After the miraculous feeding of the 5000 when Jesus had sent his disciples ahead by boat across the Sea of Galilee while he stayed behind to pray.
That’s what happened right here. You can see that over there on the shoreline. Now, as the disciples are sailing across the lake, strong winds and rough waves are battering their little boat, making any kind of progress very difficult.
And in the middle of the night, they’re being tossed about on these waves. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, they see someone walking on top of the waves toward them.
And so, in this episode today, let’s look at what happens when Jesus walks on the water.
It’s time to get into the story. Imagine you’re one of Jesus’s disciples in this moment.
You just saw Jesus do the most amazing miracle. You watched him take five loaves and two fish, and in front of thousands of people, he turned that into more than enough food for everyone to eat.
Then after the crowd of 5,000 people had all left, Jesus said to his disciples, “You guys get into the boat and go ahead of me across to the other side of the lake to Bethada.”
And so they did. They got in the boat and they started rowing across the lake.
But soon the disciples found themselves caught in a fierce storm. Strong winds and pounding waves began to batter their little boat and make any kind of progress very, very difficult.
And then the full force of the storm hit and the disciples were in danger of capsizing.
So there they are. They’re in the boat being tossed and turned on these waves.
Suddenly in the middle of the night, they see someone walking towards them on top of the waves.
What would you do? What would you say? How would you react? What’s going on?
Who’s there? Is it a ghost? Is it an angel? Who’s walking on the water like that?
Now, the Bible says that they were terrified. Why? Well, because they saw someone walking towards them on the water and they thought that maybe this was a ghost coming to take them away.
So, there they are. They’re calling out, “Hey, is anybody there? Anybody there?” And Jesus calls back, “Take courage.
It is I. Don’t be afraid.” When Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid,” why do you think that’s what he said?
Well, because they were afraid. They thought it was a ghost. They didn’t know who was walking on the water.
And so Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid. It’s me. It’s Jesus.” Do you think that helped calm them down a bit?
Well, not exactly. Not in the way that you might think. Peter yells back to the person walking on the water, “If it’s really you, tell me to come to you on the water.”
Now, why do you think that Peter said that? Do you think Peter was doubting that it was really Jesus?
Well, that’s possible. Or do you think that Peter was just curious and wanted to make sure that it was really Jesus before he did something crazy like jump out of the boat to go to him?
Well, actually, both of those things are true. Peter was doubting. He wasn’t sure if it was really Jesus.
And he also wanted to make sure before he did something crazy like jumping out of the boat.
So Jesus tells Peter, “Yes, if it’s me, then jump out of the boat and come to me on the water.”
So Peter did. He took off his outer garments so that he could better maneuver in the water.
And he jumped out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Jesus.
I have a question for you. Are you with the disciples in the boat or are you Peter stepping out of the boat?
Which one are you? Are you watching from a distance thinking, “Oh, I can’t believe Jesus is walking on the water, but I don’t want to get involved.
I’m okay here in the boat.” Or are you like Peter who jumps out of the boat and steps onto the water and begins to walk toward Jesus?
As Peter begins walking toward Jesus, the Bible says that he saw the strong winds and the big waves and he was afraid.
And when he was afraid, he started to sink. Have you ever been in a situation where you started off strong, but then you saw how difficult the situation was and then you started to fail?
That’s exactly what happened to Peter. He started off strong. He jumped out of the boat and began walking toward Jesus.
But then when he saw the wind and the waves, he started to fail and he started to sink.
And when Peter started to sink, he cried out to Jesus, “Save me, Lord.” Have you ever been in a situation where you started off strong, but then you failed?
Maybe it was a New Year’s resolution that you started off excited about, but then a couple weeks later, you stopped doing it.
Maybe it was a promise that you made to someone that you were going to keep, but then you broke it.
Maybe it was a dream that you had for your future that you started off excited about, but then you lost steam and you weren’t sure if you could do it anymore.
Well, Peter was in that same kind of situation. He started off strong, but then he started to fail.
And we know Peter’s a strong guy. I mean, he was a fisherman. He was used to being on the water.
He was used to casting his net and pulling in big catches of fish. He was a strong guy.
But even Peter failed when Peter was afraid. When Peter started to sink, what did Jesus do?
Well, the Bible says that Jesus immediately reached out his hand and he lifted Peter up.
Why do you think Jesus reached out his hand and rescued Peter? Well, because Peter asked him to.
He said, “Save me, Lord.” But I don’t think that’s the only reason Jesus rescued Peter.
I think Jesus rescued Peter because he loved him. I think Jesus rescued Peter because he cared about him.
And I think Jesus rescued Peter because he knew that Peter needed some encouragement. Why do you think Jesus said what he said to Peter?
You of little faith. Why did you doubt? Why do you think Jesus said that?
Well, because Peter doubted. He doubted whether or not he could do this. He doubted whether or not he could walk on the water.
And Jesus gently rebuked him for doubting. Why do you think Jesus rebuked Peter? Well, because Peter needed to hear that.
Peter needed to know that he had more strength inside of him than he thought he did.
Peter needed to know that he could do harder things than walking on the water.
Peter needed to know that he was stronger than he thought he was. And sometimes we need to hear that, too.
Sometimes we need to hear that we’re stronger than we think we are. And so Jesus gently rebuked Peter for doubting.
And then once they climbed into the boat together, the wind died down and the disciples worshiped Jesus saying, “Truly, you are the son of God.”
We can learn a lot from this story today. We can see the disciples in the boat who were watching and learning from a distance.
We can see Peter who jumped out of the boat and walked on the water but then failed.
And we can see Jesus who reached out his hand and saved Peter, but also rebuked him for his doubt.
Which one are you most like today? Are you the disciples in the boat watching from a distance and learning?
Or are you Peter who jumped out of the boat and tried to do something great for God, but then you failed?
Or are you Jesus reaching out your hand to help others, but also rebuking them when they doubt?
And that’s the story of Jesus walking on water. A moment that showed his power over creation and the strength of faith.
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