What would you be willing to do to get close to Jesus? Peter, the head disciple, had two instances recorded in the New Testament that I find extraordinary. I don’t see anyone else doing what he did, either with him when he did it or at a time when they were by themselves. He jumped out of the boat. He recognized the Lord and just jumped out of the boat.
Our family has a friend that has a little quirk. When she gets under pressure she just starts running. The anxiety just overwhelms her. Once she was in a small fender-bender. She began to panic, opened her car door, and took off running. She didn’t have a clue where she was running to. She just acted. Much like Peter, it was instantaneous. These two events in the life of Peter both happen on the Sea of Galilee. One is found in Matthew 14 and the other is found in John 21. Let’s quickly look at these.
Matthew 14:22-33. The Lord had just finished feeding the 5000 men, plus the women and children in the previous verses. Jesus instructs the disciples to get in a boat and head to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He is going to meet up with them later. The Lord is doing some last minute talking to the multitude before dismissing. After their dismissal, he goes up a mountainside to pray alone (v.23). A storm forms quickly and the fishing boat the disciples are traveling in suddenly is being tossed by the wind and waves. Around 3 a.m. these men are fighting for their lives trying desperately to make land somewhere. In the distance, they see a figure walking on the water. Fear grasps the heart of these rough, tough fishermen and they cry out, “It is a spirit” (v.26). A sigh of relief is felt by all when the voice they hear is that of Jesus. “Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid” (v.27). Peter then asks something no one else aboard asks. “Can I come unto thee on the water?” Jesus says, “Come.” Peter then jumps out of the boat and begins walking on the water toward the Lord Jesus. In Peter’s whole life, spent playing and working as a fisherman on that big lake, he never had the experience of walking on the water. But he did now! Sure, he took his eyes off the Lord. He began to sink, and the Lord saved him. However, remember this fact about the story. No one else jumped out of the boat.
John 21 is a story of restoration. Peter, along with six other disciples, had gone fishing at the same Sea of Galilee we just looked at above. Kenneth Wuest makes the claim that when the text in v.3 says, “I go a fishing” and “we go with thee” it was a declaration that they were quitting the ministry to go back to their old business. Perhaps they were so disgusted with themselves for abandoning Christ they would just quit. After fishing all night, catching nothing, they hear a voice from the shore. “Children, have ye any meat?… Cast the net on the right side of the ship and ye shall find” (v.6). John tells Peter, “It is the Lord.” What was Peter’s response? Read v. 7. “…now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girts his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea” v.7. This is the second time he jumps out of a boat trying to get closer to Jesus. The remaining verses in the chapter tell us about Peter being reclaimed. The Lord restored Peter in Peter’s own mind as well as publicly putting Peter back in charge of this rag tag group of disciples.
What are you willing to do to get close to Jesus? First, I hope you have that desire. I think there are some people that make the claim to be Christian but don’t want to really be near him. They want him to punch their ticket for eternal life, but don’t demand a life of commitment. That attitude is bothersome to me. Peter, with his lack of faith, sinking in Matthew 14 and quitting in John 21, still desired to be close to the Lord. If we don’t desire to be close to Jesus perhaps the salvation you cling to is a fraud. The devil is a master of deception. True believers love the Lord and desire to serve. What will you do to draw close to the Lord Jesus? Be willing to jump.