22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

V. 24 "ship" & "sea": A ship pictures an entity, in the scriptures (Isa.23:14). Here, the ship is in the midst of the sea, or, spiritually, in the midst of the sea of humanity (Rev.17:15). This is us, living in the world among all kinds of doctrines, messages and ideas.

V. 24 "waves": Waves also represent entities (Jud.:13). False prophets are called "raging waves of the sea...foaming out their own shame." These are people in the world teaching their own doctrines which cause confusion in the minds of people seeking truth.

V. 24 "wind": The wind was contrary. This would not be God's Holy Spirit, which Jesus spoke of in John 3:8: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." Eph.4:14 warns us against being "...tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine..." This is what happens to the ship or entities in the sea of humanity. The conflicting ideas and opinions we hear cause us to be unstable or unsure in our beliefs. This also shows the condition the disciples were in at this time. Jesus was teaching them the truth, but they were still affected by the false doctrines of the religious leaders and people of the day. Their minds were still being "tossed" in the sea of humanity.

V. 25 "fourth watch": This lets us know the disciples had been out to sea all night in the storm (fourth watch = 3:00 to 6:00 a.m.). Jesus had to walk quite a distance to catch up to them!

V. 26 "walking on the sea": Jesus was walking on the sea. He had his way of thinking and living above the sea of humanity. He could spiritually walk above the evil and lesser ways of mankind that were working in the world around him (Isa.55:8,9;1Co.15:27-28).

V. 26 "It is a spirit" & "fear": The disciples are afraid because they think they are seeing an evil spirit (Luk.24:37).

V. 28 "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water": Peter had a little more faith than the rest of the disciples because he at least asked to come out on the water. We see the doubt, however, when he says, "If it be thou..." We are much like Peter when faced with new situations in our lives. We want to trust God when we hear his words that witness to our soul. But we have been tossed around by false hopes and led down so many wrong paths that we wonder if it really is God calling us.

V. 29 "Come... he walked on the water": Jesus says to come on out - exercise your faith. And what happens? Peter walks on the water! When we have our eyes on Christ, or focus our faith on his teachings, we can walk above the sea of humanity, spiritually (1Pt.2:21; Eph.4:17). We can rise above the doubt and fear that has dragged us down.

V. 30 "But": But...Those three little letters often cause a lot of problems. They did for Peter. He let his faith get eaten up by doubt and fear. We hear the same thoughts in our minds. "But I could never do that... But I can't give that up... But I'll never be strong enough to overcome that... But I've always been this way; I can't change." When we focus on wrong ideas that we have been taught or look back at the world, the doubts and fears come creeping back. This causes us to sink, spiritually.

V. 31 "immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand": When Peter cries out for help, help is offered immediately (Psa.46:1). The hand pictures a ministry (Num.16:40). When we put our hand, or ministry, in Christ's ministry, we can be spiritually lifted up. We can be given strength (Eph.3:16) to be able to withstand the pressures of the world (Eph.6:11-17). We can be taught the same words that Christ used in his ministry. God can give us the assurance and faith we need to dissolve any doubts. We need to put our hand in Christ's hand-we cannot do it alone!

V. 31 "wherefore didst thou doubt?": This is a good question for us to ask ourselves. Why do we doubt when God has always been there for us before (Heb.13:5; 1Pt.4:19; 1Th.5:24)?

V. 32 "they were come into the ship... wind ceased": How did they get back to the ship? They must have walked on the water! When we are joined to the ministry of Christ, we can continually keep our way above the confusion that is in the sea of humanity (Joh.17:14-16).

V. 32 Peter got back to the ship where it was safe. Jesus promised that we could have rest for our souls (Mat.11:29). The wind ceased, showing that the false doctrines and ideas of the world do not have to affect us anymore. We can truly have peace of mind. Just as Noah was saved by building an ark that lifted him above the flood waters, we can build a spiritual ark in our minds that will keep us from drowning in the sea of humanity. This ark, or God's mind, is a place of safety (Pro.18:10; Psa.119:117; Pro.29:25). We can get God in us and have that security and calm in our minds. As we mix our faith with God's words and exercise them in our lives, God will give us what we need to "keep our heads above water" and be saved. Praise God!

V. 33 The disciples were awestruck! When God spiritually lifts us up, we too, can have a profound respect for his power (Psa.4:4; Psa.33:8; Eph.1:18,19; Eph.3:20).