I’m not very adept at walking on water. While I did try to water ski once upon a time, it didn’t go very well. In fact, not only didn’t I get up on the skis, since I seemed unable or unwilling to let go of the rope, I bounced along the surface of the lake as the boat headed down the lake. When the boat finally stopped, and my friends pulled me into the boat, I was covered with bits of the green algae that fill Klamath Lake. Despite my inability to water ski, let alone walk on water, according to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus was very adept at walking on water. He could even walk on water during the middle of the storm.
Our reading this morning from Matthew 14 picks up the story of Jesus’ Galilean ministry immediately after he had fed five thousand people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish (Matt. 14:13-21). After Jesus put the disciples in a boat and sent them on their way across the Sea of Galilee, he dismissed the crowd. Then, he headed to the hills so he could spend time in prayer. This is a good reminder that we all need to take time away from the busyness of life so we can spend time in the presence of God.
While Jesus was in the hills near the Sea of Galilee praying, the disciples struggled to cross the lake. That’s because when evening fell, a storm began to brew, producing waves that battered the boat, while the wind pushed them back from land. Even the experienced fishermen in the boat were a bit frightened by the storm.
Perhaps you’ve experienced something like what the disciples were experiencing. Once upon a time, my family decided to participate in a community boat tour of Klamath Lake, which is similar in size to the Sea of Galilee. While the day started out great, as late afternoon hit, a storm began to stir. What had been a nice, gentle journey turned into a rather rocky boat trip as we struggled in our nice boat to reach the dock. My experience was nothing compared to what Peter and his friends were experiencing, but it’s the closest thing I can use to put myself in their shoes.
As frightening as the storm might have been to the disciples, something even more terrifying than a storm was about to confront them. Matthew tells us that early in the morning, while the wind continued to blow and the waves battered the boat, the disciples spotted a figure walking across the lake toward them. This terrified them because this figure had to be a ghost. If it was a ghost, then surely they were doomed. But, as they cried out in fear, the figure called out to them: “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” (Matt. 14:27 NLT). Have you ever noticed that when someone, perhaps an angel or even Jesus, pops up unexpectedly, they tell the person they’re appearing to not to be afraid? For some reason, people don’t like things that go bump in the night!
Although this is an exciting story, why might Matthew decide to tell it? Could it be that Matthew was addressing questions about what the future held? Since Matthew’s Gospel appeared late in the first century, after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its temple, the world may have seemed rather chaotic, much like a lake that was stirred up by a storm. It’s possible that fear and doubt were running rampant in their community. So, maybe Matthew’s audience could identify with the disciples in that boat. Maybe you feel like those disciples who wondered whether they were going to survive the storm. After all, the world does seem rather topsy-turvy. The winds and waves of change, economic uncertainty, division, and polarization are hitting us hard.
This is true not only for us as individuals, but it’s true of our churches, which face incredible challenges. Over the years, Mainline Protestant churches have been getting smaller, even as their members age, which creates uncertainty. At the same time, fewer people are choosing to pursue ordination to serve congregations, even as many congregations can’t afford to call a full-time or even a part-time pastor, which is why retired pastors keep on preaching. Even as the challenges of the day often seem too big to handle, we may be wondering where Jesus is. Why isn’t he with us in the boat as we ride out the storm?
Then, we see this figure walking toward us on the water. While at first we cry out in fear, Jesus lets us know that it’s him so we won’t be afraid. As we ponder this story of Jesus walking on water, we might want to look back at the story that precedes it. That story reminds us that the God we serve is a God of abundance and not scarcity. My friend Ron Allen wrote some time ago about the way churches go about stewardship.
With respect to stewardship, the instinct is to huddle together inside the boat. We make sure we have life preservers and cling together. As congregations and the wider church, we often use our time, talent, money, and other resources to preserve the institution as institution.
What Ron was saying there is that when we face the storms of life, we’re tempted to draw inward, keeping our resources to ourselves, even as the world around us experiences stormy seas. But, as we see here, not only does Jesus walk on water, but he invites us to get out of the boat and join him by walking on the stormy seas of life.
Peter did just that, at least for a moment. We’ll need to use our spiritual imaginations so we can put ourselves in Peter’s shoes. Peter was impulsive, but he had the right idea. He told Jesus that if it’s really him, then he wanted to join him on the seas, and Jesus told him to get out of the boat, which Peter did. At first, he began to walk on the water, at least until he got distracted by the wind. At that point, he lost his focus on Jesus and began to sink. That’s not surprising since humans aren’t meant to walk on water. However, for a moment Peter took a major step of faith toward Jesus, but only for a moment. The good news is that when Peter cried out to Jesus, “Save me, Lord” (Matt. 14:30 NLT), Jesus reached out to him and pulled him from the water and into the boat. After Jesus asked Peter why he doubted, he calmed the seas.
As I read this passage, it seems that Matthew wants us to know that just because we walk with Jesus doesn’t mean we won’t face stormy seas. When Jesus asked Peter about his doubts, I don’t believe he was scolding Peter. Instead, I believe he wanted Peter to recognize that getting out of the boat in storming seas can be risky, even if at times it’s necessary. While Peter may have been a man of little faith, he did have enough faith to get out of the boat. So, for a moment he embraced an impossible possibility, even if he fell short. Of course, we’re not meant to walk on water. However, sometimes Jesus asks us to do seemingly impossible things.
Perhaps the message for us this morning as we ponder Matthew’s story of Jesus’ shortcut across the lake is that while it’s safer to stay in the boat, if we’re going to follow Jesus, that may mean getting out of the boat even when the seas are stormy. It may be safer and easier for churches to look inward, while enjoying fellowship and singing a few favorite hymns, but we live in a broken world that needs a word of healing and hope for the future. If we’re going to share that word, we’ll have to get out of the boat even when the waters are a bit rough. We may fail spectacularly at walking on water after getting out of the boat. The point is getting out of the boat. Perhaps, when Jesus asked Peter why he doubted, he may have been inviting Peter to reflect on his initial willingness to step out in faith even as he took his eyes off Jesus and got distracted by the wind and waves. As Mark Alan Powell comments:
Such doubt is the quality of seekers (6:33; 7:7–8); though its deficiency may be lamented, it is never condemned. Jesus does not abandon doubters, and so, in just a few verses, his disciples of little faith move from being terrified of ghosts and storms to worshiping Jesus as “the Son of God.” [Powell, Matthew (Interpretation Commentary), p. 240].
This is an important point. In a matter of moments, the disciples did move from fear and doubt to worship, recognizing Jesus to be the Son of God.
We live in a world that needs to hear a word of hope. If we’re going to deliver that word, we’ll have to venture out from the safe confines of the building and our friendship circles. When we fail, and we will fail, perhaps spectacularly, the good news is that Jesus understands our weaknesses even as he invites us to get out of the boat and face the stormy seas with him. He may even calm the seas of our lives, at least for a moment. In those moments, we too can join the disciples in worshiping Jesus while we proclaim him to be the Son of God.
Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Pulpit Supply
Tyrone Community Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
Tyrone Township, Michigan
Pentecost 11A
August 9, 2026
Image attribution: Bazzi Rahib, Ilyas Basim Khuri. Jesus Walks on Water and Saves Peter, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://act.library.vanderbilt.edu/artworks/55906 [retrieved August 8, 2026]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ilyas_Basim_Khuri_Bazzi_Rahib_-_Jesus_Walks_on_Water_-_Walters_W59241A_-_Full_Page.jpg.
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