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Peter’s story is legendary. He and the disciples climbed into a boat to sail across the Sea of Galilee. A storm was against them and they were struggling. Jesus walked from the shore to where they were on open water. When the seasoned fishermen saw Jesus walking on top of the water, they thought he was a ghost. Peter is remembered because he climbed out of the boat to try to walk on the water to Jesus. When he sank, Jesus lifted him into the safety of the boat.
I’ve never thought of Peter as a heroic figure for getting out of that boat (Matthew 14). No one asked him to get out of the boat which was a couple of miles away from shore. Walking on water wasn’t a requirement for being a disciple. It seems perfectly logical to me that none of the other disciples attempted to climb out of the boat with a desire to walk on water. In fact, there is nowhere else in Christian history where walking on water is mentioned as part of the regular life of the faithful.
But I love Peter. He was one of us.
Peter’s Heart Problem
Peter’s heart was bigger than his faith. His emotional commitment outran his belief. Peter’s zeal for Jesus was so big that he climbed out of the boat to do what Jesus did (Matthew 14). Full of wide-eyed inspiration for spiritual things, Peter wanted to build shrines on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17). When Jesus told the disciples that he would be killed, Peter made plans to prevent it, earning a harsh rebuke from Jesus (Matthew 16). Peter boldly proclaimed that he would never turn away from Jesus just hours before denying knowing Christ three times (Matthew 24). In the height of emotion, he cut off a man’s ear during Christ’s arrest (John 18).
Bless his heart. Is it fair to say that Peter meant well?
The story of Jesus walking on the water appears in a section of the gospel where Matthew is building tension around the identity of Jesus. Who is this Jesus? The Pharisees said he was a demon possessed man, an agent of satan. Herod thought he was John the Baptist risen from the dead. The crowds believed him to be a prophet of old come back to life.
Peter: Master, save me!
Immediately Jesus reached for Peter and caught him.
Jesus: O you of little faith. Why did you doubt and dance back and forth between following Me and heeding fear?
Then Jesus and Peter climbed in the boat together, and the wind became still. And the disciples worshiped Him.
Disciples: Truly You are the Son of God. (Matthew 14:31-33 The Voice).
Peter’s Shining Moment
For every stumbling, bumbling moment, for every misguided, brash attempt to be the good guy, for every time that Peter meant well but didn’t understand the true nature of ministry, Jesus provided exactly what was needed. Sometimes encouragement and a helping hand, sometimes rebuke, sometimes restoration.
There is mercy in those moments. There is mercy for the misguided, the overzealous, the hyper religious, and the fearful and timid. There is mercy for the pharisee who repents, and for the thief condemned to death. There is mercy for the disciple too afraid to step up and for the disciple that crashes headlong into life without thinking. There is mercy for those with too much religion and for those with not enough religion.
Jesus is a patient and kind teacher.
For everything that Peter got wrong, he got the most important thing right. The identity of Jesus was central to the Gospel message. When Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:32-33).
This shining moment in Peter’s life is the reason he became one of the leaders of the Jesus movement. Not because of heroics or popularity or flashy spirituality, but because he confessed and professed the true identity of the risen Savior. All of Peter’s missteps pale in the light of one profoundly powerful confession: Jesus is Lord.
The same Peter that failed to walk on water is the same Peter whose eye-witness testimony became the Gospel of Mark.
The same Peter who struggled to accept the saving grace of God to the Gentiles is the same Peter who wrote two letters in the New Testament to the Gentiles to encourage them in their faith in Jesus.
The same Peter who denied knowing Jesus on the night he was arrested is the same Peter who was martyred for preaching the Gospel of Jesus to the world.
There is mercy for everyone who comes to Him. May our missteps, weaknesses, and fears never hinder us from professing the living Lord Jesus Christ.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:9-10
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