By Bill Lee

One of Jesus Christ’s best-known miracles was walking on water. It occurred during the night following the day that He fed the five thousand on the northeast coast of the Sea of Galilee. What is less known is why He did it. He had a reason. The Lord Jesus Christ had a purpose in every miracle He performed. Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel hints at His purpose.

The people Christ fed that day were trapped in a subsistence lifestyle. They rarely ate their fill, but that day they did. In fact, they had leftovers—twelve large baskets’ worth. John 6:15 tells us that the crowd was about to turn into a mob bent on taking Jesus Christ by force and making Him their King. They visualized being fed miraculously every day. Things were about to get ugly. John explains that Jesus had the disciples take a boat and head back to Capernaum while He went up the mountain to pray. I guess He knew that the crowd would focus on Him while the disciples got away. Later that night, after most of the people had fallen asleep, He went down to the water and went to meet the disciples. I think He walked on the water because taking a boat would have alerted the crowd and because walking was faster.

When Christ caught up with the disciples in the boat, He performed another miracle. He made it possible for Peter to walk on the water with Him. You’ll want to look at Matt 14:22-33 and read the account for yourself. The details are important. Matthew reports that the men were frightened when they first spotted Jesus in the distance. Having worked as a commercial fisherman on the East Coast, I can tell you that being out on the water in the dark with an uncooperative sea can get interesting. Seeing someone approach the boat by walking on the water made the situation even more terrifying for the disciples.

Matthew 14:24 says they were in the middle of the sea. That means they were in deep water. This rules out the argument of some skeptics that Jesus was wading along the shore in shallow water. Furthermore, Matthew says that it was during the fourth watch, around 4 a.m. Mark 6:48 says it looked as if the Lord would pass the disciples by. That tells us that He was some distance from the boat. He was, however, close enough to hear them, and He called out to reassure the men that there was no danger. That is when Peter decided that he wanted to walk on water just like Jesus Christ.

Now consider carefully what Peter said in Matt 14:28: “Lord, if it’s You, command me to come to you on the water.” While the sentence begins with a conditional clause, it is really an affirmation and a request. Peter meant: “Lord since it is You, command me to come to You over the water.” The keyword here is command. It tells us that Peter was asking the Lord to make it possible for him (Peter) to walk on the water. Peter knew that it wasn’t within his power or faith to make it happen; only Jesus could do that. And Jesus Christ’s one-word reply was, in fact, a command: “Come.” The Lord wanted Peter to experience walking on water.

He was pleased that Peter asked. We know this because that is what the Scriptures say. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Jesus was pleased with Peter for asking to walk on the water with Him. He is pleased when we believe Him. It is the basis on which we receive everlasting life (John 3:16; 11:25-26; Eph 2:8-9).

So, what happened? Let’s review. Peter’s faith was not what held him up. It was Jesus Christ’s power. Jesus Christ had commanded him to walk over to Him, and, in obedience, Peter did so. Peter had walked to within arm’s reach of the Lord when he started to sink. My guess is that since it was night, Peter’s focus was on making it over to the Lord in the dark. Once he made it to Christ, he started looking around, and that’s when he got into trouble.

Peter was in a scary situation. He was walking on water! He stumbled in his faith. Jesus Christ’s response was to rescue him. His question, “Why did you doubt?” was likely intended to get Peter to analyze what had happened. So, let’s examine what Peter did.

Did Peter believe Jesus would keep him safe when he stepped out of the boat? Of course, he did! Getting out of that boat in rough water at night was unnatural. Did he later doubt? Yes. And Jesus still held him up.

Peter did not go under the water. Gravity is fast. In just a fraction of a second, he should have been underwater. But he didn’t sink; the Lord kept him afloat. Peter had time to ask for help.

And here is the really important lesson, the really big idea: Jesus’ command to come was also a promise. When the Lord said, “Come,” He took responsibility for keeping Peter safe. Peter was likely uneasy the whole time, but fear in and of itself was not a problem. What the believer does with fear can be. For Peter, fear became a problem when it led to his doubting.

But Peter’s later doubt could not and did not nullify Christ’s promise.

That is why we are secure in the promise of everlasting life once we believe in Jesus for that life (John 3:16). Later doubts cannot undo the promise. When we believe Jesus’ promise concerning everlasting life, He assumes full responsibility for fulfilling His promise.

God is also pleased when we believe Him for the small things. Peter’s walking on water wasn’t a great work of personal sacrifice, evangelistic outreach, or service to the needy. He believed God would watch over him while he imitated what Christ was doing. We need to realize that believing God for our daily bread pleases Him. Believing He will deliver us from evil pleases Him. Believing any of His promises pleases Him.

And there is another big benefit to believing. Peter’s little adventure resulted in all those men in the boat worshiping the Lord (Matt 14:33). Believing God leads us to worship. Worship is the proper response to every interaction with God.

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Bill Lee is Pastor of Trego Community Church in Trego, WI.