Sermon -- 12th Sunday after Pentecost (August 16, 2026)

FAITH TRUSTS WHAT IT HEARS, NOT WHAT IT SEES.

MATTHEW 14:22-33

In the name + of Jesus.

     The Lord had just fed the five thousand.  The crowds ate until they were full.  The apostles gathered up the leftovers, giving each of them a basket full.  Rather than bask in the praise of the crowd, Jesus sent everyone away—the crowds to their homes, the apostles to their boat.  Jesus, however, went up onto a mountain by himself to pray. 

     Occasionally, we pass over sentences in the Bible that seem to have little importance.  But listen again to this: “After he had dismissed the crowd, he went up onto the mountain by himself to pray.  When evening came, he was there alone.   In the fourth watch of the night” (Matthew 14:23,25) Jesus came to his disciples.  The fourth watch of the night was from 3:00 to 6:00 AM.  That means Jesus spent perhaps six or more hours in prayer.  I don’t know about you, but my sinful flesh finds anything more than five minutes to be a burden.  And should our Divine Service stretch out beyond an hour, we get antsy, check our watches, and offer some criticism.  This does not bode well for people whose goal it is to spend eternity in God’s presence.  Jesus, however, found it pure joy to spend lots of time pouring out his cares and concerns to his Father.  God be praised!  Jesus’ dedication to prayer atones for our lack of it.

     After his prayer, Jesus planned to meet up with his disciples.  But there was a problem: “The boat was quite a distance from shore, being pounded by the waves because the wind was against it” (Matthew 14:24).  To meet up with his disciples, Jesus would have to go to the middle of the Sea of Galilee.  So, that’s where he went.  The Lord of Creation overruled the laws of creation.  Jesus walked upon the waters to get to his apostles in the boat. 

     Familiarity with this miracle may reduce our reaction to, “Yeah, that was neat.”  The apostles had a whole other reaction.  “In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea.  When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and cried out in fear, ‘It’s a ghost’ (Matthew 14:25-26)!  And familiarity with this account might have us shaking our heads at the apostles, saying, “Why were they so terrified?”

     If you have seen The Chosen, you might have gained an appreciation for this event.  The Chosen is a TV series which depicts the life of Jesus and his apostles.  For the most part, they do a very good job showing these men with real personalities, and especially of demonstrating the humanity of Jesus.  On the episode where Jesus walks on water, they showed how the apostles might have seen it.  In the black of night, they could not see much of anything except for the splashing of waves over the bow of the ship.  The Chosen added lightning to the scene, which I guess was possible.  When the lightning flashed, the apostles caught a glimpse of a man coming out to them on the water.  With each flash, that figure got a little closer.  No normal person would conclude, “Oh, that’s our buddy.  Hey, that’s neat!”  To see a man approaching your boat in the black of night would scare anybody.  People don’t walk on water, but ghosts might. 

     “Jesus spoke to them at once, saying, ‘Take heart!  It is I!  Do not be afraid’” (Matthew 14:27).  I don’t think it mattered that the apostles had just witnessed Jesus feed the 5,000 with the loaves and fish.  That was an amazing display of Jesus’ power.  But this?!  Walking on water?  Peter put Jesus to the test: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water” (Matthew 14:28).  We should give Peter credit for this much—he did not fling himself over the side of the boat and say, “Well, if you can do it, so can I!”  He called on Jesus to say the word which enabled him to walk on water.  “Jesus said, ‘Come’” (Matthew 14:29)!  Once Peter had the command from Jesus, he stepped onto the water.  Peter listened to the command of Jesus because faith trusts what it hears, not what it sees.

     It is important to learn this lesson: We are right to hold God to his word.  When you pray, you can insist that Jesus live up to what he has promised.  That is not disrespectful; it is faith which knows and believes his promises.  It is the confidence that the Lord will never fail on his promises.  For example, Jesus promises to strengthen you against temptation.  So, when temptations come upon you, you can pray boldly that he will provide strength to overcome or an opportunity to escape it.   And you can hold him to that.  Faith trusts what it hears.

     We sin against God, however, when we hold God to promises he has not made.  After Jesus summoned Peter to come out on the water, we do not hear of the rest of the apostles saying, “Well, if he’s going out there, so are we!”  God did not give the command to them.  It would have been foolish to trust a word that was not given to them.  You, too, are a fool if you think Jesus’ word to Peter on the Sea of Galilee applies to you on Lake Pepin.  God could issue that command to you if he wanted, but he has not.

     Recognize what God has promised, and recognize what he has not.  He promises to supply your daily bread.  That means, he will always provide what you need to live.  But do you mistake your needs with your desires?  If God chooses to reduce your blessings so that you have to cancel Wi-Fi, vacation, and a gym membership, God did not fail you.  Those are nice, but they are not daily bread.  We sin against God when we fault God for failing to honor promises he did not make.  Repent. 

     Jesus summoned Peter to come out to him on the water.  He trusted that word.  “Peter stepped down from the boat, walked on the water, and went toward Jesus.  But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid.  As he began to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’  Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt’” (Matthew 14:29-31)?

     Why did he doubt?  Because Peter was standing on water, and that’s not how water works!  Because the winds were whipping around him and the waves were crashing!  Peter assessed his situation and reasonably concluded, “What am I doing out here?”  Peter trusted what he saw and what he felt.  Can you blame him?  Well, Jesus did.  Peter, you had an authoritative word that the Lord would sustain you on the water.  “You of little faith, why did you doubt” (Matthew 14:31)?  Peter’s faith was in what he saw, not in the word he had been given.

     How often we trust what we see and feel and not what our Lord has said!  You can feel your stress level.  You can feel declining health.  You can see a strained budget.  You can see people who have no use for Jesus seeming to live a better life than you do.  You may even take up the lament of the Psalmist: “Have I really kept my heart pure for nothing?  Have I kept my hands clean in vain” (Psalm 73:13)?  This is why faith trusts what it hears, not what it sees.  What you experience can deceive you.  What you see can distort your focus. 

     Consider Noah.  The Lord had told him to build an ark because the world was going to be destroyed by a flood.  God said he would be patient for 120 years, and then judgment.  As Noah built the massive ark, he could not do it in secret.  There was no hiding it.  Noah must have endured mockery and scorn from whoever saw it.  How do you think Noah felt when he saw life go on as usual, when he saw the wicked continue shamelessly in their sins with no fear of judgment and no judgment coming—and that for decades!?  But Noah trusted what he had heard, not what he saw.  God had given his word, and God was faithful to it.  Judgment came upon the earth, but salvation was delivered to Noah and his family.

     And so also with you.  Faith trusts what it hears, not what it sees.  You know that a judgment is coming on the earth, and you also endure scorn as you wait patiently for it.  St. Peter warned in his second epistle, “In the last days scoffers will come with their mocking, following their own lusts.  They will say, ‘Where is this promised coming of his?  For from the time that our fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have from the beginning of the creation’” (2 Peter 3:3-4).  But you know the word of the Lord, and you confess it every week: “He will come again to judge the living and the dead” (Apostles’ Creed).  Faith trusts what it hears, not what it sees.  God has given his word, and God will be faithful to it. 

     The Lord chooses not to dazzle us with marvelous displays.  The Lord showed Elijah a violent wind, an earthquake, or a fire.  But the Lord was not in those.  Then he spoke through a gentle whisper.  He still speaks through his word.  It might be appealing to see our Lord perform great, miraculous signs—or, to be like Peter and participate in it!  But the Lord does not want us to focus on what we see or feel.  Faith trusts what it hears.

     Jesus told us to listen to the prophets and apostles.  They have recorded God’s words so that we can read, learn, mark, and inwardly digest them.  Faith trusts what it hears, not what it sees.  For, if you had seen Jesus at his crucifixion, you would have seen a man who was detested, mocked, beaten ruthlessly, and languishing on a cross.  Sight says he was pathetic; faith says that he is worthy of praise because faith trusts the word which reveals the truth: “It was because of our rebellion that he was pierced.  He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved.  The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).  Jesus Christ was crucified to atone for all our sins.  Faith knows that this is where salvation was won.  And faith clings to the words of absolution where that forgiveness is delivered. 

     Faith trusts what it hears, not what it sees.  When we see an infant brought to the font to have water poured on his or her head, it looks like nothing.  But the word of the Lord says, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).  Faith trusts what it hears, not what it sees.  When we come to this altar, our eyes, hands, and mouths tell us this is bread and wine.  Jesus tells us, “This is my body. … This is my blood of the new testament, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:26-28).  When you receive it, you may not feel forgiven, but Jesus says you are.  Faith trusts what it hears, not what it sees. 

     The apostle Peter had received a specific word from Jesus to come to him on the water.  As long as he focused on that word, he was safe.  When he focused on his own experience, it could have ended disastrously.  You and I are never called to put our trust in our senses, our reason, or our motives.  If you do, it will end disastrously.  Rather, you have been given specific promises from our Lord.  Faith trusts what it hears from him.  And as long as you trust in that, you are safe. 

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