Part 1 | 2

Peter's Walk on the Water

In Matthew 14:22, Jesus, after sending the multitudes away, the Scripture says Jesus “made” the disciples get into a boat and go before Him to the other side. The word “made” here is important to understanding the full context of what we need to get out of this story.

The original Greek word which is being translated here, is “anagkazo”, which means to “compel or constrain.” The King James Version, translates the word as “constrained”— the word constrained means, “to force somebody to do something.” This is important because, although we are not told here, we must assume that the disciples did not want to get into the boat, because Jesus had to constrain them.

But, why didn’t they want to get into the boat? Well, back in that day, there was no weather forecaster to let people know what the weather was going to be like. Now, it is well known that storms of this nature in which the disciples ultimately found themselves in the middle of, come up on the Sea of Galilee, almost without warning.

But, as with a well in-tuned farmer is with the atmospheric conditions, so too were fisherman in that day to the atmospheric elements. Since the disciples were mostly fisherman, they were very sensitive to the atmosphere around them, sensing drops in barometric pressure and sudden humidity change in the air, which would indicate to them that a change in the weather was imminent.

The disciples must have sensed that it was not a good night to go onto the water, and probably made their concerns know to Jesus, but Jesus “made” them go anyway. Now clearly, Jesus was setting up the scenario that was about to happen, so as to test the resolve of His disciples. The word “resolve” means to, “dispel doubts”— Jesus’ intention was to strengthen the resolve of His disciples, so they would not doubt in extraordinary situations, but trust God to be there for them and give them a way of escape.

Sure enough, as the disciples were on the water, their senses proved them right, as a vicious storm kicked up around them. Verse 25, says that it was now the fourth watch of the night, which would have made the time anywhere from 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM, when Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.

At first, the disciples did not recognize Him, because it says, that they were troubled and thought He was a ghost. Verse 27, tells us that Jesus called out to them, recognizing their fear, and saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid Still not totally sure if it were truly Jesus, Peter called out and said in verse 28, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” In verse 29, Jesus simply said, “come.”

So, Peter stepped out of the boat and began to walk toward Jesus on the water. This right here is an amazing example of what faith can do. That is pure unadulterated faith, not compromised by the physical limitations of the carnal realm. The problem comes in when Peter begins to think carnally in verse 30, “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

As soon as Peter realized the physical limitations that were around him, he began to sink. Now this is also interesting because, he did not just drop into the water as I would if I stepped off a boat— it says he began to sink. So, although doubt began to creep into the situation, his amount of faith was still strong enough to keep him from just dropping under the water. But, for how much longer would it be until he just sank? Probably, not much longer because, verse 31 tells us that Jesus stretched out His hand and “caught him.”

What was Jesus first words to Peter? “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Wow! What that tells me is that if Peter did not let doubt of the physical limitations creep into his mind, that he could have continued to walk on the water or dance or do whatever he wanted to do.

There is so much to get out of this story it is just mind-boggling. For one, Peter was the only disciple who had enough faith in Jesus to step out of the boat. Not one of the other disciples even considered it. Especially since the storm was still vicious, because it wasn’t until Jesus entered the boat Himself that He calmed the storm.

Now, I am not saying you should go right out onto a lake or ocean and step out of your boat and try to walk on water yourself, because that would be tempting God— you will most certainly sink. This is the only documented case in history that a man walked on water. 1 Corinthians 10:31, tells us, “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” If you are doing something just to test it to see if it works, it is not to God’s glory you are doing it, it is to your own glory.

The point Jesus was making here to all His disciples was to God’s glory and ties into the miracles of feeding the five thousand which just happened the night before in the disciples own hands as I discussed. After seeing the bread and fish multiply in their own hands, it would not have been a stretch for the disciples to realize that they could have calmed the storm themselves, with just a word.

Jesus set up this scenario to show the disciples that they are not limited to their physical surroundings, as a matter of fact, Jesus proved that the spiritual realm is greater and more real than the physical realm. Since we are physical beings and so in-tuned to the five physical senses of taste, touch, feel, smell, and hearing, we find it difficult to comprehend that fact— but, it’s true!

We must realize that Satan and his demonic force is all around us every minute of every day. Although the only weapon they have is to send thoughts into our mind, it is a powerful weapon for sure. Satan has been able to disable mans ability to comprehend the fact that the spiritual realm is far greater and more real than anything in the physical realm, since the Garden of Eden.

Jesus knew that a storm was about to come upon the sea, but He also knew that He had total control over any element that mother nature can throw at Him or the disciples for that matter, if they would only see and believe. With these two major miracles happening within a twelve hour period, we see how short-sighted human beings can be.

Did the disciples forget the miracle of the bread and fish multiplying in their hands? Of course not! But, it still did not register in the minds that the super-natural can overcome the natural anytime. What separates the two is “unbelief” or “doubt.” Doubt is a powerful force, and not a positive force either. It is a negative force that Satan uses so well to separate us from utilizing the super-natural of God in our lives.

In that twelve hour period, Jesus was giving the disciples a crash course in “Faith 101.” Unfortunately, Peter was the only one who came close to passing the test. Yet, he still fell short in the end.

What does Jesus want us to get out of this story? Not that we can walk on water, because unless it is to the glory of God, we will not, but He does want us to realize that as long as we stay within the will for our lives that God has for us, we will be able to over-come any obstacle that Satan throws in our way.

What is that acceptable and perfect will of God? Romans 12:2, tells us, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Did you get that! DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND!

THAT'S IT!

Unfortunately, we are all conformed to this world as we grew and developed and learn everything according to the ways of this world throughout our lives. We’ve developed world habits of greed and selfishness, that are opposite the will of God. But, there is hope! Praise God! Paul is telling us, here in Romans 12:2, that we can transform our minds and renew ourselves with a godly character that can access that super-natural and overcome sickness, disease, financial struggles, pain and suffering and anything else that is a product of this fallen world.

Will it be easy? Of course not! Just read the Book of Acts and you will see the persecution and suffering the apostles dealt with. But, either way you are going to have to deal with the Satanic influences of life in a fallen world. I would much rather deal with it as a faithful witness to Jesus Christ with the super-natural ability to calm those storms with just a word, than to have to suffer in helplessness and agony at the hands of Satan.

No more will I fret over unpaid bills. No more will fret over the possibility of getting sick or diseased, because I have the super-natural power to speak to those mountains in my life and command them to be thrown into the sea (Matthew 17:20-21 ). And even if I do get sick and die, I still win, because I will be with Jesus! Not to bad a scenario, I must say.

But, you too, can have this same super-natural ability, by heeding the message that Jesus was relating, not only to His disciples, but to us as well. This brings us back to God’s promise in Deuteronomy 30:19, where God said, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”

I choose life, will you?

Back to Part 1, click here.

Part 1 | 2

Back to Top

Back to Top