Peter Walks on Water (Matthew 14:22-33)

 

Christ has just fed the 5,000+ people using only 5 loaves and 2 fishes and now has told his disciples to get in their ship and go ahead of him while he sends the multitudes away. In Matthew 14:23 we learn that Jesus “went up into a mountain apart to pray” and we learn that when the evening came he was alone.

Now what had happened to his disciples that went in the ship before him? Matthew 14: 24 says, “But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.” We don’t know for sure but I imagine that the Lord knew that his disciples would run into a hard wind, just like we all have to deal with trials in our lives. So how long did he wait until he came to their aid and what did he do to help them?

We find that answer in Matthew 14:15, “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.” If we look at the footnotes we find out that the “fourth watch” means that it was “between three and six in the morning.” Why did the Lord wait so long until he came to them? I believe he knew the only way for his disciples, including us, to grow is to struggle a little bit.

In the New Testament Manual Sis. Tanner says, “I know that [the Lord’s] tender mercies and His miracles, large and small, are real. They come in His way and on His timetable. Sometimes it is not until we have reached our extremity. Jesus’s disciples on the Sea of Galilee had to toil in rowing against a contrary wind all through the night before Jesus finally came to their aid. He did not come until the ‘fourth watch,’ meaning near dawn. Yet He did come. (See Mark 6:45–51.) My testimony is that miracles do come, though sometimes not until the fourth watch” (“My Soul Delighteth in the Things of the Lord,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 83).

How did the disciples react when Jesus came walking on the water toward them? Matthew 14: 26 says, “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.”

Again in the New Testament Manual Elder Holland says, “This scriptural account reminds us that the first step in coming to Christ—or his coming to us—may fill us with something very much like sheer terror. It shouldn’t, but it sometimes does. One of the grand ironies of the gospel is that the very source of help and safety being offered us is the thing from which we may, in our mortal shortsightedness, flee.” (“Come unto Me” [Brigham Young University fireside, Mar. 2, 1997], 8; speeches.byu.edu)

I have experienced this feeling in my own life when I have been going through a trial and instead of coming unto Christ for help I have become angry and turned away from the one thing that could truly bring me peace at a time when the “winds” were surely blowing contrary. Luckily, through the Atonement we can come unto him again & hear Jesus say like his disciples did, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” (Matthew 14:27)

Once Jesus have identified himself, immediately Peter, with great faith, says, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” (Matthew 14:28) To which the Lord says, “Come.” (Matthew 14:29) Now I don’t know about you but if I had just rowed all night I would be exhausted physically and want to stay in my safe ship and wait for Christ to come to me, but not Peter. “And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.” Wow, what amazing faith Peter had to have to accomplish this great thing!

Unfortunately, like many of us, his faith wavered and fear set in “when he saw the wind boisterous” and he began to sink into the water. The word “boisterous” stood out to me so I looked up what it meant in the dictionary and not only does it mean stormy but it can also mean noisy. This made me start to think about our noisy world and how we might not be able to hear the Spirit whispering peace to us unless we eliminate unnecessary noise and tune our hearts to the Lord.

In the New Testament Manuel Sis. Pinegar says, “When [Peter] began to pay more attention to what was happening around him, ‘the wind boisterous,’ he began to sink. What are the winds boisterous in our lives? What are the things that distract us from the Savior, that turn our hearts and our minds away from Him? It may be thinking more about pleasing our friends or other people than we do about pleasing God (see John 5:44). It may be the loud and confusing voices we hear on TV, in videos, in music. Sometimes we just don’t care. Our hearts are hard (see John 12:37). There will always be distractions, winds boisterous, but if we choose to turn to the Lord, to believe in Him, to follow Him, we can increase our faith.”

Then Sis. Pinegar goes on to describe what Peter did when he started to sink and what Jesus’s response was when Peter cried out for help, as we all do. She says, “When Peter began to sink, he turned to the Lord and cried out, ‘Lord, save me,’ and Jesus immediately ‘stretched forth his hand, and caught him.’ He will do that for you. He will do that for each one of us [Matthew 14:30–31]” (“Increase in Faith,” Ensign, May 1994, 95).

I think it is so tender that "immediately Jesus stretched for his hand, and caught him..." I feel that sometimes in my own personal life when my faith falters I feel ashamed so I don't reach out for help and therefore sink deeper into the abyss. Luckily, I have found that the moment I reach out for my Savior He does IMMEDIATELY take my hand and pull me out of the darkness. Then, just like he did for Peter, he brings me safely back into the ship.

In Doctrine and Covenants 88:67 it says, “And if your eye be single to my glory , your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.” I feel the principle that this and the story of Peter successfully walking on the water teaches is that if we are focused on the Savior then he can do miracles in our life and the storms of life will not overcome us. As storms come into our lives, great or small, we need to tune out the noise of the world, focus on the Savior, have faith that he will come and endure to the “fourth watch” until he does comes.