Walking on water (part 5)

We have been looking at the story of Jesus walking on the water, as recorded in Matthew 14:22-33. In the last article we looked specifically at the statement Peter made in verse 28: “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” We saw the powerful implications of this statement for all of us who desire to walk by faith – which is all of us who desire to live a life that pleases God. (Hebrews 11:6) Specifically, we saw that Peter’s statement confirmed one of the most essential attributes of faith as it is described in the Bible – that it must rest in something that God said if it is going to stand the test of contrary circumstances.

There is no way to be sure what Peter was thinking when he made this statement. As I said before, I believe Peter wanted to walk on the water and he somehow knew he could do it if Jesus told him he could. It is also possible that Peter was trying to manipulate Jesus into telling him he could do what he wanted to do – namely walk on the water. While we would like to hope this wasn’t the case, it does seem possible - especially when you consider the fact that Peter phrased his statement in such a way that there was no other way for Jesus to answer him but to command him to come.

If we are honest about it, many of us have probably done this same thing our self in one situation or another. We ask God something in such a way that is decidedly in favor of whatever it is we want to do in a situation, so that we can feel as though we are doing his will, when in fact we are only asking permission to do our own. For example, we may ask God which one of two things we want is better. Then, even though God may not want us to have either one, as soon as we see or hear something that seems to favor one of the two choices, we take it as an answer from God, and make our decision, convinced that we are carrying out the will of God.

Regardless of Peter’s motives for making the statement he did, verse 29 tells us that Jesus answered him by simply saying, “Come!” By saying this, Jesus was in a sense putting the proverbial “ball,” that Peter had just served him back in Peter’s court. And any way you look at it, this was a tough ball to hit back! And the difficulty of this “shot” was made even more difficult by the fact that, as a fisherman, Peter had spent most of his life in boats, and all his natural reasoning told him that getting out of a boat in the middle of a storm was a bad idea!

It is also important to notice what Jesus didn’t do – He didn’t try to coax Peter out of the boat by assuring him that everything would be ok. If he had wanted to, Jesus could have tried to assure Peter somehow with a long discussion about spiritual principles and how they transcend natural laws – but he didn’t; he just said, “Come.” He also could have said something like, “Just wait a minute Peter, and I’ll come over there and give you a hand out of the boat.” But he didn’t; he just said, “Come.” The reason it is so important for us to notice this is because we might find ourselves in a situation where Jesus simply tells us to “come” without giving us all the particulars of how it is going to work out. And the truth is, if we really trust God, and are willing to obey him in faith, then a command to “come” is all we need to step out of a boat in the middle of a storm!