"Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. ... He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
- Matthew 14:22-33
Just something unique I learned about the above passage from Matthew - the Sea of Galilee represented a common cultural fear - among all. It was considered mysterious, dark, unknowing and dangerous. Fishermen preferred to stay close to the shoreline. Furthermore, it represented to the pagan culture, a battlefield for their gods, specifically the storms that occurred spontaneously and frequently.
Sooo has anyone ever noticed in this passage that Jesus is actually watching the disciples struggle through this storm for...hours? That truly amazes me.
He watched. He waited. He walked.
On the very thing that they had struggled through for hours. The very thing that they feared.
He walked right over.
And, when He and Peter returned to the boat, the storm... died.
His presence in their boat changed their circumstances.
His power. His presence is bigger than any fear.
He literally walked on theirs.
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing this not only on your blog but Wed night too! I love to see the thoughts of others especially when you walk away from the story saying wow!
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