Sermon Prep: Walking on Water

I’ll be speaking at the Presbyterian Church this Sunday. On one-off sermons like these I tend to go to the Lectionary unless there is another topic dear and pressing to my heart. The Gospel Text for this week is Storm on the Sea and Walking on Water.

The first thing I noticed as I read and re-read the passage was how “wind” seems to be personified. It reminds me of the Creation and Flood accounts where “wind” and “sea” (representing chaos) play a prominent part. They are also the raw materials from which the world is created and re-created. So perhaps there is a sermon along those lines.

Fear is another strong presence in this passage. Fear vs. faith is certainly a tried-and-true approach that a sermon can take.

I looked at a number of commentaries, study notes, and notes from preachers, and topics and approaches are all over the map. This diversity makes focusing on what and how to approach this text that much more difficult.

When I am working with a text where a thesis doesn’t immediately scream out to me, or where there seems to be many approaches to take, I often diagram the passage and color code significant motifs that I think I see to try to organize what I think the author may have been trying to communicate. What I give below is what I see in this week’s passage. It doesn’t make it any easier to settle on a sermon approach, but I think it is a start.

Matthew 14:22-33 (ESV)

 

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

 

23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

 

24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.

 

25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.

 

26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear.

 

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

 

28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

 

29 He said, "Come."  So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

 

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."

 

31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

 

32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

 

33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying,

 

"Truly you are the Son of God."

 

Motifs

• Authority of Jesus
• Spiritual responses
• Alone/together
• Wind
• Personification of wind - demons?
• Jesus' actions toward his people
• Disciples' actions
• Fear

 

 

Created with Microsoft OneNote 2013.