Walking With Jesus
Peter versus Peter
by David
Churchill
[see outline]
- What picture of Peter do
you see in Matthew 14:22-33?
Immediately Jesus made
His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other
side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had
sent the multitudes away, He went up on a mountain by Himself
to pray. And when evening had come, He was alone there.
But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by
the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth
watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 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.
And Peter answered Him and
said, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on
the water.
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. Then those who were in the boat
came and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of
God.
Maybe you see Peter afraid and
sinking in the water. Some people see Peter far from Jesus,
his fear replacing his faith. They see Peter failing, and
they see Jesus upset with Peter.
Perhaps you see Peter walking on
water as he bravely attempts to obey Jesus. Some people
see Peter doing a wonderful thing here and sympathize with his
difficulties. They see Peter moving toward Jesus, his faith
in Jesus struggling with his fear of the storm. They see
Peter failing in spite of a good effort, and they see Jesus disappointed
in Peter.
I hope you see something else.
Do you see Peter asking Jesus to increase His expectations
of Peter? Do you see Peter next to Jesus when the fear
sets in? Do you see Peter doubting because he lost his
focus? Do you see Jesus being proud of Peter?
- Do you see Peter asking Jesus
to increase His expectations of Peter?
In
the boat, Peter was having problems dealing with the storm. The
surrounding water kept Peter from simply leaving his problems
behind him. When he recognized Jesus coming across the
water, he saw that Jesus knew how to deal with these problems.
He wanted to go to Jesus. But, to go to Jesus, Peter
would have to face his problems head to head. He would
have to learn to do new things. He wasnt sure he
could do it.
Why the strange request of Jesus?
Perhaps Peter was being his usual impulsive self. Perhaps
he wanted to please Jesus with an unusual show of faith. Either
way, Peter understood something we need to learn. Jesus
expects from us only the things that he knows we can do, even
if He has to help us. Jesus commands only what He expects
from us, nothing more and nothing less. Peter knew this.
Only Jesus would expect Peter to walk on water if He commanded
so. Only Jesus had the power to help Peter to obey that
command.
By asking Jesus to command something
unusual of him, Peter was also asking Jesus to raise His expectations
of Peter. If Jesus approved this request and commanded
Peter to come to Him, then Peters only options would be
to obey or to disobey. Leaving the boat would mean getting
a lot closer to the storm and the water, the same problems he
was trying to avoid. On the other hand, the only way to
please Jesus is by obeying Him. Peter would have to get
out of the boat onto the water if he wanted to please Jesus.
Peters example here makes
one thing perfectly clear. If we ask Jesus to expect more
from us, then we need to plan on doing more for Jesus.
- Do you see Peter next to
Jesus when the fear sets in?
Where
was Peter when he began to panic and sink? How far was
Peter from Jesus? 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?
Peter was close to Jesus, close enough that Jesus could
just reach out and grab him. So unless Jesus turned into
a big rubber band, Peter was within arms length of Jesus.
Our spiritual walk with Jesus will
take us many places. Some places will have sunny weather
and a wide road easy to walk. Other places will have dangerous
storms and a narrow path filled with challenges. We need
to learn from Peter that fear can find us anywhere, even when
we walk close to Jesus.
- Do you see Peter doubting
because he lost his focus?
Peter
trusted Jesuss authority enough to ask Jesus to command
him. Peter trusted Jesuss help enough to ask Jesus
to save him. Peter trusted Jesuss guidance enough
to walk with Jesus to whatever destination Jesus had in mind.
Peter lost faith when he let himself
get distracted by the storm. Did he lose faith in Jesuss
ability to command, to help, and to guide him because he didn't
believe Jesus any more? I dont think so. Peter
lost faith simply because he lost his focus on Jesus and what
Jesus could do. When Peter focused on himself and his own
frailities, he doubted himself and then he became afraid. Jesus
had just proven to Peter that, with Jesuss help, he really
could walk anywhere with Jesus even if Jesus was walking
on water. Still, Peter opened the door to his fears when
he moved his focus off Jesus.
Ordinary people like you and I
can walk with Jesus if we accept His help. When ordinary
people obey and follow Jesus, they can do extraordinary things.
Jesus proved it. However, we must be careful to keep
our focus on Jesus, or we may be overcome by the same fear that
threatened Peter.
- Do you see Jesus being proud
of Peter?
Did
Jesus think Peter should have done better? Yes, and He
said so plainly. Was Peter reminded that a bold start is
not enough by itself? I think so. Did the other disciples
learn an important lesson about commitment and perseverance?
I hope so. But, was Jesus disappointed with Peter
enough to be greatly upset or angry?
As we noticed earlier, when people
obey Jesus, they please Jesus. Jesus was pleased enough
with Peters request that He granted it. Jesus was
pleased when Peter left the boat and walked on the water to obey
Him. Jesus was pleased enough with Peters courage
that He reached out immediately to comfort Peters fears.
Jesus was pleased enough with Peter to discipline him this
time with a gentle chiding instead of a stern rebuke (compare
to Mark 8:31-33). And apparently Jesus escorted Peter
back to the boat, instead of leaving Peter to wait alone for
the boat to pick him up. All in all, it seems to me that
Jesus was quite proud of Peter while still encouraging him to
grow in faith and in spite of some disappointment.
Some might assert that Jesus was
upset with Peter because He had to grab hold of Peter to keep
him from sinking. Are those people really being fair to
Jesus when they say that? After all, just when did Jesus
start holding Peter up? Was it when Jesuss hand reached
out or when Peters feet hit the water?
Like Peter, we need to love Jesus
enough to please Him with our obedience. Like Peter, we
need to be humble enough to ask for Jesuss help when we
are in trouble. Like Peter, we ought to be grateful that
Jesus takes pride in His followers while still encouraging them
to do better.
Would
you like for Jesus to be pleased with your obedience and your
courage? Would you like for Jesus to save you from drowning
in your fears? Would you like for Jesus to discipline you
with gentleness instead of harshness? Would you like for
Jesus to be proud of you? Would you like for Jesus to encourage
you to do better?
Like Peter, all you need to do
is walk with Jesus. |