Lessons From the Storm
Matthew 14:22-32 tells the story of what happened when Peter and the other disciples took their focus off Jesus and placed it instead on their circumstances. Let’s look at this story in detail.
Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.
Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o'clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, "It's a ghost!"
But Jesus spoke to them at once. "Don't be afraid," he said. "Take courage. I am here!"
Then Peter called to him, "Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water."
"Yes, come," Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted.
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. "You have so little faith," Jesus said. "Why did you doubt me?"
When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. "You really are the Son of God!" they exclaimed.
Matthew 14:22-32
Verse 22 tells us that the disciples got into a boat and separated themselves from Jesus. After Jesus performed the miracle of feeding the five thousand, John tells us (John 6:15) that the crowds intended to force Jesus to be their king. They did not understand Jesus’ mission at all. They saw him only as a means of escaping their circumstance of oppressive Roman rule. The disciples were likely caught up in the excitement of the crowd and shared their ideas. This is still early in Jesus’ ministry, and the disciples still did not understand His purpose. Instead, they were trying to make him into what they wanted Him to be. Seeing that the disciples were siding with the crowd, it is possible that Jesus had them get into the boat to separate them from the zealous intentions of the Jews. The disciples were trying to make Jesus fit into their life, instead of conforming themselves to His. As a result, they are separated from Him and choose to go on alone. We too separate ourselves from God when we refuse to submit to Him. When we become caught up in our emotions rather than listening to God’s voice, we often find ourselves becoming separated, not only from Him, but from those around us as well.
Once the disciples were in the boat, Jesus went off on His own to pray. The Bible mentions that while He was there, night fell. This seemed like a fitting image to me of what our lives are like when we separate ourselves from the Light of the World. Darkness is often a picture in the Bible of a life without God’s presence.
Now that the disciples were separated from Jesus, they find themselves in trouble. A storm arose at sea and was threatening to destroy them. They are left vulnerable and being attacked on every side. Mark (6:48) states that they were straining against the oars, fighting against the onslaught of the wind and waves, but with no way out.
When the disciples stepped away from Jesus’ protection, they left themselves vulnerable. We can think of the wind and waves as Satan’s attacks against us. When we step out from under the protection of God, we leave ourselves open to Satan’s attacks. Like the disciples we find ourselves caught in the middle of the storm with no way of escape. It seems like a hopeless situation.
Jesus, knowing that the disciples were in trouble, comes to them, walking on the water itself. The first thing to take away from this is that Jesus recognized their need and their helplessness. He saw their struggle and their weariness, and knew they couldn’t prevail on their own. Second, realizing they are without hope, Jesus comes to them. He doesn’t wait for them to fight their way back to Him, He comes to them. Jesus always meets us at our point of need. Third, he comes to them walking on the water, demonstrating that He is greater than anything that would come against us. Though they threatened the disciples very existence, the wind and waves could not keep Jesus from coming to their aid. Last, it is interesting to note that Jesus came to them during the “fourth watch”, sometime between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM, right before the dawn. In the Bible, night is a symbol of troubled times, or times of fear and despair. Dawn, on the other hand, is a symbol for a new beginning or deliverance.
The disciples, caught up in their fear of their circumstances, do not recognize their Lord. They think He is a ghost, another illusion of false hope. When we are focused on our circumstances, we can often fail to recognize the help that is right in front of us.
Jesus speaks comfort to them, telling them that He has come to set everything right and rescue them from their situation. Three simple words, “I am here” meant the turning point in the storm, deliverance from destruction, and hope in a hopeless situation. He needed no explanation of why they should trust Him. He had already calmed the seas once before (Matthew 8:23-27), proving then that “even the winds and waves obey Him”. There was no need for Him to explain why they shouldn’t be afraid, the explanation was in the word “I”—just as God told Moses to tell the Israelites “I AM” had sent him. The proof of God’s power is in the very fact of who He is. God had come to save them, without a resume, or a long list of previous miracles. He had saved them once and He would save them again.
Peter, realizing it was His savior, calls out to Jesus, asking Him to permit Him to come. Even though Peter says “if it’s really you”, he knew it was Jesus. Had he not believed, he never would have stepped out of the boat. Perhaps what Peter was really asking was “if it really is You—if You really are I AM—what else do I have to fear”. Maybe this was when Peter truly realized that Jesus was God, for it was after this event that we see Peter’s confession of Jesus as God’s Son (Matthew 16:13-20).
Jesus tells Peter to join Him, inviting him to share the same power He had by conquering the storm. Peter steps out of the boat and onto the water, His eyes on Jesus as he went towards Him. Jesus is offering Peter the authority to overcome all that was against him. Until now, Peter was trusting in the work of man (namely, the boat) and his own strength (rowing against the waves) to deliver him. By stepping out of the boat, he is signifying his faith in Jesus as the only deliverer. As he maintains his focus on Him, he retains control over his circumstances.
Just as Peter seems to have realigned his focus, the storm begins to rage around Him, and his gaze is taken from Jesus and placed on His situation. Satan wasn’t through. Sensing he was about to be defeated, he throws his all at Peter, and manages to capture his attention again. With his focus on his situation instead of on his Savior, Peter begins to lost control and sink into despair. When we are going through trying situations, our only way of escape is by putting out trust in God, and keeping our eyes upon Him. Had Peter kept his focus on God, he would have conquered his circumstances.
Immediately, Jesus reaches down and takes Peter’s hand and pulls him back up. Verse 30 says Peter was just beginning to sink when he cried out to Jesus, and Jesus immediately takes his hand. God comes to us as soon as we cry out to Him, and, like Jesus was, he is right there, waiting. He doesn’t wait around for awhile, leaving us to flounder and sputter around until we’ve learned our lesson. He rescues us immediately. Then, Jesus reminds Peter why it is he sank—he doubted God’s sovereignty. He was afraid of the waved when the One who created the seas was standing there with him, beckoning him to rest in His protection.
