马太福音14:22-33

愿恩惠、平安从父神和救主耶稣基督归于你们所有在风浪中紧紧倚靠主话语的人。阿们。

上周我们提到，主耶稣独自退到旷野是为了祷告，心门向世界关闭，向天父的国度打开，这也是我们信徒和教会所要做的，在动乱和风浪中专心仰望神，而仰望神的唯一方式就是聆听主温柔的声音，并且带着信心发出祈祷的呼求。如果说施洗约翰被斩头意味着基督徒在世上遭遇逼迫必然会发生，那么今天的福音经文更是告诉我们，基督徒的一生，或者说教会在地上的轨迹无时无刻不充满惊恐。这不是偶然发生的，而是在主的“计划”之中；是主耶稣催促门徒上船，也是主耶稣吩咐他们先坐船去海的“那边去”，并且还是主耶稣刻意地没有跟门徒们一起乘船，在他们遭难的时候，没有如明光照耀黑暗，立时止息风浪，而是像幽灵鬼怪那样行走在水面上，靠近急需帮助、处在绝望当中的门徒们。

我们基督徒藉着洗礼和信心登上了主耶稣所建造的永生之船，按着主耶稣的吩咐正在航行在海面上，朝向永生天国的彼岸航行。“船在海中，因风不顺，被浪摇撼。”（太14:24）教会这艘救生船注定要在世界的风浪中被击打，只是因着主耶稣在十字架上所建造的永恒救恩，那稳固不能摧毁的国度必要最终得胜，带领信徒平安抵达彼岸。在平安抵达之前，我们基督徒的救恩、生命和旅程，教会的团契生活都不是靠着眼睛所看见的，而是凭着信心，凭着那不可见，却被主应许的伟大救恩和无时无刻的供应。就像保罗在今天的书信经文罗马书10:6-10所说的：信心的义明白，这救恩的道离我们不远，就在我们宣认信仰的口中，在我们信靠这道的心里；“你若口里认耶稣为主，心里信神叫祂从死里复活，就必得救。因为，人心里相信就可以称义，口里承认就可以得救。”

弟兄姐妹们，凭信心所经历的基督徒旅程是一门功课，而信心也不断地被建造，训练，校正，去对准信心所仰望的对象。信心的对象是什么？不是我们的经历和环境，也不是看得见的这个船，或者说教会的有形建筑或体制，而是道，基督的话语。信道是从听道来的。门徒们在船上对耶稣有没有信心？有，他们听了那么多道，也亲身经历了许多的拯救和神迹。然而信心仍然需要不断地被锻造。主耶稣在海面上靠近他们的时候，门徒们的第一反应是惊慌害怕，为什么？因为他们认不出来对面来的是主耶稣。如果信心是凭着肉眼来辨别耶稣以及耶稣是否同在，那么得到的答案往往是否定的，甚至是扭曲的。他们不仅否认对面来的是拯救他们，爱他们的主耶稣，并且误以为是鬼怪，是来害他们的。他们出于恐惧，害怕并且“喊叫起来”。你可以想象门徒们在船上大喊大叫的场景吗？这喊叫不是出于信心的呼求，而是惶恐不安，甚至是抵挡和排斥水面上行走的这一位。这个“喊叫”一词，还出现在马太福音8章29节之处，两个被污鬼附着的人从坟茔里走出来，对着迎面而来的耶稣喊叫说：“神的儿子，我们与你有什么相干？”如果我们信心不是与所听的道，纯正的道匹配，那么我们就会把真正的神当做魔鬼；而把魔鬼当做真正的神——追求一切的世间荣华，就像魔鬼在旷野如此试探耶稣的那样。

就像主耶稣在旷野受魔鬼试探的时候用主的话语对付魔鬼一样，主耶稣永远是用自己的话语，就是祂的道来赐给我们亮光和确据，让我们真正地认识祂和祂的同在。主耶稣没有放出光芒，照亮漆黑的海面，好让门徒们看见自己，而是说话，对他们说：“你们放心，是我，不要怕！”当整个世界所传递的信心是惧怕和恐慌的时候，惟有主耶稣的口中继续诉说平安和安慰——不要怕！“是我”不仅仅简单地自我表达，我在这里；原文“是我”，即“我是”跟出埃及记中主耶和华对摩西说的：“我是（自有永有的）”。换句话说，主耶稣自己讲祂就是主耶和华，万物都是祂所造的。大地根基是祂立定的，海水的界限也是祂吩咐的：”你只可到这里，不可越过；你狂傲的浪要到此止住。”约伯记继续论到主耶稣，神的儿子说：“你曾进到海源，或在深渊的隐密处行走。”（伯38:4,6,16）

彼得代表众门徒以信心回应主耶稣的话语，不是称呼耶稣夫子，好像其他时候的那样，在急难当中这信心就更加清楚有力了，“主，如果是你，请叫我从水面上走到你那里去。”信心因着主耶稣的话语，穿透黑暗的海面，抓住了救主，但仍然有疑惑，想要靠着经历寻找确据。主耶稣也在门徒的处境中来回应他们，好吧，你过来吧。如果彼得抓住这句话不放，单单倚靠主耶稣的应许，那么他也能顺利走过去，到耶稣跟前。只是祂的信心又滑落了，要看环境，结果被风浪影响：“只因见风甚大，就害怕，将要沉下去”。彼得的这个请求与其说是信心寻求确据，不如说从疑惑而来的对主的试探，就好像基甸寻求羊毛露水的神迹一样；又好像多马要亲眼看见、亲手触摸主耶稣钉痕的手才肯确信一样。我们需要这样吗？不需要，我们这些跟门徒们一样小信的人，时常疑惑的基督徒啊，我们需要的就是聆听主的话语，并且在急难中呼求主的名：“主啊，救我！”保罗说：“凡求告主名的就必得救。”（罗10:13）

感谢上帝，我们今天也是如此，继续在救恩的船，就是基督的教会中与众圣徒一起聆听主的话语，得安慰和确据，有能力辨别主的同在和帮助，并且时常呼求主的怜悯和同在。主耶稣就不断地趟过水面，向我们走来，“上了船，风就住了。”我们也就因此“拜他”，宣认说：“你真是神的儿子了。”不是那位污鬼惧怕的神的儿子，而是赐救恩给我们的神的儿子。奉圣父、圣子、圣灵的名。阿们。

Matthew 14:22–33

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, to all of you who cling closely to the Word of the Lord in the midst of the wind and waves. Amen.

Last week we mentioned that the Lord Jesus withdrew by himself to the wilderness to pray, closing the door of his heart to the world and opening it to the kingdom of the Heavenly Father. This is also what we as believers and the church are called to do: to look attentively to God in the midst of turmoil and storms. The only way to look to God is to listen to the gentle voice of the Lord and, with faith, cry out to him in prayer. If the beheading of John the Baptist means that persecution for Christians in this world is inevitable, then today’s Gospel passage further tells us that the life of a Christian—or the trajectory of the church on earth—is at every moment filled with terror. This does not happen by accident, but is within the Lord's "plan." It was the Lord Jesus who made the disciples get into the boat, and it was he who commanded them to go before him to the "other side." Furthermore, Jesus deliberately did not board the boat with them; when they were in distress, he did not shine like a bright light piercing the darkness to immediately still the wind and waves. Instead, he walked on the sea like a ghost or a phantom, drawing near to the desperate disciples who were in urgent need of help.

Through baptism and faith, we Christians have boarded the boat of eternal life built by the Lord Jesus. As he commanded, we are sailing across the sea toward the other shore of the eternal heavenly kingdom. "The boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them." (Matthew 14:24) The church, as this lifeboat, is destined to be battered by the wind and waves of the world. Yet, because of the eternal salvation forged by the Lord Jesus on the cross, that firm and indestructible kingdom will ultimately prevail, leading believers safely to the other shore. Before arriving safely, our salvation, life, and journey as Christians—as well as the fellowship life of the church—do not depend on what is seen by our eyes. Instead, they depend on faith, on that invisible yet promised great salvation and unceasing provision of the Lord. Just as Paul says in today's Epistle text in Romans 10:6–10: the righteousness that is based on faith understands that the word of salvation is not far from us, but is in our mouth as we confess our faith, and in our heart as we trust in this word. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."

Brothers and sisters, the Christian journey experienced by faith is a lifelong lesson. Faith is continually built up, trained, and calibrated to align with the object upon which it rests. What is the object of faith? It is not our personal experiences or circumstances, nor is it the visible boat—that is, the tangible building or institution of the church. It is the Word, the Word of Christ. Faith comes from hearing. Did the disciples on the boat have faith in Jesus? Yes, they had heard so much teaching and had personally experienced many deliverances and miracles. Nevertheless, their faith still needed to be refined continually. When the Lord Jesus approached them on the sea, the disciples' first reaction was alarm and fear. Why? Because they failed to recognize that it was the Lord Jesus coming toward them. If faith relies on the physical eye to discern Jesus and his presence, the answer obtained will often be negative—or even distorted. They not only denied that the Lord Jesus coming toward them was the one who loved and saved them, but they also mistook him for a ghost, thinking he had come to harm them. Out of terror, they were frightened and "cried out in fear." Can you picture the disciples shouting and crying out on the boat? This crying out was not a plea born of faith, but a cry of dread and anxiety—even a reaction of resistance and rejection against the One walking on the water. This word "cried out" also appears in Matthew 8:29, where two demon-possessed men came out of the tombs and cried out to the approaching Jesus, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God?" If our faith is not aligned with the Word we hear—the pure Word—we will mistake the true God for the devil, and mistake the devil for the true God, pursuing all worldly splendor just as the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness.

Just as the Lord Jesus used God’s Word to confront the devil when he was tempted in the wilderness, he always uses his own Word—his Truth—to grant us light and assurance, enabling us to truly know him and his presence. The Lord Jesus did not emit a beam of light to illuminate the dark sea so the disciples could see him; instead, he spoke to them, saying: "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." When the whole world projects fear and panic, the Lord Jesus alone continues to speak peace and comfort from his mouth: Do not be afraid! "It is I" is not merely a simple self-expression meaning "I am here." In the original text, "It is I" translates to "I AM," echoing what the LORD God said to Moses in Exodus: "I AM WHO I AM." In other words, the Lord Jesus himself declares that he is the LORD God, and all things were created by him. He laid the foundations of the earth and prescribed limits for the sea, saying: "Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed." Job continues to speak of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God: "Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?" (Job 38:4, 6, 11, 16)

Peter, representing the disciples, responded to the Lord Jesus’ Word in faith. Instead of calling Jesus "Master" or "Teacher" as at other times, his faith became clearer and more powerful in the midst of distress: "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." By virtue of the Lord Jesus’ Word, faith penetrated the dark sea and took hold of the Savior. Yet, doubt remained, seeking confirmation through experience. The Lord Jesus met the disciples in their condition, saying, "Well then, come." If Peter had held fast to this word alone, relying solely on the promise of the Lord Jesus, he would have walked smoothly over to Jesus. But his faith slipped again; he looked at his surroundings and was affected by the wind and waves: "But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink..." Peter’s request was less a matter of faith seeking confirmation and more a testing of the Lord arising from doubt—much like Gideon seeking the miracle of the wet fleece, or Thomas insisting he must see with his own eyes and touch with his own hands the nail marks of the Lord Jesus before he would believe. Do we need this? No. As Christians who are often weak in faith and prone to doubt—just like the disciples—what we need is to listen to the Lord’s Word and, in times of distress, call upon the name of the Lord: "Lord, save me!" As Paul says, "For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (Romans 10:13)

Thanks be to God that we today, together with all the saints in the boat of salvation—the Church of Christ—continue to listen to the Lord's Word, receive comfort and assurance, gain the discernment to recognize his presence and help, and constantly call upon his mercy and presence. The Lord Jesus continually steps across the waters, walking toward us; "when they got into the boat, the wind ceased." And because of this, we "worshiped him," confessing: "Truly you are the Son of God." Not the Son of God whom the demons fear, but the Son of God who grants us salvation.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.