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Jesus Truly is the Son of God
Jesus Truly is the Son of God Matthew 14:13-36 Key Verse: 14:33 “Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’” In last week’s passage we saw that the world around Jesus was looking very dark. His own hometown people, the people who knew him the best, completely rejected him simply because they couldn’t look past what they knew about him as a human. They knew about all the great things he had done and they listened to his powerful teaching in their synagogue, but their human thinking about him kept them from seeing who he really was. They were the exact description of the people Isaiah talk about: “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” Then we learned about Herod who had basically gone insane because he had rejected the truth of God he had heard from John, and at the request of his niece, had killed him. John was Jesus forerunner and co-worker in the kingdom’s work. These two things must have devastated Jesus from a human point of view. Today, we see that he wanted to get away and spend some quiet time with his Father, but the crowds wouldn’t let him do this. In spite of how he felt humanly, Jesus had compassion on these crowds and he took care of their needs. Then he helped his disciples to see clearly who he really is. Finally he and his disciples end up in Gennesaret, where once again he is surrounded by a bunch of needy people. Jesus welcomed them and let them come close and touch him so that they too could experience the healing from God. In today’s passage we learn that Jesus did not let the dark events of the time consume him. Instead he continued to show God’s compassion to the people, he continued to proclaim the kingdom of God and he continued to reveal himself to his disciples so that they could carry on his work after him. May God bless our study of this passage and help us not to look at the dark events going on around us but focus our eyes on Jesus so that we, like his disciples, can see that he truly is the son of God and proclaim this to all creation beginning with the students at Korea University. First, “You give them something to eat” (12-21). Look at verses 12-13a. “John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.” Jesus knew that John had entered into glory in heaven through martyrdom. Still, the event of John’s death cast a shadow over the landscape. The power of sin and death were strong. Ultimately, Jesus would have to give his life on the cross to solve man’s sin problem. The reality of his upcoming suffering and death must have struck Jesus with fresh meaning. Jesus needed time to seek God in prayer very personally. Jesus needed time to grieve for his coworker John. So he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Look at verses 13b-14. “Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” The crowds of people did not care that Jesus needed personal time with God. They did not think about Jesus’ condition or needs at all. They were only interested in finding a solution to their own problems. Even though Jesus left by boat, they went around the lake by foot and arrived where Jesus was going ahead of him. By the time Jesus landed, there was a large crowd waiting for him. How did Jesus see them? Jesus had compassion on them. To have compassion means to share their suffering. Jesus did not think about himself. Jesus thought about them. Jesus felt their pain and was moved to do something to help them. He began to heal their diseases and sicknesses one by one. Each time Jesus touched a sin-sick person there was a life-giving work of God and one person’s life problem was healed completely. Jesus met people as they came without turning anyone away. Jesus seemed to lose track of time and threw himself completely into the task of healing the sick. We see in Jesus the compassionate heart of the true shepherd of his people. We see in Jesus the spiritual victory of the love of God and the resurrection over the power of sin and death. The world around Jesus was under the darkness of sin and death, Jesus did not shrink back. Jesus was all the more determined to heal all the sick and to plant the love of God in people. For a while, Jesus’ disciples patiently watched Jesus’ healing ministry. But as evening approached, they came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowd away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food” (15). The disciples’ understanding of the situation was correct. It was a remote place and it was late. They had a big crowd of hungry people on their hands and something had to be done. They believed it was time to send the crowd away. They felt burdened by the crowd. They thought Jesus had done enough for the crowd and it was unreasonable to expect more. How did Jesus answer them? Look at verse 16. “Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’” Jesus rejected the disciples’ suggestion that the crowd needed to go away. Jesus was not burdened by the crowd. Jesus saw each person there as his own precious son or daughter. He did not want to send them away any more than a parent wants to send his child away. Jesus wanted to be with them always. Here we see the difference between Jesus’ genuine compassion and his disciples’ best effort to be faithful with their human effort. We weak human beings are easily burdened like the disciples. But Jesus is different. Jesus’ compassion is endless. Verse 16b says, “You give them something eat.” With these words Jesus challenged his disciples to be responsible for feeding the hungry crowd. Of course, Jesus knew they could not solve the problem in their own strength. But Jesus did not expect them to. Jesus wanted to teach them a sense of responsibility for the crowd. We live in an age steeped in individualistic thought. Matthew was once like that. If he could make money and enjoy comfort and prosperity he was ready to abandon his suffering people. But Jesus does not allow his disciples to remain in such thinking. Jesus demands his disciples to have a sense of responsibility for the people of their times. If we are Jesus’ disciples, we must be concerned about the problems and needs of young college students and teenagers. When Jesus said, “You give them something to eat,” he taught his disciples a giving life. In any situation, they must be ready to give. Jesus had set the example. Jesus had given of himself to the crowd of people by spending all his time and energy to heal their sicknesses. Jesus wanted his disciples to learn a giving life, overcoming their selfishness. The disciples answered, “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.” Jesus’ words shocked his disciples. They never imagined that they should be responsible to give the people something to eat. But Jesus was very serious about it. So they began to look around for what they had. They saw something. It was very small. It was five loaves of bread and two fish. Before the huge crowd it seemed like nothing, but it was what they had. To give this to Jesus was to sacrifice everything they had for the sake of serving the crowd. Here we learn that we must not overlook what we have in doing the work of God. We must see with the eyes of faith that what we have is precious and it is the sacrifice we can make for the work of God. When Mother Barry was a young woman, she accepted the call of God to go as a missionary to Korea. She studied the language until she could speak like a native. She learned to co-work with Dr. Samuel Lee with a spirit of self-denial. She gave of her time until she lost the chance to marry. She gave whatever she had, whenever the opportunity came, to serve the work of God among young Korean students. Then God used her preciously to raise up many missionaries to the nations of the world. When Dr. Lee was caring for Korean students, he wanted to teach the world mission command. But there seemed precious little that Korean students could offer. One day Dr. Lee received a scholarship to go to America to study for a Ph.D. It was his human dream. But he decided to give this opportunity to another in order to persuade her to be a missionary. His offer was accepted and the first missionary was sent. With this seemingly small beginning, a wave of missionaries was raised that has gone out to the nations of the world. When we are selfish, there is nothing to do and nothing to give, but when we listen to Jesus’ words and repent of our selfishness, we can find something to sacrifice for Christ. Look at verses 18-21. “‘Bring them here to me,’ he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.” When the disciples brought what they had to Jesus, Jesus accepted it. Then Jesus gave thanks to God. Jesus wanted his disciples to learn to thank God in all circumstances. Jesus also wanted them to learn to look up to heaven in prayer when they had a dire need. Jesus wanted them to learn to depend on God and on his mighty power to do what was impossible for them. Then Jesus began to bless the loaves and the fish. They began to multiply. When the disciples took out one slice of bread, another slice appeared. When the disciples took out one fish, another fish appeared in its place. The supply was constant as long as there was need. In this way, the five loaves and two fish became enough to feed five thousand people. After the people were all satisfied, the disciples picked up the broken pieces that were left over. It was enough for twelve baskets, one for each disciple. When they sacrificed for Jesus’ sheep, they did not lose. They gained even more than they had given. Second, Jesus Walks on the Water (22-36) Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. In prayer, he found God’s great comfort. In John’s gospel, we see that the people wanted to make Jesus their king by force after this event. Jesus prayed so that he may not follow people’s demands but God’s will. In the meantime, what was going on with the disciples? Verse 24 says, “and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.” After serving a big event, they were probably exhausted. It would have been a nice night to have the wind pushing them forward, but the wind was against them. As we know, the wind is not always pushing us forward. In our lives, we often face the wind against us. Still, if we’re not so tired, we could probably enjoy the challenge, even surf the waves. But when we’re emotionally or spiritually exhausted, we are buffeted by the waves. Jesus sensed that the disciples needed help. So shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake! Why did Jesus walk on the water? Maybe there were no boats left. Or maybe he was just trying to take the fastest way. We again see how compassionate Jesus is. He was ready to help his disciples, like a mother who runs to her child in danger. But when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It's a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. After struggling against the wind for hours, they were exhausted and emotionally unstable. Their faith became weak. This kind of thing sometimes happens to us. Our faith is not always strong. Sometimes, we feel that our faith is hanging on by a thread. We are very vulnerable during this time. We feel like the whole world is against us. We become susceptible to all kinds of fear, and fear paralyzes us. Let’s look at verse 27: ‘But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’” Jesus did not rebuke them for their fear. Jesus was gentle with them. Jesus understood them in their weakness and encouraged them, “Take courage!” Let’s read verse 27 together, “But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’” After Jesus’ encouragement, Peter, of course, said, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus accepted his suggestion, saying, “Come.” Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. As long as he looked at Jesus, he experienced God’s power. But when he saw the wind, he began to sink. He cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out for him and saved him, saying, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Though we start something by faith, there are things going on around us that make us doubt. We have to keep our eyes on Jesus and finish by faith. Then Jesus and Peter climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. Then it became crystal clear to the disciples. Jesus was not just a man. He was God. For the first time, they worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Let’s read verse 33 together: “Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’” Back in chapter 8, in a similar situation, Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves and it became completely calm. The disciples were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” That time, that was it, but by this time, they had seen Jesus heal so many people, teach so powerfully, feed the several thousand people with just five loaves and two fish and walk on water, so they came to realize that Jesus was the Son of God, and they worshiped him. What does it mean that they worshiped him? Worship calls out our whole being, not just a part of us. It is giving honor, love, and adoration. It requires devotion. Only God is worthy of all these things. Worshiping something other than God is idolatry. The disciples worshiped Jesus because they came to see that Jesus is God and the object of worship. Like the disciples, we are to worship Jesus. In fact, we were made to worship Jesus. When we worship Jesus, we’re proclaiming that Jesus is everything, and that our whole lives belong to Jesus. We’re acknowledging that Jesus is our true hope and the meaning of life. In the moment of worship, in the presence of God, all fears and despair and darkness fade away. As the hymn goes, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” So, we see here how Jesus had victory over the darkness of his time. He didn’t get involved politically. Instead, he chose to plant faith in his disciples until they could come to see him as the Son of God and worship him. This may seem small (just a few men!), but this was a tremendous victory. It would be through these men that Jesus would conquer the world with the gospel. How precious it is when one person turns to Jesus and worships him! If we’re looking at the situation around us, we will always find reasons to despair and fear. The world around us is so dark and hostile. I often feel intimidated. But when I just see Jesus and worship him, I realize that God is with me. Who can be against me (Ro 8:31)? Through this passage, we got to see Jesus in his compassion and power. May we look at Jesus and worship him with all our hearts, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.” |
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