UNUSUAL GRAVITY SIMON PETER

Mat 14:22-33

THE SCENARIO: Simon Peter was an apostle. On one occasion, our Lord was walking on the surface waters of Lake Galilee, and a pretty nasty storm was raging all about. Our Christian brother Peter thought it would be good to get near to our Lord (not bad thinking), so he asked Him—'Lord, if that's you, command me to come to you on the water'. And you know, by our Lord's grace he actually took a few steps in that direction.

In the outworking of this scenario please consider the following:

1. What do you suppose motivated Peter to ask Jesus to bid him to step out onto the water and come to Jesus? How about Jesus' response—why do you suppose Jesus graced Peter to do so?

2 . It has been pointed out that this passage contains the Bible's shortest prayer:

“Lord, Save Me!” (Mat 14:30).

Clearly In times of distress one does not mince words. In fact, is not Peter's prayer here a wonderful example of how a Christian ought to approach God in prayer per se? How about a non-Christian—it would seem that an unbeliever ought to come begging like that too—after all, more than physical need/survival is at stake for such a one... How do you feel about being blunt/straightforward with God in your prayers? Can you show Scripturally that God desires us to be direct with Him in prayer? Consider, at least, Mat 6:6-6:13. In your discussion, please consider also what should be the boundaries of respect in this directness.

3. Carefully compare Mat 14:30 with Mat 14:31. Notice that in verse thirty we have the connectives: Seeing (as in Peter looking about), becoming afraid (as in cognizance of the turmoil about him), sinking, and crying out. Then in verse thirty-one our Lord offers these connectives: Little faith and doubt. First, please discuss these connectives as individual sets on a per verse basis as just given. Next, endeavor to put all these connectives together with an eye to discerning what our God is trying to say to us; that is, how specifically does the little faith-doubt connection of verse thirty-one relate to the seeing-fear-sinking-crying out connection of verse thirty?

4. Jesus reaching down His hand and saving Peter from drowning paints quite a picture (BLB image; thanks to the Blue Letter Bible). Jesus is steadily standing there on the rough water, and Peter is looking up at our Lord with beggars eyes it seems to us. Notice that in this rendition Jesus is doing all the holding. Peter is largely submersed in the rough water, as vulnerable as a person could possibly be but for Jesus. Please express the significance of this picture to you as a Christian. When you witness for our Savior, do you see yourself as an extension of His saving reach?

5. Suppose you had a non-Christian friend who said to you that this account of walking on the water is just a “fantastic story,” hardly believable. What would you say to them? Could such an encounter be turned into an opportunity to share the Gospel? If you think it could, what aspect of the Gospel would you focus on up front in such a witnessing situation? Has your prayer life sought out answers to such things so that you would be ready if/when it happens to you real-time? How about you Christian friend, do you believe this account with all your heart?

6. How do you suppose it is possible for Peter to have denied our Lord, indeed, three times, after an experience like this? In the privacy of your heart, have you ever slipped under pressure like Peter did, in spite of our Lord's abundant grace toward you? Does not Peter's ultimate denial magnify that much more God's amazing grace toward us in that in spite of our unloveliness toward Him, He is unwilling to let loose of our hands and let us perish? Quite to the contrary—He is a Savior to the end at great cost to Himself. Do you see the surety of your Salvation in all this? Let us praise and thank God our Savior—Amen?!

7. Finally, Let's really try to picture this scenario—the water is roiling, waves are crashing, the wind is howling, the little boat is rocking to and fro, and it is very, very hard to see for all the mist and dark of the early morning (~ 3:00-6:00 a.m.). All of the sudden, a (we reckon) bright figure appears in the not too far distance, sort of above the surface of the breaking waters, and it seems to be walking on that turbulent water. Indeed, walking on the water toward the reeling boat. Suddenly, in a voice that we suppose must have been very familiar, the figure identifies itself as Jesus, and says, 'Take courage it is I; fear not'... There are many angles that beg development here, but we opted for this one:

Dear Christian friend, were you ever in a storm like this—maybe you were/are in peril and hanging on for dear life; maybe you faced/face an illness that turned everything upside-down, or serious loss of one sort or another. Was/is it hard for you to locate Jesus in that storm? Was/is He an apparition to you (as in you felt/feel there was/is no hope for you), or was/is He warm and up close? Consider in the privacy of your heart how He came to you atop all the turbulence and stuck/is sticking with you through the thick of it. Do you really believe that His unusual gravity is going to lift you up now in your trial/s, and for all eternity? We are sure that it will. Dear Christian friend, may you be cognizant of this unusual gravity, this enveloping grace and love for you, always...

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