I’d Be Changed Forever – Walking On Water

Have you every dreamed about or desired having a miracle from God? Perhaps one that would change your life. What type of miracle would that be? What would cause you to never be fearful, or to have great boldness and confidence, to have continuous faith in God, or to possess a testimony and witness for the Lord which was powerful and affective? We might think, “If only God did this for me, then my life would be different!”
In Matthew 14 we have the account of the disciplesPeer walking on water this is a phenomenal miracle, an experience that should be life changing.
Interestingly:
• Though Peter is understood to be one of the primary sources of information for the Gospels of Mark and Luke, the instance of Peter walking on water is not mentioned in any of the other Gospels.
• Though Peter mentions seeing the transfiguration, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus in his epistles and his messages in the book of Acts, Peter never even alludes to himself walking on water.
• Peter never again mentions this situation. Nowhere does he state that, “you too could walk on water if …”, nor does he provide “three easy steps to walking on water.”
• Though character traits of the other disciples are mentioned through the gospels and the other New Testament writings, i.e. John the one whom Jesus loved, Simon the zealot, or Judas the betrayer, nowhere do the other disciples imply or refer to Peter as the one who walked on water.
This is not to say that he didn’t walk on water, but perhaps that is not the most important issue in Peter’s life. This was not the transforming miracle that he needed. Perhaps it is also not the great miracle that we would need.
After this walking on water episode, Peter is not yet a changed person.
• In Mathew 16, Peter is rebuked by Jesus -“Get behind me Satan.”
• He still did not understand the purposes of God and wants to build a tent at the mount of transfiguration, Matthew 17.
• He still is unwilling to forgive others who have offended him and needs to be taught about forgiving 70 times 7, Matthew 18.
• He still uses his own strength to try to protect Jesus, by cutting off the servant’s ear, John 18.
• Three times he denies knowing Jesus, after Jesus’ arrest, Matthew 26.
• Even after seeing the resurrected Jesus, he becomes discouraged and decides to go back to his former lifestyle of fishing, John 21.
• Peter was still locked up and afraid in the upper room, as were all the disciples, Acts 1.
Peter was not consumed by this miracles of walking on water, nor did it seem to change his life. What we do see in the life of Peter and his teaching is his enthralment over the teaching, actions and nature of Jesus. It is Jesus who consumes his thoughts and speech. Walking on water did not significantly seem to change Peter’s life. Interestingly, it was not the death, burial, resurrection or the ascension of Jesus, but rather when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in Acts 2, that then Peter was changed. Read Acts chapters 2 – 5 to see the boldness and confidence that came upon Peter.
You might be waiting for some great miracle or experience to change your life. Instead of constantly looking to that event, allow God’s free gift of His Holy Spirit to empower you in a fresh way, then become more overwhelmed with the love, character, nature and actions of Jesus. He is the one who truly is worth talking about.