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Not Till Compassion Had Been Expressed!

Text: Matthew 14 : 22 - 36

Imagine the size of the multitude that followed Jesus! There were five thousand men, besides the women and children! Just how large was the size of the crowd? Would there have been more than ten thousand? Each head of the household must have desired to bring everyone in the family to hear Jesus and be blessed by Him!

Compassion for so many people is truly astounding! Many would be thrilled by seeing the size of the crowd. But to Jesus, the thrill was not in seeing so many thronging Him. He was moved by compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd! Where would He find so many teachers to meet their needs? They were so simple and trusting that they followed Him everywhere He went, yet few had any depth of understanding! Not till His compassion had been fully expressed would Jesus leave the multitude! Lovingly, He fed all five thousand! All had enough to eat! Fragments amounting to twelve baskets would indicate the extent to which He applied His powers to feed the multitude! Only after He had fed them did He send them away.

“And when He had sent the multitudes away,
He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.
Now when evening came, He was alone there.”
MATTHEW 14:23

How does one end a very long day? Jesus did not just give in to fatigue! He deliberately set aside time to pray! In solitude, in communion with His Father was His special way of renewing Himself for the ministry that lay ahead! What He prayed for must be so obvious, that we do not need to attempt to state it.

A LONG NIGHT OF PRAYER

Just how long did Jesus commune with His Father in prayer? We have an indication of that in the following text.

“Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them,
walking on the sea.”
MATTHEW 14:25

Till Jesus had spoken all that was in His heart, He stayed communing with His Father in prayer! For hours Jesus must have poured out His heart to His Father concerning His ministry, the disciples, the multitudes, the conclusion of His life’s work and more! It was in the wee hours of the morning before Jesus completed His ministry of prayer. The fourth watch refers to 3.00-6.00 am time period! Refreshed, He was eager to begin the next day’s work. He walked on the sea to His disciples!

AN OLD PROBLEM!

It is entirely possible for the disciples to listen to Jesus every day, minister for Him, and still miss the point!

On a previous occasion, the disciples saw how Jesus calmed a tumultuous sea (Cf. Matthew 8:24-27). Then Jesus raised a painful question.

“Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”
MATTHEW 8:26a

The disciples had many more opportunities to cultivate their faith since then! They had been empowered and sent out to minister on their own. They had seen even more miracles performed by Jesus, including the latest – the feeding of the five thousand! Yet when Jesus walked on the sea towards them, they were once again confused and confounded.

“And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea,
they were troubled, saying. ‘It is a ghost!’
And they cried out for fear.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,
‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.'”
MATTHEW 14:26-27

Jesus understood their fears! To see someone walking on the sea on the fourth watch would challenge the courage of the bravest men! Without a word of rebuke, Jesus identified Himself to His fearful disciples.

Peter, however, was not fully convinced. He made a statement that makes one wonder.

“And Peter answered Him and said,
‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to you on the water.’
MATTHEW 14:28

How much sense did that statement make? On the one hand, there was the fear of seeing a ghost! On the other hand, there was the doubt that this Person could really be Jesus! Why ask to walk on water if there was that element of doubt? What if it was a ghost and it invited Peter to attempt to walk on water?

Jesus, understanding Peter, as no one else could, answered him promptly.

“So He said, ‘Come.”
And when Peter had come down out of the boat,
he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
But when he saw that the wind was boisterous,
he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying,
‘Lord, save me!’
And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him,
and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’
And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.”
MATTHEW 14:29-32

The old problem of fear had come right up again! Where faith should have been in the forefront, fear caused it to recede into the background! How is our faith today?