QUESTION #22 O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

QUESTIONS JESUS ASKED BIBLE STUDY


 








Read Matthew 14:22-36 KJV: 

 

*  O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? (Matthew 14:31)

 

WHY DID YOU DOUBT?

Reference: Matthew 14:22-36; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:15-21

 

“Why did you doubt?” Jesus asked. Why do any of us begin to doubt? Let’s look at the story of Jesus walking on water when he bid Peter to come to Him and see if we can find the answer to this age-old question. (Read Matthew 14:22-36)

 

The miracle of Jesus walking on water is not just something biblical scholars and devout Christians know. It’s a story that almost everyone knows. Here’s the problem with famous miracles like this one. We tend to focus on the act itself. However, every time you read the Bible and see Jesus doing something amazing, you ask yourself why He did it. Jesus had a purpose for everything that he did, including miracles. They are called signs, because they’re pointing us to the truth.

 

The first purpose was to show us His divinity. He wanted to show His disciples He was God. This was a truth they still didn’t understand.

 

From the previous miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand (Mark 6:52) tells us they couldn’t understand about the loaves and their hearts were hardened. So, in the storm they’re painfully trying to make headway in a picture of the storm that was going on in their hearts and minds. They understood Jesus miraculously broke the loaves so hungry people would be satisfied. But, they didn’t understand that Jesus Himself was the Bread of Life (John 6:32-35) and He Himself must be broken so hungry souls would be satisfied. They understood Jesus had power, but didn’t understand He was power. They understood Jesus was from God, but didn’t understand Jesus Himself was God.

 

It was the fourth watch (3 a.m. to 6 p.m.) of the night and they were in the middle of a storm. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they cried out in fear thinking they were seeing a spirit. Right away Jesus called out to them, “Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid.”

 

Peter wanting to prove his courage to Jesus made an amazing statement: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to You on the water”. These were rough seas, and Peter was willing to literally step onto them because He was looking at Jesus. That gave him confidence and courage. It went well until Peter started to sink. Why did he start to sink? Because he took his eyes off Jesus and put them on other things. The Bible tells us, “When he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid”. He became afraid of the circumstances surrounding him and began to doubt (loose faith).

 

Circumstances can be frightening. When your boss calls you in and tells you the company is downsizing and they are letting you go, when the doctor calls you with test results that are devastating, when you open a letter from an attorney that says you are being sued, when you are in so pain it overwhelms you, it can scare you. It can devastate you. And it can cause you to take your eyes off Jesus.

 

Where fear begins, faith is driven away. But where faith reigns, fear has no place. Faith and fear do not mix. As you bring in faith, fear will walk out the back door. But if you invite fear as a resident in your life, then you will drive faith away. Peter had faith. He had his eyes on Jesus. He was doing the impossible. But he started to sink because he took his eyes off Jesus. In his case he looked at the wind. In our case, it might be something else. But it’s evident when we forget God, we will start to sink.

 

What were Peter’s next words? “Lord save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him. Peter called out to the Lord because he believed He could save him. We too, can call out to the Lord when we begin to fear and loose doubt and immediately the Lord will stretch forth His hand and save us – if we believe.

 

Believe what? That through Christ’s doctrine we can be saved. For more information see pamphlet Plan of Salvation.

 

Notes:

 

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