“But seeing the wind, Peter became afraid and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Save me, Lord!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him….” (Matthew 14:30-31).
You’ve seen the video of the Boston Red Sox first baseman letting that World Series game-winning single run through his legs. It’s iconic.
It was the 1986 World Series and the player was Bill Buckner.
Had Buckner caught that ball and stepped on first base, the game would have been over and the Red Sox would have ended that so-called curse a full fifteen or twenty years earlier than they did. Ask the Buckner family. The video has run a zillion times on Youtube and in the minds of the fans. They have enshrined his failure. Most Red Sox fans forget all the thousands of put-outs Buckner made at first base, the hits he got, the runs he produced.
That is how the Apostle Peter must have felt.
Think of Simon Peter walking on the water to Jesus that night when the winds howled and the sea raged and far from being impressed–as one would think we should be!–we see only that he took his eyes off Jesus and put them on the wave, and began to sink. As though we would have done better!
Actually, we should be glad Peter did that. Yes, we should rejoice that he walked those few steps on the Galilee and yes, we should be impressed. But everything inside me gives thanks that after that, Peter had a problem with what he was doing and messed it up.
Just imagine…
Suppose Peter had spent 30 minutes or an hour outside the boat, walking and then dancing and then pirouetting across the sea!
Get that picture in your mind’s eye. At first, he walks hesitantly toward Jesus. Then, more confidently. And then he gets the hang of it and strides more confidently. And finally, he’s jumping and running and bouncing.
“Peter, that’s enough. You can come in now.” The Lord had to call him inside, to get back in the boat with the rest of the disciples and to settle down.
–The man would have been insufferable. “Oh man, John, you should have done it!” “Andrew, why didn’t you come, too? Mom and Dad are going to be asking.” “Bartholomew, let me tell you how it felt!”
They couldn’t have shut him up.
After that, his teaching and preaching would have taken on a different character. He would not have understood failure. “You can be perfect. You can do this. We will allow no slip-ups! No failures accepted.”
–He would have become a celebrity. Like Buzz Aldrin and Neal Armstrong after their walk on the moon, everyone just wants to see them and touch them. They’re super human now. They’re not allowed a silly moment, a down time, to get tired or impatient. “You’ve been to the moon. Nothing else is too hard for you.”
–And he would have made a terrible teacher. “Come on guys. You can be perfect!”
Actually, most people agree that the best teachers and instructors are not those who made 4.0 on everything, who are Phi Beta Kappas and Mensa members. The best teachers tend to be those who struggled to pass math, who had to repeat calculus, and who burned the midnight oil to get the hang of physics. This person understands. He knows. She has been there and struggled, so she understands my difficulty in getting a grasp on mathematics.
Our Lord Jesus has been there, done that.
I recall reading where the Italian movie star Marcello Mastroanni was telling why he had trouble following Jesus. “He was perfect,” he said. “And we are not. It was easy enough for Him to live that life–turn the other cheek, forgive those who were executing Him–but I can’t do that.”
His little analysis is based on a misconception. Well, several in fact. One, that doing these things came easily for Jesus, as though He was an automaton on automatic pilot, just going through the motions. And two, that the Christian life is all about doing good works like Jesus. It didn’t come easily and it’s not about good works (“lest any should boast”–Ephesians 2:9).
The writer of Hebrews gave us something about the Lord Jesus that “helps us in our weakness.” For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
He has been where you and I are, and has the scars to prove it. He did not emerge unscathed. Obeying the Father meant going to the cross. Take a good look at Jesus praying in Gethsemane, just hours before Calvary. Scripture says he sweat drops of blood. Now, that is agony! (Luke 22:44)
Peter continued to struggle
Later, Peter would deny even knowing Jesus three times. The kicker is that when he was doing that, the Lord stood not far from him, on trial for His life. And then, we read, And immediately, while he was still speaking, a cock crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, ‘Before a cock crows today, you will deny Me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly (Luke 22:60-61).
But the Lord didn’t give up on him. In fact, same chapter, earlier the Lord had said, Simon, Simon. Behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:31-32).
Jesus knew His man. In fact…
Peter was Jesus’ star pupil.
Don’t miss that. Ask any teacher.
You’re harder on the star pupils than anyone else in the room. Because this one has the greatest potential. But you see the struggles he has to overcome his lower nature. So, you get tough with him and talk straight.
That’s why the Lord’s words to Peter on the Galilee that stormy night were far from a rebuke. O ye of little faith! Why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:31).
Jesus was proud of Peter. I can almost see the gleam in His eyes as He chastens this one whom He loves so much, in whom He sees such potential, but in whose heart there wages such a war.
It’s tough being the student with the most potential in the class. The goals are higher, the expectations stronger, the lessons tougher, and the teacher more insistent.
Bill Belichick never yelled at any player on any team he ever coached more than he did Tom Brady. Brady, his hall-of-fame quarterback who led the New England Patriots to win five Super Bowls and secured Belichick’s legacy. The single player most responsible for Belichick’s lasting fame. And yet, the expectations on Brady were the highest, the standards the toughest.
So, don’t be surprised when the Lord is hard on you, friend. He sees what you can do, knows what you are capable of, and believes in you more than you do yourself.
He has big purposes for you.
Trust Him. And when you fail or take your eyes off Him and begin to sink, do what your friend the Apostle Peter did and reach out your hand and let Jesus take hold of you.
Then see if you can get it right next time.