Matthew 14:28 KJV
And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
My thoughts took me from this passage (and the other accounts in Matthew 14) to
Matthew 16:16-17 KJV
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Jesus said that the revelation that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God was nothing that was revealed to him through flesh and blood, but that it had come to him through "my Father which is in heaven." One man can never convince another that Jesus is Christ. Some of the trouble we have in Christianity is the direct result of believing it is possible and doing our best to get it done.
But how is it that the Father revealed this to Peter? I don't believe it was a matter of a moment's flash of inspiration. Rather it was accomplished through Christ's working in and around Peter for a considerable period of time. Just in Matthew 14 there are two such instances that must have caused deep thoughts of Christ to bear in Peter's soul:
There is the feeding of 5000
After hearing the news of John the Baptist's martyrdom Jesus retreated into a desert place. But Jesus could not be hid and a multitude gathered where He was. His disciples were anxious to have some time off and asked the Lord to send them away, ostensibly, to buy themselves food. Jesus, on the other hand, put the burden on the disciples (and thus on Himself) to feed this huge crowd. Working with almost nothing, Jesus blessed the five loaves and two fishes and a miracle took place before the apostles.
There is the walking on the waterHardly had the miracle of the feeding taken place when Jesus sent the disciples across the sea while He sent the multitudes away and then went to prayer. Later on that night, while the disciples toiled hard to keep their boat afloat in the stormy waters of Galilee; in the midst of their toil three amazing miracles happened:
First, Jesus came to them walking on the water.
Second, Jesus enabled Peter to walk on that same water.
Third, Jesus made the wind to cease.
Events like these could not have been dismissed by those who had witnessed them. Jesus told the Pharisees that if they would not believe Him they should believe the works that He did. Peter observed those works and over the course of his time with Christ was led of the Father to see that in fact Jesus Christ is the "Son of the living God.”
And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
My thoughts took me from this passage (and the other accounts in Matthew 14) to
Matthew 16:16-17 KJV
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Jesus said that the revelation that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God was nothing that was revealed to him through flesh and blood, but that it had come to him through "my Father which is in heaven." One man can never convince another that Jesus is Christ. Some of the trouble we have in Christianity is the direct result of believing it is possible and doing our best to get it done.
But how is it that the Father revealed this to Peter? I don't believe it was a matter of a moment's flash of inspiration. Rather it was accomplished through Christ's working in and around Peter for a considerable period of time. Just in Matthew 14 there are two such instances that must have caused deep thoughts of Christ to bear in Peter's soul:
There is the feeding of 5000
After hearing the news of John the Baptist's martyrdom Jesus retreated into a desert place. But Jesus could not be hid and a multitude gathered where He was. His disciples were anxious to have some time off and asked the Lord to send them away, ostensibly, to buy themselves food. Jesus, on the other hand, put the burden on the disciples (and thus on Himself) to feed this huge crowd. Working with almost nothing, Jesus blessed the five loaves and two fishes and a miracle took place before the apostles.
There is the walking on the waterHardly had the miracle of the feeding taken place when Jesus sent the disciples across the sea while He sent the multitudes away and then went to prayer. Later on that night, while the disciples toiled hard to keep their boat afloat in the stormy waters of Galilee; in the midst of their toil three amazing miracles happened:
First, Jesus came to them walking on the water.
Second, Jesus enabled Peter to walk on that same water.
Third, Jesus made the wind to cease.
Events like these could not have been dismissed by those who had witnessed them. Jesus told the Pharisees that if they would not believe Him they should believe the works that He did. Peter observed those works and over the course of his time with Christ was led of the Father to see that in fact Jesus Christ is the "Son of the living God.”
No comments:
Post a Comment