Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
Thanks for joining our study today. Similar to Vol. 178, this study was inspired by a scene from “The Chosen” Season Three, when Jesus walked on water.
Several decades ago, when I spent time in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware (before President Biden had his beach home), I often attended a quaint historic church close to the ocean. There, I was impacted by the verse painted on the ceiling above the altar: “Even the Winds and the Sea obey Him” from Matthew 8:27. With the ocean only steps away, I remember staring at the words painted in old English style and thinking about His power.
I mention this memory because while watching The Chosen scene with Jesus walking on the water, my mind saw that old church ceiling I had not visited in over 30 years. Moreover, not only do “Even the Winds and the Sea obey Him,” Lord Jesus reigns over us, the earth, and the universe. Thus, we can not begin to imagine the entirety of what is under His command and why, in this context, “even” means infinite.
However, “Even the Winds and the Sea obey Him” does not appear in the Jesus walks on water story, but it is relevant and related.
A clear indication that the miracle of Jesus walking on water during a storm in the Sea of Galilee likely happened is because the story appears in three of the four gospels — Matthew, Mark, and John — and the details do not vary. For our purposes, I quote from Matthew’s account in 14:22-36.
In the previous passage, Matthew 14:13-21, Jesus had performed the miracle of feeding a large crowd with only five loaves of bread and two fish — a scene artfully portrayed in The Chosen. Then, immediately after, Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee while “he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.”
During the night, a violent storm prevented the disciples from crossing the sea. Now let’s read from the passage:
“Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’
‘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. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’ And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’” (Matthew 14: 25-33).
So, what should we learn from this miraculous event and apply to our lives? Here are some thoughts:
The disciples were exhausted from rowing all night and making no headway due to the storm. And, as with the disciples, Jesus showed up, but sometimes not on our timetable. He picks when and how to help us — His time, not ours.
Perhaps the disciples thought Jesus had abandoned them and they would drown in the stormy sea. Yet, when Jesus first appeared, they did not recognize Him. Has that ever happened to you? Jesus can “appear” through a messenger, person, or set of circumstances that we do not recognize or acknowledge as an intervention by Jesus. Then, after the crisis or life storm has passed or been resolved, all the details and order of events begin to make sense, and we realize He was there for us.
With the boating incident, Jesus waited until the early morning to appear after the disciples suffered through the stormy night, while their hopes of Jesus saving them had diminished.
It turned out Jesus was testing the faith of His disciples as he sometimes does with us in a crisis. Then, Jesus walked on water to dispel their fears. Despite the storm, He was coming to them. Jesus is known to use storms in our lives to come to us because we can draw closer to Him through a crisis.
Peter believed in Jesus enough to get out of the boat and walk to Him. But Peter began to lose faith as the high waves and stormy conditions raged, and: “ ‘..beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ ”
Jesus spoke as He rescued Peter: ‘ “You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’ ”
“Doubt” is the “go-to” weapon the Evil One uses to paralyze our Godly actions and well-being. Therefore, incinerate doubt from your mind, especially in stormy seas.
This passage also shows the power of Jesus over the natural world and records a variation of the verse I pondered in that Rehoboth church by the sea:
“And when they [Jesus and Peter] climbed into the boat, the wind died down.”
The complete verse that partially appears on the Rehoboth church ceiling was recorded earlier in Matthew after Jesus calmed another storm and reads:
“And the men marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?’ ” (Matthew 8:27).
Finally, in Matthew 14, the disciples recognize the identity of Jesus:
“Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’ ” (Matthew 14:33).
And that verse is one we must never tire of saying, thinking about and praying because the operative word is “truly.” Furthermore, a variation of “truly” appears in one of the most famous, comforting, and “truthful” verses ever spoken:
“ ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.’ ” (John 14:6). Amen to that!
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer with numerous national credits. Her book, "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible," reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. "Part 2,” with the same title, reprints Vols. 57-113. Order it here.
Myra is also Executive Director of SignFromGod.org and National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. Both are educational donor-supported ministries dedicated to building a permanent Shroud of Turin exhibit in Washington, D.C. Visit the life-sized Shroud replica in D.C. Contact: MyraAdams01@gmail.com.