‘Lord, I Want to Walk on the Water’

“’Lord, if it's you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’  ‘Come,’ he said.  Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.” (Matthew 14:28-29)

The New Year 2020 theme is “Lord, I Want to Walk on the Water.”  And the theme Bible verse for this New Year is Matthew 14:28-29: “’Lord, if it's you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’  ‘Come,’ he said.  Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.”  And the theme song for his year is “Oceans.”  In this gospel song, there is a part of lyrics that I want to share with you: “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders/ Let me walk upon the waters Wherever You would call me.”  Let’s make this lyric as our prayer in this year.  When the Lord calls us to “Come”, may the Spirit lead us so that we may put full trust in the Lord and be obedient to His calling “Come.”

When we look at the background of the today’s passage Matthew 14:28-29, we see that during the 4 am Jesus went to His disciples who were in the boat, walking on the sea (v. 25).  What was the situation that the disciples were in?  The boast was already a long distance from the land and it was battered by the waves because the wind was against it (v. 24).  “When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear” (v. 26).  “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid” (v. 27).  “Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (v. 28).  And Jesus said “Come!” (v. 29).  “And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus” (v. 29).  “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!” (v. 30).  “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?” (v. 31).  “And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down” (v. 32).  “Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God” (v. 33).

Here, I want to receive 4 lessons:

First, the Lord comes to us when we are suffering.

The reason why Jesus walked on the sea and came to His disciples was because they were suffering due to the waves that battered the boat that they were in.  Likewise, the Lord who knows our sufferings comes to us when we are suffering.  And the Lord saves/delivers us from our suffering (v. 32).

Second, the Lord speaks to us.

When the disciples were terrified because they thought Jesus was a ghost, Jesus spoke to them “immediately” “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid” (v.27).  Likewise, the Lord speaks to us “Take courage” “do not be afraid” when we are terrified.  Then we should have faith in God that it will happen just as He told us (Acts 27:25).  One of the Jesus’ disciples, Peter said, ‘Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water’ (Mt. 14:28).  Jesus said, “Come” (v. 29).  Likewise, the Lord is commanding us to “Come.”  When the Lord commands us to “Come”, we should obey His command as Peter did.  Peter “got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus” (v.29).  Likewise, when Jesus commands us to come, we should get down out of the boat and walk on the water and go toward Jesus.

Third, the Lord hears our earnest prayer.

But when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid and began to sink.  So he cried out to the Lord “Lord, save me!” (v. 30).  At that time, Jesus immediately reached out to Peter’s hand and caught him (v. 31).  Likewise, when we are in crisis such as life and death situation, we should cry out to God ‘Lord, save me!’  Then the Lord will immediately save us.  

Fourth and last, the Lord enables us, who are of little faith and doubt, to confess our faith in Him.

Jesus, who immediately saved Peter who was sinking, climbed into the boat together.  I think Jesus walked on the water with Peter from where Peter was sinking and climbed the boat together.  At that time, “the wind died down” (v. 32).  In other words, when Jesus climbed into the boat with Peter, the wind died down.  At that time, the disciples who were in the boat worshipped Jesus and said “Truly you are the Son of God” (v. 33).  The Lord enables us, who have little faith and doubt, to make confession of faith.

Our church New Year theme song is “Oceans.”  In this gospel song, there is a part of lyrics that I want to share with you: “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders/ Let me walk upon the waters Wherever You would call me.”  Let us make this part of the song lyrics as our prayer for this year.  When the Lord says “Come” to us, let us completely trust in the Lord and obey His word “Come.”  Even if the wind blows, let us not look at the wind and be afraid.  Instead, let us fix our eyes on the Lord who rebuked the winds and the waves and make it completely calm (Mt. 8:24, 26).  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12;2).  And let us obey His command of “Come” and let us get down out of “the boat”, our comfort zone.  The reason is because it is much better and safer for us to be with the Lord on the water than to be with others who are in the boat.  We may look at the wind, be afraid and sink into the water like Peter.  But let us cried to the Lord “Lord, save me!”  Then the Lord our Savior will hear our earnest prayer and save us.  And the Lord will walk on the water with us and lead us to the safe zone, the boat.  Therefore, the Lord will enable us to confess like His disciples “Truly you are the Son of God.”

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders/ Let me walk upon the waters Wherever You would call me,”

James Kim