A Call to Trust

“You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31

I used to read this statement by Jesus as him criticizing the disciples as though he was looking down on them and belittling them. But I don’t think that’s his tone here. Jesus is calling out of them the unwavering commitment of solid faith. He is alerting them of the fact that they aren’t just wrestling with a weak faith, as though what they have is sufficient to withstand crisis. Instead, they struggle with a complete lack of faith. The disciples were divided in two, right down the middle in their own hearts, of how convinced they were of Jesus’ abilities. They had to decide if they even wanted to believe, and if they did, could they surrender? Could they commit?

This alert of Jesus’ was actually a gift to them because it put them in touch with their uncertainty. As long as their doubt existed, faith was needed.

Uncertainty instills humility and helps us stay teachable. Faith is an exercise of walking in uncertainty. Peter on those watery, fluid waves took his first few steps while feeling uncertain.

Whatever degree of faith he had, as weak as it was, kept him moving, kept him going in the direction closer to Jesus. This is because faith isn’t simply about holding beliefs, but about putting trust in a person.

Peter ended up losing confidence, and he gave in to fear. But he never lost his trust in Jesus. Even while he was going down, he cried out to the Lord, the one he knew could save him.

While we long to be infallible, to be confident, and to be certain of our next steps one hundred percent of the time, this trust of Peter’s is better. Trust honors the freedom of another person and makes intimacy possible. Certainty can’t do that, but trust can.

And this intimacy in relationship, this closeness and level of knowing him is what Jesus is drawing out of his disciples. “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” is a call to trust.

After the disciples cried out in fear, Jesus reassured them. “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “It is I” is an expression Jesus used at other moments of revelation. It is a paraphrase of the divine name God used to describe himself to Moses. “I am who I am.” In this scene with Jesus on the water, Matthew connects the one who has power over the sea to the God who made it and sets its boundaries.

Peter detects the divine identity in Jesus’ words so he says, “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

Jesus only says one word, “Come.”

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. We have to commend Peter. He actually succeeded in walking a little way on the water. He managed to take a few steps before going down.

Scripture tells us, “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid.” Peter lost confidence. He had faith to begin with, but it was too weak to survive his crisis. The wind and the uncontrollable chaos it whipped up among the waves of the sea held greater influence over him than the power of Jesus did.

Beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Scripture says Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. The hand of power and of saving grace reaches out often during Jesus’ time on earth to heal, to feed, to save, to love, and to guide. He reached out to save Peter from drowning, much like God rescued the Israelites from drowning in the Red Sea. As God’s spokesman, Moses reached out his hand over the water and it parted. God alone saves his people from the depths of chaos and destruction.

In this night on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus displayed the same power. He saves from the deep waters where floods engulf and there is no foothold.