Matthew 2024

And if you've got access to a Bible, you might like to turn to Matthew chapter 14.

If you were a regular here at Cornerstone, we've been working our way in these evening services through Matthews's gospel. And, we've come tonight to Matthew 14. And we're going to read 2 stories. When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. 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. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, this is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away. So they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.

Jesus replied, they do not need to go away. You give them something to eat. We have here only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. They answered. Bring them here to me.

He said, and he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the 5 loaves and the 2 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 12 basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

The number of those who ate was about 5000 men, besides women and children. Immediately, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountain side by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from the land. Buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. So ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them, take courage. It is, I.

Don't be afraid. Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, Tell me to come to you on the water. Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, He was afraid and beginning to sink cried out.

Lord, save me. Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said. Why did you doubt? And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying truly you are the son of god. When they had crossed over, they landed at Ganeshirah. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People of that place, sorry, surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Lord Jesus, these are extraordinary stories. Perhaps familiar to some of us here or maybe brand new, but we pray that you would reveal yourself and your glory as we spend some moments in them together now in Jesus' name. Oh, man. Well, a bit later on, when Robin gets into the water, we are gonna see exactly what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, to be a Christian. We've already heard in his testimony why he wants to be baptized.

He doesn't wanna be baptized because he feels that he already is a really, really good person, and this is gonna be like the crowning glory to his goodness, a way of showing all of you what a good and righteous person he is. And he doesn't want to get in here because he believes that this water has some mystical magical properties. And just by going into the water, he's going to be infused and become a bit more religious. And he doesn't want to be baptized because he wants to draw attention to himself and to give himself a glory, said that quite clearly, didn't he? I wanna give god the glory in this baptism.

I wanna be baptized to the glory of god. That's why he wants to be baptized, and that is something of what it means. To be a follower of Jesus Christ. You see, Robin later on when he gets in the water is gonna acknowledge that he has a great need. He has a great need that he as he's already expressed in his own way, and like the rest of us is a sinner, and that he has fallen short of the glory of god.

And there is no way that he can make things right between him and god. He hasn't got the power. He hasn't got the strength to do it. None of us have. To get ourselves right with god.

He's gonna acknowledge that he has a great need, but in Christ, that need has been greatly provided for. That's what he's gonna say, that I couldn't do it, but Christ did it, that I couldn't earn my way, but Christ earned it for me. That I couldn't get myself right with god, but Christ has brought me to god. That's that's really what a baptism is. You are looking at a person who is saying, I have a great need, and it has been greatly provided for.

And wouldn't all of us in this room? Who follow Christ, basically say that's our testimony too. I have a great need that's been greatly provided for. Now these 2 stories that we're looking at this evening are are famous and there are so many glorious details in them. There is really no way that we can do justice to everything that we find here this evening.

But notice that the narrative revolves around that idea, a great need. That is greatly provided for. We see a hungry crowd, great need, great need, big crowd, starving crowd, very hungry, and we see that need greatly provided for by the lord Jesus Christ. We see a group of disciples who are in the boat and are being buffeted by the waves, which as we'll see, is a much stronger than just a gentle buffeting. It's really in the middle of a fierce storm.

They're in great need. And we see their needs greatly provided for by the lord Jesus Christ. And then at the end of the story, we see poor old Peter who, on 1 hand, is so confident, isn't he? Tell me to come and I'll come. I'll be the first 1 out.

But then he takes his eyes off the lord. He begins to sink, and he panics, and he cries out great need. He's about to drown, greatly provided for. A hand reaches out and grabs him. The whole narrative for all the glorious details that there are seems to me at least to hang around that idea of a great need, greatly provided for.

And so we're just gonna work through those things together, and we're gonna apply it a little bit to all of us and a little bit to this baptism we're gonna see shortly. So firstly, great need, greatly provided for the hungry get fed. Have a look with me at verse 15 of Matthew 14. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, this is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away.

These crowds so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food. So 3 things we learn about this crowd in those opening verses. Firstly, it's big. It's a big crowd. We're told at the end there were 5000 men besides women and children, which means it was at least 3 times, if not 4 times as big as 5000.

It's a big crowd. Second thing we learn about them is a persistent crowd. They follow Jesus. They won't seem to leave him alone where he goes, they go. I mean, you could see that at the top of the story, verse 13.

When Jesus heard what happened. So his cousin has just been beheaded and put in the ground. When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place, hearing of this, hearing that Jesus has gone to a solitary place, Now for most of us, there's a social cue there, isn't there? He's gone to a solitary place. Leave him alone.

Yeah. Don't follow him. Let him have some him time. Okay? The crowds haven't picked up on that sort of social cue.

Hearing of this, his private retreat, the crowds went after him. They followed him on foot from the towns. They're a big crowd and they're a jolly persistent crowd, aren't they? But also we see thirdly that they're a needy crowd. Halfway through this story, they are hungry.

They've been with him a long time. They've had nothing to eat. They need food. There's sickness everywhere, verse 14, compassion on them. And healed their sick.

So this is a sick, hungry, persistent, big crowd. That's who we meet in the story, and the disciples seem to be aware of just how needy this big lot are. Because their solution is, look, Jesus is tired. Okay? He needs some alone time.

Give him a break. I mean, his fa his cousin has just had his head locked off in the most horrible way. He's still warm in the ground. Give him some touch let leave him alone. Send them away.

They've got jobs. Can't they feed themselves? They know where the shops are. What's wrong with them? They ought to buy there?

That's their solution. To a big persistent needy crowd, send them away from Jesus. Let them feed themselves. Let them sort themselves out. But you see the lord Jesus for all his exhaustion.

And for all his, perhaps, shock and sadness of recent events, when he looks at that crowd, he thinks great need that needs to be greatly provided for. They're hungry. There's a need here. And we need to do something about it. Now in our language, as you know, the word hunger is, is quite broad, and we use it in a number of different contexts.

So we might use it perhaps primarily. We use it for stomach hunger. You know, if your stomach is rumbling and growling, you've got a physical hunger. But we also might use the word to describe the sort of appetite of a of a person. So, you know, when a when someone walks up to the table, you might say, oh, look at him.

He's got a hungry look in his eyes. Yeah, looks can be hungry. Can't they? You think he's ravenous. Look at that.

He's got a wide eyed glistening hunger in his eyes. Or we might use the word, which is more of a sort of slang word hanger. And if you've got children particularly, you might know what that is. It's sort of a combination of, look at Dan. Dan is just very gently nudging his daughter there.

That's you, isn't it? Love, that's what you say. Hanger. It's a combination of anger and hungry. It's this sort of hungry anger that people have.

We use it in that way, or we might use it if someone is ambitious. You know, we might say she really deserves that promotion. She's hungry for success. You know, we use it in lots of different ways. And but but I think broadly, the thing that might link all of those things is hunger is a desire not yet satisfied.

A desire not yet satisfied. And I think it would be true to say that when the lord Jesus Christ looks out at this crowd, he sees their hunger on lots of different levels. He sees a physical hunger that needs addressing, but he also sees with them a type of spiritual hunger. Something that is missing from their souls that needs to be filled and provided for. I don't know if you, saw or caught up with the world happiness report that was published, recently.

You have to forgive me sniffing. I'm afraid I've got a bit of a cold, and it's unpleasant, isn't it? Sorry about that. The world happiness report. And, in this report, it sort of looks at the various countries of the world and asks a number of different questions of the residents and tries to work out how happy generally speaking a country is.

Well, this year 20 25 saw the UK's happiness sink to its lowest level, since 20 17. Couldn't I was trying to think what was wrong with 20 17? I couldn't remember sort of why that was so bad. But anyway, what was it? Brett, oh, yes.

Let's just leave that. We closed that lid. Just gonna put that in that box and then close that lid and lock that up, okay, for another time. Okay. Well, yes, thank you, Tim.

Yeah. That's, that's probably it, isn't it? Anyhow, since then, so 8 years on, we are at our least happy. And, it's a fascinating piece of research, and I was reading 1 commentary on it. And, this guy's gone through it all.

And he said, generally, when you look at it, the happiest countries, which are consistently all the Scandinavian countries, and, Finland topped it again this year, which I thought was interesting because it's got an eastern border with Russia. So, you know, but obviously they're not too not too worried about that. Anyway, the happiest countries are those who are the least materialistic and those who have strong support networks. They're the least materialistic, and they have strong support networks. And therefore, countries, and you might say countries like our own, but tend to stress individualism and materialism tend not to be very happy.

If you have a philosophy where you pick up the philosophy of its real life is all about me and more, it doesn't tend to deliver very much happiness. But if you've got a philosophy which teaches sort of give and I need others, people tend to be happier. Interesting, isn't it? Now you would think that the person writing that article was a Christian but I couldn't see that they were, but that's just his assessment of what makes a country happy. And so you find countries like Costa Rica, which we are quite a bit richer than, they're number 12 on the list, and we're number 20.

Because they tend to be less materialistic and have stronger support networks in general. And so it's interesting, isn't it? That in our country, for all of our wealth and opportunity that we think that we have, that we're actually generating not a very happy people, and we're we're quite a hungry people. We tend to want something more than we've got, want more than just a me and more philosophy. We're hungry, and we're not very happy.

Well, look what Jesus says. Verse 19 to 20 or look look what he does, rather. He directed the people to sit down on the grass, taking the 5 loaves and the 2 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. Now that word satisfied, I'm told, is used 4 other times in Matthews's gospel. 3 times, it's used in the feeding miracles. There is 1 other time it's used in Matthews's gospel, and that's in the sermon on the Mount. And in the sermon on the mount, the hunger and the filling that is talked of really has nothing to do with physical hunger.

Here's Matthew 5 verse 6, blessed are those who hunger. And first for righteousness. That's a different sort of hunger, isn't it? We're now away from stomach hunger. Blessed are those who hunger for a right life before god.

Blessed are those who are hungry to be right with their maker to have a right life given to them and then to live rightly as members of god's kingdom. Blessed happy are people who hunger in that way, and first for righteousness, for they will be, and here's the satisfied word, they will be filled. They'll be satisfied. Christ. If they will look to him, we'll fill that hunger to be right with god.

He'll make them eat, not just in their stomachs, but in their souls. He will fill their souls with the right life that they are called to crave for in that verse. And we've heard something of that even from Robin this evening, haven't we? He's tried Buddhism even been on a Buddhist camp. You know, he's tried the barga, Garvita, whatever you say it.

He's looked. He's been hungry. He's looked for food in different places. And although he didn't put it in these terms, he only found that church and Christ could actually give him the food. That he, that he needed.

And so it might be that either you're you're watching online or it might be that you're here this evening and you feel no desire for that at all, no desire, no hunger to be right with god. But it might be that some people do. They're hungering to be right with god. They've got a sort of hunger that hasn't been filled by anything in this world. Well, come to Christ.

Come to Christ. Because that great need can be greatly provided for in him. Secondly, the hungry get fed secondly, then the tormented find peace. The tormented fine piece. Let's go to this second story now.

Verse 22. Immediately, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from the land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Now, I I don't I I don't know exactly what was behind, the choice of the word buffeted, because it to me, at least in my mind, it implies quite a sort of gentle sort of rolling on the waves, you know, buffeted by the wind.

But actually when you look up the word, it's an extremely strong word. So apparently, it's used. I'm told 2 other times in in Matthew's Gospel. Once is for a horrific illness, and once is for demon possession, both in Matthew 8, and it tends to mean something more like distressed or tormented. They were tormented.

They were distressed, distance from the land, tormented by the waves because the wind was against it. Apparently, in the Roman world, This word was also used for a type of torture that was designed to extract truth from someone. So a type of torture that was designed to reveal information to get someone to tell truth, a type of torture that would expose what you were like on the inside or what you had on the inside. It was that type of torture. And so, really, when you look at the word and when you consider all those aspects to it, What you've got here is a group of disciples in a boat, and there is something outside of them, which they can't control, which is distressing them and revealing what's inside them.

It's that kind of thing. A storm they can't control that's tormenting and scaring and it's showing what they're really like. That's what this storm is doing. And, you know, within a few miles of this place, I reckon there might be loads of people like that or who would maybe talk about their lives in that way, maybe things that are happening to them in life, maybe illnesses, that they're going through, maybe that they've got addictions, that they can't escape, maybe things that they've done in their past, or things that have been done to them, or are being done to them. And those things are frightening, and they can't control them, and they are bringing out how vulnerable they actually are.

We'll look at what Christ does for people who have that sort of need. Shortly before dawn verse 25. It's my favorite line in these stories. Jesus went out to them. Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.

Now here's the irony of this story. Who sent them in to that stall? Who sent them in? Jesus sent them in. Jesus sent them in to that storm.

Why did he do that? Why did he do that? He did that so that they might see in themselves, not just in the crowd. So that they might see in themselves that they have a great need that needs to be greatly provided for. In about 15 minutes time, we are all going to pray these words for Robin.

We pray that you will not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified. That you will fight bravely under this banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and that you will continue to be Christ's faithful, soldier, and servant to the end of your life. Now, you can only Hold on. You know, what what do those words tell us? They tell us that storms are coming for Robin.

That's what they tell us. We pray that you will fight bravely against sin, the world, and the devil, hold on a minute. I thought after baptism, Christianity was gonna be all roses from here on up, that it was gonna be coming out of the water and then plain sailing to heaven. What is this language of We pray that you will fight bravely. Be safe from.

Do battle well. What is all this language? Well, we know, don't we? That just when someone becomes someone becomes a Christian, in some ways, they enter into a life of storms. And so contrary to what some preachers might say, the lord Jesus Christ does not promise baptized believers, a life of ease, comfort, health and storm free sailing.

But here's what he does promise them. He promises that in the storms, he will come to his people, and he will be with his people, and he will show himself as lord. In the storms. And so what is the great provision in this part of the story? The great provision is not removal of the storms.

It's a revelation of Christ in the storm. That's the provision. That's the provision. Not removing them, but by coming to his people and showing himself to be lord in the storms. Now it is true and we see this in the story that 1 day every Christian will come to the other side.

There is an other side where we leave the stormy waters behind. But the great provision here is that in the various storms Robin will face and we all will face, Jesus Christ comes out to them to reveal himself, and it turns out that that's what every Christian needs in the storm to have Christ meet them and to be be provided for with Christ. Thirdly then, and briefly, the doubting get rescued. The doubting get rescued. Here's Peter.

Verse 27. Jesus said to them take courage in his eye. And if you know about that saying, he's saying, I'm the lord of the storm. It's is yahweh walking to you in your storms. Don't be afraid.

Lord, if it is you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. Come, he said. Then Peter got out of the boat. Walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Now I guess that every week in swimming pools all over the world, there are little boys and girls who try to recreate this moment.

They go from the bath and they try to run and walk across the water, and they find out very quickly that they can't do it. And yet here is the first non god man to walk on water. He walks on he comes out of the boat and he walks on water right up into the point where he doesn't. Look at what happens. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink cried out.

Lord saved me. Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said. Why did you doubt? 1 dictionary told me that the word doubt there is a compound made of 2 other words.

And it basically means something like double stand. Why did you doubt? Why did you take a double stand? And it means something like, why were you wavering between 2 opinions? Why were you caught between 2 opinions?

Why did you doubt? Why did you take a double stand? Why were you sure about me, but not sure about me? Peter was like that with Christ, it seems. He gets out the boat and he takes a double stand.

He knows that Christ is powerful, and he knows that Christ is lord and that Christ has come to them, but these waves look pretty awful, and this wind is pretty strong. And I'm not really sure whether he's got what it takes to to sort of save me. And so he's caught between a double 2 opinions. Christ is lord, but is he? Is he?

Because this storm is pretty horrible. And it's pretty tormenting and it's pretty stressful. Is he really? See, his weight is hovering between the 2? Why did you doubt?

Why did you take a double stand? And I don't know, but again. I think lots of us can be like that, can't be particularly in storms. You know, we got all this truth that we know and we do believe, but when the storms come, we're like people who are trying to stand with 1 leg on 2 floats on the water. And as you go along, it starts to starts to spread and you fall flat on your face.

That's what taking a double stand does, doesn't it? It leads to disaster. You float apart and fall over. Lots of us can be like that. We know Christ is powerful.

We know what he's done for us. But this sin is really, you know, tempting, and I don't think I'm ever gonna escape it. And this storm is awful, and this Christ really worth following here. Can I really trust him here? We we waver.

We caught between 2 opinions? Something like that is going on with Peter, but look at those 30 to 31 again. Immediately. There's a lot of immediate lease here. Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.

I love that. He reached out his hand and caught him. You know, the moment's time when Robin gets into the water, there's gonna be 2 elders within Chris Tilly and Paul Simpson, and he's gonna go down under the water and then he's gonna be raised up. And I think there's something symbolic about needing hands to help him come out of the water. Even in that, there's some symbolism, I think, that the hand reaches down into the water.

And it brings it brings us out. It's as if Christ as it were was reaching down through those hands and bringing us out of death, out of wavering, out of double standing into the certainty of the risen lord. And that's what he does for us. And can't can't many of us here say with hand on heart that that has been our experience that even though we've doubted and we've hovered between 2 opinions and we've been unsure, We've always in our syncing and wavering. We felt the hand of Christ reach to us again, and grab hold of us and say, come on, stop stop wavering between the 2.

Get both feet on the same float. You stand on me. And I'll save you. And so all of these needs, great needs, greatly provided for. See that thread which seems to tie more, great need, the hungry field, great need, the scared, who meet god on the water, great need doubting, and they get a strong hand.

That is what holds this story together, and that indeed is the very message of the gospel, isn't it? Great need that you and I friends before god have a great need that we're sinners, and we've fallen short, and we've hovered between 2 opinions, and we've looked to be fed in all the wrong places, but that need has been greatly provided for. That Jesus Christ, the bread of life has come into this world, and he's died for you, and he's died for me, and he's died for Robin. And when we look to him, we get filled, and we get saved, and we get helped, great needs, greatly divided for. Let's pray, and then we'll see all of that drama acted out before us.

Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you that in our great need, we have a great provision that those who are hungry get filled with the bread of life, the lord Jesus, that those who are battered and tormented by storms can find the lord Jesus walking across them, bringing peace and his presence, that those who doubt and waver can find a hand to pull them out of the water and to save them. All of the needs that we have, not a single 1 cannot be met and satisfied by the lord Jesus. And we praise you for Robin again that he has come to know this truth and so many of us in this room who have 2. And lord, for any here tonight, who have not yet known that, we pray please that this evening might be the beginning of their journey, their experience of finding Christ to be all that they need in Jesus' name.