Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
As Jesus approached His disciples’ ship (Mark 6:45-50), He spoke kind words of assurance: “Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid” (verse 50c). As is often the case, the longer Gospel of Matthew includes additional information (14:28-31): “And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, ‘Lord, save me.’ And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, ‘O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’” I am loath to criticize Peter, for I doubt that I would have dared to take even one baby step out of the boat. However, Jesus spoke pointedly of Peter’s “little faith.” Peter had been with Jesus for some time and had heard, seen, and personally experienced much. He had ample evidence that faith in Jesus was not misplaced. Furthermore, right here on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus said, “It is I.” Literally, He proclaimed, “I AM” – the self-disclosure of God to Moses (Exodus 3:14). This self-designation was a claim to be God, Who is able to keep His people in all circumstances, even on the surging sea. Because Peter did not grasp this clear theological teaching, his faith failed. The simple lesson for us is that our faith must be informed and intelligent. We need to think deeply about the character of our Savior, or we too will descend into the dangerous deep.