Keep Your Eyes on Jesus (Matthew 14, Mark 6, and John 6)
Do you ever start strong in faith but lose focus when life gets hard? Peter’s story reminds us that real faith is found in consistent trust through the storm.
Matthew 14:22-36; Mark 6:45-56; John 6:16-24
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
Do you find it tough to keep focused on Jesus?
Such was Peter’s experience. After feeding the 5,000, Jesus retreats to a mountain and likely spends most of the night in prayer. This is a pivotal moment in his ministry. Michael Wilkins writes, “Jesus is readying himself for the journey into Gentile regions, with the cross in Jerusalem looming on ahead.”[1] Meanwhile, he sends his disciples ahead across the Sea of Galilee. They likely used one of their fishing boats and a combination of sailing and rowing. This explains why they are likely two to three miles out on the lake around 3-6 AM when a great storm arises. Speaking to the geographical nature of this region, Gary Burge writes,
The Sea of Galilee lies in a vast inland basin 650 feet below sea level; it is thirteen miles long and six miles wide (from its widest point, near Magdala). It is fed by the Jordan River system that begins in the far north at Mount Hermon. The sea is surrounded by hills and mountains that reach an elevation of 2,000 feet in the west and over 4,000 feet in the east. At its northwest corner is a fertile plain called the Gennesaret (which occasionally also gives the lake its name, Luke 5:1). East-west valleys pull cool Mediterranean air from the west every afternoon, which collides with the heated desert air of the basin, creating strong winds and frequent storms that swirl over the sea at the base of the eastern cliffs.[2]
Remember that Jesus’ disciples had experienced one such terrible storm with him before. Matthew 8:24-25 says, 24 “Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves—but Jesus kept sleeping. 25 So the disciples came and woke him up, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to die!’” However, this time, Jesus isn’t in the boat with them to hold their hand. Instead, he is walking on the water.
After initially thinking Jesus’ figure is a ghost, Peter calls out in Matthew 14:28, “Lord, if it’s you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus invites him to come, and at first, Peter does well. Michael Wilkins writes, “Peter’s focused faith in Jesus’ true identity enables him to overcome his fear, to call out to him, and to recognize that Jesus can enable Peter also to come to him on the water.”[3] However, verse 30 says, “But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” The next verse says, “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’” As Wilkins notes,
“Little faith” (oligopistos) is not the same as the “no faith” of the hardhearted townspeople of Nazareth (13:58). A person with no faith would not recognize Jesus and call out to him. Peter has faith; it is just not functioning properly. It is “ineffective faith” (cf. 17:20). Peter’s faith enables him to recognize Jesus’ true identity and to request to come out to him on the water, but it is like a burst of emotional energy. It is effective enough to motivate him but not effective enough to sustain him.[4]
This is the unfortunate tale of many Christians.
