Matthew 14:22 Immediately he had the talmidim get in the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the crowds away. 23 After he had sent the crowds away, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night came on, and he was there alone. 24 But by this time, the boat was several miles from shore, battling a rough sea and a headwind. 25 Around four o’clock in the morning, he came toward them, walking on the lake! 26 When the talmidim saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said and screamed with fear. 27 But at once Yeshua spoke to them. “Courage,” he said, “it is I. Stop being afraid.” 28 Then Kefa called to him, “Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come!” he said. So Kefa got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Yeshua. 30 But when he saw the wind, he became afraid; and as he began to sink, he yelled, “Lord! Save me!” 31 Yeshua immediately stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “Such little trust! Why did you doubt?” 32 As they went up into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 The men in the boat fell down before him and exclaimed, “You really are God’s son!”
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Mark 6:45 Immediately Yeshua had his talmidim get in the boat and go on ahead of him toward the other side of the lake, toward Beit-Tzaidah, while he sent the crowds away. 46 After he had left them, he went into the hills to pray. 47 When night came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was by himself on land. 48 He saw that they were having difficulty rowing, because the wind was against them; so at around four o’clock in the morning he came toward them, walking on the lake! He meant to come alongside them; 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and let out a shriek; 50 for they had all seen him and were terrified. However, he spoke to them. “Courage,” he said, “it is I. Stop being afraid!” 51 He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves; on the contrary, their hearts had been made stone-like.
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John 6:16 When evening came, his talmidim went down to the lake, 17 got into a boat and set out across the lake toward K’far-Nachum. By now it was dark, Yeshua had not yet joined them, 18 and the sea was getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Yeshua approaching the boat, walking on the lake! They were terrified; 20 but he said to them, “Stop being afraid, it is I.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and instantly the boat reached the land they were heading for.
The disciples just got humbled big time. Now they are sent down to the boat and told to go on ahead.
“You know what, you guys have done enough (sigh). Get on out of here and I’ll deal with the crowd.”
So they left.
This may be one of the most famous of all the miracles. Why is that? What about all that other stuff that’s come before this?
Healing sickness? Well, doctors can do that so that can’t be all that hard.
Controlling weather? Scientists are working on that these days.
Throwing out demons? Ok, that’s impressive, I guess.
Bringing people back to life? That seems too far-fetched to tell around.
Walking on water? Ah, yes. This is the one we’ll use to prove His divinity. But it isn’t the fact that Yeshua walked on water that’s impressive to people. It’s that Peter did it too.
A plain ol’ human walking on water. If that’s possible for Peter, it must be possible for us, as well. This is huge!
Should Peter and the other disciples have been surprised? Of course not. They are literally hours away from being told to do something, they didn’t, then Yeshua had to do it. Don’t you think He took that opportunity to explain why He had asked them to feed the people? But they still wouldn't believe. So they get a new lesson immediately.
We all know the story. They saw Him on the water, Peter goes out, then starts to sink when he begins to doubt. Yeshua grabs his hand and saves him. Many stories, truths and anecdotes have been formed around these events but I want to look at something else.
These young men still hadn’t learned their lesson.
They were completely astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves; on the contrary, their hearts had been made stone-like.
Uh, ok. After that whole event with the loaves and fishes you’d think their faith would be elevated. Instead, we see that it had been made stone-like. What?! How is that even possible?
Well, if you recall, they were commanded to feed the 5000+ themselves. But they didn’t. They made excuses about not having food on hand nor enough money to make the purchase. So Yeshua did it Himself.
Problem solved, right? Wrong. The problem was only uncovered.
They were told by this Man with incredible authority that they could do miracles also. And they made excuses. But to be fair, did they know the secret formula Yeshua was using to do the things He did? Nope. Because there isn’t one. But how would they know that? Because they should have noticed Him do these things without a formula.
They needed to exercise the trust that was necessary to have these things come into existence. Or maybe they were already in existence and just needed to be unlocked. But who, other than Yeshua, has the key?
That’s what He’s trying to teach them.
Trust is the key. You see, they had developed trust but it was trust that Yeshua could do these things. There’s no chance they could -- so they thought.
Then Peter asks Yeshua to ask him to come out on the water. It seems he’s wanting another shot at doing what he’s commanded to do. So He does. And Peter steps out.
Amazing!
Now, it’s at this point that people say the reason Peter started to sink was that he looked down instead of looking to the Messiah. But that’s not what happened here. Go back and read Matthew’s account again:
But when he saw the wind, he became afraid; and as he began to sink…
He saw the wind, not the water. He had overcome the water. What was so worrisome about the wind? I’d personally be more concerned with the waves crashing down on me rather than the wind.
Let’s put ourselves in Peter’s shoes at this very instant. You’ve made a mistake the day before by not doing what you were commanded to do. You’ve been sitting in a boat for several hours pondering your own lack of faith and likely struggling with self-condemnation. You’ve spent those hours resolving that the next time you’re asked, you will do whatever He tells you to do no matter how bizarre it may be.
All of a sudden, you get that chance.
He tells you to step out of the boat so you do. And you don’t sink! Perfect! Your obedience is paying off instantly.
But if Peter had fully learned his lesson, why wouldn't he command the wind to stop? Was he just not thinking? Did he really have no idea he could stop the wind? Look down, Peter! YOU’RE STANDING ON WATER!
If that’s possible, then surely telling the wind to stop is a minor feat. You’ve conquered both the natural elements and the natural laws. Besides, these guys were in the boat the last time Yeshua woke up and rebuked the wind. They have seen this all before. This is an elementary test. But they did not understand about the loaves.
Peter didn’t rebuke the wind (none of the disciples did, for that matter). Yeshua immediately stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “Such little trust! Why did you doubt?” 32 As they went up into the boat, the wind ceased.
Once the test was over, though, the wind ceased.
Upon seeing this, everyone in the boat got a heavy dose of reality.
The men in the boat fell down before him and exclaimed, “You really are God’s son!”
Ah, the pin drops. Up until now, they might have suspected He was the Son of God but they still had their reservations. Even after seeing people raised from the dead!
Upon watching Peter do the impossible, the disciples saw firsthand that it wasn’t just this Messiah Guy doing some magical things. People have that ability as well. They had that ability. There was now no doubt in their minds that He is God’s Son.
Do you believe He really is God’s Son? If not, what evidence do you need to solidify your trust?
It’s unlikely you’d step out of the boat on your own but maybe you can sidle beside someone crazy enough to step out on your behalf.
Until you do, you may keep on living with a stone-like heart even though you believe.