Matthew 14:31

 Matthew 14:31

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

a. NLT: Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. NIV: Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

c. Amplified Bible: Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Worrell Translation: And immediately Jesus, stretching forth His hand, took hold of him, and saith to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” [Copyright 1904 by A.S. Worrell. Copyright assigned to the Assemblies of God, Springfield, MO. This edition was published 1980 by the Gospel Publishing House, Springfield, MO 65802. Printed in the U.S.A.]

1. “And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him…”

a. And [Strong: 1161 dé, deh; a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc.:—also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).]

b. immediately [Strong: 2112 euthéōs, yoo-theh'-oce; adverb from G2117; directly, i.e. at once or soon:—anon, as soon as, forthwith, immediately, shortly, straightway.]

c. [Strong: 3588. [ho] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [hos] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, Hē, hé  hē, hai, tas.]

d. Jesus [Strong: 2424 Iēsoûs, ee-ay-sooce'; of Hebrew origin (H3091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites:—Jesus.]

e. stretched forth [Strong: 1614 ekteínō, ek-ti'-no; from G1537 and teino (to stretch); to extend:—cast, put forth, stretch forth (out).]

f. [Strong: 3588. [tēn] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tēn] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, Hē, hé  hē, hai, tas.]

g. [his] hand [Strong: 5495 cheír, khire; perhaps from the base of G5494 in the sense of its congener the base of G5490 (through the idea of hollowness for grasping); the hand (literally or figuratively (power); especially (by Hebraism) a means or instrument):—hand.]

h. [and] caught [Strong: 1949  epilambánomai, ep-ee-lam-ban'-om-ahee; middle voice from G1909 and G2983; to seize (for help, injury, attainment, or any other purpose; literally or figuratively):—catch, lay hold (up-)on, take (by, hold of, on).]

i. him [Strong: 846 autós, ow-tos'; from the particle αὖ aû (perhaps akin to the base of G109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:—her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

2. “…and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

a. and [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:—and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

b. said [Strong: 3004 légō, leg'-o; a primary verb; properly, to "lay" forth, i.e. (figuratively) relate (in words (usually of systematic or set discourse; whereas G2036 and G5346 generally refer to an individual expression or speech respectively; while G4483 is properly to break silence merely, and G2980 means an extended or random harangue)); by implication, to mean:—ask, bid, boast, call, describe, give out, name, put forth, say(-ing, on), shew, speak, tell, utter.]

c. [unto] him [Strong: 846 autós, ow-tos'; from the particle αὖ aû (perhaps akin to the base of G109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:—her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

d. [O thou of] little faith [Strong: oligópistos, ol-ig-op'-is-tos; from G3641 and G4102; incredulous, i.e. lacking confidence (in Christ):—of little faith.] [Zohhiates: oligos-little; pistis-faith; having but little faith.]

e. wherefore [Strong: 1519 eis, ice; a primary preposition; to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etc.); also in adverbial phrases:—(abundant-)ly, against, among, as, at, (back-)ward, before, by, concerning, + continual, + far more exceeding, for (intent, purpose), fore, + forth, in (among, at, unto, -so much that, -to), to the intent that, + of one mind, + never, of, (up-)on, + perish, + set at one again, (so) that, therefore(-unto), throughout, til, to (be, the end, -ward), (here-)until(-to), …ward, (where-)fore, with.

f. wherefore [Strong: 5101 tís, tis; probably emphatic of G5100; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions):—every man, how (much), + no(-ne, thing), what (manner, thing), where (-by, -fore, -of, -unto, - with, -withal), whether, which, who(-m, -se), why.]

g. doubt [Strong: 1365 distázō, dis-tad'-zo; from G1364; properly, to duplicate, i.e. (mentally) to waver (in opinion):—doubt.

1). Jesus asks the rhetorical question, “Why did you doubt?” It is obvious why, when and where he doubted. He doubted when he took his eyes off of Christ Jesus and onto the circumstances. The absolute Biblical truth is that the little bit of faith that Peter had enabled him to walk on the water. It wasn’t until he took his eyes off of Jesus and onto the physical circumstances and allowed fear to enter in that he started to sink, but until then, he walked on the water!

2). Jesus spoke of “great faith” (Matthew 8:10), and in Matthew 14:31 Jesus spoke of “little faith”. Paul thanked God for exceedingly growing “faith” (2 Thessalonians 1:3). Those “full of faith” do “great wonders and miracles” (Acts 6:8), while those in unbelief are rebuked by Jesus and called “faithless and perverse” (Matthew 17:17).  We have the Covenantal responsibility to obey the Scripture and read and study the word to cause faith to grow in our hearts. The word reproduces after its own kind, it will produce faith in our hearts if we study it in obedience. God is faithful.

a). Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

3). World Outreach Church  8/3/11 Peter was actually walking on the water. But when he got his eyes off the answer and onto the problem, he began to sink. However, notice that Jesus didn’t just walk over, slap him, and say, “Swim back to the boat!” That’s the impression a lot of people have of God. They think, I missed it; God is going to get me now. They come under condemnation because they’ve had a faith failure. But God doesn’t want you to feel condemned when you miss it and get out of faith. He’s not condemning you. His hand is always reaching out to pull you back up on top of the situation, Jesus didn’t put Peter under condemnation. He just asked him, “Why did you doubt?” Then Jesus caught hold of Peter’s hand and helped him stand up on top of the water again. And I don’t believe Jesus just pulled Peter along back to the boat. I think they walked back together and had a good discussion about faith on the way. Mark Brazee

4). WOC 8/4/11 Peter was walking on the water. He had a miracle going. He’d stepped out in faith on the strength of Jesus’ word, but got his eyes off the answer and onto the problem and began to sink. Jesus caught him and said, “O thou of little faith.” Do you know what “little faith” is? It’s keeping your eye on the problem instead of the answer. Weak faith says, “I know what God says, but, man, look at the problem!” Great faith says, “I don’t care what it looks like! I know what God says.” The difference between great faith and weak faith is found in what you dwell on—the problem or the answer. One example of great faith can be found in Romans 4:19: “And being not weak in faith, [Abraham] considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb.” Now, take the two nots out of that Scripture, and you’ll see an example of weak faith: “Being weak in faith, he considered his own body now dead.” Weak faith considers the body or the problem; strong faith considers what God says or the answer. Abraham was fully persuaded God would perform what He promised. That’s the mark of great faith. Mark Brazee