griping,
and a-fussing, and a-fuming, and a-grumbling, just as mad as they can be! I
can just see them out there; somebody pull a row here, and quit, and jower;
one would pull a row on this side, and quit, and fume and fuss, disgusted;I

can just see them out there. All night long they’ve gone less than three miles
[Matthew 14:24].
So the Lord just decided, "They want to run this thing themselves? Theywant
to take the helm? They have got their own dreams, and their own programs,
and their own ambitions, and their own visions, and they want to live their
lives. They want to do it themselves." So the Lord just decided, "I am just
going to stay and let them have it. They want to row that boat themselves, and
they do not want Me in it. They do not like what I am doing, and they are
mad, fuming, fussing, disgusted; just going to leave them alone;just going to
let them have it to themselves."
So He stayed; the Lord is up there staying. One of God’s winds [Matthew
14:24], I can just see the Lord, "Come here, one of God’s winds; come here.
See those disciples down there just jowering around, and griping around, and
fussing around? Just look at them! Look at them! Now you go down there and
shake the living daylights out. Just go down there and do it. Just go down
there and just do it."
So there came out of nowhere, there came one of those winds that can so
suddenly arise in that depth below the sea, in that Arabah where the Sea of
Galilee is held. And in that wind their little boatbegan to move, and rise, and
fall, and shake, and tremble, and shiver. And it scaredthe disciples to death
[Matthew 14:24]. Isn’t that the way we are? We like it ourselves;don’t want
God in it, and we don’t want His plans for us, and we don’t want His
program. And we got our own ideas, and our own dreams, and own
ambitions, and our own way, and we want to row our own boat. Of all the
things, if we couldn’t row this little boat in this little sea, whatin the earth
would we do if God turned over to us all the boats of all the seas ofall the
world? Then, if God turned over to us all of those celestialships that sail
through the infinitude of the chalice of God’s sky above us? And what would
we do with all of the forces that control and lie back of this whole creation?
Oh, we are lost without God! Howeverwe may think of ourselves, and dream
for ourselves, andhave ambitions for ourselves, without God, without Him,
we are helpless.
I don’t know of a sweeterpoem than this by Henry Van Dyke. I love the
sentiment of its truth.
O Makerof the Mighty Deep,
Whereonour vessels fare,
Above our life’s adventure keep

Thy faithful watchand care.
In Thee we trust, whate’erbefall;
Thy sea is great, and our boats are small.
We know not where the secrettides
Will help us or delay,
Nor where the lurking tempesthides,
Nor where the fogs are gray.
We trust in Thee, whate’erbefall;
Thy sea is great, and our boats are small
When outward bound we boldly sail
And leave the friendly shore,
Let not our heart of courage fail
Until the voyage is o’er.
We trust in Thee, whate’erbetide,
,
Beyond the circle of the sea,
When voyaging is past,
We seek ourfinal port in Thee;
O bring us home at last.
We trust in Thee, whate’erbefall;
["Voyagers,"Henry Van Dyke]
So when the winds had shakenthem, and the fury of the waves had frightened
them, and they saw their utter helplessness,why, Jesus came, as He always
does, walking to the disciples in their hour of need [Matthew 14:24-25].
Well, that also frightened them. I guess it would us too, seeing somebodyin
the gray of the night walking on the sea, on the water. And the disciples cried
out for fear [Matthew 14:26]. And the Lord said, "Do not be afraid. Do not be
afraid. It is I. Be not afraid" [Matthew 14:27].
And Petersaid, "Why, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the
water" [Matthew 14:28].

Well, what do you think about a thing like that? Do you think that’s
presumption? The Lord was delighted with it. Any time a congregation, ora
family, or a man, or a woman; any time they exhibit a greatfaith in God, the
Lord is delighted. "Why, Simon Peter, you want to walk on the water? Come,
come, come" [Matthew 14:29].
And Simon Peter crawledoverboard, looking at Jesus, walking onthe water
to Jesus. Then, then he became conscious ofhimself, "Well, look at me,
walking on the water. Look at me, look at me! Look at these feet walking on
the water. Look at me. Look at me. Imagine that, me walking on water – oh,
oh!" And he lookedat a big wave a-coming, and anotherbig wave. And he
listened to the roar, and he got his eyes off of Jesus, and beganto sink like a
piece of lead [Matthew 14:29-30].
Isn’t that folks? As long as you gotyour eye on Jesus, everything’s fine,
glorious, happy, marvelous, excellent, superb, heavenly; everything’s just
great, keeping your eye on the Lord. Then after a while we take our eyes off of
Jesus, and we begin to look at that old critter over there, and that sisterover
there, and that old somebody overthere, and then ooh, it sours;"Why, I don’t
even know whether I’m savedor not." We fall in such an estate.
I know a whole lot of things wrong with you, and you, and you, and you. I
know a whole lot of things wrong with me, and me, and me, and me. I know a
whole lot of things wrong with all of us. And I know a whole lot of things
wrong with everything we’re in. But I don’t know anything wrong with Jesus.
And if I keepmy eye on the Lord, I’m all right. Keep my eye on Jesus,
everything’s just fine. When I begin looking around – Ooh! Pretty soonI
begin to sink.
Well, that’s what happened to Simon Peter. As long as he was a looking at
Jesus everything was just fine. He was a walking on the water, imagine it! And
when he beganto look around him, those disciples over there in that boat, and
he out there in those waves, andhear the wind, and look at the sea, he began
to sink. The Lord had to go over there, and pick him up, and raise him up
[Matthew 14:31]. Why didn’t you keepyour eye on the Lord? Why don’t we?
It’s a weakness. It’s a weakness;Christ and human nature.
Well, they come immediately to the land. And when they came to Genneseret
[Matthew 14:34] – that’s a valley on the westernside of the Sea of Galilee,
vastly populated in those days – and it became known that the Lord was there.
The people brought to Him all of the afflicted, and all of the hurt, and all the
sorrowing, and all of the diseased, and all of the demented; they brought them

all and laid them at the feet of Jesus. And they besought that they might only
touch the hem of His garment. Isn’t that amazing? [Matthew 14:35-36].
How different people reactwhen different folks come into town. You have a
great, celebratedsingercome into town and there are those who are gathered
to listen. Or you let a marvelous symphony orchestra come into town and
there are those who gatherto see and to listen. You let a great, famous
baseballteam come into town; there are those who gather to watch; or a
pugilist in a ring, or a wrestler, there they are to watch and to see. Let a
politician come into town, there they are gatheredaround; different people
interestedin different things.
Who gathers round when Jesus is close by? Those that are broken, and
distressed, and demented, and discouraged, and diseased. Theyare the folks
that gatherround the Lord Jesus. If you never have a need of the Lord, He
will never be Lord to you. If you never feel yourself lost, He will never be a
Savior to you. It’s when you need Him that Jesus is all that He claims to be. So
when He came, they besought that they might only touch the hem of His
garment. And the beautiful word, "As many as touched were made perfectly
whole" [Matthew 14:36]; how sweetand how precious.
Now may I conclude? And our time is gone. How could our Lord be so
massive a minister? The greatincomparable grace ofthe Master;how, how?
Oh, what He did and what He could do! How was He able? And in that same
marvelous ministry you find in His disciples, for He said, "Greaterworks
than these shall you do, because I go awayto My Father" [John 14:12]. What
is the secretofa tremendous ministry like that? It is very evident. The secret
is found up there in that mountain – alone in prayer, in solitude, in quietness,
baring His heart before God [Matthew 14:23]. And there never has been and
there never will be a great ministry of majesty, of massive proportions, of
effectiveness,ofglory and power without that staying alone in the presence of
God.
There are some young ministers here tonight, I presume, on the way to
vacation. Let me tell you young fellows something. I go around once in a
while, look at these preachers, especiallyat these state evangelistic
conferences. And when I see a preacher, and he’s always out back-slapping.
He’s always out busy. He’s a running here, and he’s a running there, and he’s
a doing this, and he’s a-doing that, and he’s a-yanking this, and he’s a-turning
that, and he’s a-going yonder, and here, and here, and here, you know what I
think? And I’m not mistaken. If I were going to his church on Sunday
morning and againon Sunday night and listen to him, my soul would be fed
on flotsam and on jetsam; for you can’t perform a greatwork for God and not

be alone a greatdeal of the time with God. There is no such thing as a man
laying his hand upon the hearts and the lives of people unless first he’s gothis
other hand in the hand of the Lord God Almighty in heaven.
"Moses,"the Lord saidto him, "Moses, youcome up here. You come up
here."
"Why, Master, we’ve gotan exodus before us, and we’ve got laws to give, and
we’ve got all kinds of legislationto hand down. And we have these people to
train, and to lead. Master, busy I am."
The Lord said, "Moses,you come up here. You come up here." Moses stayed
on that mountaintop forty days and forty nights in the presence ofthe Lord
[Exodus 24:12-18].
And the Lord met Jacobon the way back to the Promised Land. And the
Lord wrestledwith him all night long. And it was only after that
confrontation with Godthat the Lord changedhis name from "supplanter,"
Jacob, to "the prince of God," Israel[Genesis 32:24-28].
In the temple, beautiful beyond any building the world has ever known,
Solomonreared, erected, two greatcolumns in front of that temple. The
column on the right, on the south facing east, the column on the right; and the
column on the south side he called Jachin. And the column on the left –
there’s not a Masonon the earth that knows, but that knows whatI’m talking
about – and the column on the left that he reared to the north, he calledBoaz
[1 Kings 7:21]. Was it meaningless? The right column meant "beauty,"
worshipping God in the beauty of holiness;and the left column meant
"strength," strength from God.
Or in the incomparable vision that Isaiah saw when he, in the temple, looked
upon the Lord "high and lifted up." And above Him were the seraphim,
crying "Holy, holy, holy." And eachone had six wings; "With twain he
coveredhis face," unworthy in adorationto God. "And with twain he covered
his feet," that same holy adoration, humility before God. "And with twain he
did fly"; two pairs of his wings in rest, in adoration, in prayer, and two of his
wings in service and in ministry [Isaiah 6:1-3].
That is the pattern of our lives, and we pause to do this, and we pause to do
that, and here we are involved yonder. The Lord says, "Come up here with
Me. Close that door. Get down on your knees. Talk to Me about it." And out
of those quietnesses, those commitments, and those confrontations with God
come those greatministries for the Lord. That’s why He was able to do what
He did. From the mountaintop He brought down to the valley, from the
loneliness of a desertplace into the city, He brought the presence ofthe

Almighty. That’s what we need; my friend, take time for God. Quietly,
lovingly, adoringly, preciously, prayerfully, beautifully, take time for God.
And you will rise from your knees a thousand times strengthenedfor
whatevertask you’re about.
JESUS NO PHANTOM NO. 957
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD’S-DAYMORNING, OCTOBER2,
1870, BYC. H. SPURGEON,AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,
NEWINGTON.
“And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled,
saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.” Matthew 14:26.
SOME of the richest comforts are lost to us for want of clearperception.
What consolationcouldbe greaterto the tempest-tosseddisciples than to
know their Masterwas present, and to see Him manifestly revealedas Lord of
sea as well as land? Yet because they did not discern Him clearly, they missed
the incomparable consolation. Whatis worse, attimes the dimness of our
perception will even turn the rarestconsolationinto the source offear. Jesus
is come, and in His coming the sun of their joy has risen, but they do not
perceive it to be Jesus, andtherefore thinking it to be a phantom, they are
filled with alarm, and cry out in dread. He who was their bestfriend, they
were as much afraid of as though He had been the arch enemy. Christ
walking on the wave should have put all fear to rest, but instead thereofthey
mistake Him for a phantom appearing amidst the storm, foreboding darker
ill. They were filled with dismay by that which ought to have lifted them up
with exultation. Oh, the benefit of the heavenly eye salve by which the eye is
cleared!May the Holy Spirit anoint our eyes therewith. Oh, the excellence of

faith which, like the telescope, brings Christ near to us, and lets us see Him as
He is! Oh, the sweetnessofwalking near to Christ, and knowing Him with an
assured, confident, clearknowledge,for this would give us comforts which
now we miss, and at once remove from us distresses whichtoday
unnecessarilyafflict us. The subject upon which I wish to speak, will be
indicated to you if I supply you with the outline of it first of all. The first head
will be this—it is too common an error to make a phantom of Christ, and,
secondly, we are most apt to do this when Jesus is most evidently revealed,
and therefore, thirdly, from this spring our greatestsorrows, andfourthly, if
we could be cured of this evil, Jesus wouldrise very much in our esteem, and
many other blessedresults would be sure to follow. I. IT IS TOO COMMON
AN ERROR TO MAKE A PHANTOM OF CHRIST. There are some who
make a Christ of a phantom, I mean they take that to be their Savior which is
but a delusion, they have dreamed so, they have excited themselves up to a
high pitch of presumptuous credulity, they have persuaded themselves into
delusive comfort, and they make their excitedfeeling or fancy their Christ.
They are not saved, but they think they are, Jesus is not known to them, they
are unspiritual, they are not His sheep, they are not His disciples, yet they
have put something up before their mind’s eye which they think to be Christ,
and their ideal of Christ, which is but a phantom, is Christ to them. A terrible
error! May God save us from it and bring us to know the Lord in deed and in
truth by the teaching of His Holy Spirit, for to know Him is life eternal. But
an equally, and probably a more common error is to make a phantom of
Christ. More or less we have all erred in this direction. Let me show you this
for reproofand direction. First, how often we have done this in the matter of
sin and like cleansing of it! Our sin seems to us, when we are convinced of it,
very real. Realindeed it is, our offenses againstGodare no imaginary ones,
we have really provokedHim to wrath, and He is angry with us every day.
The stain of sin is not on the surface merely, the leprosy lies deep within. Sin is
a horrible evil, and when our spirits have been able to see the reality and the
heinousness ofit, they sink within us. But oh, what a glorious thing it is
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when we canwith equal vividness see the actualcleansing from sin which
Christ confers on all believers by His precious blood! To see the scarletand to
weepover it is well, but then to see that same scarletvanish in the pure white
of the atoning sacrifice, this is better. Did you ever getas cleara perception of
the secondas you have done of the first? It is a greatblessing when God
makes sin to be experientially heavy to you so that you feel it, but it is a
greaterblessing still when the atoning blood is quite as vividly realized, and
you see the sweatdrops bloody of Gethsemane, and the pouring out of the life
of the Redeemerupon Calvary, and the agonies unknownby which guilt was
fully expiated before the eternal throne. My brethren, when we are under
concernof soul, or even after our first conviction, when sin returns heavily
upon our spirits, our fears, and terrors, and alarms, are real enough, no one
dares to say to us then that we are in a state of nervous excitement about a
fiction, our danger then is right before us, as clearly as the flames are before
some poor person immured in a burning house, we are sure of the danger, we
see it, we perceive it, we feel it in the very core of our nature. But there is
salvationprovided by the Redeemer, He took our sin upon Himself, He
suffered the punishment of it, He has put the sin away, believing in Him our
sin has gone, we have a right to peace, we are fully warrantedin standing
before God and saying, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?”
What we want is not to think of this as a dreamy thing, which may or may not
be, but to realize it as a fact quite as sure, quite as certain as our distress and
the sin which causedit. We are not to look through the storm upon the Savior
and view Him as though He were a will-o’-the-wisp, a ghostly thing, while the
storm that surrounds us is real, but to see a real Saviorfor real sin, and to
rejoice in real pardon, a pardon which has buried all our sins, a real salvation,
a salvationwhich has set our feet upon a rock beyond the reachof harm.
Brethren, if we came to this point about sin we should have less of the
groaning, or if as much of the groaning, we should still have more of the
rejoicing. We lament for sin, and we do well. I hope we shall till we reach the
gates ofheaven. Sin can never be too much lamented or repented of, but at the
same time we are not to so mourn over sin as to forgetthat Jesus died, and

thereby cancelledall our guilt. No, with every note of lamentation lift up the
joyful strain of triumph, for iniquity is gone, Christ has finished
transgression, made an end of sin, and he that believes in Him is not
condemned, neither can he be, world without end. The same remarks apply
to the matter of our acceptancewith God after our pardon. Dearbrethren
and sisters, if I may speak for the rest of you, our shortcomings in Christian
duty are often very painfully real to our souls, we cannotpreach a sermon, or
offer prayer, or give alms, or do any service for our Lord but what we feel,
when all is done, that we are unprofitable servants. The faults and
imperfections of our service stare us in the face, and there is not a day we live
but what we are compelledto saythat we come very far short of what
Christians should be, in fact, we are led sometimes to question whether we can
be Christians at all, and very rightly are we anxious as to the truthfulness of
our professions. Whenwe come to the Lord’s Table, and examine ourselves,
we find many causesofdisquietude, and much reasonfor trembling of spirit.
Looking through the whole course of our Christian career, shame must cover
our face, we have goodneed to say, “Notunto us, not unto us be glory,” we
cannot suppose ourselves able to take any glory, our life has been so
inglorious, so undeserving, so helldeserving. And there are some Christians to
whom this state of things is very, very, very, very painfully conspicuous. They
are of a desponding turn of mind, much given to looking within, and their
inward corruptions and the outward displays thereof cause them continued
disquietude and alarm. My brethren, there is so much that is goodabout all
this, that who shall condemn it? But at the same time the sacredbalance of the
soul must be maintained. Are my shortcomings real? Equally real is the
perfect righteousness ofJesus Christ, in which all believers always stand. Are
my prayers imperfect? Ay, but equally perfectand prevalent are the prayers
and intercessionsofmy greatAdvocate before the throne. Am I defiled with
sin, and therefore worthy to be rejected? Is that true? Equally true is it that in
Him is no sin, and His eternal merits have weight with the ever-blessed
Father, and stand me in as good
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a place as He, my representative and surety, stands before the throne. Yes, I
am in myself unworthy, but I am acceptedin the Beloved. “I am black,”
“Yes,” says the believer, “it is so,” add howeverthe next clause, “but comely,”
equally sure it is that we are comely, yea, in God’s sight we are “without spot
or wrinkle, or any such thing.” As JEHOVAH sees us in Christ Jesus, He
beholds no iniquity in us, Christ has put our blemishes away, and made us
comely in His comeliness,He sees everything that is lovely in us, Christ has
bestowedHis own beauty upon us, for He is made this day of God unto us
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. All we want is in
Christ. Our standing is safe in Him, and the love of the Father towards us
comes to us without diminution at any time, despite our flaws and failures,
through the perfectionof the beloved One’s acceptance. Now do not overcloud
this fact. Do not look at the Lord your righteousness as a phantom, do not cry
out as if you thought His work to be an impalpable something that comforts
others, but cannotcomfort you. The work of Jesus is the grandestof all facts.
O for faith to graspit, and rely upon it as such! The principle applies next in
the matter of sanctification. Very realand close to our souls, my brethren, is
the flesh, it makes us groan daily, being burdened, very close home to us are
our corruptions—these foes ofour ownhousehold worry us too much to allow
us to forgetthem. Very plain to us also are our temptations, they awaitus on
all sides. And the inward conflict which comes ofour fallen nature, and the
temptations of Satan and the world—this too is very clear. We can no more
doubt our conflicts than the wounded soldier doubts the bloodiness of the
battle. All these things are evermore before our eyes to our grief. But I am
afraid that here, too, Christ Jesus is often to us as an apparition merely, and
not as a real sharerin our spiritual conflicts. Know you not, beloved, that
Jesus Christ is touched with tender sympathy for you in all your temptations?
Understand you not that He has prepared provision for you in all your
conflicts that you may surely win the day? Expect you not even yet to say, I
have overcome through the blood of the Lamb? Will you not at this hour
shout the anticipatory note of triumph, “Thanks be to God, which gives us the
victory though our Lord Jesus Christ”? You have corruptions within—this is

a fact, but Christ is formed in you the hope of glory—this is an equal fact.
There is that in you which would destroy you, but there is also that implanted
in you which cannot be destroyed—this is equally true. You are in the first
Adam made in the image of the earthy, over this you lament, but in the second
Adam you already begin to bear the image of the heavenly, and you shall
perfectly bear it before long. Can you not graspthis? Alas! we do not lay hold
of these things, do not get to say, as the apostle John did, “which we have seen,
with our eyes, which we have lookedupon, and our hands have handled, of the
Word of life.” Too much is this with us a doctrine to be acceptedbecausewe
are taught it, a matter to be receivedbecause some otherpersons have
experiencedit, but too little is it a subject of inward living experience. Foryou
and me to know by blessedrealization that it is so, that the Holy Spirit sent
forth from the Fatheris in us and with us, and that Christ will overcome our
sin within us by the power of the cleansing water which flowedwith the blood
from His side, and will as much deliver us from the powerof sin, as He has
already savedus from the guilt of sin—this is heavenly experience indeed. We
must not forgetto illustrate this state of mind also by the condition of many
saints when under trial. How often when the storms are out, and our poor
barque is filling, do we realize everything but what we should! We are like the
disciples on the GalileanLake. The ship is real—ah, how the timbers creak!
The sea is real—how the hungry waves leapup to destroy them! the winds are
real—see how the canvas is rent to ribbons, how the mast bends like a bow!
their own discomforts are real—wetto the skin with the spray, and drenched,
and cold are they all! their dangers are real—the ship must certainly go down
with all on board! everything is real but the Masterwalking on the waves, and
yet, beloved, there was nothing so real in all that storm as the Master. All else
might be a matter of deceptionto them, but He was real and true. All else did
change, and pass away, and subside into calm, but He remained the same.
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Now observe how often we are in a similar condition. Our wretched
circumstances, the bare cupboard, our bodily weakness, the loss of that dear
child or parent, all the distressesthat awaitus, the dread of bankruptcy, or
penury, all these seemreal, but that word, “I am with you,” appears often in
such circumstances to be a matter of belief certainly, but not a matter of
realization, and that promise, “All things work togetherfor goodto them that
love God, to them who are the calledaccording to His purpose—” we dare not
deny it, but we are not comforted by it to the degree we should be, because we
do not grip it, graspit, know it. The holy children in the fire knew they were
in the fire, but they were safe because theyknew to an equal certainty that the
Son of man was there with them. And so in the furnace you know that “no
trial for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous,” know equally well that
where Jesus is, the trial is blessed, and the affliction has sweetnessin it
unknown to aught beside. I shall only illustrate this in two other points. My
dear brethren, in the matter of death, I do not know whether you can all think
of death without a shudder. I am afraid there are not many of us who can. It is
very easyto sing, when we are here on Sundays rejoicing with all our
brethren—
“On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand, And casta wishful eye.”
I am afraid, I am afraid, I am afraid we would rather live than die after all. A
missionary told me the story of an old Negro womanin Jamaica who used to
be continually singing, “AngelGabriel, come and take Aunty Betsyhome to
glory,” but when some wickedwag knockedat the door at the dead of night,
and told her the angelGabriel was come for Aunty Betsy, she said, “She lives
next door.” I am afraid it may possibly be so with us, that though we think we
wish the waves ofJordan to divide so that we may be landed on the other
shore, we linger on the bank shivering still. It is so. We dread to leave the
warm precincts of this house of clay, we castmany “a longing, lingering look
behind.” But why is it? It is all because we realize the dying bed, the death
sweat, the pangs, the glazing eye—we oftenrealize what never turns out to be

reality, but do not realize what are sure to be realities, namely, the angelic
watchers atthe bedside, waiting to actas a convoy to bear our spirits up
through tracts unknown of purest ether. We do not realize the presence ofthe
Savior receiving saints into His bosomthat they may rest there until the
trumpet of the archangelsounds. We do not really graspthe rising again—
“From beds of dust and silent clay, To realms of everlasting day.”
If we did, then our songs aboutdying would be more true, and our readiness
to depart more abiding. For what is death? It is a pin’s prick at the worst,
often scarcelythat, the shutting of our eyes on earth and the opening of them
in heaven. So rapid is the departure of the saint, the movement of the soul
from the body here to the presence of the Lord yonder, that death is scarcely
anything, it is swallowedup in victory. O for the realization, then, of Jesus,
and death would lose all its sting. And once again, and this is the last
illustration I will give on this point, I am afraid that in Christian work we
very often fall into the same style of doubt. Here is an enterprise, and
straightwayif we are wise we realize the difficulties, if we are something more
than wise we exaggeratethese difficulties and conclude that with our slender
means we shall never be able to grapple with them, but ah! why is it that we so
seldom think of the living present Savior, who is the church’s Head? Calculate
the forces ofthe church if you will, but do not forget the most important item
of all, the omnipotence of the Lord her King. Reckonup if you will all the
weakness ofher pastors, and teachers, and evangelists and members, but
when you have done that, fancy not you have calculatedall her resources, you
have only consideredthe very fringe thereof, the main body and the strength
of the church lies in the fullness of the Godheadbodily, which dwells in the
person of Jesus Christ. Shall heathendom be real? shall priestcraft be real?
shall Romanism be real? shall the corruption of the human heart and the
alienation of the human will be real? and shall I not equally realize the
omnipotence of Christ in the realm of spirit, and the irresistible
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powerof the Holy Ghost, who can turn men from darkness into light, and
from the powerof Satan unto God? Let not Christ be a phantom to His
church. In her worst hours, though tossedlike a ship in the storm, let her
Lord, as He walks the waves, be real to her, and she will do and dare right
valiantly, and the results will be glorious. Thus much on the first point. II.
Secondly, the worstof it is that WE MAKE CHRIST A PHANTOM MOST
WHEN HE IS MOST REALLY CHRIST, most really revealedas the Son of
the Highest. Observe, my dear brethren, when our Lord Jesus Christ walked
on the land by the seashore, none of His disciples ever said, “It is a spirit,”
none of them said, “It is an apparition,” yet they did not see Christ when He
walkedon the shore, on terra firma, they saw His manhood, that was all, there
was no more to be seenof Christ as He walkedthere than there is to be seenof
any other—simply a man, no Godheadis there revealed, but when Christ
walkedon the waves, there was more of Christ visible than there was on the
land, then they saw His manhood, but they also saw His Godhead, who could
make the liquid waves up-bear Him. There was more of Christ to be seen, and
yet then they saw the least. Is it not strange where He uncovers most, we see
least, where He reveals Himself most clearly, our unbelieving eye is leastable
to see!Yet, mark you, Christ is never so truly Christ anywhere as when He
works beyond the ordinary course of nature. He is Christ if He takes a little
child upon His knee and blesses it, but more of the Christ is seenwhen He
puts His hand upon the damsel, and raises her from the dead, or calls Lazarus
out of the tomb. He is the Christ when He speaks a gentle word to a sorrowing
heart, but oh, what a Christ He is when He says, “Winds be hushed, and
waves be still!” Then is His glory laid open to faith’s strengthenedeye. Truly
He is most Himself when He is most above all others, when, as high as the
heavens are above the earth, so high are His thoughts above our thoughts, and
His ways above our ways. And, brethren, we have never seenChrist unless we
have seenHim far above all others, and acting beyond the bounds of
expectationand reasoning. The Christ is half hidden when He acts as another
man. The whole Christ does not appear in the ordinary run of our affairs, it is
in the extraordinary, the unusual, the unexpected, that we view the glory of

Christ, and see Him fully. So it is that we refuse most to discernand glorify
Him when He is most openly displayed. Let me show my point. Christ, I say,
walking on the sea, is most of all Christ there, and yet His disciples do not
perceive Him, so in the pardon of very greatsin you see the most of Christ, yet
whenevera man has fallen into a greatsin, that is, a vile sin in the esteemof
others, then he says, “Ah! now I cannot be forgiven this.” Why, man, Jesus is
most truly Jesus when He pardons grievous iniquity. The putting away of
your little transgressions, as youhave thought them to be, do you think this is
all He came for—to redeem such as have fallen and a little transgressed? Is
He a little Savior for little sinners to be little worshipped? Oh! but herein He
comes to be Christ in deed and in truth, when bloody murders, black
adulteries, scarletblasphemies, and crimson filthinesses, are all washedaway
by His blood. Then see we Him as “a Saviorand a greatone,” as one who is
“mighty to save.” Why is it that we will not discern Him when He abundantly
pardons? Why, my brethren, do we honor Him as He should be honored, if we
only think that the sentimentalism of sin is put awayby Him? If we ownthat
the reality, the filthiness, the damnableness of sin is put awayby Jesus, and
trust Him when our sins seemblackest, foulest, mostabhorrent, then we do
Him honor and see Him to be the Christ He is. So againin great distress of the
soul. It pleases Godoftenafter conversionto allow the fountains of the great
deeps of our corruption to be brokenup, and we never felt before as we do
then, we had not expected this, and are overwhelmed with surprise to find
ourselves suchcorrupt, such deceitful, such foul things. Then at the same time
Satanwill invade the heart with fierce temptations and diabolical
insinuations, and, alas!our suspicious spirits will imagine that Jesus Himself
cannot help us in such a condition. Oh, but man, now is the time for the
divine manifestation! Now shall you see the Christ. Do you suppose that the
Lord Jesus comes only to speak peace to those who have peace already, or to
give peace
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to those enduring a trifling disturbance of mind? Man, do you think Jesus a
superfluity? Or do you imagine that He is only suited for little occasions?Be
ashamedof such insinuations, for He reigns on high above tremendous
storms, He rules the largestwaves and the most roaring floods, when all our
nature is vexed, when our hopes are gone, and our despairis uppermost, it is
amid the tumult of such a tempestthat He says, “Peace, be still,” and creates a
calm. Believe in the Christ who cansave you when your temptations threaten
to swallow you up. Do not think Him to be only able to save when you are not
in extremities, but believe Him to be bestseenwhen your uttermost calamities
are near. I might selectmany other cases as illustrating this, but I will run
over one or two in rapid review. We are perhaps enduring an unusually
severe trial, and need more than usual support, but we fearfully say, “I cannot
expectto be supported under this affliction.” Ah! your Christ is a phantom,
then. If you saw Him you would know that there is nothing too hard for Him,
that the sustenance ofa soul, when it is at its lowestfamine point, is easy
enough work for the divine Consolator, and you would castyourself on Him
believingly, and not acttowards Him as now you do. Yes, but you need great
supplies for the present time of distress, your circumstances are trying to the
last degree. Do not, now that you need greatsupplies, make Christ to be poor
and stinting in your esteem, but rather, like Abraham, say, “The LORD will
provide.” Abraham, in extremity, when about to slay his son by God’s
command, finds that God interposes, and the ram is found for a burnt-
offering. In your worstpoverty Christ will interpose, Jesus will prove Himself
to be the Lord of heaven and earth. You shall see that in Him all fullness
dwells. Can you only rely upon Jesus in little and ordinary troubles? I know
it is sweetto run to Him in such times, but is He to be only an ordinary, fair-
weatherfriend to coveryou from little showers, andwalk with you when a
little gale is blowing, will He refuse to be with you in stormy weather, or to
traverse with you the boisterous sea? O do not so miserably spirit awaythe
Savior! Do not pantomime the Redeemerwhen you want Him in very deed.
You have real poverty, and a real cross, andreal difficulties, now in the mount
of the Lord shall it be seenthat He is true to His word, and His name,
JEHOVAH-JIREH, across the darkness of your want shall be written as with

letters of fire. In times of greatdanger, again, we sometimes gloomilymutter,
“Now we shall not be preserved, Christ has kept us up till now, and we quite
believe that He would do so if the circumstances oftoday were no worse than
those of times gone by, but now we are extremely tempted, now we are
violently assailed, now our sorrows multiply, will He help us now?” Dare you
say, “Will He?” when you know that He cannot change? Dare you say, “Can
He?” Is anything too hard for the Lord? Are you going to make your Savior
into a mere appearance? He is a real Savior, lean on Him, He will bring you
safelythrough, coveryou with His shield, and keepoff the fiery darts from
you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Greatdeliverances!Alas! we fancy
that these will never occur, Jesus will not work these as aforetime, so we
wickedlyimagine, and if they are wrought, we are like Peter, who could not
realize his escape from prison. He knew the saints had prayed for him, but
when he was delivered from the prison, and found himself in the streets of the
city, he could not think it was a fact, he “wist not that it was true which was
done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision.” Often before God has
delivered us, we have said, “it cannotbe”—our Christ was only a spirit, and
when He has delivered us we have said, “I do not understand it, I am
overwhelmed with amazement,” the fact being that we do not get such a grip
of Christ as to be assuredthat He is real, present, mighty, gracious, orif we
did, we should receive even His greatestdeliverancesas natural proofs of His
goodness andgreatness suchas faith is warranted to expect. “Is it not
surprising,” said one, “that God should have heard my prayers, and has been
so gracious to me in providence?” “No,” saidan old saint, whose long
experience had taught her more of the Lord, “it does not surprise me, it is just
like Him, it is His way with His people.” Oh, to feelthat greatmercy is like
Him, that is what we should expectof God, that He should give great
deliverances, should walk the waters of our griefs, and bid them cease their
raging!
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It is a blessedfaith which enables us to recognize Jesus onthe waters, and to
say, “I know it is Jesus, nobody but Jesus could actso wondrously, I might not
have known Him if I had seenHim working in an ordinary way, or traveling
like a common wayfarer, but here amidst extraordinary seasons Iexpected
His help, if I had never seenHim before, I expectedto see Him now, and now I
do see Him, and I am not amazed, though I am delighted. I lookedfor Him,
and knew that when the need of Him was greatest,His coming would be
sure.” When faith brightens the eye of hope with the flash of expectation, joy
is not far away. I will only add that if we will but realize Christ, our great
successes whichwill be sure to come, over spiritual foes within and over
difficulties without, will againinfallibly prove to us His reality, but the
probabilities are that we shall think Him not capable of giving us such great
successes,and we shall toil on despondingly where we ought to have rejoiced
in the Lord. As to our ultimate future we have too often thought it will be
hard to die. We have trembled at standing before the judgment seat, we have
read of the day of judgment, and thought, “How shall I bear it?” forgetting
that we shall know our Redeemerbetter in death than before, and in the
resurrectionand in the glory that shall follow, we shall see Him more clearly
revealedthan now, and therefore we ought to think more of Him and lean
upon Him in all the greatconcerns of eternity with a great, a confident, and
childlike faith. III. But I must pass on to the third head. OUR GREATEST
SORROWSARISE FROM OUR TREATING OUR LORD AS UNREAL. It
is because ofour attenuating, vaporizing, and spiriting our Lord away, and
making Him into a myth so often, instead of gripping Him with a common
sense, practical, firm, realizing faith, that we suffer so much from our
troubles. For, brethren, it is a sad cause oftrouble to have a phantom
Redeemer, a Savior who cannotactually pardon sin when it comes to be great
sin, a Savior who gives us only a little indefinite hope about our guilt, but does
not literally put it away. This is the seed-bedof all manner of evil weeds. I do
not wonderif you are vexed with doubts and fears if you have not realized
Christ. O that you would all learn to sing with Hart these precious lines—

“A Man there is, a real Man, With wounds still gaping wide, From which rich
streams of blood once ran, In hands, and feet, and side.
(’Tis no wild fancy of our brains, No metaphor we speak;The same dear Man
in heaven now reigns, That suffered for our sake).
This wondrous Man, of whom we tell, Is true Almighty God; He bought our
souls from death and hell, The price, His own heart’s blood.”
Beware my brethren, of resting content with anything short of faith in an
actual, literal, living Mediator, for nothing but reality will be of any use to you
in the matter. Of course, with a phantom Saviorfor real sins, an apparition of
a Redeemerfor real bondage, you cannot find comfort. Of what use is the
appearance ofbread and the resemblance ofwater to famishing pilgrims in
the desert? If you have a phantom helper for realwoes you are the worse for
such help. If your Saviordoes not actually and practicallysupport you in
times of need, and supply your wants and console youunder depression, then
in what respects are you better off than those who have no helper at all? Jesus
is a friend indeed. His grace, love, and presence are no fictions, of all facts
they are most sure. If I have to carry a realload, and
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then have a ghostto assistme, I am in truth unassisted. We want true power,
force, and energy, in our helper, and all that faith sees in Jesus her Lord, but
you will readily see how sorrows multiply where Jesus is lightly esteemed.
Besides, to some Christ is not only, as it were, an impalpable spirit, but He is
really an indifferent, unfeeling spirit. Jesus to His disciples on the sea seemed

as though He would have gone by them and left them to their fate, and we
often dream that our gracious Lord is unmindful of us, at any rate, we forget
that he is tenderly mindful of our case. It did not strike you when you were so
poor last week that Jesus knew it, and was grievedfor your affliction. You
forgot, dear brother, when you were trembling as you went into the pulpit,
that Jesus knew you trembled, and would uphold you while bearing your
testimony. Too seldom do we remember that—
“In every pang that rends the heart The Man of Sorrows bears a part.”
Ah! goodhusband, you knew your wife pitied you, you noted well the
teardrop when she saw your grief. Ah! dear child, you knew your mother
sorrowedfor you. Ah, but if you did but know Christ, you would know this
too, that He never puts you to an unnecessarypain, nor evertries you with an
unneeded trial. There is a needs be for all, and He has sympathy for you in all.
Many a poor sinner even imagines Jesus to be an angry spirit, and he cries out
for fear. He imagines that Jesus is wrathful and will rejecthim with
indignation. Ah! you do not truly realize my Savior if you think He would ever
rejectanyone who came to Him. When on earth what a real Physicianof souls
He was!He mingled with publicans and sinners, He did not talk about them as
people who ought to be lookedafter, but He actually went after them Himself
and suffered one of them to washHis feet with her tears, and wipe them with
the hairs of her head. He was accustomedto touch diseasedsinners with His
finger as He healed them. He was not a dilettante Savior, He did not come into
this world to save us from suppositious sin and imaginary troubles. There is
nothing which is more overlooked, but which ought to be better remarked
about our Lord, than His common sense practicalness.He is utterly devoid of
sham and pretense. He is always in the Gospelhistory as real as the scenes of
life around Him, He never strikes you as theatrical and pretentious. May we
all feel that He is really a loving Savior, a tender Savior, and a practical
Savior to us. May you know Him, may you realize Him, and then your
sorrows will either come to an end, or be acceptedwith thanksgiving. IV.

Lastly, IF WE COULD BUT BE CURED OF THIS DESPERATE
MISCHIEF, OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WOULD HAVE A HIGHER
PLACE IN OUR ESTEEM, AND MANY BENEFICIALRESULTS WOULD
FOLLOW. For, first, did you notice that after the disciples knew it to be
Christ, and He came into the ship with them, they said, “Of a truth you are
the Sonof God”? If you once realize Christ, you will know Him in His person
as you never will know Him by all I can tell you, or you canread about Him.
You once read about a man, you saw his likeness in the “Illustrated News,”
you heard people talk about him, but at last you were in his company, and sat
down with him, and then you said, “Now I know the man, I did not before.”
Oh, if you can realize Christ so as to draw near to Him by faith, you will feel
that you now begin to know Him in truth, and what is best, you will know
Him then with assurance. Theysaid, “Of a truth you are the Son of God.”
You were persuaded that He is God by what you found in Scripture, but when
you came to see Him, when He became real to you, the doctrine of His Deity
needed no arguments to support it, the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord, is then
woven into your very being. He is the Son of God to you, if to no one else.
What did those mariner disciples when they saw that it was indeed Jesus who
trod the wave? It is added, “They worshipped Him.” You will never worship a
phantom, an image, an apparition. Know Jesus to be real, and straightway
you prostrate yourself before Him. BlessedGod, blessedSonof Man,
coming from heaven for me, bleeding for me, standing in glory, pleading for
me, I had thought of You and heard of You, but now I see You, what canI do
but worship You? It is the grasping of Christ that produces devotion, it is the
mistiness of our thoughts about Him that is the root of our undevout frames of
mind. God give us a firm hold of Christ, and we shall instinctively adore Him.
They not only worshipped Christ, but they served Him. Their worship was
such that whateverHe bade them do they did it, and the vesselwas steered
whither He would until it brought Him to the other side where He wishedto
go. They who realize Christ are sure to obey Him. I cannot obey that which
floats before me like a cloud, but when I see the man, the God, and know Him
to be as real a personas myself, as much a matter-of-fact existence as my
brother, then what He bids me do I do, my obedience becomes realjust in
proportion as the Masterwho commands it becomes realto my soul. Then it

Jesus Walks on Water

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