A Fresh Perspective - March 13, 2009
The story in Matthew’s Gospel about Peter walking on the water towards Jesus (14:28-33) can stimulate an interesting discussion on faith. What caused Peter to sink and what prompted Jesus’ question: “Why did you doubt?”
A common interpretation is that Peter took his eyes off Jesus. But the text doesn’t say that. What the text says is: “When he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’” Fear is not the opposite of faith—one can be afraid and still have faith—but fear can overwhelm and stifle faith.
I don’t think Peter had any doubts about the adequacy and power of Jesus to save him and the other disciples. It took a robust faith for Peter to say to Jesus, “Tell me to come to you on the water” and then to actually get out of the boat when Jesus said, “Come.” I don’t think Peter doubted Jesus’ ability to overcome the storm; he doubted his own capacity to do so. Peter didn’t lack faith “in” Jesus; he lacked the faith “of” Jesus. What he lacked was Jesus’ kind of faith.
Jesus, in his earthly ministry, was not nearly as interested in getting people to believe in him as he was interested in cultivating in others his kind of faith—a faith that trusted God wholeheartedly and expressed itself in love for others.
When Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah Jesus says, “Don’t tell anyone” (Mark 8:30). No doubt there was a lot of confusion about the kind of Messiah Jesus was. There still is. Jesus was more concerned about engendering and cultivating in others the kind of faith he himself possessed. Jesus sought to awaken in others the same faith and compassion that motivated and empowered his own works of healing and grace.
Some Christians who get bogged down in beliefs about Jesus lose perspective on what was really important to Jesus. They sacrifice the heart of Christianity on the altar of their beliefs. Jesus’ complete trust in God and his single-minded devotion and faithfulness to God’s will is the kind of faith that Jesus sought to nurture in others. He still does.
My book, “The Good News According to Jesus: A New Kind of Christianity for a New Kind of Christian” is now available from the publisher Smith and Helwys (www.helwys.com).