"And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, 'It is a ghost!' and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.' And Peter answered Him, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him, saying to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased" (Matthew 14:25-32 ESV).
In this story, Jesus' disciples were on a boat in the Sea of Galilee.
This is a boat that the fishermen in Jesus' time used, so their boat would be similar to this one.
It was extremely late in the night and the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea. They were in turmoil, confused, and unsettled thinking that they were seeing a ghost. Therefore, they cried out in fear but Jesus immediately told them that it is indeed Him and to be courageous while dealing with danger and adversity. Peter, still not recognizing fully that it is Jesus, tells Jesus that if it is actually Him for Jesus to command Him to walk on the water. Jesus confirms that it is Him to Peter and as a result Peter gets out of the boat and walks on the water toward Jesus. However, Peter developed an awareness of the storm by the senses and could feel it becoming scared. He began to sink and cried out to Jesus to save him from dying in the sea. Jesus reached out his hand to take hold of Peter and quickly rescued him from danger and asked Peter why he had little faith.
Biblical Narrative
God created the heavens and the earth along with males and females in His image and likeness. However, because of the fall, every child born into this world has sin and depravity in their lives which goes against God and leads to death. This major problem cannot be solved on our own and there is nothing that could solve it outside of God's intervention. Throughout time, God established the law and the prophets that pointed toward a Messiah that would save His people from their sin. God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. He lived a perfect life and fulfilled the law and the prophets while being fully divine and fullly human. He died taking the punishment we deserve nailing all of our sins to the cross and bearing them on the cross along with experiencing the wrath of God. Then Jesus rose again from the dead conquering sin and death and will come again at the end of time to establish His new kingdom.
What Peter Showed
Peter showed that in this intance He did not believe and have confidence in Jesus' power to be with him and rescue him from death. He was unsteady and uncertain after Jesus told him to be steady and firm. It is interesting to note that Peter developed an awareness of the storm by senses. The five senses of the body are tasting, touching, smelling, hearing, and seeing. These have to do with physical parts of the body including the mouth, hands, nose, ears, and eyes which involve the flesh.
The Flesh and Sin
Jesus refers to the flesh when He states, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). He specifically contrasts the body's functions and various expressions and actions that are dominated by sin versus being influenced by God. A few passages before this, He states that one has to be born again to experience the kingdom of God.
Since we are born in having the disease of sin and depravity because of the fall, we have to be born again to experience the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is an already, not yet situation. The kingdom of God is in our midst right now but in the end will come when Jesus comes again. Jesus is talking about the kingdom of God now. He is basically saying that those who experience the kingdom of God possess the divine power of God within them and have a share in God's life.
One can possess God's power within them if they repent (turn away from their sin), believe in Jesus (have confidence and trust in Jesus and His work), and receive Jesus (include Him in experience recognizing His authority). You would be sealed by the Holy Spirit and justified in a legal sense before God. The Holy Spirit will give you a new heart and a new life that now incorporates the living God. As a result, you will hate the flesh and instead grow in holiness and purity in both behavior and words with the help of the Holy Spirit.
References
Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
The Holy Bible: ESV. (2016). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
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