A Very Short Intro for Matt 14:22-33

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/18/2022 9:34 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                    Focus: A Very Short Intro for Matt. 14:22-33

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  Matt 14:22-33

 

            Message of the verses:  “22 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." 28 Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God’s Son!’”

 

            I want to quote John MacArthur’s introduction to this section of Matthew 13:22-33, but first I have a couple of comments.  I see the word immediately in this section two times and just for a moment I thought that I was reading Mark’s gospel.  Mark’s gospel is a very fast paste book and he uses the word immediately 39 times in his writing.  It seems like Mark is in a hurry to get across the things he wants to get across. 

 

            As we look at verse 33 and I have highlighted the first portion of this verse because it is the theme that we will be looking over the next few days as we go over what is one of the more familiar sections of the New Testament Gospels.

 

            “The pinnacle of this passage is the disciples’ worship of Jesus as they confessed ‘You are certainly God’s Son (v.33).  Though the Father had said this of Jesus at His baptism (3:17) and even the demons at Gadara addressed Him as the Son of God (8:29), this was the first time the Twelve unequivocally declared their Master to be God’s Son.

 

            “Within the events of Matthew 14:22-33 are five demonstrations, or proofs, of Jesus’ deity that led to the disciples’ confession.  Within the period of but a few hours, they received unmistakable verifications of Jesus’ divine authority, divine knowledge, divine protection, divine love, and divine power.”

 

            I am very interested in the study of this section of Scripture because like the previous one we have just completed, which like this one is a very familiar portion of Scripture, there will be things in it that I did not realize were there. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is a great privilege to study the Word of God each day, and I have to say that as I was thinking about this earlier this morning that one of the things that I really must do before my studies is to talk to the Lord, praying that His Holy Spirit will open my eyes to see the things that He desires for me to see, so that I can understand His Word in a better way.  The reason I want to understand His Word better each day is so that I can grow in His grace, and so that I can share what I learn with others, and thus the bottom line is that in doing all of this is to bring glory to Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I desire to learn what the Lord has for me to learn each and every day, so that I can serve Him better.

 

6/18/2022 9:57 AM