Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall. -1 Corinthians 10:12
Saturday’s lesson was from Matthew 14:22-33, and I was excited to lead the discussion. This is the account of Jesus walking on water during a heavy wind storm, with the fearful disciples cowering in the boat as it was tossed to and fro on the open sea. And then Peter showing a measure of faith and stepping out of the boat, but quickly to sink due to his doubting. It’s a great story with many lessons to learn. However, the lesson I learned last Saturday didn’t come from the text at all. No, the lesson for me that day came from something I said, and the subsequent chastening I received from two men, and from the Holy Spirit’s further counsel.
By Friday evening, I had my notes well prepared, for this was a story I was very familiar with and had written about previously. As I prepared for the lesson, I decided to reference the same story from the other gospels, to see if there was anything I could add, that Matthew’s account didn’t mention. I discovered something interesting. The account in John is brief, seven verses, and doesn’t mention Peter getting out of the boat. I thought, that’s odd. Why wouldn’t John have mentioned it, after all, he was there. So, I wrote my observation alongside my other notes and went to the class fully prepared.
After asking a few questions to generate conversation, I then referenced the John account, and how Peter wasn’t mentioned. And then I said, “I wonder if John left Peter out intentionally, after all, they were rivals.” Immediately, Mike spoke up and disagreed with my premise, being adamant that God wrote the scripture and left no room for error. Jeff followed immediately after, and he said pretty much the same thing, that I should be careful adding conflict to scripture where none existed. Their responses, the biblical word is rebuke, stunned me. It was as if I had been slapped in the face. No one likes to be called out in front of others, so my pride reared its ugly head and my face turned red, and for a moment I was at a loss for words. When I did speak, I said defensively, “The fact is, John didn’t mention Peter getting out of the boat,” and left it at that.
The rest of the lesson went well and everyone left in good spirits. Except me. I was troubled. At first, I tried to justify in my mind what I had said. But a voice inside kept whispering, “Ron, you’re wrong.” I pondered on it the remainder of the day, and had trouble sleeping that night. While I wrestled with my thoughts and in my spirit, I decided to seek wise counsel from one of the men who was there, the following morning. To my surprise, although he understood what I said and why I said it, he took their side and agreed with them. I went away downcast, and at home that day I pondered and prayed, and wrestled with it for the remainder of the day and over the next few days. During that time, the Holy Spirit, through the scripture, slowly showed me my error. Also, during my four days of pondering, I found an article with this headline:
A Religious Scholar Tries To Queer the Bible
That headline convicted me. How was my mishandling of scripture any different than the religious scholar referenced in the article? I had imputed to John my weakness, my pettiness, my sin. I had created a controversy in scripture where there wasn’t any. Yes, there are instances in scripture of the competition between disciples for favor and standing with the Lord. But these instances were all during their early walk with Jesus. By the time John’s gospel was written, he was an older, mature man of God, full of the Holy Spirit. Besides John’s character, he was also obeying the promptings of the Holy Spirit when he wrote down his recollections of his time with Jesus. The scriptures are the inerrant word of God. Nothing has been left out, nor does anything need to be added. The truth is, all of the gospels don’t align perfectly, because they were written by four different men, at four different times, with each man inspired by the Holy Spirit. Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 wrote that scripture is God breathed.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (NIV)
What each man wrote was inspired by God, and each man wrote what God intended for him to write. It’s okay to wonder about scripture, there are plenty of mysteries to wonder about, but one needs to be careful about seeing things that aren’t there. Being careful to not add to or take away from scripture. Peter, in 2 Peter 1:20-21, wrote:
“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Even though Mike didn’t mean God literally wrote the scriptures, unlike the two tablets Moses brought down from Mount Horeb, John and the rest of the New Testament writers wrote down what God inspired them to write. Scripture is complete. Why did John leave Peter out of his account? I don’t know. But I’m sure it wasn’t out of spite or any other human frailty. The miracle and power of the story were centered around Jesus, not Peter. Why did the other gospel writers only mention Peter in the courtyard at Jesus trial, but John’s account mentions an additional disciple? I don’t know. If four men, many years later, write their accounts of what transpired during a three year period of time, there will be many differences. If there weren’t, the accounts would be suspect. Are these wonderings of mine important? Not really.
So, I learned one very important lesson; to be careful how I handle scripture. I enjoy teaching, but there are plenty of warnings that come along with it, and I dare not take it lightly. Like this warning from James 3:1-2:
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.”
I am certainly not perfect, and I definitely stumbled in this instance.
But there is another lesson I learned, about pride and becoming overconfident. There are plenty of lessons warning against pride, being full of yourself, and becoming what my father warned me against, “Son, be careful you don’t get too big for your britches.” He also said, “Son, don’t get the big head.” God, my heavenly Father, also warns me in much the same way:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. -1 Corinthians 1:19
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him?” -1 Corinthians 2:16
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” -Proverbs 16:18
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.” -Proverbs 12:15
Being rebuked is not pleasant, but as the Hebrew writer put it in Hebrews 12:11, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Forty one years in and I’m still in training. I’m thankful that my Christian brothers, Mike and Jeff, called me out and set me straight. I’m thankful that my pride didn’t lead me to fall. I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit’s prompting, and that I’m being trained to listen to wise counsel.
I believe God has given me wisdom and led me to teach, but I would be a fool to believe the wisdom I have comes from me. And I still have much wisdom to gain. And so I continue to read God’s word and ponder, and wonder. I once wrote, “Who is the wise man, the one with answers or the one with questions? The foolish man believes he has all the answers, so he stops asking questions. The wise man knows he doesn’t, and so he asks.” I have so many questions.
I find it ironic, that as I began the lesson last Saturday morning, I mentioned to the men how much I love and relate to Peter, probably because, like Peter, I often speak before thinking, and I spend much of my time removing my foot from my mouth. And like Peter, the Lord is patient with me and loves me enough to discipline me. Like the loving Father he is.
Oh, and one other lesson I learned from that day; just because a thought comes into my head, doesn’t mean it needs to come out of my mouth.
If you enjoyed this piece, you might also enjoy my book, Pondering God.
Pondering God 