kanakattack
Member
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2013
- Messages
- 9
"Jesus Went Unto Them, Walking On the Sea"
In Matthew 14:22-33 we read about the account of Christ walking on the stormy sea. I really enjoy this account in the New Testament. There are so many principles to learn from just this single event including belief, faith, perseverance, and grace.
When the apostles first spotted the Savior walking on the water they were upset, thinking he was the spirit of Jesus. Obviously this would be upsetting to the apostles because that would mean that the Savior had died somehow and was now visiting them in spirit form. However this wasn’t the case and Christ made that sure as he told them, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”
I think that this provides an example of belief. It never occurred to the apostles at first that it could actually be Christ because they hadn’t quite gained a full testimony of the reality of who Christ was. I’m sure Christ knew this as well and took the opportunity of the situation to help build their testimonies of who he was. It is apparent that their testimonies were significantly affected by this experience in verse 33.
Peter gives us an example of the principle of faith when, after realizing that it really was the Savior in person, ask the Savior if he could come out to meet him on the water. When the Savior bade him to come Peter immediately got out of the boat and began walking to the Savior. Would you have the faith to do know that you wouldn’t sink if you walked on the water? What does this say about the kind of faith that Peter had that Jesus was indeed the Christ?
Now for the principle of perseverance let’s look at the surroundings of this event. At the time that Christ came out on the water to meet the apostles the sea they were taking the boat across was in a severe storm. I’m sure all of us have seen the sort of waves that are created on oceans and large lakes in major storms. With that in mind it’s amazing that Peter even had the faith to leave the safety of the boat to walk into this frightening environment. However as Peter was walking he began to fear the waves and wind which caused him to lose his faith that he could continue to walk on the water and he began to sink. Although it was the same stormy seas that he could see from the boat when he had the faith to walk out into it he wasn’t able to make it all the way to the Savior on his own. It’s at this point that we introduce the principle of grace.
When Peter began to sink he cried out to the Savior saying, “Lord, save me.” The scriptures recount that the Savior “immediately stretched forth his hand and caught him.” Notice how Christ didn’t pause and scold him for losing his faith or waited until Peter began to drown. It says that he “immediately stretched for his hand.” I think this is an important detail to reflect on because it shows the character the Savior has to be there to immediately help us if we begin to falter. This really is the perfect example of how the grace of Christ is there to help us in our imperfection. There will be times where our faith isn’t strong enough to completely stop us from sinning or making mistakes. However if we do our best Christ will be there to pull us back up before we sink.
This account in the New Testament can be perfectly applied to our lives as we realize what each part of the experience symbolizes in our world today.
In Matthew 14:22-33 we read about the account of Christ walking on the stormy sea. I really enjoy this account in the New Testament. There are so many principles to learn from just this single event including belief, faith, perseverance, and grace.
When the apostles first spotted the Savior walking on the water they were upset, thinking he was the spirit of Jesus. Obviously this would be upsetting to the apostles because that would mean that the Savior had died somehow and was now visiting them in spirit form. However this wasn’t the case and Christ made that sure as he told them, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”
I think that this provides an example of belief. It never occurred to the apostles at first that it could actually be Christ because they hadn’t quite gained a full testimony of the reality of who Christ was. I’m sure Christ knew this as well and took the opportunity of the situation to help build their testimonies of who he was. It is apparent that their testimonies were significantly affected by this experience in verse 33.
Peter gives us an example of the principle of faith when, after realizing that it really was the Savior in person, ask the Savior if he could come out to meet him on the water. When the Savior bade him to come Peter immediately got out of the boat and began walking to the Savior. Would you have the faith to do know that you wouldn’t sink if you walked on the water? What does this say about the kind of faith that Peter had that Jesus was indeed the Christ?
Now for the principle of perseverance let’s look at the surroundings of this event. At the time that Christ came out on the water to meet the apostles the sea they were taking the boat across was in a severe storm. I’m sure all of us have seen the sort of waves that are created on oceans and large lakes in major storms. With that in mind it’s amazing that Peter even had the faith to leave the safety of the boat to walk into this frightening environment. However as Peter was walking he began to fear the waves and wind which caused him to lose his faith that he could continue to walk on the water and he began to sink. Although it was the same stormy seas that he could see from the boat when he had the faith to walk out into it he wasn’t able to make it all the way to the Savior on his own. It’s at this point that we introduce the principle of grace.
When Peter began to sink he cried out to the Savior saying, “Lord, save me.” The scriptures recount that the Savior “immediately stretched forth his hand and caught him.” Notice how Christ didn’t pause and scold him for losing his faith or waited until Peter began to drown. It says that he “immediately stretched for his hand.” I think this is an important detail to reflect on because it shows the character the Savior has to be there to immediately help us if we begin to falter. This really is the perfect example of how the grace of Christ is there to help us in our imperfection. There will be times where our faith isn’t strong enough to completely stop us from sinning or making mistakes. However if we do our best Christ will be there to pull us back up before we sink.
This account in the New Testament can be perfectly applied to our lives as we realize what each part of the experience symbolizes in our world today.
