When God Commands Us to Do the Impossible

In Matthew 14:28-29, we find one of the most exciting miracles in the Bible. This is where we read about Peter walking on the water. There is something much deeper happening here than most readers see.

One of the reasons most people miss what I am going to share today is because most believers in Yeshua (Jesus) read the book of Matthew as the beginning of a new book, the “New Testament,” instead of reading Matthew in the full context of the Bible, beginning with Genesis. As you read this today, I am hoping that you will see something powerful and life-changing, something that will enhance and build your faith and allow you to enter into the supernatural in a new and exciting way.

Let’s take a closer look at these verses:

“Answering, Peter said to Him, ‘Master, if it’s You, command me to come to You on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to go to Yeshua” (Matt. 14:28, TLV).

As we come to the text above, Yeshua has done something unusual. He told the disciples to get in a boat and head across the sea without Him. Then, when the boat was far away, Yeshua walked across the water to catch up to where His disciples were.

The first reaction of the disciples was to be afraid. But, after Yeshua spoke comforting words to them, Peter speaks in faith saying something very powerful that most readers unfamiliar with the Old Testament writings totally miss.

Peter doesn’t ask permission to walk on water by saying something like, “Hey, Yeshua, can I walk on water with You?” No. Peter, who knew the Hebrew Scriptures and the promises and power of them, asks Yeshua to command him to come to Him on the water.

Peter knew something that G-D wants us to know today. Almost every supernatural event that took place in the Bible was the result of a person of faith being commanded to do something that was impossible, and when they obeyed the command, the impossible became possible.

The Bible is filled with G-D commanding His people to do the impossible. Here are just a few examples: In Exodus 7, G-D commanded Moses to command Aaron to throw down his staff and it would turn into a serpent. Rods don’t become serpents; that is impossible. But, when Aaron did what he was commanded by G-D, the impossible happened.

In Exodus 14, Moses was commanded to lift up his staff and divide the sea so Israel could walk across on dry ground. When Moses obeyed a command to do the impossible, it became a reality. Even when commanding the children of Israel to make the furniture for the Tabernacle and the garments for the High Priest, G-D commanded them to do the impossible.

It is impossible to make a menorah out of pure gold. Gold is too soft of a material to beat into a menorah. They were commanded to engrave the stones of the breastplate, which included a diamond, yet they do not have the technological ability to engrave stones like diamonds. Yet a menorah was made and the stones were engraved.

One last impossible command that we were all given is that we are commanded to love G-D with all of our heart, all of our soul and all of our strength. Like all of the above impossibilities and a long list of others, it is fundamentally impossible to love G-D with all of our heart, all of our soul and all of our strength without the involvement of the supernatural power of G-D.

Just as with each of the examples above, once the person G-D commanded to do the impossible stepped out in faith and did everything that they could to obey, G-D intervened and made the impossible possible.

Peter understood this truth. When Peter saw Yeshua walking on water, he knew walking on water was impossible. But Peter also knew he could do the impossible. He simply needed G-D to command him to do it. So, he does, and the result was Peter walking on water.

Once we understand the miracle power contained within the commandments G-D has given us, we will begin to obey His commandments and see those things in our lives that are impossible become possible. {eoa}

Eric Tokajer is author of With Me in Paradise, Transient Singularity, OY! How Did I Get Here?: Thirty-One Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Entering Ministry, #ManWisdom: With Eric Tokajer, Jesus Is to Christianity as Pasta Is to Italians and Galatians in Context.