Matthew 14:22-31
Topic: At least Peter did get out of the boat…
When we think about Peter walking on water with Jesus, we usually think what could have happen if Peter did not take his eyes off of Jesus. As long Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to walk on water. But when he began to put his focus on the big waves that the sea storm was making while he was walking on water, he became afraid. And because he became afraid, Peter began to sink into the water instead of walking on water. And when Peter began to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” And immediately, Jesus stretched forth his hand and pulled Peter out of the water and said, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt? You see, as long Peter had faith and kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to walk on water, but when he saw how big the waves were getting while walking on water to Jesus, he became afraid, and when he became afraid, he began to doubt. And when he began to doubt, he began to sink. But thank God, that Jesus was right there to save Peter from sinking and drowning in Sea of Galilee. And there is a lesson to be learned right there. And the lesson is that no matter how deep you may have sunk into your problems, Jesus is able to rescue you out of your problems, and all you got to do is do like Peter said, “Lord, save me!” And the Lord will save you because there is no problem too hard for God to handle.
Yes, Peter could have done a whole lot more while walking on water with Jesus if he would have kept his eyes on Jesus. But yet there is one good thing that we can say about Peter: at least, he got out of the boat. At least he took a step of faith in Jesus and got out of the boat. Even though he may have failed while walking on water with Jesus because he took his eyes off of Jesus, but yet we still need to give Peter some credit for the fact that he DID get out of the boat; at least he took a step of faith and got out of the boat. Now notice this. Notice that Peter got out of the boat to walk to Jesus on water under some adverse conditions. First of all, when Peter got out of the boat, it was during a sea storm. Matthew 14:24 tell us that the ship that, or the boat that Peter was in was in a middle of a sea storm. Secondly, when Peter got out of the boat, it was dark. Matthew 14:25 said it was in the fourth watch of the night, that is, it was between 3a.m and 6 a.m. when Peter got out of the boat. Yes, it was stormy and dark, but yet Peter still got out of the boat. And the reason why Peter got out of the boat, even though it was stormy and dark, was because Peter had faith in Jesus. Peter believed that if Jesus is right there with him in the dark, and right there with him in the midst of a sea storm, Jesus was going able to help him out. That is why Peter said in Matthew 14:28 that if it was indeed him walking on water towards the ship, Peter wanted Jesus to bid, tell, or command him to “come” to him walking on water because Peter believed that if Jesus is able to walk on water in a middle of a dark sea storm, Jesus is able to take care of him in the dark sea storm as well. And because Peter did get out of the boat, he received a blessing of being the only mortal man to ever walked on water. There is another lesson to be learned. And the lesson is no matter how adverse your situation may be; Jesus will be there with you to help you out. You may be in a situation that is dark and you can’t see your way out, but don’t fear, for Jesus will be right there to guide you through. You may be going through some storms in your life, but don’t fear, for Jesus can help you out through the storms. No matter what you are going through, you are not in it alone, for Jesus is standing right there by your side to help you out!!!!!!!
Yes, Peter was able to walk on water as long he kept his eyes on Jesus. But when he took his eyes off of Jesus, he began to sink. But yet the one fact still remains: at least he did get out of the boat. So the question is, “How come the other 11 disciples did not get out of the boat?
Now there are at least 3 reasons why the other disciples did not get out of the boat.
1. The first reason why the other 11 disciples did not get out of the boat was because they were, of course, afraid. Even though Jesus assured them that he was not a ghost walking towards their ship on water, they were still afraid. And also add the fact that it was dark, and they were in the midst of a sea storm caused the other 11 disciples to be fearful and not step out of the boat.
2. The second reason why the other 11 disciples did not get out of the boat was because they had doubts. Even though Jesus assured them that he was not a ghost walking toward their ships on water, they still had some doubts in their minds. The other 11 disciples still believed it was a ghost walking towards them walking on water because no man has ever walked on water. But what the other 11 disciples did no realize was that Jesus Christ was no ordinary man. He was the Son of God who can do all things, including walking on water.
3. The third reason why the other 11 disciples did not get out of the boat they felt safe in the boat even though Jesus was outside of the boat walking on water. Yes, the other 11 disciples did not get out of the boat because they were afraid, they had doubts, and they felt safe in the boat. And yes, the other 11 disciples ought to be ashamed of themselves for not stepping out of the boat like Peter did. But before we criticize those 11 disciples, how many of us are like the other 11 disciples? How many of us have been afraid to step out of the boat? How many of us has had some doubts and did not step out of the boat? Last, but not least, how many of us have felt so safe in the boat that we did not want to get out of it?
Now you are probably saying to yourself, “I never rode on a boat, so why should I be afraid of getting out of the boat? Well, you may never rode an actual boat itself, but yet there are some “boats’ that we have in this life that we tend to stay in for dear life. You see, the boat that we tend to stay in for dear life is known as our “comfort zone”. Anytime the Lord commands us to step out in faith to do a great work for him, but yet we allow fear or doubt to take control of us, and we don’t move when the Lord say move because we don’t want to leave our comfort zone, we are in a “boat” that we don’t want to step out of.
Your boat may be your house, your car, your job, your money, your position at work, your relationship, a bad habit or addiction, your church, your denomination or religion, your tradition, your friends, your family, or anything that you make you feel comfortable. And anytime we refuse to step out in faith to do a great work for the Lord because we don’t want to get out of our boats because of the comfort zone it present, we will miss out on the blessing that the Lord has for us. Now notice in this passage of scriptures that Jesus was not in the boat, but he was outside the boat. He later gets in the boat after he rescued Peter from sinking. But if the other 11 disciples wanted to get to Jesus like Peter did, they had to step out of the boat. Likewise, in order for us sometimes to receive our blessings that God has for us, we must sometimes step out of our boats because our blessings may be out in the water and not in the boat. And when you step out of the boat, expect some storms to rise, expect some troubles to rise here and there; but don’t fear because as you step out of the boat to do a great work for the Lord, He will be right there to bless you.
