Peter Walks on the Water (Matt. 14:22-33)

This sermon was preached on 13/2/2011

This incident follows Jesus’ miraculous feeding of a large crowd of several thousand persons. That great multitude had been the recipients of the compassion of Christ when he took care of their temporal needs. Yet they responded wrongly to him and wanted to make him their king, so he determined to send them away. This is a reminder that we cannot turn Jesus into a person that suits ourselves. Everything has to be on his terms. Of course, the disciples would be puzzled by the response of Jesus to the increase of his popularity.

About a year has passed since Jesus called Peter to follow him in a full-time manner. During that time many events have taken place that involved the disciples, although only two are recorded as having particular significance for Peter. The first was the healing of his mother-in-law and the second was his ordination to the office of apostle. From the healing Peter would have learned that Jesus cared for Peter’s family members and from the ordination he would have realised that Jesus had an important role for Peter to fulfil (Peter is always mentioned first in lists of the apostles).

The Saviour is engaged in training his disciples to be his servants, and one aspect of their education was to discover what Jesus can do for them and through them as they serve him. In the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, the disciples gave the multiplied bread and fish to the crowd, and afterwards collected twelve baskets of leftovers. This was a great miracle, but in a sense the disciples’ involvement was easy. It is a different situation when they come into the storm at sea. They had to learn that promising situations like the response of the crowd are not all they seem or that dangerous situations like the storm are not all they seem either.

This is the second time that they as a group of disciples have experienced a storm on the Sea of Galilee. On the previous occasion, which seems to have occurred during daylight, Jesus was with them, although he was asleep. When they woke him, he calmed the storm by his word. Their experience on that occasion should have prepared them for this later storm, even if several of the details were different, particularly the absence of Jesus from the boat.

Jesus performs a great miracle in walking on the water, but only one disciple is willing to join Jesus there. This may suggest that Peter has learned more quickly than the other disciples that coming after Jesus can bring them into difficulties, but that these difficulties are also opportunities for increased fellowship with Jesus.

The protection of Jesus

Following the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus decides to send his disciples to another area around the Sea of Galilee. The reason for this decision is that he did not want them to follow the desires of the crowd which was to make him the ruler of an earthly kingdom. It was better for the disciples, as far as Jesus was concerned, that they be in a storm than to be influenced by the worldly opinions of others who did not understand the mission of Jesus. Sometimes we wonder why troubles come our way. One possible reason is that Jesus is protecting us from being affected by something or someone that would not be good for our souls. Temptations can be unperceived by us, dangers can be unforeseen by us. Therefore we should be thankful for the preventative ministry of Jesus in our experience.

His protection is seen in another way as well. It is very unlikely that these disciples would have wanted to dismiss the crowd. They would have agreed with the multitude that Jesus should be honoured, but in so doing they would have given a wrong message to the people. They would have told the crowd that following Jesus would result in an endless string of wonderful experiences. Instead they had to learn that following Jesus can result in situations where they think they are going through a storm without him. I sometimes wonder if this is the reason why our mountain-top experiences are often followed by valley experiences. The valley, as with the storm, are reminders from Jesus that we are yet in a spiritually-hostile world. They are his protective measures designed to keep us aware of our need of him.

His protection is seen in a third way, and that is seen in the promise that he gave them. Because he was aware of the storm they were going to go through, Jesus gave them a promise that they would reach the other side of the sea. They should have recalled his words when they found the going tough and the progress little. The worse the circumstances became, the more they should have thought about his promise. His authority to give the promise is unchallenged. The biggest storm possible cannot prevent the fulfilment of a promise by Jesus. This is an important lesson for us as well when we find ourselves in impossible situations. And we should be on the lookout for his promises, be it in our private reading of the Bible or in the preaching or in fellowship with other believers. All of his promises belong to each of his people, at least in principle (for example, he promised his apostles he would be with them as they took the gospel to the nations, but it is legitimate to deduce from that promise that he will be with each of his people at all times).

The purpose of Jesus (vv. 23-27)

Jesus maintained a disciplined spiritual life despite the desires of the people and the difficulties of his disciples. We may find the latter surprising, that he should spend time in prayer rather than rush immediately to their aid. In fact, he did not have to move an inch in order to calm the storm. Yet he was not prepared to take a shortcut to the throne nor was he willing to omit an experience from the spiritual education of his disciples. Jesus was determined to fulfil the Father’s will for him, which was to go to the cross. He found comfort and strength in drawing near to God.

The journey they had to make was about ten miles, but they had only achieved half of it. They were in a situation with which they were reasonably familiar, of being in a storm on the sea of Galilee. Perhaps they wondered why they were having to experience this seemingly dangerous situation. I wonder did any of them say, ‘I wonder what Jesus is doing while we are struggling here.’ Whether they asked the question or not, it is a question that we should ask. There are at least five answers that we can give to the question.

First, Jesus was aware of their difficulties. He knew that they were finding the going tough. It is very likely that he was praying for them. In this action of Jesus there is a picture of the heavenly intercession in which he engages in heaven. As our priest, he has a divine nature as well as a human one. His divine nature is continually aware of the situations in which his people are. There are great mysteries about his intercession, yet we can be assured that his divine knowledge is included in it. Each Christian in every situation he will face should remind himself that Jesus knows about it and is concerned for him.

Second, Jesus was preparing to come to their aid. We should not be surprised that Jesus communed with his Father before proceeding to walk on the water. This was his standard practice before he engaged in any activity. The Saviour prayed before he received the Spirit at his baptism, he prayed before he selected his apostles, he prayed before he was transfigured. Obviously as God he possessed divine abilities, yet he still prayed. In this he is an example to us. The best preparation that we can do for any activity is to pray about it.

Third, Jesus was waiting for the right moment to come to them. No doubt the disciples, if they had been thinking about what Jesus should do, would have been hoping that he would come immediately. Yet that is not the way that Jesus did things. He always did an action at the right moment. So he did not come to them until between 3am and 6am, about nine or ten hours after they had left. This was an important lesson for Peter and the disciples to learn for the future.

Fourth, Jesus comes to them as Master of the situation. His road of approach is the stormy sea that seems about to swamp them, yet it is under his feet. The strong wind that blows their vessel here and there does not move him off his path of walking to the boat. His approach frightened the disciples because they had never seen such a thing before. And that is the case with every disciple. Each situation is a new one, even if it has some similar aspects to previous circumstances. The disciples had been in a storm before, although on that occasion Jesus was asleep before he calmed the storm. Since he came by another way on this occasion reminds us that we are not to expect Jesus to always appear in the same manner when he delivers us. But whatever way he appears, it is wonderful to know that he will show himself as Master of the situation. There is not a situation that his disciples face in life that can prevent him coming to them.

Fifth, Jesus comes with a word of comfort. He does not condemn the superstitious words that flowed out of their fear. It was not his purpose to rebuke them. He gave his comfort instantly. Amid the noise of the storm this wonderful greeting came through loud and clear, ‘It is I, be not afraid.’ These are the words he says to us as we go through our times of trouble. Whatever they may involve, he speaks authoritatively and compassionately, ‘It is I, be not afraid.’ Indeed he says, ‘Be of good cheer.’ It is only the presence of Jesus that can change a situation from one of dread into one of hope. When we sense trouble, let us listen to the comforting words of Jesus. There is no trouble that is so big that it can keep Jesus from giving spiritual comfort to us.

The permission of Jesus

It is important to note that the miracle is not Peter walking on a stormy sea; it would have been a miracle also if he had walked on a calm, placid sea. The obvious question that arises is whether or not Peter was right in asking to walk on the water. Some, have criticised him for his request. Archbishop Trench, in his famous book on the miracles of Jesus, finds fault with Peter for being over-confident. ‘In that “Bid me,” the fault may be found. He will outdo and outdare the other disciples; will signalize himself by a mightier testimony of faith than any one of them will venture to render. It is but in another shape, “Although all shall be offended, yet shall not I”.’

C. H. Spurgeon comments that Peter’s behaviour in this incident reveals he was marked by little faith rather than strong faith. His request was ‘courage almost blazing into rashness; and yet there is a measure of obedient deference, for he will not attempt to come unless he is bidden to do so. He will risk his life if he has but his Master’s permit. What diverse qualities meet in the same man! He proposes a rash venture, and yet is prudent enough to ask his Master’s permission.’ Spurgeon suggests that it would have been better for Peter to have remained in the boat, fulfilling his duty of rowing. His action was evidence of little faith because strong faith would have exercised patience.

Of course, the assessment of these writers may be correct. Yet I suspect that their description of Peter’s request as expressing self-confidence and rashness may not be right. It is also possible to regard his request as reverent rather than rash. Asking for Christ’s permission before proceeding was the right thing to do. I would consider Hugh Martin’s assessment as being more insightful: ‘Whatever may be said of his prudence in desiring to make the astounding experiment in which he had such mixed and singular success, certain it is that the thought and desire could have occurred to none but a believer.’ Martin is confident that it is an expression of faith, ‘of faith most noble, ardent, generous, full of fire, and love, and courage, daring all for his Lord; impatient to be at the side of his beloved, or in his embrace, and spurning the storm and the waters when they would forbid or delay the meeting.’

Horatius Bonar is also more positive about Peter’s request. ‘The request was prompted simply by affection, and a desire to be where He was. It looks very like one of Peter’s hasty utterances – ‘It is good to be here;’ ‘Shall we smite with the sword?’ But still it is faith that is working. The desire to go was, no doubt, affection, but the feeling which overlooked all the difficulties of the way – the impossibility of walking on the water – was faith. So boundless was his confidence in his Master’s power and love. A word, he knew, would be enough!’

What commendations, therefore, can be made of Peter’s request? First, Peter desires to be with Jesus. This is usually a very healthy sign of spiritual longing. Sometimes, in order to be with Jesus we have to leave our securities. The security that Peter had to leave was the boat in which the disciples were rowing hard and getting nowhere. Our securities may not be sinful things. In Peter’s case, he was in the boat because he had been obedient to Jesus. We can find security in going a certain distance with Jesus, and then decide to proceed no further. But Peter realised that he would have to move out of his security zone if he was going to discover more of Christ’s presence. And love to Jesus compelled him to do it.

Second, in Peter’s response we see his honesty, and such honesty is part of his faith because faith is expressed according to our character traits. Peter did what he felt was appropriate at that moment, and he could not pretend to be someone else. His faith was more active than contemplative. Such an honest expression of faith is very refreshing. A believer should not be afraid of being himself. It is sad to see a Christian stifling his individuality for no proper reason.

Further, in Peter’s response we see his developing understanding of who Jesus is. His perception of Jesus was greater than the other disciples because he understood that he could walk on the water if Jesus enabled him. Peter’s request reveals that he was making progress as a disciple, that he was beginning to grasp that Jesus could enable him to do things that were humanly impossible.

Yet, like all learners, Peter was to discover that his new-found understanding could be adversely affected very quickly. Despite the fact that he walked on the water, he then began to lose faith. The strength of the storm began to undermine the strength of his faith. This is common in the activities of faith: we can begin well in a particular response but sooner or later we begin to have our doubts, and when that happens we will begin to sink under the problem.

Although he had begun to lose the confident aspect of faith, Peter did not lose the essential feature of faith, which is that Jesus is able to save in any situation. I assume Peter could swim, but he made to attempt to swim to the boat. Although he was sinking, his eye was still on Jesus. When we find ourselves going under and losing our strength of conviction, it is then that we should call out to Jesus to save us from danger.

Christ’s response to Peter’s cry was immediate. Right away he stretched out his hand and took a firm grasp of Peter. This must have been a wonderful experience for Simon, and I suspect he never forgot the power in Christ’s grip. He would have felt totally secure in the midst of a stormy sea.

Not only did Peter sense the safety found in Christ’s hand, he also heard the tender, encouraging voice of Jesus. The words, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’, are not a strong rebuke. While the Saviour does say it was little faith, he also says that it was little faith, that it was a true faith. Jesus informs Peter of the dangers of doubting. Unbelief robbed Peter of reaching Jesus, but his weak faith did not prevent Jesus from reaching out to Peter. Our doubts can prevent us getting the full benefits from an encounter with Jesus, but they cannot prevent Jesus coming to our aid when we are struggling in the problems caused by our doubts.

I think Peter learned another important lesson here. He discovered that Jesus would not let him sink too far.

Peter’s actions here tell us three things. First, faith is right to be bold in a difficult situation if it attains nearness to Jesus. Second, faith is wrong to focus on the difficulties in a situation if it means taking the eyes of our souls of Jesus. Third, faith is right to expect help from Jesus when these difficulties are about to destroy us.

Divine praise offered to Jesus (v. 33)

Jesus and Peter walk together to the boat, and when they enter the boat there is peace. The failure of the other disciples to distinguish themselves by a brave faith did prevent the peace of Jesus being experienced by them. Jesus not only takes note of the active faith of Peter but also the timid faith of the others. Both active and timid believers need peace, and just as he brought peace to Peter and the other disciples, so Jesus brings peace to us in our troubles.

These other disciples had observed the interaction between Jesus and Peter. What impressed them was not the greater faith of Peter but the great power and grace of Jesus. The impression on their souls was that Jesus was the Son of God. Mark tells us that they had not understood the spiritual significance of the miracle of the feeding of the 5000, that it revealed that Jesus was the Creator able to multiply food at will. Now they had seen a clear demonstration of his abilities as the Creator, that he was incapable of being destroyed by a fierce storm and that he had the authority to calm the elements. This confession is what all Christ’s dealings with us in providence and his personal interactions with us are intended to produce. As we reflect on them, we should Peter and the other disciples and say to Jesus, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’

Their response at the end of the previous storm had been to wonder what kind of man Jesus is to be able to calm the storm with a word. At the close of this storm they confessed his deity, which means that they had made considerable progress in understanding who he is. They still had a great deal to learn before they could be sent out by themselves, but they were heading in the right direction. This is to be expected under the guidance of the perfect Teacher. Yet the fact that he was prepared to proceed slowly indicates that it is better to learn slowly and well rather than rapidly and shallow. And Peter was learning important personal lessons as well.