Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 14:22-33)

June 24, 2021 

(Jesus’ last days of earthly ministry)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What was the lesson to be learned by the feeding of the 5,000?
2. Where did the feeding of the 5,000-take-place?
3. After the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, how did the crowd perceive

Jesus?

• Why did the disciples leave without Jesus on this occasion and head back to Capernaum?
• What was the disciple’s attitude after the feeding of the 5,000?
• What was the main point that Jesus was teaching the disciples by feeding the 5,000?
• When Jesus was walking on water, He identified Himself by saying “I Am;” What did He mean?
• Why did Peter sink into the water when attempting to come to Jesus?
• When Jesus performed the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, He required the disciple to return to Him time after time to get more food; what was the lesson He was teaching?
• What was the point Jesus was making by allowing Peter to begin to sink into the water? 

Introduction

In the previous study, Jesus focused heavily on the nature of the ministry of the Kingdom. In this section, He uses the feeding of five thousand on a hillside in Galilee as an example to the disciples for the future difficulty of the ministry, which would be a labor-filled task. It focused on the needs of people. It showed the requirement of depending on Jesus for direction and substance in the work that lay ahead. Relying on Jesus for their spiritual supply and abiding in Him is still a requirement today for a successful ministry. I’m not talking about pastoral ministry; I’m talking about the ministry in which all believers are supposed to be involved. Most are not involved in any ministry and are not using their Spiritual gifts to serve our Lord.

The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 did not eliminate the work following it to meet the needs of the people, nor would future miracles. The importance of labor through ministry was the all-important feature that Jesus is teaching on this occasion. This opening lesson is the foundation for all the other things He will teach concerning the future church and the Kingdom. How much of what Jesus taught on this day stuck with the disciples? Did they understand? Not exactly; it would take a long time for the disciple to come to grips with the ministry that Jesus assigned them. That is not so unusual when you consider that multitudes of Christians today are in that same condition.

In our text today, it seems that the disciples missed the lesson Jesus was teaching entirely, and perhaps Jesus was a little disappointed with their reaction and went up the mountain to be alone and pray. But, before He goes, He tells the disciples to get in the boat and return to Capernaum:

Matthew 14:22-23, “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23And 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.”

The miracle of feeding the 5,000 happens in a relatively uninhabited area at the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee. Bethsaida was nearby, which was a small fishing village. It was near nightfall when the miracle took place. After the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus ordered the disciples to get in the boat and head back to Capernaum, while He went up the mountain to be alone and pray.

John gives a bit more information on what took place: John 6:14-17, “Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.16And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, 17And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.” John tells us that at some point during the feeding, the crowd realized that a miracle had just taken place in their midst.

Moses foretold that God would raise another prophet one day in the future, and the people, after the miracle, came to the conclusion Jesus was that prophet. Their false view of the prophet was taught to them by the Pharisees. They visualized Him as a king who would set them free from Roman bondage. So, they were ready to take Jesus and make Him king and begin the revolution. Jesus perceives their intentions and sends the crowds away, and goes up the mountain to be alone. The question arises, why did Jesus also send the disciples away and He remains alone? It was also at night when travel on the Sea of Galilee could be dangerous.

We may wonder why the disciples just left without Jesus; there are three reasons:

1. had commanded them to take ship and leave.
2. The distance from Bethsaida to Capernaum was short.
3. Jesus and the disciples went by boat to Bethsaida; the crowds followed on foot and were there about the same time.

So, the disciples knew Jesus could walk the distance and arrive about the same time as they. The disciples were yet to learn the lesson on ministry Jesus was teaching. Their attitude was that which the Pharisees had demonstrated, which was ministry was a privilege, which should bring honor on the minister who was above the objects of their ministry. Jesus was showing them through example that the minister was the opposite. It was bestowing honor on those who were desperate and in need while humbling themselves.

Paul mocks the Corinthian church for their superior attitude: “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? 8Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. 9For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 10We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. 11Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; 12And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: 13Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. 14I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.” 1 Corinthians 4:7-14 (KJV),

I have a friend who lives in Texas who was searching for a church. The one they visited was one of those large churches where many wealthy, sophisticated people attend. She and her grandson took a seat about the middle ways of the worship center. Unfortunately, they could not afford to dress well. Someone came to them and asked them to move toward the back because of their appearance. Strangely, this woman was the daughter of a well-known physician, raised in a beautiful home, but she had fallen on hard times.

The apostle Paul asked the Corinthian Church, why do you think you are so superior? What is it you have that you did not receive from others? Why should anyone ever feel superior when everything they know has been taught them from a child up. The Corinthian church considered themselves people of honor, while those who taught them sacrificed and were eventually martyred for the faith. Paul, Barnabus, and Peter humbled themselves and offered their all to carry the gospel to those down and out and persecuted by the Roman Empire.

It took a storm to bring the disciples down to where they could learn the lesson Jesus was teaching them. There is an old saying that there is a complicated way of learning and an easy path; theirs was the hard way:

Matthew 14:24-26, “But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.”

According to Matthew, they were a reasonable distance from the shore when the storm came up. The Sea of Galilee is notorious for storms just coming up out of nowhere without warning. Many have perished over the years because of this. The Sea of Galilee is not a large body of water, but any distance out when a storm comes up can be hazardous; so, it is understandable they were afraid; it was dark, and they were in the middle of a tumultuous storm with wind, lightning and thunder. I have been in that same condition on a lake, and it is not a pleasant experience. In his record of the storm, Mark tells us that the disciples were straining at the oars against the wind. It was the fourth watch of the night, which is 3-6 AM. Typically, the trip to Bethsaida took about two hours, but they had now been rowing for around six hours against the wind and still had not reached Capernaum.

Because the Sea of Galilee is hundreds of feet below sea level, the air is heavy, and the conditions were probably foggy making it difficult to see where they were going. It would have been a problematic trip even in daylight. The disciples undoubtedly thought this was it; they feared perishing at sea, and then Jesus appears walking on water. They did not recognize Him at first, and it added to the fear of the disciples who were worn out and worried from fighting the sea for survival and now believing they were seeing a ghost and rightly so because they had never seen anyone walking on water. When they did recognize Jesus, He seemed to be walking past them; so, they called out to Him in fear and desperation to save them, and Jesus turned aside and came to help them.

Mark gives us the following record of what happened: “For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. 51And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. 52For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. 53And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore,” Mark 6:50-53 (KJV). 

Mark reveals why this event took place. The disciples had not comprehended the miracle of the loaves, and the reason was the hardness of their hearts. They were hardened to the idea of learning a new lesson and choosing a different path as a result of it. So, Jesus had to use extreme measures to gain their attention. They wanted the crowd to go and find their food so they could be fed and rest. Serving a group of over 5,000 was not something they desired to do at the end of a hard day. They probably had the feeling of being ignored and unappreciated. They also probably thought that there was above such a menial task, that of being a servant; that was precisely the lesson Jesus was teaching them. They missed the point of faithful ministry, which is service, not status.

Jesus put them in a situation where their needs became the issue. They were fearful and thought they would perish and needed help that only Jesus could give them. The crowd is no longer the burden; they are. They severely felt the need for help. Now they were in a position to see why their help in feeding the crowd was so important. Now they fully recognize it is Jesus who has the power, and it is He who should receive the honor, not themselves. They were desperate and fully ready to accept Jesus into the boat.

Jesus teaches them that ministry is to be compassionate to those in need. Unfortunately, the disciples did not display that attitude; instead, they were hard-hearted and desired the crowd to go away and care for their own needs, which is the opposite of faithful ministry. Sometimes we experience trials in our lives to awaken us to our responsibility toward others who are experiencing hardships and minister to them in their time of need.

However, there was one particular disciple who needed this lesson perhaps more than the rest, the Apostle Peter:

Matthew 14:27-33, “But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28And Peter answered him and said, LORD, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, LORD, save me. 31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”

There is no doubt that Peter became one of the leading disciples, but at this time, he still had a way to go to become an outstanding minister. Peter sees Jesus, and Jesus confirms who He is by saying, “Take courage it is I.” In Greek, Jesus said, “I am.” We know that God is the only “I Am” of Scripture. So, to confirm it was Jesus, Peter asked Him to command him to come walking on water. Jesus responds by saying, “come.” I don’t think the disciples were convinced that this was indeed Jesus and not a ghost, so Peter gave it a test. If he can’t walk on water, then it must not be Jesus in the flesh. Peter probably did not believe he would walk on water, and when he found himself doing so, it shocked him, and he became afraid and slowly began to sink.

Jesus reached out and took Peter’s hand and saved him, putting him back into the boat. The question is, was it in Peter’s weakening faith that caused him to sink, as often believed, or was it his lack of confidence from the start? I think that Peter was testing to see if this was Jesus; so, he had zero faith initially. It was not faith that put him in the water, to begin with; he doubted that this was indeed Jesus and not a ghost. Peter walked on water as long as he depended on Jesus, but when he began to look inward, turning on himself, fearful, he began to sink. 

The lesson Jesus taught the disciples by requiring them to return to Him for food time after time to feed the crowd was to teach them total dependence on Him for the faith, resources, and power to become ministers. In the feeding of the 5,000, the only way the disciples could fulfill their task was to return to Jesus; they were useless if they didn’t. So, it was not Peter’s faith that enabled him to walk on water, to begin with, nor was it his waning faith that caused him to start to sink. 

The point Jesus was making by allowing Peter to start to sink into the water was the point He was trying to make all along. Service requires a continual dependence on Him if we are to minister effectively. It is the exact point Jesus made in John 15:5 (KJV), “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Jesus is the pipeline, and we are the ones who extend that pipeline out to others to meet their needs. The vital lesson to us from these verses is humility, self-sacrifice, persistence, patience, and more than anything else, depending on Jesus to supply us with all we need to be an influential minister. If we fail to learn this lesson the easy way, we must discover it the hard way, including trials.