Walking on Water
The ocean for me always brings up images of sandy beaches with clear blue water and the cool salty breezes. But I am also aware of the ocean’s dark side, and words spoken like “hurricane” and “tsunami” conjuror up images of utter destruction and devastation. The ocean then is also associated with darkness, chaos and death. For fishermen like Peter, James, and John the sea was something to be respected, and it offered no forgiveness for sailors caught in stormy waters and sucked down below. Just those on a ship would need to keep their wits about in navigating treacherous waters, so the Christian must make Christ their focus. Matthew 14 reminds us of this truth in the telling of Jesus walking on water.
After hearing about the death of John the Baptist, Jesus sought to find a secluded place to be alone, but once people got wind of where He was staying, the crowds began to form. Jesus then spent the day healing the sick, and when evening came, He miraculously fed over five thousand people (vv. 13-21). Later on, Jesus instructed disciples to take the boat into the water, sent the people home, and found some time to be alone (vv. 22-23).
When the boat was far from the shoreline, the wind began to churn up the waves, and the disciples saw what they thought to be a ghost, but as it turned out it was Jesus walking on the water (vv. 22-27). Peter then asks, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water,” and Jesus bids him to “Come!” No one knows how far Peter got, but once he began to sink as soon as he began to focus upon the wind and the waves. Sinking and afraid, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” and Jesus pulled him out of the water; saying, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (vv. 28-31).
Jesus’ walking on water demonstrated the Messiah’s power over the elements, which was a self-disclosure of His own divinity. Seeing all this take place, the disciples began to realize that they were not just communing with a great teacher, but their Rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, the one now inside the boat, was the Son of God, which invoked the proper response of worship (vv. 32-33).
It was not that Peter had no faith; rather, he was of “little faith.” Peter was actually asking to do something quite out of the ordinary—after all, walking on water with just an ordinary pair of sandals without any special gizmos is pretty much impossible apart from the power of God. Cephas responds to the call, begins to walk on the water; yet, he loses focus, looks at the wind churning the waters, and begins to sink only to be saved by Christ. For Peter this was a teaching moment, which helped him to understand what it meant to be in relationship to God in a very chaotic world, and shaped him into a key leader for the fledgling Christian church.
Christ still calls us to follow Him, and like Peter sometimes the things He would have us do just seem crazy impossible. We jump into them by faith, but when we take our eyes off the goal, the goal being Christ, when we lose our focus, then like Cephas we to begin to sink; yet, God graciously saves us from our own failures. I think this is what the writer to Hebrews wanted to communicate, after giving a litany of faithful saints of old, he pens these words: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Heb. 12:1-3). Life at times can be very much like turbulent seas, filled with darkness, chaos, and even death; yet, our focus is to be upon Christ, who can make what seems to be impossible very possible.
After hearing about the death of John the Baptist, Jesus sought to find a secluded place to be alone, but once people got wind of where He was staying, the crowds began to form. Jesus then spent the day healing the sick, and when evening came, He miraculously fed over five thousand people (vv. 13-21). Later on, Jesus instructed disciples to take the boat into the water, sent the people home, and found some time to be alone (vv. 22-23).
When the boat was far from the shoreline, the wind began to churn up the waves, and the disciples saw what they thought to be a ghost, but as it turned out it was Jesus walking on the water (vv. 22-27). Peter then asks, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water,” and Jesus bids him to “Come!” No one knows how far Peter got, but once he began to sink as soon as he began to focus upon the wind and the waves. Sinking and afraid, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” and Jesus pulled him out of the water; saying, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (vv. 28-31).
Jesus’ walking on water demonstrated the Messiah’s power over the elements, which was a self-disclosure of His own divinity. Seeing all this take place, the disciples began to realize that they were not just communing with a great teacher, but their Rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, the one now inside the boat, was the Son of God, which invoked the proper response of worship (vv. 32-33).
It was not that Peter had no faith; rather, he was of “little faith.” Peter was actually asking to do something quite out of the ordinary—after all, walking on water with just an ordinary pair of sandals without any special gizmos is pretty much impossible apart from the power of God. Cephas responds to the call, begins to walk on the water; yet, he loses focus, looks at the wind churning the waters, and begins to sink only to be saved by Christ. For Peter this was a teaching moment, which helped him to understand what it meant to be in relationship to God in a very chaotic world, and shaped him into a key leader for the fledgling Christian church.
Christ still calls us to follow Him, and like Peter sometimes the things He would have us do just seem crazy impossible. We jump into them by faith, but when we take our eyes off the goal, the goal being Christ, when we lose our focus, then like Cephas we to begin to sink; yet, God graciously saves us from our own failures. I think this is what the writer to Hebrews wanted to communicate, after giving a litany of faithful saints of old, he pens these words: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Heb. 12:1-3). Life at times can be very much like turbulent seas, filled with darkness, chaos, and even death; yet, our focus is to be upon Christ, who can make what seems to be impossible very possible.
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