Matthew 14:24-33 [Peter Who Walked on the Water]

[Things to Meditate On]

1. When the disciples were suffering in the ship because of the wind and the waves of the sea, Jesus came to His suffering disciples, walking on the sea, in the fourth watch of the night, around 3 to 6 a.m. The disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea and were afraid, thinking He was a spirit. But Peter boldly tried to walk on the water and go to Jesus. Peter’s action may seem reckless, but it can also be seen as one of the qualities needed to become a disciple of Jesus.

Matthew 4:18-22 "18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him."

Luke 14:25-27, 33 "25And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 33So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."

2. As these passages show, the disciples of Jesus were those who heard the word of Jesus and "immediately" forsook all that they had and followed Him. And among the disciples, Peter seems to have been the kind of person who often stepped ahead of others. Because of this, he was also rebuked many times by Jesus. In Matthew 14:24-33 above, Peter was also rebuked by Jesus for having little faith and doubting.

Matthew 16:21-23 "21From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."

Matthew 26:33-35 "33Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. 34Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 35Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples."

John 13:6-10 "6Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? 7Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. 8Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. 9Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. 10Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all."

John 18:10-11 "10Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"

3. However, Peter did not only do wrong things.

Luke 5:3-6 "3And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake."

Matthew 16:15-19 "15He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

John 6:66-69 "66From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 67Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

[Decision and Application]

So far, we have briefly looked at the passages related to Peter recorded in the four Gospels. Through these passages, we may infer that before receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter had a quick-tempered nature and often spoke and acted impulsively. In Matthew 14:24-33 above, the reason he was able to ask Jesus, "Bid me come unto thee on the water," and then walk on the water may also be because he was Peter. When Peter heard Jesus say, "Come," he did not weigh this and that, but immediately came down out of the ship and walked on the water toward Jesus. This can certainly be called Peter’s strength. Among the qualities needed to become a disciple of Jesus that we examined earlier, faith that hears the word of Jesus and obeys "immediately" is absolutely necessary. With such faith, when Jesus said, "Come," Peter entrusted everything to Him, came down from the ship, and stepped onto the sea.

Genesis 12:1-4 "1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing... 4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran."

Hebrews 11:8 "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went."

However, the problem seems to arise when the visible circumstances around us — that is, human thoughts — begin to take precedence over the word of Jesus, "Come." It would have been good if Peter had continued to rely on the word of Jesus until the end and gone toward Him. But he saw the wind and became afraid (v. 30). Through this case, we can learn the lesson that when our own thoughts come before the word of Jesus, our faith cannot help but be shaken. Jesus is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever (Heb. 13:8). The problem is that our hearts change. Therefore, in any situation, it is important for us to keep our hearts with all diligence (Prov. 4:23) and to have faith until the end that says, "It shall be even as it was told me" (Acts 27:25). Therefore, Peter should have trusted and relied more on the word of Jesus, "Come," than on the wind that was visible to his eyes. For the reason he himself came down out of the ship and stood upon the sea was because of the word Jesus had commanded, saying, "Come."

Acts 27:14-25 "14But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. 15And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive... 18And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; 19And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. 20And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away... 22And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. 23For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, 24Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. 25Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me."

Thus, faith means relying on the word of Jesus until the end, regardless of the visible circumstances before us (Hebrews 11:1-3). Therefore, we must live by faith, believing the word of Jesus without wavering, whenever and in whatever situation we may be. For no matter how great the storm or how strong the wind and rain may appear to our eyes, Jesus can calm them in a moment at any time (v. 32).

Mark 4:37-41 "37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Amen.