The disciples recognized again that this man from Nazareth, the son of Mary and Joseph, was also God. For everything else about which the disciples are confused, there is no doubt about the divinity of Jesus in the Gospels on the part of the disciples. The early disciples accepted as fact that Jesus is God. This truth about Jesus is as simple as it is astonishing and beautiful all at the same time. More importantly, without this fact, there is no Christianity. In the boat on the Sea of Galilee that morning was God Himself.

Perhaps no miracle was more spectacular than the one that finds Jesus and Peter walking on the surface of the Sea of Galilee. And the fact that Matthew’s account (Matt. 14:22–33) unusually employs the word “immediately” three times (Matt. 14:22, 27, 31)—a stylistic choice more typical of Mark—suggests that Matthew is recording an eyewitness account given to him by Peter himself. Peter is saying to Matthew, “I want you to tell this story as I saw it!”

And what a story it is! A storm at sea. Stunning miracles involving both Jesus and Peter. And an embarrassing collapse of faith followed by a rescuing hand of the Master.

Faith Will Be Tested

The disciples are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee because Jesus told them to “go before him to the other side” (Matt. 14:22). Crowds had gathered to hear Jesus. They wanted to see miracles too. But it was now time to dismiss them because evening was approaching.

The disciples are “a long way from the land” (Matt. 14:24) when a storm arises. This is not the first storm that Peter has witnessed. He had seen Jesus’ power in stilling a storm on the Sea of Galilee before (Matt. 8:23–27).

The Sea of Galilee is 680 feet above sea level, and 30 miles to the north, Mount Hermon rises to an impressive 9,000 feet. Topography dictates that sudden downdrafts of cold air from the north can quickly cause windy gusts and choppy waves on the Sea of Galilee. No doubt the disciples had experienced these many times. Yet on this occasion, they were in trouble at sea because they had obeyed their Master’s command to sail to the other side. Obedience can sometimes get you into trouble.

Faith will always be tested. It was one of the very first lessons that the Apostle Paul learned following his first missionary journey: “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Peter would reflect on this idea many times afterward: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12–13). “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).

Peter came to understand all too well that there are “various trials” (1 Peter 1:6). The word translated “various” (Greek, poikilos) suggests multivariate, an entire rainbow of tribulations: physical, spiritual, mental, or even a combination of all three. They may appear to be strange, and God may orchestrate them for a season, but He is always in control. Still, we need never think that He will abandon us.

God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform;
he plants his footsteps in the sea,
and rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
of never-failing skill
he treasures up his bright designs,
and works his sov’reign will.¹

Terrified

The disciples are suddenly “terrified” (Matt. 14:26). It isn’t only the ferocity of the storm that makes them afraid; it is the sight of Jesus walking through the storm “on the sea” at around 4 a.m. (Matt. 14:25).

It is “the fourth watch of the night” (between 3 and 6 a.m.; Matt. 14:25). This means that the disciples have been at sea for more than nine hours. Jesus has made them wait. He could have come to them at the very beginning of the storm, but He did not. For reasons known only to Him, He wanted them to experience the trial for a certain amount of time. It was a test. Trials always test our faith.

What was Jesus doing all this time? Praying! He had ascended a mountain near the shore “to pray” (Matt. 14:23).

Why should the Son of God need to pray? After all, He holds the universe in the palm of His hand. He dictates the course of history. Are not the forces of the universe, including the powers of darkness, subject to His will? Why, then, does He pray?

Before answering that question, it’s worth noting that Jesus’ praying on this occasion was not an anomaly. He prayed after His baptism, in the morning before heading to Galilee, after healing people, before choosing the twelve disciples, before feeding the five thousand, while healing a deaf and mute man, before feeding the four thousand, at Caesarea Philippi when He asked the disciples who people thought He was, at the transfiguration, at the return of the seventy-two, before giving the disciples the Lord’s Prayer, before raising Lazarus from the dead, when He blessed little children and laid His hands on them, at the Last Supper, for Peter when Satan asked that he might sift him as wheat, in the upper room the night before His death, in Gethsemane, when nailed to the cross, in His dying breath, and before eating bread with His disciples in His resurrection body.² In short, it’s probably not an exaggeration to suggest that Jesus was always praying. It formed an essential pattern of His daily life.

But to go back to the original question: Why? The answer lies in the reality of His incarnation. In the words of the Nicene Creed, Jesus is “God of God, . . . very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.” But He is also human. He has a human body and a human soul. He has a human mind and a human will. In His earthly life, He experienced pain, hunger, and thirst. More profoundly, He experienced death, the separation of body and soul.

Read More