February 20th, 2023
by Jon Welch
by Jon Welch
A short walk....
After a full day of ministry and picking up the twelve baskets of leftovers, Jesus sees that the disciples are exhausted. So He sends them off in a boat onto the Sea of Galilee to get them away from the crowd and allow them to rest. At the same time, Jesus dismisses everyone else (Mark 6:45). After bidding the crowd farewell, Jesus makes His way back up a nearby mountain to spend some time debriefing with His Father (Mark 6:46). It has been a long day, filled with a whirlwind of emotions for Jesus. Finally, he begins to relax and is enjoying communion with this Father, when, well, that’s where we find him today.
Read Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21.
As you read this story, what amazes you?
What might Jesus have been thinking about as He watched His disciples “straining at the oars”? (Mark 6:48)
What do you think Peter was thinking during this experience?
What lessons did Jesus want His disciples to learn here?
Jesus enjoyed an incredible night of communion with His Father. As always, after spending time in prayer, Jesus reemerges energized. The words of Isaiah 40:31 brought Him strength, “…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will ask and not be faint.” Jesus must have realized that the people below had wanted to make Him king that morning (John 6:15). What was He to do? What were his marching orders? Jesus spent the evening discussing His next steps with His Father.
It is about three o’clock in the morning (Matthew 14:25). As the wind blows, Jesus lifts His eyes and sees His leaders out on the lake struggling against the storm. What will they do without Him? Will they exercise their faith? Jesus begins to make His way out to the disciples, who are about 3-4 miles from the shore (John 6:19). As he comes close to the boat, they start screaming, “It’s a ghost!” They were overtired and too scared to think about the impossibility of it being a ghost. Who knows what will come out of our mouths when we are tired and scared? Jesus continued to come closer and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).
Peter seizes the opportunity for a bit of adventure and says, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water” (Matt. 14:28). Jesus tells him to come. I wonder what those first few steps felt like for Peter? It must have been the most incredible thing to step out of the boat and walk on water. Everything is going well until Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and places them on what is happening around him. At that moment, he begins to sink. It will happen every time we do the same. You need to keep your eyes on Jesus, not the circumstances surrounding you, if you want to walk on water. I love what happens next. Jesus looks at Peter sinking and says, “Stay there a while; learn to keep your eyes on me. In fact, go under a few times, and then I will think about saving you.” NO! He doesn’t say that at all! Notices what Peter cries: “Lord save me!” (Matt. 14:30). Sound familiar? I am convinced that God loves to hear those words from us; He is a Savior who loves to save the day because when He saves the day, He gets all the glory!
So Jesus immediately stretches out His hand and lifts Peter up. What a scene! As they enter the boat, the storm stops abruptly. The twelve leaders begin worshipping Jesus and saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matt. 14:33). Now, I imagine some were jumping up and down and dancing, and others were lying facedown worshipping. But one was worshiping at a different level than the others. I imagine Peter, the one who had not only experienced the storm stopping but had also walked on water, experienced an extra level of worship. He was the only other person, outside of Jesus, to ever walk on water! His praise must have been a bit sweeter, having taken the step of faith to get out of the boat and obey Jesus in faith.
Well, are you a water walker or a boat-hugger? The only way to “walk on water” as a leader is to keep your eyes on Jesus. He is the author, leader, and perfecter of your faith. Become consumed by Him, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus. Consider where you may need to take a step of faith in your life. Where do you need to “get out of the boat”? In what areas of your life are you “hugging the boat”?
No matter where you are, you have a next step as you pursue Jesus. What is your next step? Don’t be content sitting in the boat! Get out! Live by faith, Trust in Jesus, and walk on “water,” knowing God will always be there with His arm stretched out for you and me.
Read Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21.
As you read this story, what amazes you?
What might Jesus have been thinking about as He watched His disciples “straining at the oars”? (Mark 6:48)
What do you think Peter was thinking during this experience?
What lessons did Jesus want His disciples to learn here?
Jesus enjoyed an incredible night of communion with His Father. As always, after spending time in prayer, Jesus reemerges energized. The words of Isaiah 40:31 brought Him strength, “…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will ask and not be faint.” Jesus must have realized that the people below had wanted to make Him king that morning (John 6:15). What was He to do? What were his marching orders? Jesus spent the evening discussing His next steps with His Father.
It is about three o’clock in the morning (Matthew 14:25). As the wind blows, Jesus lifts His eyes and sees His leaders out on the lake struggling against the storm. What will they do without Him? Will they exercise their faith? Jesus begins to make His way out to the disciples, who are about 3-4 miles from the shore (John 6:19). As he comes close to the boat, they start screaming, “It’s a ghost!” They were overtired and too scared to think about the impossibility of it being a ghost. Who knows what will come out of our mouths when we are tired and scared? Jesus continued to come closer and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).
Peter seizes the opportunity for a bit of adventure and says, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water” (Matt. 14:28). Jesus tells him to come. I wonder what those first few steps felt like for Peter? It must have been the most incredible thing to step out of the boat and walk on water. Everything is going well until Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and places them on what is happening around him. At that moment, he begins to sink. It will happen every time we do the same. You need to keep your eyes on Jesus, not the circumstances surrounding you, if you want to walk on water. I love what happens next. Jesus looks at Peter sinking and says, “Stay there a while; learn to keep your eyes on me. In fact, go under a few times, and then I will think about saving you.” NO! He doesn’t say that at all! Notices what Peter cries: “Lord save me!” (Matt. 14:30). Sound familiar? I am convinced that God loves to hear those words from us; He is a Savior who loves to save the day because when He saves the day, He gets all the glory!
So Jesus immediately stretches out His hand and lifts Peter up. What a scene! As they enter the boat, the storm stops abruptly. The twelve leaders begin worshipping Jesus and saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matt. 14:33). Now, I imagine some were jumping up and down and dancing, and others were lying facedown worshipping. But one was worshiping at a different level than the others. I imagine Peter, the one who had not only experienced the storm stopping but had also walked on water, experienced an extra level of worship. He was the only other person, outside of Jesus, to ever walk on water! His praise must have been a bit sweeter, having taken the step of faith to get out of the boat and obey Jesus in faith.
Well, are you a water walker or a boat-hugger? The only way to “walk on water” as a leader is to keep your eyes on Jesus. He is the author, leader, and perfecter of your faith. Become consumed by Him, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus. Consider where you may need to take a step of faith in your life. Where do you need to “get out of the boat”? In what areas of your life are you “hugging the boat”?
No matter where you are, you have a next step as you pursue Jesus. What is your next step? Don’t be content sitting in the boat! Get out! Live by faith, Trust in Jesus, and walk on “water,” knowing God will always be there with His arm stretched out for you and me.
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5 Comments
So much stands out in this story. 1 Jesus sent them He knew they would get to the other side. 2 He saw them straining. 3 He would have walked right by had they not stopped Him. 4. They were 3-4 miles out and immediately when Jesus got in the boat they were at the shore.
My biggest takeaway on this is just because I do what God tells me doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be any problems, but Jesus is there for me. Do I trust Him enough to get me through the storm to the other side or am I going to go on my own strength am I straining when Jesus want me trusting. Is the storm lasting longer than it should because I’m not looking at the author n finisher of my faith?
When will I ever learn. My small faith is enough, Lord increase it, thank you for showing up yesterday.
One of my favorite accounts in the Bible!
- I would like to be more like Peter
- I struggle with my fear when I am in the midst of the storm.
- As much as I try to keep my eyes on Jesus, there are times I start to sink. Thankful Jesus is always willing to pull me out of the storm.
We all have storms we are going to go through. I have to say that the storms I have went through I have brought me closer to the Lord. When we can’t control the situation, we have no choice but to let the Lord work. That’s what he is after because then he gets all the Glory.
We are a lot like Peter. He messes up quite often. So, we have so much we can learn from him. Thankful for the Word so we can learn from others mistakes and sin and try and do better. We could avoid so much if we would study the Bible. The Holy Spirit will teach and guide us, if we will only take the time to read it.
This is one of the most memorable stories that I can think of when thinking about Jesus and the Twelve Disciples. For two reasons, 1) Jesus, and Peter briefly, walked on literal water. That’s just an amazing thing to think about, and shows how powerful God is. 2) I’m terrified of deep water, so I can empathize with Peter when he began to be scared and take his eyes off Jesus. That has made me wonder how I would fare in that situation. Would I walk to Jesus? Or would I get scared and begin to drown? I’m really working on faith and trust in my relationship with God. I want to be able to trust him like that. So, maybe one day when he tells me to “walk on water” whether literally or figuratively, I can be ready.