Matthew 14:22-36

Matthew 14:22 - 36

We don't see the urgency in the English language that is used in this passage. In verse 22, Jesus “compelled” or “made in a hurry” the disciples to get into the boat. From the parallel passage in the Gospel of John we see that the people were ready to draft Jesus into being commander of an army to fight Rome. Having sent the crowd away Jesus retreats into the hills to avoid the masses. His mere presence would have been a catalyst to a movement of which He wanted no part. Would it be possible that his very own disciples would be infected with this political movement? Certainly!

The storm and the walking on the water show Jesus as more than a mere political leader. The leaders of movements are oftentimes owned or possessed by that movement. Jesus would have none of that. God will not be a tool to accomplish our plans no matter how noble we believe those plans to be.

And for the disciples there was a need for a vivid demonstration. The boat was near the middle of a lake and is "tormented". Plans for a great political movement are no match for the forces of nature. But the forces of nature are no match for the God of the universe. The terror of the storm has swept away any political aspirations from the disciples’ hearts. In short order they added to their predicament a fear of a ghost, a failed attempt at faith, Peter’s specific rescue and rebuke, the general rescue of the whole group, which then ends in worship, not political agendas.

We need to ask, “What will it take for God to remove our agenda from our hearts?” The failure of faith on Peter's part was his doubt; doubt is literally "divided in two". Faith on the other hand is single-minded focusing on Jesus. Our divided focus may be that we want our agenda and God. But when push comes to shove our agenda wins out. But at the end of the chapter we see that the Kingdom has come and it is so much greater than any agenda we might have.

"Lord, purge from my heart any agenda that might attempt to compromise the faith to accomplish my purposes. AMEN"