During the course of His ministry, Jesus performed more than 40 miracles, including healing the sick, changing the natural elements of nature and even raising people from the dead. A miracle is considered an event that occurs outside the bounds of natural law. Each month, we will take a closer look at one of His miracles to understand the depth of His love for us. Understanding the miracles of Jesus can change your life, and it all begins with believing through faith.
The miracle of Jesus walking on water was recorded in three of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark and John) and came directly after His miraculous feeding of the 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish.
But, only in the Book of Matthew do we learn that Peter also walked on water with Jesus. This particular miracle of Jesus walking on water, more than any other miracle, convinced the disciples that He was indeed the Son of God.
After feeding the crowd, Jesus sent His disciples to their boat while He said goodbye to the thousands of people. He told the disciples to get in the boat and head to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus then went up on the mountain to pray.
While Jesus was praying, His disciples were struggling against a powerful storm. Many of the disciples were experienced fishermen, but they were struggling to make headway against the strong wind. Seeing their predicament, Jesus headed toward them and defied the natural laws of physics when he simply walked on water, through the wind and the waves.
This all happened very late at night, before daylight. When the disciples saw Jesus walking toward them on the water in the darkness, they didn’t realize what was happening, and they thought they saw a ghost. They were terrified of the figure approaching them in the middle of the sea.
But immediately, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter quickly responded, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus said, “Come,” and Peter stepped onto the water without sinking and started walking on water toward Jesus. But then the strong wind distracted him, and Peter panicked.
His shaken faith caused him to start sinking into the rough seas. As he was sinking, Peter called out for Jesus to help. Jesus immediately stretched out His hand to Peter. As He did so, Jesus asked Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Jesus and Peter climbed back into the boat, and suddenly the storm stopped, and the seas calmed.
We all experience rough seas and feel like we are on our own at times. The Lord may not come at the time we think He should come. The disciples had been struggling in the rough seas for quite some time before they saw Jesus. Often we fear the difficult experiences of life such as illness, loss of loved ones and financial adversities only to discover that these experiences can bring us closer to Jesus.
As Peter learned, our fears can make us begin to doubt God’s presence. At times like that, we must keep our eyes on Jesus and remain faithful in Him.
