As we look at today’s Scripture Lessons we should be reminded that:
(John 20:31) Everything in the Bible is written “so that you may believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His
name.” The key to the whole of Scripture is Christ Jesus Himself.
Our Gospel lesson takes place immediately following the miraculous feeding
of 5,000 men plus women and children with five barley loaves and two fishes and
provides us with a powerful picture of the life of true discipleship in Christ Jesus.
We can be certain that Jesus’ disciples never forgot that night on the sea of Galilee.
It must have been permanently etched in their minds and its lessons of faith
eternally impressed upon their hearts, as it should be upon our hearts.
Charles Stanley said, “Don’t ever underestimate what God can do in your life
when you surrender all you are and all you have to Him.”
There is most likely some aspect of your life in which the Lord is calling you to
walk with Him, and when you say yes to His calling, God sets in motion a divine
dynamic that will take you places you could have never imagined going.
God’s calling may have to do with your work, a gifting that you should develop,
resources you could put to Kingdom work, or a relationship that could be at risk.
Saying yes to God’s calling will probably involve you having to face some of your
deepest fears, but saying yes to that calling will certainly get to the core of who
you are and what you do in your walk with Christ!
Our saying yes to the Lord’s calling, our getting out of the boat like Peter did, is us, doing with God’s help, what we could never do by our own strength.
Open your Bibles to Matthew 14:22-33 and you may find it helpful to have a finger in the other gospel accounts of this same event – Mark 6:45-52 and John 6:16-21.
Matthew tells us in verses 22-23 that Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, while He dismissed the crowds and went up on the mountain to pray.
In verses 24-26 we read, “Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from
land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. Jesus came toward them walking on the sea very early in the morning.” At the brink of exhaustion
the disciples saw a figure, an apparition, a phantasma coming toward them, walking on the water! They were terrified and cried out in fear!
Jesus immediately calls out to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27)
The Greek New Testament renders this verse as, “Take courage, I Am, do not be
afraid”. It’s two words in the Greek language, ego eimi, which is translated “I Am”.