Doing something new can be rewarding. But at the same time, it can be downright scary. Especially if the new stuff we intend to do is difficult. How many times have you been about to undertake something difficult—maybe a new diet, or guitar lessons, or getting your driver’s license—only to feel like the world is set against you?
Peter undertakes a new hobby, of sorts, when he gets his superpowers. But before he becomes our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, he is The Human Spider, a kid in a homemade costume ready to do something new in a wrestling arena.
In the center of the massive space is a ring, and in that, stalking the boards, is Bone Saw, his formidable opponent. Bone Saw is adored by the massive throng of cheering fans, many of whom are carrying handmade signs singing his praises with phrases like “Bone Saw: Master of Disaster” and “File Under D for Dead.” The emcee also sings the praises of Bone Saw, the “Titan of Testosterone.”
Peter heads down to register and is greeted with more confidence … in Bone Saw. The registrar even tries to convince Peter that he shouldn’t wrestle, but Peter won’t have it. He is committed to seeing this thing through, because he has his eyes on that $3,000 prize. He has to get that car so he can impress Mary Jane!
The announcer, marvelously portrayed by the great Bruce Campbell (trivia: Campbell is also the sneering usher who won’t let Peter see MJ in The Importance of Being Earnest in Spider-Man 2 and the maitre-d’ who helps Peter propose in Spider-Man 3), rubs salt in the wound when he tells Peter that his wrestling moniker, “The Human Spider,” sucks. The announcer does him a favor and dubs him “Spider-Man” when he introduces Peter to the bloodthirsty fans.
Peter begins to walk down the ramp and is greeted by Bone Saw’s entourage of female friends, all of whom share his proclivity for witty repartee, throwing derogatory remarks at Peter like Peyton Manning throws deep passes. To wit:
“Bone Saw’s going to eat you up and spit you out, little man.”
“I hope you brought your mommy with you, ’cause you’re going to need someone to go crying to.”
“We’re gonna break you.”
“I’m gonna rip all eight of your feeble legs off one by one.”
And so on.
Then, adding further to the trepidation, just as Peter approaches the ring, a previous challenger is wheeled by on a gurney, groaning about how he can’t feel his leg.
Oh, yeah … then Peter sees a giant sign being held up in the crowd: “KILL HIM!”
Our hero must be simply brimming with confidence. Especially when iron bars swing down from the ceiling and Peter is locked into a cage with Bone Saw, who informs him: “You’re going nowhere. I got you for three minutes of playtime.” Peter’s fear is palpable as he pleads with the officials to open up the cage—this is not what he signed up for.
All signs point to disaster.
The devil does this sort of thing all the time. He is hard at work to convince us that his power is greater than God’s … that, when it comes right down to it, we just better give up and give in, because there’s no way we’ll ever succeed at anything worthwhile. This is why the apostle Paul cautioned us not to become weary as we do good (see Galatians 6:9). He wouldn’t have said anything about it if he didn’t know that we’d feel that way sometimes.
Paul also used a lot of imagery in his epistles about life being like a race (see 1 Corinthians 9:24; Galatians 5:7; 2 Timothy 4:7). He understood that this is a life that is meant to be lived out, one foot in front of the other, despite the obstacles. Running a race doesn’t come easily—you have to fight through pain, fatigue, sweat, the weather and other competitors who may seek to do you active harm. And yet, we’re all supposed to run.
A biblical comparison to the story of Peter Parker and Bone Saw can be found in Matthew 14, when Jesus walked on the actual waters of a lake to reach His disciples, who were already in a boat and headed across. The disciples freaked out, thinking it must be a ghost walking toward them, so Jesus tried to calm them down by hollering out who He was.
Peter, one of His disciples, decided to test the waters, if you will, and said, “If it’s really You, then tell me to come walk on the water toward You.”
Jesus did. And Peter hopped out of the boat and started strutting his stuff on top of the water. Pretty cool, eh?
But then Peter noticed that it was kind of windy outside, and there were a lot of waves around, and Gee, it sure is tough going, and uh oh, I’m starting to sink! (See v. 30.)
Something to think about: Why would Peter stress about the wind? Why is that the thing that caused him to sink?
Let’s turn this around. If the water was as still as glass, would he have then been able to walk on it? Was it the wind that prevented Peter from using his gift from God, or was it his own self-doubt?
Peter fell into a trap many of us do: He took his eyes off the gift he’d been given, the task he’d been told to do—by Jesus Himself, mind you—and focused them on something that had absolutely nothing to do with what was within him. And in so doing, he lost his faith.
The other Peter, Peter Parker, experiences a similar thing. He focuses his eyes on his outside circumstances—the crowd, the taunts of Bone Saw’s minions, the cage and the trash-talk of Bone Saw himself—and begins to doubt his own abilities. As viewers, we know that Peter is going to handle himself in that ring, but in the midst of the situation, Peter forgets what he can do … and it freaks him out.
He begins to sink, just a little.
But he remembers himself in the nick of time, and emerges triumphant over what appeared to be a very unbeatable foe. He stops listening to the negative messages that surround him and starts listening to his own heart, remembering who he is and what a tremendous gift he’s been given.
And that’s all it takes. He finishes that particular race. He goes into that ring as Peter Parker, but he perseveres and comes out The Amazing Spider-Man.
So before you change your eating habits or start training for that marathon or buckle in for your driver’s test, prepare yourself for the inevitable onslaught of negative voices, telling you that you can’t do it. And then further prepare yourself to ignore those voices and listen instead to what Jesus is telling you: “Don’t be afraid. It’s Me. Come walk on the water.”