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Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters.”
He said, “Come!” Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus.
But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Matthew 14:28-31 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters.”
He said, “Come!” Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus.
But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got up into the boat, the wind ceased. Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, “You are truly the Son of God!”
Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters.”
He said, “Come!” Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus.
But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Peter answered him and sayde: master if thou be he bid me come vnto the on the water.
And he sayde come. And when Peter was come doune out of the shippe he walked on the water to go to Iesus.
But when he sawe a myghty wynde he was afrayed. And as he beganne to synke he cryed sayinge: master save me.
And immediatly Iesus stretched forth his hode and caught him and sayde to him: O thou of lytell faith wherfore diddest thou dout?
Then Peter answered him, and saide, Master, if it be thou, bid me come vnto thee on the water.
And he saide, Come. And when Peter was come downe out of the shippe, he walked on the water, to goe to Iesus.
But when he sawe a mightie winde, he was afraide: and as he began to sinke, he cried, saying, Master, saue me.
So immediatly Iesus stretched foorth his hande, and caught him, and saide to him, O thou of litle faith, wherefore diddest thou doubt?
50 distinct cross-references across this passage (51 total citations).
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v28 By faith we tread under our feet even the…
By faith we tread under our feet even the tempests themselves, but yet by the virtue of Christ, which helpeth that virtue, which he of his mercy hath given.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv28–31 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if…
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Ver. 28. If it be thou, bid me come unto thee, &c.] This fact of Peter some extol as an argument of his strong faith and love to Christ. But others of better judgment censure it as an effect of unbelief and rashness in him, requiring to be confirmed by a miracle; to the which, though our Saviour assented, yet we cannot say that he approved it. The other disciples believed Christ upon his bare word, but Peter must have a sign. He had it, but with a check, Mat 14:31.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v29 Peter, by saying if it be thou, showed that…
Peter, by saying if it be thou, showed that his faith was not so strong as it should have been, after he had heard his Master’s voice. By his saying to him,
bid me come unto thee on the water, he showeth a something stronger faith, and a resolution to obey his command; but his fear afterward, when the wind began to rise higher, and he began to sink, argued again the infirmity of his faith. Thus Peter is a pattern of the best believers, who though they may sometimes think that they could trust God in any state or condition, yet often mistake their own hearts, and begin to shrink in an hour of great extremity; which lets us see what need we have to pray, that God would not lead us by his providence into great temptations, much more to take heed that we do not throw ourselves into them. No man knows how he shall find his heart under a great temptation, until he hath tried it. It therefore gives us a caution, as against condemning others, so against boasting, and too much confidence as to ourselves, and lets us see how much need we have to keep our eye upon Christ and his strength in such an hour.
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And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand: God is never far off from his people when extreme troubles are hard at hand. Christ says Peter, but not without a cheek;
O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Doubting is directly contrary to faith, yet it will not conclude a soul to have no faith, only a little faith.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv28, 31 Observe here, 1. The mixture of Peter’s faith and…
Observe here, 1. The mixture of Peter’s faith and distrust: it was faith that said, Master; it was distrust that said, If it be thou: It was faith that said, Bid me come to thee: it was faith that enables him to step down on the watery pavement: it was faith that said, Lord save me: but it was distrust that made him sink.
O the imperfect composition of faith and fear in the best of saints here on earth! Sincerity of grace is found with the saints here on earth; perfection of grace with the saints in heaven. Here the saints look forth, fair as the moon, which has some spots in her greatest beauties; hereafter they shall be clear as the sun, whose face is all bright and glorious.
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Observe, 2. That whilst Peter believes, the sea is as firm as brass under him; when he begins to fear, then he begins to sink. Two hands upheld Peter; the hand of Christ’s power, and the hand of his own faith. The hand of Christ’s power laid hold on Peter, and the hand of Peter’s faith laid hold on the power of Christ. If we let go our hold on Christ, we sink: if he lets go his hold on us, we drown. Now Peter answered his name Cephas, and he sunk like a stone.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv28–31 And he said, come,.... This he said, partly to…
And he said, come,.... This he said, partly to assure them who he was; for had he denied him, he and the rest might have concluded, it was none of Jesus; and partly to commend his love, and confirm his faith, by giving a further instance of his power, in enabling him to walk upon the water, as he did:
and when Peter was come down out of the ship; as he immediately did, having orders from Christ; and being by this second speech fully convinced it was he
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he walked on the water; a little way, being supported and enabled by the power of Christ; for this was an extraordinary and miraculous action: for if it was so in Christ, it was much more so in Peter: Christ walked upon the water by his own power, as God; Peter walked upon the water, being held up by the power of Christ. The Jews (w) indeed, call swimming , "walking upon the face of the waters": hence we read of a swimmer's vessel, which is explained to be what men make to learn in it, how "to go or walk upon the face of the waters" (x); but then this is not going upon them upright, but prone, or lying along upon the surface of the waters, which was not Peter's case; he did not, as at another time, cast himself into the sea, and swim to Christ; see Joh 21:7 but as soon as he came down from the ship, standing upright, he walked upon the waters,
to go to Jesus; not merely for walking sake, but for the sake of Christ, he dearly loved; that he might be with him, and be still more confirmed of the truth of its being he, and not a spirit.
(w) R. David Kimchi, Sepher Shorash. rad. (x) R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel moed, fol. 78. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v30 He was afraid - Though he had been used…
He was afraid - Though he had been used to the sea, and was a skilful swimmer. But so it frequently is. When grace begins to act, the natural courage and strength are withdrawn.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv28–31 Verse 28. Bid me come unto thee on the…
Verse 28. Bid me come unto thee on the water.] A weak faith is always wishing for signs and miracles. To take Christ at his word, argues not only the perfection of faith, but also the highest exercise of sound reason. He is to be credited on his own word, because he is the TRUTH, and therefore can neither lie nor deceive.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v28 Mat 14:28-31. And Peter said, Lord, if it be…
Mat 14:28-31. And Peter said, Lord, if it be thou — Or, since it is thou, (the particle if frequently bearing this meaning;) bid me come unto thee on the water — This was a rash request, proceeding from the warmth and forwardness of Peter’s natural temper. And he said, Come — Our Lord granted his request, doubtless with a view to show him the weakness of his faith, and thereby to give a check to the high opinion he seems to have entertained of himself, as well as to demonstrate the greatness of his own power: for in supporting Peter on the water along with himself, he manifested greater power than if he had walked thereon singly. And when Peter was come down out of the ship — Being fully satisfied that Jesus was able to uphold and bear him up; he walked on the water — For a while; no little pleased, we may suppose, to find it firm under his feet. But when he saw the wind boisterous — Doubtless it became more so than before, making a dreadful noise, and causing the sea to rage horribly: he was afraid — His faith failed, his courage staggered, and, in the hurry of his thoughts, he forgot that Jesus was at hand, and was seized with a sudden terror. And now the secret power of God, which, while Peter confidently relied on Jesus, had made the sea firm under him, began to be withdrawn, and in proportion as his faith decreased, the water yielded, and he sunk. In this extremity he looked round for Christ, and on the very brink of being swallowed up, cried, Lord, save me — Peter, being a fisherman, had been used to the sea, and it appears from Joh 21:7, was a skilful swimmer. And probably he ventured on the attempt he now made with some secret dependance on his art, which God, for wise reasons, suffered to fail him. The word καταποντιζεσθαι, here rendered to sink, is very expressive, and may intimate that he felt himself sinking with such a weight that he had no hope of recovering himself, and expected nothing but that he should go directly to the bottom of the sea. Immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him — Dealing thus mercifully with his servant, in not suffering him to perish as a punishment of his preceding rashness and self- confidence, and his subsequent diffidence and distrust of Christ’s power: And said, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? — Namely, of my protection, when I was so near? when thou hadst my commission to make the trial, and hadst in part experienced my power in supporting thee thus far on the waves? The reader must observe, Peter did not doubt that it was Jesus who walked upon the water. He was convinced of that before he left the vessel; yea, and while he was sinking; otherwise he would not have called to him for assistance: but he was afraid that Jesus could not, or would not support him against the wind, which blew more fiercely than before; a doubt most unreasonable, since it was as easy for Christ to support him against the storm, as to keep him up on the water, which Jesus had virtually promised to do in his permission, and which he had actually performed while Peter relied on him. “The people of God, warned by this example, should beware of presumption and self-sufficiency, and in all their actions should take care not to be precipitate. Wherever God calls them, they are boldly to go, not terrified at the danger or difficulty of the duty; his providence being always able to support and protect them. But he who goes without a call, or proceeds further than he is called; who rushes into difficulties and temptations without any reason, may, by the unhappy issue of his conduct, be made to feel how dangerous a thing it is for a person to go out of his sphere.” — Macknight.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v28 And Peter answered ... - Here is an instance…
And Peter answered ... - Here is an instance of the characteristic ardor and rashness of Peter. He had less real faith than he supposed, and more ardor than his faith would justify. He was rash, headlong, incautious, really attached to Jesus, but still easily daunted and prone to fall. He was afraid, therefore, when in danger, and, sinking, cried again for help. Thus he was suffered to learn his own character, and his dependence on Jesus: a lesson which all Christians are permitted sooner or later to learn by dear-bought experience.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv28–31 And Peter ... said. Everywhere Peter appears full of…
And Peter ... said. Everywhere Peter appears full of faith and love. He now with his usual ardour believes he can do at the command of his Master, what by nature he is unable to perform. He desires to be with his Lord, and cannot bear delay; and, in reward of his eagerness, Christ works a miracle in his favour. (Jansenius) --- Lord, if it be thou. Peter, by saying if, did not doubt in faith, as Calvin pretends; nor was he guilty of any arrogance, as others conjecture; for our Lord granted his request. Peter knew that his request would be pleasing to Christ, who had shewn himself so very considerate for his apostles. Peter had also worked miracles himself in the name of Christ, and observing that he wished to pass by, Peter hastened to be with him, to embrace him, and serve him. (Tirinus)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv28–31 JESUS CROSSES TO THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE LAKE…
JESUS CROSSES TO THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE LAKE WALKING ON THE SEA--INCIDENTS ON LANDING. ( = Mar 6:45; Joh 6:15-24). (Mat 14:22-26)
And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is thou, bid me come to thee on the water--(Also see on Mar 6:50.)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv28–30 28. Peter — Ever forward to venture at the…
28. Peter — Ever forward to venture at the risk of failure. Bid me — He knew that he could do so only by his Master’s power, and he only wished to show what confidence he had, that by that power he could do anything. This was a noble faith, but it was mixed with vain glory. Of course the Lord must select me to be the hero.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v29 29. And he said, Come] The boat was so…
29. And he said, Come] The boat was so near that the voice of Jesus could be heard even through the storm, though the wind was strong and the oarsmen labouring and perhaps calling out to one another. The hand of the Saviour was quite close to the sinking disciple.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv28, 30 (28, 29) And Peter answered him.—The incident that follows…
(28, 29) And Peter answered him.—The incident that follows is narrated by St. Matthew only. It may have been one which the Apostle did not willingly recall, and which was therefore omitted by his disciple St. Mark and by his friend St. John, while St. Luke, writing as a compiler, came into the circle of those among whom it was seldom, if ever, mentioned. It is, however, eminently characteristic. Eager but not steadfast, daring and yet fearful, the Apostle is on that stormy night, as he was afterwards among the scoffs and questionings in the porch of the high priest’s palace. “If it be Thou . . .” The voice, the form are not enough for him. It may yet, he thinks, be a spectre or a dream, and therefore he demands a sign. He, too, must walk upon the waters. And at first his faith sustains him. He is a sharer with his Master in that intensity of spiritual life which suspends the action of natural laws by one which is supernatural.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv28–31 Vers. 28-31. St. Peter"s venture. Matthew only.
Vers. 28-31. St. Peter"s venture. Matthew only.
And; de , slightly adversative, because St. Peter"s words were so contrary to what might have been expected. Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou (ei su ei). No doubt is implied. (Mat_4:3, note) Bid me (keleuson me); jube me (Vulgate). He will only come at Christ"s command. In this lies the difference and it is a decisive difference from the second temptation. (Mat_4:6) Come unto thee on the water. Not "bid me walk on the water;" for he does not want to perform a miracle, but to come to Jesus. His request is not due to the hope of making a show, but to impulsive love. Observe, too, that he seems to have realized that the Lord would enable his followers to do as he himself did (cf. Chrysostom). On the water; the waters (Revised Version); rough though they were. Had we any ether account of this incident, it would be interesting to see if it contained these words. They read very like an explanatory addition by the narrator.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv28, 31 Mat_14:28; Mat_14:33
Mat_14:28; Mat_14:33
And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water.
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Impulse and regulation
There are two powers working side by side under which Christ has taught us He means every true Christian life shall move forward, undervaluing neither the one nor the other. One of these is the impelling power, impulse. This impulsive part of religious character is indispensable. St. Peter was right in his outset Bid me come to Thee, etc. The other is the regulating power. It is this that keeps alive the life that has been awakened, and fulfils the good intentions. Impulses spring up in the region of feeling. Their continuance, regulation, and practical results, depend on the conscience and the will. It is easy to reach the transition point between impulse and principle; some reach it as soon as danger threatens. How shall I turn the ardent impulse of penitent faith into consistent piety? By leaving no good impulse to grow cold or waste in a neglected sentiment, but by embodying it immediately in its corresponding action; in other words, by Christian regulation. Steadfastness will come as you are really planted in Christ. (Bishop Huntingdon.)
The religion of impulse
The religious feeling is the soul of humanity. It may exist in these three forms:
I. Acting without intellect, under the control of the external.
II. Acting under intellect-controlled by the judgment. This is as it should be.
III. Acting against intellect. This is the religion of impulse, and it is here exemplified by Peter in three aspects.
1. Urging an extravagant request. Men are not made to walk on water; were never known to do so; have no capacity for it. To guard against this evil, we must study general laws, cultivate self-command, and seek Divine guidance.
2. Impelling to perilous conduct. One foolish act has often plunged men into a sea of difficulties.
3. Corrected by a merciful God. Christ first allows full liberty for the play of passion and freaks of folly. Then He helps, if asked to. And, lastly, He exposes the error-Wherefore didst thou doubt? Peter ought not to have engaged in the act without faith-and faith implies the full action of intellect. Do not act from impulse-nor even from custom or habit. Act ever from faith. Remember that faith implies intellect, evidence, and reliance. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Peters unwise experiment in faith
1. His walking on the sea was needless. There is no pressing necessity shutting him up to this sea-walk-ing; but it is faith experimenting in high and holy things. No important end to be served.
2. He asks permission to do that which is not commanded by Christ. Peter asks help to do what Christ had not done; to walk on the sea for the walkings sake. This Christ permits to prove what is in him, but not to his honour or comfort. A salutary discipline.
3. Yet Christ does not fail Peter; it is not the power or word of Christ that gives way, but only the faith of Peter in this power or word. So long as he looks to Jesus this word supports him. It is easier to believe in the ship than on the waters. Now he fears, his faith gives way. Peter in his extremity cries aloud to Jesus. He has not faith enough to walk on the waters, but enough to cry for help. (A. M. Stuart.)
Walking on the waters
It is not difficult to discover the characteristics of St. Peter as they come out here. Whatever he felt for the moment was sure to come out in his words or actions. It is easy to blame and say that Peter should not have been so eager to meet his Lord, or he should have maintained his faith to the last. But we must not forget that the very height to which his faith had for the moment attained, exposed him, more than others, to the temptation of unbelief. They who sit securely in their boats are not liable to sink. The men of even temperament cannot understand an experience such as this. They know nothing of ups and downs. Where the hills are highest the ravines are deepest, Peter must not, therefore, be unduly blamed. We learn from the incident:
1. That when His disciples are in danger of being carried away by earthly influences, Christ sends them into trial. If we are bent on something which shall endanger our spirituality, God may send us serious affliction to keep us out of mischief.
2. That while our trial lasts the Lord prays for us.
3. That when Christ comes to us in our trials we are able to rise above them. He did not come at once. He came over the big waves which constituted their trial. He makes a pathway into our hearts over the affliction which distresses us. The disciples did not know Christ when he came. Have we never mistaken him? When Christ comes, and is recognized, He brings relief. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Failure teaching humilit
y:-Peter required a lesson in humility: and it is instructive to observe in what way he received the lesson from our Lord. He did not meet the erring disciple with sharp and sudden reproof. He did not refuse the mans petition; but He taught the required lesson by its very fulfilment. We have seen a father adopt the same plan in giving a lesson to his son. The boy was anxious to carry a heavy burden, believing that he was able for the task. The father let him try; and as the little arms struggled and quivered, and failed, the little mind was taught its own weakness, and the little heart was truly humbled. Just so when Peter asked to walk with Jesus upon the water. He said, Come. The request is granted, but not approved; and Peter is left to try the work in his own strength, and fail through inglorious weakness. (P. Thompson.)
Failure in the midst of success
He failed in the midst of success. It is difficult to carry a full cup, or walk upon the high places of the earth. It is more difficult to walk erect, and firm, and far among the tossing waves of adversity. The movement of Peter at the outset was grandly courageous. How truly the other disciples would gaze upon him with admiration! He stepped over the little boat; placed his foot upon the rising billow; walked step after step with perfect safety. It was a great moment in the mans life; but it was a greatness for which the man was not equal. His nerve was too weak to carry the full cup, or bear the heavy burden, or tread the stormy water. He failed in the hour of triumph, and lost all by not looking to Jesus. The word is very touching. When he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid. There was the defect. He looked to the raging winds and the surging waters. He looked to the danger, and not to the Saviour. He forgot the power of Christ, and trusting to himself, and trembling like a breaking wave beneath the boisterous wind, he began to sink. The work was done, and the lesson learned, with great rapidity. His faith, and courage, and devotion, were not so great as he imagined. He discovered his helplessness, and prayed for safety. Lord save me; and now the daring man was brought to regard the Lords band as the fountain of spiritual strength. (P. Thompson.)
Peter in the storm
1. The presumption of faith-Bid me come to Thee on the water.
2. The power of faith Come.
3. The weakness of faith.
4. The power of prayer. (T. Dale, M. A.)
The earnest prayer
I. We must feel our need of salvation.
II. We must know the only source of salvation.
III. We must pray individually for salvation. (W. D. Harwood.)
The fear of Peter when walking on the water
I. The fear which Peter betrayed on this occasion.
1. The transient nature of our best and strongest feelings when they are not kept alive by Divine grace.
2. The danger of needlessly putting to the trial cur highest graces. Never make a presumptuous display of grace.
II. The cause of Peters fear. When he saw the wind boisterous, etc. Here we are taught not to be unmindful of our dangers, but to keep our thoughts fixed on the greatness and faithfulness of Christ when we are surrounded by them.
III. The consequence of Peters fear. He began to sink. Our support in dangers and trials depends on our faith.
IV. The prayer which the fear of Peter drew from him.
1. In all our troubles, if we are Christians, we shall be men of prayer.
2. The fears of the real believer, however strong, are still accompanied with a cleaving to Christ.
V. The connect of Christ towards him.
1. There is no situation in which Christ cannot help us.
2. There is no state in which Christ will not save us. (C. Bradley.)
Doubting a hindrance to the Christian life.
I. St. Peters desire-Bid me come unto Thee. The truthfulness of the Bible seen in the striking preservation of the individuality of the characters brought into view. Peter uniformly rash. Many a time does the yearning spirit of the believer say, Bid me come, etc.
1. There is the memory of joys of which earth knows nothing, experienced in His Presence.
2. There is the consciousness of security from every harm.
3. The confidence created by so many trials of His love. No wonder that this desire of Peter should be the longing of Christs faithful followers.
II. St. Peters failure. The first part of the history show us his daring zeal; now his failing faith. At first his faith laid hold on Divine power, and he was able to tread the waves without sinking. There was an element of wrong in the undertaking; self-confidence again. It was regarding the danger more than the Saviour that made him weak.
III. At the reproof ministered to St. Peter by our Lord. The rebuke was gentle. After all seen of the power of Christ could he doubt? Christ bids us come to Him in the gospel. His power works in those who heed the message. The need and value of true faith in our Lord. There is no happiness without it. (R. H. Baynes, B. A.)
Beginning to sink
There are three conditions of soul.
1. Some think they are sinking, and are not.
2. Some are sinking and do not know it.
3. Some are sinking and miserably do know it.
4. The consequent is evident, what was below you is now over you, your servant has become your master, cares, and anxieties.
5. Your escape is in looking again to Jesus. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The cause of sinking
Let me gather up the steps to the sinking:-an emotional state, with abrupt and strong reactions-a self-exaltation-a breaking out, under a good and religious aspect, of an old infirmity and sin-a disproportion between the act and the frame of mind in which the act was done-neglect of ordinary means, with not sufficient calculation of difficulties-a devious eye-a want of concentration-a regard to circumstances more than to the Power which wields them-a certain inward separation from God-a human measurement-a descent to a fear, unnecessary, dishonouring fear-depression-a sense of perishing-beginning to sink. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
No safety in mere feeling
In the spiritual navigation, it is well to remember that the feelings are the sails, and very quickly and very beautifully do our feelings carry us along while all is favourable. But let once difficulties and temptations come, and if we have only feelings, we shall stop. The best-spread feeling, if it be only feeling, will never make head against a contrary wind. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Presumption of early martyrs
Of this nature was that extravagant desire of martyrdom in many of the Primitive Church, when even novices in Christianity, and those of the weaker sex, must needs be thrusting themselves into the hands of the persecutors, when they might easily, and without sin, have escaped them; and thereby exposed themselves to such cruel torments as they were not able to endure, and then did very ill things to be free from them again, to the great dishonour of their holy religion, the deep wounding of their consciences, and their lasting shame and reproach, which they could not wipe off but by a long and very severe repentance. And, indeed, tis no better than knight-errantry in religion thus to seek out hazardous adventures, and lead ourselves into temptations, and then expect that God should support us, and bring us safely off. Tis not faith, but presumption, that engages men so far. (Francis Bragge.)
Christ and mens fears
In this verse are considerable.
1. The Person that spake; the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Those to whom He spake, viz., the disciples in their present distress.
3. The kind nature and design of Christs speech to them at this time.
4. The argument He used to silence their fears.
5. The time when He spake to them thus comfortably-straightway.
I. Whence is it, that even real delievers may be ready to sink under their troubles. Causes of despondence are: we have not thought of the cross as we ought, or not counted upon it at all, and so have taken little care to prepare for it. Perhaps from our being so long spared, we promised ourselves an exemption from any remarkable trials; or perhaps we mistake the nature, end, and design of afflictions when they come, and so are ready to faint under Divine rebukes. There is a peculiar anguish with which some are overtaken, when they are under apprehensions of approaching death. As to the springs of this-
(a) We are too prone to put from us the evil day.
(b) Death may find us in the dark as to our title to the life to come, or meetness for it.
(c) Conscience may be awakened in our last hours to revive the sense of past sins, and so may increase our sorrows and terrors.
(d) Satan sometimes joins in with an awakened conscience, to make the trial the more sore.
(e) God sometimes withdraws the light of His countenance.
II. What Christ spake to his disciples now, when they were in great distress, He is ready to speak to all His members, whenever they are any of them distressed.
III. What is carried in these comfortable words, and may be gathered from them, for their support. It notes His presence with them and His wisdom, power, faithfulness, and love to be engaged for them. (Daniel Wilcox.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv28–31 28. Bid me come unto thee. Peter is led…
28. Bid me come unto thee. Peter is led by no praiseworthy motives, but rather by vain glory.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v29 Mat 14:22 - Mat 14:36.
Matthew
THE KING’S HIGHWAY
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Mat 14:22 - Mat 14:36.
The haste and urgency with which the disciples were sent away, against their will, after the miracle of feeding the five thousand, is explained in John’s account. The crowd had been excited to a dangerous enthusiasm by a miracle so level to their tastes. A prophet who could feed them was something like a prophet. So they determine to make him a king. Our Lord, fearing the outburst, resolves to withdraw into the lonely hills, that the fickle blaze may die down. If the disciples had remained with Him, He could not have so easily stolen away, and they might have caught the popular fervour. To divide would distract the crowd, and make it easier for Him to disperse them, while many of them, as really happened, would be likely to set off by land for Capernaum, when they saw the boat had gone. The main teaching of this miracle, over and above its demonstration of the Messianic power of our Lord, is symbolical. All the miracles are parables, and this eminently so. Thus regarding it, we have-
I. The struggling toilers and the absent Christ.
They had a short row of some five or six miles in prospect, when they started in the early evening. An hour or so might have done it, but, for some unknown reason, they lingered. Perhaps instead of pulling across, they may have kept inshore, by the head of the lake, expecting Jesus to join them at some point. Thus, night finds them but a short way on their voyage. The paschal moon would be shining down on them, and perhaps in their eager talk about the miracle they had just seen, they did not make much speed. A sudden breeze sprang up, as is common at nightfall on mountain lakes; and soon a gale, against which they could make no headway, was blowing in their teeth. This lasted for eight or nine hours. Wet and weary, they tugged at the oars through the livelong night, the seas breaking over them, and the wind howling down the glens.
They had been caught in a similar storm once before, but then He had been on board, and it was daylight. Now it was dark, ‘and Jesus had not yet come to them,’ How they would look back at the dim outline of the hills, where they knew He was, and wonder why He had sent them out into the tempest alone! Mark tells us that He saw them distressed, hours before He came to them, and that makes His desertion the stranger. It is but His method of lovingly training them to do without His personal presence, and a symbol of what is to be the life of His people till the end. He is on the mountain in prayer, and He sees the labouring boat and the distressed rowers. The contrast is the same as is given in the last verses of Mark’s Gospel, where the serene composure of the Lord, sitting at the right hand of God, is sharply set over against the wandering, toiling lives of His servants, in their evangelistic mission. The commander-in-chief sits apart on the hill, directing the fight, and sending regiment after regiment to their deaths. Does that mean indifference? So it might seem but for the words which follow, ‘the Lord working with them.’ He shares in all the toil; and the lifting up of His holy hands sways the current of the fight, and inclines the balance. His love appoints effort and persistent struggle as the law of our lives. Nor are we to mourn or wonder; for the purpose of the appointment, so far as we are concerned, is to make character, and to give us ‘the wrestling thews that throw the world.’ Difficulties make men of us. Summer sailors, yachting in smooth water, have neither the joy of conflict nor the vigour which it gives. Better the darkness, when we cannot see our way, and the wind in our faces, if the good of things is to be estimated by their power to ‘strengthen us with strength in our soul!’
II. We have the approaching Christ.
Not till the last watch of the night does He come, when they have long struggled, and the boat is out in the very middle of the lake, and the storm is fiercest. We may learn from this the delays of His love. Because He loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus, He stayed still, in strange inaction, for two days, after their message. Because He loved Peter and the praying band, He let him lie in prison till the last hour of the last watch of the last night before his intended execution, and then delivered him with a leisureliness {making him put on article after article of dress} which tells of conscious omnipotence. Heaven’s clock goes at a different rate from our little timepieces. God’s day is a thousand years, and the longest tarrying is but ‘a little while.’ When He has come, we find that it is ‘right early,’ though before He came He seemed to us to delay. He comes across the waves. Their restless and yielding crests are smoothed and made solid by the touch of His foot. ‘He walketh on the sea as on a pavement’ {Septuagint version of Job 9:8}. It is a revelation of divine power. It is one of the very few miracles affecting Christ’s own person, and may perhaps be regarded as being, like the Transfiguration, a casual gleam of latent glory breaking through the body of His humiliation, and so, in some sense, prophetic. But it is also symbolic. He ever uses tumults and unrest as a means of advancing His purposes. The stormy sea is the recognised Old Testament emblem of antagonism to the divine rule; and just as He walked on the billows, so does He reach His end by the very opposition to it, ‘girding Himself’ with the wrath of men, and making it to praise Him. In this sense, too, His ‘paths are in the great waters.’ In another aspect, we have here the symbol of Christ’s using our difficulties and trials as the means of His loving approach to us. He comes, giving a deeper and more blessed sense of His presence by means of our sorrows, than in calm sunny weather. It is generally over a stormy sea that He comes to us, and golden treasures are thrown on our shores after a tempest.
III. We have the terror and the recognition.
The disciples were as yet little lifted above their fellows; they had no expectation of His coming, and thought just what any rude minds would have thought, that this mysterious Thing stalking towards them across the waters came from the unseen world, and probably that it was the herald of their drowning. Terror froze their blood, and brought out a shriek {as the word might be rendered} which was heard above the dash of waves and the raving wind. They had gallantly fought the tempest, but this unmanned them. We too often mistake Christ, when He comes to us. We do not recognise His working in the storm, nor His presence giving power to battle with it. We are so absorbed in the circumstances that we fail to see Him through them. Our tears weave a veil which hides Him, or the darkness obscures His face, and we see nothing but the threatening crests of the waves, curling high above our little boat. We mistake our best friend, and we are afraid of Him as we dimly see Him; and sometimes we think that the tokens of His presence are only phantasms of our own imagination.
They who were deceived by His appearance knew Him by His voice, as Mary did at the sepulchre. How blessed must have been the moment when that astounding certitude thrilled through their souls! That low voice is audible through all the tumult. He speaks to us by His word, and by the silent speech in our spirits, which makes us conscious that He is there. He does speak to us in the deepest of our sorrows, in the darkest of our nights; and when we hear of His voice, and with wonder and joy cry out, ‘It is the Lord,’ our sorrow is soothed, and the darkness is light about us.
The consciousness of His presence banishes all fear. ‘Be not afraid,’ follows ‘It is I.’ It is of no use to preach courage unless we preach Christ first. If we have not Him with us, we do well to fear: His presence is the only rational foundation for calm fearlessness. Only when the Lord of Hosts is with us, ought we not to fear, ‘though the waters roar . . . and be troubled.’ ‘Through the dear might of Him that walked the waves’ can we feeble creatures face all terrors, and feel no terror.
IV. We have the end of the storm and of the voyage.
The storm ceases as soon as Jesus is on board. John does not mention the cessation of the tempest, but tells us that they were immediately at the shore. It does not seem necessary to suppose another miracle, but only that the voyage ended very speedily. It is not always true that His presence is the end of dangers and difficulties, but the consciousness of His presence does hush the storm. The worst of trouble is gone when we know that He shares it; and though the long swell after the gale may last, it no longer threatens. Nor is it always true that His coming, and our consciousness that He has come, bring a speedy close to toils. We have to labour on, but in how different a mood these men would bend to their oars after they had Him on board! With Him beside us toil is sweet, burdens are lighter, and the road is shortened. Even with Him on board, life is a stormy voyage; but without Him, it ends in shipwreck. With Him, it may be long, but it will look all the shorter while it lasts, and when we land the rough weather will be remembered but as a transient squall. These wearied rowers, who had toiled all night, stepped on shore as the morning broke on the eastern bank. So we, if we have had Him for our shipmate, shall land on the eternal shore, and dry our wet garments in the sunshine, and all the stormy years that seemed so long shall be remembered but as a watch in the night.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v28 Peter’s impetuousness:
Peter’s impetuousness:
v. 28. And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water.
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v. 29. And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
v. 30. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
v. 31. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Peter was always impetuous, quicker to act than to think. The voice of the Lord filled him with a courage that made him almost reckless. It was the joy of faith that made him cry out to the Lord. He wanted to be the first to grasp the Lord by the hand. And following the assuring invitation of Christ, he actually stepped out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus. As long as the eyes of his faith as well as his physical eyes were directed toward his Lord and Master, everything went well. But an unusually strong gust of wind, an exceptionally high wave, caused him to falter; his faith wavered; he began to sink. He no longer trusted in the word of assurance that had been given him. But in this emergency he cries to the Master, whom he still knows to be the Lord of the universe. And the patient kindness of Jesus saves him. He quickly caught him and held him above the water, not, however, without chiding him for his weakness of faith, which caused him to doubt at the critical moment. The Lord has patience with the weakness of those that are His own; He hears their crying; He holds them up even in the hour of death with His strong arm.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv28, 31 Peter answered him
Peter answered him
"Peter answered Jesus"
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when Peter saw the wind
Here "saw the wind" means he became aware of the wind. AT: "when Peter saw that the wind was tossing the waves back and forth" or "when he realized how strong the wind was" (See: Idiom)
translationWords
Peter
lord
command
water
fear
save
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.