JUNE 18 JQ#16-3 “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JUNE 18    JQ#16-3 “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, Lord and Savior, again today as I read previous prayers to start my day, I am simply amazed at how Faithful You have been to teach me in ways that I could not imagine would teach me how to grow my faith in Your Faithfulness! Here is a prayer written on June 18, 2004 that is as timeless as is Your Glory — “Jesus, you alone have the right to claim a kingdom over man and You alone will be the Great LORD and Master over ALL living things. All but Thee have sinned and all but Thee have fallen short of the Glory of God. Lord forgive us in our weakness of the flesh ——— I pray and praise Thee and I acknowledge as did the Apostle Paul that I do the things I shouldn’t and then I don’t do the things I should?!?! O Lord, I will keep turning to Thee and praying for forgiveness and will continue to start each day looking to walk in Your Ways as I come humbly to You in Spirit and in Truth.          AMEN

The Jesus Questions

JUNE 18   JQ#16-3 “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3)  The Holy Spirit has again led me to “extend” the context of this JQ#16 to include the next several verses through Matthew 15:20 as I missed the “Truth of God” when I read the text the first time through. The context for the question of why we give man-made traditions so much authority while we fail to give God His Rightful Authority over ALL things! The Truth of God that we miss when we stop to consider our “traditions” is where do our “traditions” originate, from God or from man? This is very similar to the question Jesus asked the Pharisees when they accused Jesus of breaking the traditional law of the Pharisees regarding Jesus and His disciples when they were plucking grain and eating it on the Sabbath and healing a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath also. Jesus answered their question by telling them the Truth of God that “Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:12) and the Pharisees saw that their “tradition/man-made law” has no argument against the “Truth of God”. Now once again we see the Pharisees questioning Jesus as to another “tradition” that the Pharisees were using against Jesus and that was the tradition of the washing of hands before they eat bread ——— if Jesus would correct the Pharisees then we too should stop and learn the lesson Jesus found important enough to stop and teach, especially when it concerns the “traditions” that we tend to live by in our daily lives. Matthew records this Teaching of the Truth of God “Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, ‘Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they [the disciples] do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” (Matthew 15:1) Jesus at this point exposes the problem with their “traditions” when compared to the “Truth of God” as Jesus turned their question around and posed to the Pharisees regarding “their traditions”  JQ#16: “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your traditions?”  By taking their accusation and using it to question their traditions Jesus had once again drawn our attention to one of our daily weaknesses we live with and that is we have been taught and are being taught what is packaged as “accepted traditions” that do not glorify God! I know that in growing up, many, many things I was taught was because that was the way everyone in my family was taught — I now look back and see that many of my friends were doing what they were taught by their families so I have to ask the question, if we both do what is taught as “tradition” and there is a conflict in our “traditions” then who is right? I can now from my studying of the Word of God see why God has been spending so much energy in teaching us to “know” the “Truth of God” and to evaluate our “traditions” as to their origination. I am grateful that my family was a Bible-believing family and our “traditions” were based on God’s Word and I am convinced that today’s world needs to evaluate if the “traditions” they are using to live their lives came from the True and Living God or from man? There can be only One Truth and that One Truth is the Truth of God, and if every one lived by God’s command there would never be any conflict in our beliefs? Don’t you agree that if we continue to disagree that there will never be any hope for peace? It is a Truth of God that a house (or nation) divided against itself can not stand and that is certainly true if we consider trying to follow everyone’s personal preferences! Somewhere, somehow we must unite under one single TRUTH and I prefer a tradition that teaches “Eternal life and Forgiveness” — what tradition do you think would be better than that to bring world peace?  

JUNE 17 JQ#16-2 “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JUNE 17    JQ#16-2 “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, You Lord are worthy to be Praised even in not a single person did so. Your Mercy and Grace are extended to All, believers and non-believers receive Your Blessings and one gives Praise and Thanksgiving and the other rejects the gifts of God, yet acceptance and rejection are no reflection on Your Glory but merely a reflection of who we are. Lord forgive me when I think that my thoughts have anything to do with who You really are! What  we believe about God is as A. W. Tozer is the “most important” thing about “us” but our “belief” about who God is has no bearing on God’s Holy Character ——— Lord Jesus, I Praise You because You are Worthy of our Praise.      AMEN

The Jesus Questions

JUNE 16   JQ#16-2 “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3) Jesus has been teaching the “multitudes” with one style and His disciples with another and I believe that is because Jesus can use the same event but teach accordingly to teach different lessons at the same time ——— Jesus is just that good! Jesus proves His consistency and His “Fairness” by always teaching the Truth of God and Jesus makes His lesson personal and intimate or global in nature depending on the needs of His followers. JQ#16 is the second time that Jesus has used the word “Hypocrite!” in His teachings as we see in Matthew 7 that Jesus was teaching the multitudes that we should not judge others (JQ#4) for if we “say to your brother ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye…” and miss the “plank” in our own eyes then Jesus used the word “Hypocrite!” to describe us. (see Matthew 7:2-5) and now  in JQ#16 we see the “scribes and the Pharisees” are questioning Him again as to His Lordship very similar to when the Pharisees had questioned Jesus about “lawful” things for the Sabbath and Jesus had answered, “…the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath’. In the first instance the Pharisees asked Jesus if it was “lawful” for Him and His disciples to pick grain and eat on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) and Jesus answered their question with a definitive statement about His Lordship and in this instance Jesus does the Pharisees just like He did Peter and turns their question into an indictment on themselves as the Pharisees asked  “Why do you transgress the tradition of the elders?” (Matthew 15:2) and Jesus turns that back on them and asks  JQ#16   “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3)  When we look at the context of this question we see it is directed strictly to the legalists of that age and was not addressing the “multitudes” in general, so Jesus has directed His Teaching at a specific group, those that thought that man’s law was greater somehow than God’s own law as Jesus pointed out the commandment of “Honor thy father and thy mother…” had been re-written by the Pharisees so that they could “justify” getting around that commandment for the purpose of personal gain! Jesus quickly let’s them know that changing the commandments “legally” is a sin in itself! Matthew records for the second time Jesus using the word “Hypocrite!”  (see Matthew 7:5) and here where Jesus is talking about the Pharisees practice of changing God’s Law to suit themselves. (Matthew 15:7) Each time the Pharisees try to trap Jesus using their law (the Pharisees interpretation of God’s Law) Jesus points out that God’s Law cannot be changed nor interpreted any was but the way God said it! Jesus makes it perfectly clear with His question that “your tradition” is wrong if it transgresses “the commandment of God”! Jesus again quotes the Prophet Isaiah to describe the Pharisees: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:8-9 taken from Isaiah 29:13) Jesus has once again taught the specific lesson needed to what a specific group needed to help them see that there is the TRUTH set forth by God and no amount of “legislation” or “popular outcry” from a majority of voters can alter or change in any way the Commandments of God. I have to stop and ask a 2016 question today, “Why does the world today fight over who has the right to establish law when the Law has already been established by the One that first establishes Law and then has the Power to enforce it?”

JUNE 16 JQ#16-1 “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JUNE 16    JQ#16-1 “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, there are so many things to thank You for and to praise You for just from the good hard days work You gave me yesterday. When I think of “work” from a “physical” viewpoint it doesn’t make sense how to get a blessing from being in the hot sun sweating and fighting off yellow jackets that sting and hurt so bad but when I think of the “physical” from a “spiritual” viewpoint I see that my blessings are overflowing as I was able to have the physical strength to do the physical labor and that I get to do it in Your beautiful Creation! Lord, I come before You again today seeking Your guidance in all that You lay before me and Trust You to give me the “physical” strength to accomplish Your tasks and the “spiritual” strength to give You Praise for Your Provisions!       AMEN

The Jesus Questions

JUNE 16   JQ#16-1 “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3)  Jesus has just walked on the water and demonstrated to His disciples that He will transfer His Power to those willing to get out of the boat and walk on the water with Him but He also let them see the Truth of God that indeed we “can do all things through Christ Jesus” but without Him we will drown in the world. That great lesson was summarized by the writer Matthew as he wrote of the Jesus/Peter encounter where both were walking on the water and Peter took note of the world and began to sink beneath the waves, Matthew records how Jesus reacted: “and [Peter] beginning to sink … cried out, saying, ‘Lord save me!’ and immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Peter…and when they got back into the boat, the wind ceased.” (Matthew 14:30-32) Matthew then recorded what our response should be: “Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him, saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God’” (Matthew 14:33) Matthew continues his summary as he concludes this section “When they had crossed over… [and] the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out …[and] brought to [Jesus] all who were sick…[and all who were brought to Him] were made perfectly well.” (Matthew 14:34-36) So here is Jesus healing the multitudes, demonstrating that by His actions and the “Fruit of His Kingdom Labors” Jesus is “Truly…the Son of God” and yet there are those with a different agenda that refuse to believe the “Witness” of the “Good Works of Jesus”. Those that believed that Jesus IS the “Son of God” were all “made perfectly well” and we know that all those people could not have been in the boat with Jesus so their healing “Faith” had to come from “hearing” about the Mighty Works that could only be accomplished by the Very Son of God Himself and the cloud of witnesses was so great that the multitudes “believed” and by their “Faith in Jesus” they were healed! So why do we see another group of people who have heard the same thing about Jesus want to attack Him? We read in Matthew 15:1-2 that it once again is the “scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem” that came to Jesus but instead of walking on water they were stirring up waves as they questioned Jesus: “Why do Your  disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?” (Matthew 15:2) which set the scene for another great “Truth of God” and demonstrates why Jesus is “Truly…the Son of God ——— or do you believe that just because you don’t believe that your belief will have any affect on the Power of God? Jesus answered the challenge to His Lordship from the Pharisees just like He addressed the challenge from Peter but with completely different results ——— as soon as HIs Lordship was challenged with a question from the Pharisees Jesus immediately answered their question with a question of His own that made the Pharisees look at the Truth of God that Jesus Teaches and not the truth men try to teach ——— once again Jesus is making us answer that most important question every individual must answer: “Are you going to Trust God and His Truth or are you going to listen to men that tell you what they believe is the truth?” 

JUNE 15 JQ#15 to JQ#16 Transition: “Also…add to your faith…” 2 Peter 1:5 The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JUNE 15    JQ#15 to JQ#16 Transition: “Also…add to your faith…” 2 Peter 1:5

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, Praise, Glory, and Honor to the Son of God who gave Himself for the sins of the world even though men reject the “Gift”.  God still is Gracious in extending His Invitation and is Faithful in His Character and encourages ALL to accept His Offer of Eternal Life! It will forever be a mystery why God went through so much trouble to  prove His Love to us and why we so easily reject His Gift. Lord give me the self discipline to see past my daily physical life on earth and to focus on my eternal spiritual life in heaven and that by knowing Your Mercy and Grace  I will focus on helping others and contribute to Kingdom Work and quit contradicting the “King” Himself. Praise God from whom ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!      AMEN

The Jesus Questions

JUNE 15    JQ#15 to JQ#16 Transition: “Also…add to your faith…” 2 Peter 1:5  The Jesus Questions have been a blessing in themselves and today God added one of His “unexpected” extras that He does when we are following Him. JQ#15 gave me a “personal” insight into some of my shortcomings in that Jesus is the Son of God and has done miracle after miracle in my life and yet there are times that I let my “faith” falter and I fall prey to questioning His Lordship in my life. I had read with amazement that the children of Israel could experience God’s Grace in freeing them from their slavery in Egypt and delivering them from Pharaoh’s army by parting the Red Sea but once they were safely on the “other side” they rebelled against God and whined to go back to slavery!?!?! Then in JQ#15 I see Peter actually actually challenge Jesus while Jesus is walking on water in a storm at sea and is speaking “Peace” to him!?!?! So today as I am reading my morning devotional in Oswald Chamber’s Daily Journal “My Utmost for His Highest” on day “JUNE 15” God spoke to me through my own words in a prayer written on June 15, 2004. How God spoke to me was that just after reading the devotional for JUNE 15 in “Utmost” I then read my prayer written on June 14, 2016 and I was amazed at how God manages to amaze us by using our own life to address our fears and doubts about Him, which is what I think Jesus did for Peter in JQ#15 when Jesus simply extended the invitation to Peter to “come” and Peter actually walked on water!?!?! I have been experiencing some great works of God lately in my personal life but the “joy” was not there and then today as I read my own prayers written 12 years apart I could see that God has been working for twelve years to get me to this point to learn about His Love, even though I have occasionally been “looking back” at my former life in slavery to sin and missing seeing my “personal freedom” God has provided through His Son! I have been in effect “challenging” the very character of God and once again God proved Himself and exposed my “lack of faith” which is a terrible character flaw for someone following Jesus!  God has already done all that must be done for our salvation, why do we still seek for more “signs” that He IS GOD? I leave today with this Oswald Chambers quote from JUNE 15 and will let you see if it applies to you?!?!?!  

“In the matter of drudgery. Peter said in this passage that we have become partakers “of the divine nature”  and that we should now be “giving all diligence,” concentrating on forming godly habits (2 Peter 1:4-5) We are to “add” to our lives all that character means. No one is born either naturally or supernaturally with character; it must be developed. (2 Peter 1:5)”

When I read that passage and realized it was written by the same Peter that had “challenged” Jesus to prove Himself and had actually had a very personal lesson taught to him after he got out of the boat, I wondered if I would have stepped out of the boat and if I did, how many steps would I have taken before I fell back into my old character and sank beneath the waves only to have Jesus “prove Himself once again” and extend His Hand in Love in the midst of my doubt and build my character as only Jesus can? Each lesson Jesus teaches is to “build our character” which I am learning is proportional to my “Faith in Jesus” ——— have you been struggling with your character lately?

JUNE 14 JQ#15-8: “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?” The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JUNE 14    JQ#15-8: “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?”

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, Lord thank You for Your Mercy and Grace that regardless of our circumstances You Lord are Faithful and True to Your Holy Character. Lord I pray that as I finish my journey here on this earth that I will grow my character to be like Your Character in that how I treat others is based entirely on how I choose to demonstrate God in me and not how I let the circumstance and the actions of others dictate my reactions. Lord, I know that if I ask in Your Name and for the Kingdom’s Sake that it will be done according to my faith so therefore Lord I pray to me more like You and how You treated others. Forgive me of my selfishness and  how I have reacted in a “worldly” manner to my circumstances, fill me with Your Holy Spirit and grant that when I am tested that I will hear Your voice saying “Come”.       AMEN

The Jesus Questions

JQ#15-8   “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?”  (Matthew 14:31) Jesus takes us to a very personal level with this question. We know that it is personal because when Jesus was walking on the water to meet up with the disciples in the middle of the sea, we read, “And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!” and they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’” (Matthew 14:26-27) Clearly the disciples were not afraid of the “physical” dangers of the wind and the waves for Jesus had already demonstrated His Power over the physical but here the disciples are addressing the “spiritual” as “ghosts” do not appear in “physical” form. The disciples could not process the sight of a “physical” being “walking on the sea” so they succumbed to their fear of the “spiritual”. Jesus reacted to their fear “immediately” and assured them that they were seeing Jesus and were not to be “afraid”. The circumstance then takes a personal turn because when Jesus spoke to the group, Peter then tested Jesus with a personal question “Lord, if it is You…” but Jesus turned the lesson personal and private with His one word response to Peter “Come”. In Matthew 14:27 Jesus was talking to “them” and then in verse 28 we read “And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So [Jesus] said ‘Come’…” (Matthew 14 28-29) So the lesson went from the disciples in verse 27 to Peter in verse 28 and Jesus moved from calming the group fears to addressing a personal lesson to Peter with a one word command addressed personally to Peter. It should be noted here that it was Peter that challenged Jesus but Jesus proved who He was by teaching a very personal lesson to Peter to be used as an example for all that would be so bold as to challenge Jesus while Jesus announces “It is I” while “walking on the sea” during a storm! I personally think that Peter is being used by God to teach us that our “Faith” will grow as we put it to the “test”.  Jesus used the challenge to “prove” that indeed Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that there is no circumstance or challenge Jesus cannot immediately control and turn into a lesson that will grow us spiritually. The “personal” aspect can be seen as Jesus listened to Peter and commanded Peter in the perfect way to answer the personal question Peter just asked directly to Jesus and the personal response directed to Peter in reference to the personal challenge by Peter to the LORDSHIP of Jesus. This circumstance is totally personal because Jesus commanded Peter to do something personal ——— Jesus did not direct His response to the other disciples. It was Jesus talking to Peter and addressing the personal challenge to His Lordship with a challenge of His own personally to Peter’s “faith” in the Lordship of Christ as Jesus simply commanded Peter to “come” to Him. The lesson we need to learn here is that Jesus is able to “save” us in any circumstance and that Jesus will personally make Himself available to us and will address every challenge for Jesus is the “Truth of God” and our “Faith in Him” will always be proven to be well placed for He is the Christ and can control every circumstance and will do so personally if necessary. We know the outcome will be good because Jesus “stretched out His had and caught” Peter as he was sinking. JQ#15 takes on a different tone when we know it was asked as Jesus was “saving” Peter as Jesus asked Peter personally,”O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” which in the personal context Jesus is assuring Peter that Jesus will never fail us and should never be “doubted”.  If we will simply have “Faith in Jesus” we can boldly and confidently proclaim “JESUS SAVES”. It isn’t easy to explain why God would send Jesus to “save us” even though we continually “Doubt” Him but aren’t You glad that God is God regardless of how many times we challenge Him?

JUNE 13 JQ#15-7: “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?” {Part 2 of 2} The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JUNE 13    JQ#15-7: “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?”

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, You Lord are the Giver of Life and my Praise is to thank You for this wonderful life that You have provided for us as we pass through this valley of the shadow of death. Lord help me to always know that it is only “shadows” that are cast when I let the world come between me and Your Holy Light and when I move into Your Presence and let Your Love illuminate my life that the shadows are dispelled and my fears caused by the “shadows” all cease and I enter into Your Peace and Your Rest. Thank You Lord for Your Sacrifice of Yourself for my sins that I might be bathed in Your Righteousness so that I may have fellowship with the Father.       AMEN

The Jesus Questions

JQ#15-7: “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?”  (Matthew 14:31)  {{Part 2 Jesus and Peter walks on the water}}  In Part 1 a comparison was made between the first time the disciples encountered storm troubles while out in a boat and this second time the disciples found themselves in a storm on the sea. The first event occurred after the disciples had witnessed a series of miracles that in essence proved that Jesus was the Son of God for only God’s Power could accomplish the miracles Jesus had performed. The disciples had witness the miracles and then followed Jesus into the boat and the storm came when Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat. This second event was different in a major way because before going out to sea the disciples themselves were actively involved in doing kingdom work and though it was still the Power of God that accomplished the miracle, the disciples themselves were used as a vessel through which God had accomplished His Work in the lives of the “multitudes”. This second event is also markedly different in that when Jesus had “compassion on the multitudes” that He “commanded” His disciples “you give them something…”(Matthew 14:16) which in essence was the “passing of the mantle” to His disciples to address the needs of the multitudes. Then as they moved from the miracle of feeding “five thousand, besides women and children” that Jesus commanded the disciples to “get into the boat and go before Him”. We can look at the first event at sea and those miracles that the disciples witnessed Jesus doing in the Power of God as a “Teaching” experience and this second event has the focus shifted so that it is a “Learning” experience and a “Test” to see what the disciples have learned about kingdom work and the “Power of God” used to address the “needs” of the multitudes. Of great importance to note with the second event is that Jesus is foreshadowing the fact that He is making “disciples” with the intended purpose that through His disciples that the kingdom work will continue as Jesus commands each of His followers to follow the example of Jesus and then to go out on our own “in the Name and Power of Jesus” and do kingdom work that God sends each of us to do. When Jesus commanded the disciples to get into the boat and “go before Him” there is no doubt that we are called as “disciples” to “learn” that God desires to work His Power through us and then we are to “Go before Him”. To me this says that Jesus wants us to “introduce” Him to others but Jesus promises that He will show up when He is needed and the “timing” is such that God will receive the glory. If Jesus says “go before Him” then it means that He is going to meet up with us again! The second great lesson from the second encounter is that Peter demonstrated that God is “transferring” His power to those that will do His Work. We see that when Peter listened to Jesus when Jesus said “Come” that Peter was able to walk on water just like Jesus was doing and it was only when Peter saw himself as part of the world did he start sinking. As long as Peter was “in the Spirit” following the command of Jesus and had total “Faith in the Power of God” He had the Power to walk on water! We as disciples must get beyond our limited “physical power” and tap into the limitless “Spiritual Power” that God has already demonstrated that He is willing to share with those who are willing to “Go” and do kingdom work. God will NEVER ask us to do anything that He hasn’t already provided us with the ability and “Power” to do. Each lesson is designed to equip us with a little more experience in “how” God has chosen to accomplish “His Desires” for His “chosen ones”! As soon as Jesus calls us individually to “Follow Him” we should understand that from that point on when we respond to His command to “Come” that we are “His chosen ones” and that for all eternity Jesus will be continually “Teaching” us how to “Go” and once we have the “Faith” enough to “get into the boat and go before Him to the other side” we can have the Supreme Confidence He will provide and protect us from the storms if we are about  following Jesus and doing kingdom work! Can you purchase a better retirement plan or invest your time in a more profitable endeavor than having the Power of God provided for you for all eternity? Or I must ask you the same question I asked myself, are you having trouble accepting yourself as “God’s chosen ones”? If we are to “Be like Jesus” we must be willing to accept being called “God’s chosen” for who but Jesus is “The Chosen One”?

JUNE 12 JQ#15-6: “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?” {Part 1 of 2} The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JUNE 12    JQ#15-6: “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?”

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, Lord Jesus, today there is nothing but Praise in my heart for You and the moving of Your Spirit that we have seen this week through Your Church. Lord we know that Your Church is not made of bricks and mortar but of flesh and blood and hearts that have been given to helping others ——— so Lord let us be more like You each day of our life and remember that how we treat others is a direct reflection on how we feel about You, thank You Lord for letting our vessels pour out Your Love on those around us that they too may drink of THE LIVING WATER!       AMEN

The Jesus Questions

JQ#15-6: “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?”  (Matthew 14:31)   {{Part 1 Jesus and Peter walks on the water}}  When the context surrounding this event in which Jesus asked “Why do you doubt?” is looked at from a “spiritual” perspective and take into consideration that this is the second event in which the disciples were out to sea during a storm we can then make a comparison between the two events which appear to be the same. Jesus always has a reason and this event though similar has some distinct differences that Jesus uses to move us forward in our understanding of God and His will for our lives so let us look at not only what is similar with these two “boating experiences” but what is different about them so that we can understand what kingdom lesson Jesus intends for His followers. The first event is introduced with “Now when [Jesus] got into a boat, His disciples followed Him…suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea…but Jesus was asleep…His disciples awoke Him, saying Lord, save us! We are perishing! …Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm.” (Matthew 8:23-26) Jesus had just taught the parable of the two builders, cleansed a leper, healed the Centurion’s servant and Peter’s mother-in-law, and had made this statement about “faith” “Go your way, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” (Matthew 7:24 - 8:22) These were the events leading to the first boat trip so let’s compare those with this second boating experience. The second boating experience starts with “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.” (Matthew 14:22) The event preceding this statement of “immediately Jesus made His disciples” was the feeding of the five thousand where instead of Jesus doing lone acts of healing, the disciples had been active in the miracle feeding as Jesus had commanded His disciples “You give them something to eat” and commanded the disciples to “Bring [the multitudes] here to Me” then Jesus broke and blessed the bread and made the disciples “serve” the “multitudes”. So the first difference is that the events leading up to the first boating experience was Jesus performing miracles and the disciples were observing but the events leading up to the second boating experience had the disciples actively involved in public ministry and doing kingdom work. The second difference is that in the first event Jesus got into the boat and the disciples followed Him where in the second event Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and commanded them to “go before Him to the other side”. (Matthew 14:22) The third difference that stands out is that in the first event Jesus is with them in the boat when the storm arises and the disciples were fearful of losing their lives so they awoke Jesus but in the second event the disciples are alone in the “middle of the sea, tossed by the waves…”  and “in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.”(Matthew 14:25) In the first event the disciples were panicked and thought they were “perishing” but in this event the disciples are only “troubled” and in this event the disciples “fear” came when they thought they were seeing a ghost, “…they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ and they cried out in fear.” (Matthew 14:26) In the first event Jesus woke up and rebuked them and the waves and went back to sleep but in this event when the disciples cry out Jesus assures them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27) The second event marks a milestone in faith for the disciples because even though the waves are “contrary” Peter “answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”(Matthew 14:28) and we read the one word command Jesus gives all of us “Come”. (Matthew 14:29) It is at this point where Peter fixes his eyes firmly on Jesus and steps out of the boat on “Faith” and actually starts walking on water himself! What a lesson to learn here because when Peter “had come down out of the boat, [and] walked on the water to go to Jesus.” Peter had all the “Power of Jesus” when his “Faith” was focused entirely on Jesus (Matthew 14:29) because it was only when Peter came out of the “Spirit” and became aware of the “physical world” that he began to sink, “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord save me!’” (Matthew 14:30) I am sure that Peter’s faith was bolstered when “…immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him…” (Matthew 14:31) “and when [Peter and Jesus] got into the boat the wind ceased.” (Matthew 14:32) Truly we would learn as the disciples did that “Truly [Jesus is] the Son of God” (Matthew 14 :33) if we will reach out to him and declare our need of a Savior or do you believe that you will never encounter any storms in your life?