Matthew 14:28-33
28 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”
Reflection: Walking on Water
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro
When I was a church planter in Greensboro, NC, I read the book by Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis. In fact, I was on the plane, flying from CA to Greensboro, praying and seeking God for discernment. It was a fact-finding mission… was God calling my family to plant a church in NC. I knew people there who had committed themselves to work with me, if we chose to do it there. On the plane, I am reading Velvet Elvis and it had a profound impact on me. Profound. So, there is a debt of gratitude for Rob Bell and his book. He has since (in my humble opinion) gone off “the deep end” theologically, and I could not, with a clean conscience, recommend him. A few years ago, I read an article in which he was teaching that the story of Peter walking on water taught that “we should have faith in ourselves.” After all, he claims, that Jesus trusted Peter to do it, and we should trust ourselves. What? Ludicrous! That flips this beautiful story on its head, dreadfully.
Jesus is walking on water and invites Peter to join him. This is not confusing in any way, despite Rob Bell’s effort to “muddy the water.” Jesus does not trust Peter, He has faith in himself, that He will help and empower Peter. Peter begins to walk on water, and he sees the wind, becomes frightened and begins to sink. He takes his eyes off of Jesus, Rob! Jesus is the central figure and the object of our faith. “Why did you doubt,” Jesus asks after saving Peter’s life. “Oh, ye of little faith!” You see, the story makes Jesus the object and the hero. It is Christ upon which we ought to place our faith. Of course, Jesus, in some sense, entrusts us to his work. But I am sorry, Rob, this story is about our faith being placed in Christ! It’s just that simple!
Prayer
Lord, help us now to place our faith in you and you alone. We don’t trust in chariots, or horses, or ourselves, but in you alone do we place our trust!
