“The Ship Of Faith”
Text: Matthew 14:22-33
8-9-2026
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen. You know, generally when I’m preparing my sermons, I spend most of my time doing the background reading in my office or at home. However, this last week was different. In the Gospel lesson we have the account of Jesus walking on water and, of course, Peter attempting it and nearly drowning. Anyway, I decided that it would be a good idea to do a little research on this. So, one afternoon I did my work on a small boat at a farm pond. And to make this experiment totally realistic, I took along some fishing equipment since that was certainly in the disciples’ boat. Let me assure you, this was purely scientific research for the sermon. Well, I won’t bore you with all the details but here are the results of my research. #1- Contrary to some of the wild stories you’ve heard about me, I cannot walk on water. #2- I sink very easily like Peter did. And #3- I prefer the dry safety of being in the boat.
Okay, I confess. That was just a big fish-story. But seriously, do you know how relaxing it can be to get away from a busy, hectic day by climbing into a boat and sitting out on the water? That is, assuming you’re not scared to death of the water. Well, the disciples of Jesus were very familiar with boating since many of them were fishermen, so they were certainly comfortable out on Lake Galilee. And Jesus had a grand purpose behind sending them out there. Yes, it was so they could relax. But first and foremost, it was to get them away from danger. Danger? What danger? Well, you see, Jesus had just fed the 5,000 by multiplying the 5 loaves and 2 fish. St. John tells us that due to this, the crowd was planning on making Jesus their King. The disciples were quite susceptible to this kind of earthly kingdom talk. They would have gladly helped to organize and administer this new government. Christ had to get them away from it so they wouldn’t get caught up in this mad frenzy. They needed time to get away and take their minds off this misdirected thinking. And what better way than to send them out by themselves in a boat?
The other reason for Jesus sending the disciples out on the lake is directly related to the first. They had these screwed up thoughts of grandeur dancing through their heads, and Jesus needed to correct those ideas through a challenging faith-exercise. I won’t go so far as to say that Jesus used His divine power to stir up that storm. But He surely knew it was coming and intentionally used it to teach an important lesson. So there they were, calmly sailing along, and up comes an unexpected storm. Like Gilligan and Skipper, this delightful 3-hour tour turned into a near disaster. The sails were now useless in the storm, so they rowed and rowed against the wind and waves to the point of exhaustion. It was somewhere around 3 a.m. The boat was battered and on the verge of breaking apart. And just when they thought it couldn’t get any worse, one of them sees “someone” or “something” walking towards them on the water. In their minds, it had to be a ghost, because after all, no human being could do this. Besides, it was a common superstition back then that there were evil spirits in the water at night which were responsible for the disasters at sea. This apparition must be the ghost who was about to attack them and take their ship under.
But just as their panicked thoughts were about to swamp them like the waves against that boat, Jesus speaks words of calming assurance. “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Jesus saw their distress and came to their aid. With Him present they knew they were safe. After all, they’d been through something similar before. Remember the time the storm came up and Jesus was asleep in the boat with them? He woke up and calmed the wind and waves. They were impressed by His divine power over nature. But this time He did something even more amazing. He was walking on water.
So, Peter—good, old, impetuous Peter—asks to join Jesus, walking on the water. Give him credit. He obviously believed that if Jesus gave him the green light, then it was definitely possible. Let me ask you though, did Jesus know that Peter’s faith would get shaky and he’d start sinking? Sure, He did! So why then did Christ allow Peter to embarrass himself and almost drown? It’s quite simple. It was another faith lesson. Once Peter took his eyes, and therefore his trust off Jesus, he sank just as quickly as if Jesus weren’t there. Without Jesus, being outside the boat was a dangerous place to be. Peter realized that and as the waves began swallowing him, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Without hesitation, Jesus reached out His hand and rescued sinking Peter. In the end, this episode taught the important lesson it was meant to teach: Jesus was more than just an earthly Messiah-King. The disciples correctly identified Him as the one and only Son of God, the Savior.
Now you’ve probably heard sermons on this text before which focused on what happened with Peter. The lesson being that when we keep our eyes on Jesus by faith, then the storms of life can’t harm us. And also, that Jesus is there to rescue us when we fail. All that may be true. But think of this text like a beautifully cut diamond. Today I’d like to challenge you to examine it from a different perspective. Because there is another facet of this precious jewel that we perhaps haven’t seen before.
What I’d like you to do is think of this account also as an allegory concerning the Christian Church and our faith journey in this life. I’ll warn you though, just like with the parables of Jesus, you can’t make every minor detail fit. Rather, the highlights of the story are meant to get the point across in a memorable way. So, let’s see if we can follow the comparisons and get the additional faith lesson here. That boat in the story can be compared to the Christian Church. It’s not a stretch because even Peter in his first epistle compares the Church to a ship, namely the ark, which safely carries us through the storms of life to the safe harbor of heaven. We could call it the “Ship of Faith.” Like the disciples, Jesus places us in this boat to take us away from the alluring and misguided, sinful notions of this world. From the world’s standpoint it makes more sense to stay on the shore and make Jesus be the kind of Savior that we would have Him be. But in this Ship of Faith, He teaches us the truth and corrects our false beliefs about Him.
Sadly, far too many Christians have bought into the lie that once you are a believer it’ll be all smooth sailing. Jesus never promised that. Think of that boat on Lake Galilee. It was battered by the storm and the disciples had a hard time rowing against the wind and the waves that threatened to take them off course. They had to keep bailing out the water from their boat to keep it from sinking. So also, with the Ship of Faith. The Christian Church is constantly buffeted by forces that are seeking to take us off course and threaten to demolish us. Like the disciples, we grow weary at times and our faith grows weak. Not only that, false doctrines keep popping up within the Church and we have to keep bailing them back overboard in order to stay afloat. And yet, keep in mind, this is where Jesus has placed us. This is where He will teach us and keep us safe from drowning in the sea of sin.
Now the text doesn’t tell us that the disciples argued and fought with each other, but that’s certainly true of the Ship of Faith. How often don’t we find ourselves picking away and crabbing at the believers who are right beside us? Instead of working together at rowing to stay on course, we spend our time complaining. Yes, it is wearisome when we get to feeling that there’s only a few of us who are doing all the work in the Church. But Christ doesn’t call us to compare ourselves to one another. Rather, we are to encourage each other. Together, guided by the Holy Spirit, our Ship of Faith will stay afloat and pointed in the right direction.
As I mentioned a minute ago, this is where Christ has placed us. Sadly, there are some who have decided to step outside the Ship of Faith—that is, the Christian Church—and go it alone. They have heard and obeyed the sinful world urging them to “abandon the ship” since they see no use in it. Oh sure, they tell us that they still have their faith and their eyes and trust are on Jesus. And yet, removed from God’s Word and Sacrament found in the Christian Church, they are sure to sink and drown. Like Peter, the waves of life will swallow them up as their faith fails. Perhaps that’s the whole reason why Jesus allowed Peter to step outside that boat: to show what will happen if we take our eyes of faith off Him. Unlike Peter, though, Christ doesn’t give us permission to step outside of this Ship of Faith.
But let’s face it. We’ve all found ourselves in Peter’s situation at one time or another. We get overwhelmed by the waves of sin that surround us. Our faith falters and we start to sink. All we can do is cry out, “Lord, save us.” And that’s what He does. When we repent of our sins, He gently reaches out His hand to rescue us with His forgiveness. He lifts us up and places us safely back in the Ship of Faith. The good news is that no matter how badly we may feel our ship is being battered, it never really is in danger of sinking. Because like the disciples in that boat, Christ is near; watching, guiding and protecting the Christian Church as we journey through this life.
Just as Jesus defied our natural laws of physical time and space to come to His disciples in their time of need, so He does today. In fact, we find Him first in the same place the disciples did: on the water. I’m referring to Baptism, of course. In the water and the Word of Baptism is when we first hear His voice say, “I’m here. Don’t be afraid.” In a similar way, we hear His voice whenever His comforting voice of forgiveness is heard. And we are also rescued by Him when He comes to us miraculously in His Holy Supper. In His Word and Sacrament is where He says to us, “See, you have nothing to fear: I died to save you from everything that might harm you.”
Christian Friends, there will come a day when Christ calls each one of us individually out of “the boat.” In the hour of death, you’ll step out on the surface of a surging, dark sea where you’ve never walked before. That could be a very frightening experience. But you have nothing to fear. Keep your eyes of faith on Jesus and confidently walk where He tells you to go. On your lips, keep that prayer of Peter, which itself is the simplest and deepest expression of faith: “Lord, save me.” Reaching out for you with His own mighty hand, He will lift you up and safely take you home to heaven. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!