22 Jesus quickly made his disciples get into a boat and cross to the other side ahead of him while he sent the people away. 23 After sending the people away, he went up a mountain to pray by himself. When evening came, he was there alone.
24 The boat, now hundreds of yards from shore, was being thrown around by the waves because it was going against the wind.
25 Between three and six o’clock in the morning, he came to them. He was walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. They said, “It’s a ghost!” and began to scream because they were afraid.
27 Immediately, Jesus said, “Calm down! It’s me. Don’t be afraid!”
28 Peter answered, “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.”
29 Jesus said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed how strong the wind was, he became afraid and started to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately, Jesus reached out, caught hold of him, and said, “You have so little faith! Why did you doubt?”
32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped blowing. 33 The men in the boat bowed down in front of Jesus and said, “You are truly the Son of God.”
34 They crossed the sea and landed at Gennesaret. 35 The men there recognized Jesus and sent messengers all around the countryside. The people brought him everyone who was sick. 36 They begged him to let them touch just the edge of his clothes. Everyone who touched his clothes was made well.
Read Matthew 14:22-36 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
In this incredible, miraculous event, Peter steps out of the boat when Jesus calls him to do so. Just doing this simple thing is incredible in itself, but what happens when Peter has left the security of the boat is something that each of us can relate with.
When God has called us to step out of our boat and come to Him, many of us are quick to do so. However, what happens after we take the first step – or perhaps we could call it that big leap of faith – is that our brain catches up to our actions and we begin to realize the leap we just took.
Likely before Peter’s mind had caught up with his faith-filled actions, he was out of the boat and walking towards Jesus. But then his mind caught up with the reality of what was happening. We read this transition happen at the beginning of verse 30, “But when he noticed how strong the wind was…”
When Peter’s mind had caught up to his actions and pointed out to him that the wind had not stopped, and the waves were still crashing around him, he became afraid and this fear lead to him starting to sink. In that moment, Peter cries out to Jesus to save him and Jesus is there immediately with an outstretched hand.
When we look at this event, it might be easy for us to think that we should turn our minds off when we are moving in faith – but that is not what this passage is saying. In many ways, Peter’s mind was what got him to step out of the boat because it prompted him to tell Jesus to call him to step out of the boat. Jesus calls Peter’s mind’s bluff and this led to a body that was no longer protected by the boat.
Our minds can be our greatest asset to our faith, but this is only when we keep our focus on Jesus, and on how we can move forward with Him. When our mind wants to bring up doubts or fears, it is only then that our faith is truly known. It is in that moment where we learn what is stronger – our faith or our fear.
Jesus has called us to step out with Him, and in some ways, stepping out is the easy part. The difficult part is to keep our faith strong and focused as we walk on the journey Jesus has called us on!
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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