Im a Peter
So a common Sunday School question is: who is your favorite Bible character? I never did really know until a few years ago... Peter... and maybe thats because Im so much like him. And since Im so much like him, Im very protective of him - I wont let anyone say anything bad about Peter (although on the surface he seems not that great of a character).
Why Peter? The biggest characteristic I share with Peter is that we are both very passionate... Doesnt matter what we do, we do it whole-heartedly - whether its good or bad... If we say something, its whole-heartedly - even if it comes out of our mouth before we know what we are saying... This oftentimes got Peter in trouble and is the reason why he is seen in such a bad light so often...
As we are now in the Holy Week, Peter plays quite a few key roles and has a quite a few memorable performances in the last week of Jesus... too often, we look at the surface value of these roles/actions and write Peter off... lets see if we can dispel some of the darkness on Peter and look at what was really going on... (this is probably going to be a lengthy post, so read at your leisure)
Well, first Peter was one of the three that was praying with Jesus in the garden... one of the three that fell asleep... too many people say 'if they loved Jesus so much, why did they fall asleep?' lets look at Luke 22:45 (all are in KJV unless indicated otherwise) "And when He rose up from prayer, and was come to His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow," - they hadnt just fallen asleep, they had cried themselves to sleep - they may not have known everything that was about to unfold, but they did know Jesus was upset and something bad was about to come - maybe they weren't dumb as everyone makes them out to be, Jesus had been telling them for some time now that He was about to die (I think they missed the whole resurrection part though)
Lets move ahead... Peter next cuts the guy's ear off and Jesus rebukes him... this is the passionate Peter I mentioned before - he was ready to protect his Savior and to go to jail for Him, although not quite what Jesus had in mind...
After that happened, Mark 14:50 says "And they all forsook him, and fled." So yeah, all the disciples left him after the mob came and Jesus healed the guy's ear (his name was Malchus, btw)... but... Peter came back and followed, besides John, he was the only one... mind you this is after all the other disciples swore like Peter did that they would die for Him and wouldn't deny Him (no, Peter was not the only one to make that promise - check out Matthew 26:35 and Mark 14:31)
Speaking of denial... lets back up to the last supper and see what Jesus told him about doing this, Luke 22:31-35 says "31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 33 And he said unto Him, Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison, and to death. 34 And He said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest Me." ... so Jesus tells Peter he is going to do this beforehand, and Peter (as passionate as always) says that he won't... now that's usually all that people see in that Scripture... but look at the part that Ive made bold (vs 31) - Satan asked to sift Peter - kind of like Job (in fact, I believe that Peter and Job are the only ones the devil ever asks to test - correct me if Im wrong)... so even Satan could see that Peter was worth something... Jesus says that He prays for Peter not to fail, but Jesus already knows that he is going to... so He says 'when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren' - or in other words, when you mess up, come back to Me with everything you have and strengthen your brothers - remember all the disciples but John and Peter had deserted Him... so no, there isn't a real excuse for Peter's denial, but there is a reason it had to happen... (sometimes we have to be broken before God can use us)
It was also Peter that went immediately to the empty tomb when the women came and told them about it, while the other disciples didnt even believe them... Luke 24:10-12 "10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass." or in John 20:1-8, John is also mentioned, but again it is Peter who runs passionately into the tomb "1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre(tomb), and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved(John), and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. 3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple(John), and came to the sepulchre. 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. " Jesus later shows himself to all the 11 and scolds them for their lack of faith...
The last chapter of John is a great story to end this on... and also a little bit of a complexity - its not mentioned in the other 3 Gospels... John 21: 1-19 (NLT, since its so long, I thought it might be easier to understand in this version) "1 Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there – Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. 3 Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. 4 At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn't see who He was. 5 He called out, "Friends, have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied. 6 Then He said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get plenty of fish!" So they did, and they couldn't draw in the net because there were so many fish in it. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved(John) said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and swam ashore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only out about three hundred feet. 9 When they got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it, and there was bread. 10 "Bring some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn't torn. 12 "Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said. And no one dared ask Him if He really was the Lord because they were sure of it. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead. 15 After breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," Peter replied, "you know I love You." "Then feed My lambs," Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: "Simon son of John, do you love Me?" "Yes, Lord," Peter said, "you know I love You." "Then take care of my sheep," Jesus said. 17 Once more He asked him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, "Lord, you know everything. You know I love You." Jesus said, "Then feed my sheep. 18 The truth is, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will direct you and take you where you don't want to go." 19 Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then Jesus told him, "Follow me." - I love this story... does it sound familiar? it should... this is the way Peter first met Jesus... personally, I believe Jesus did it this way just for Peter to let him know that Jesus still loved him even though he had failed... Peter passionate as ever to see the Lord jumped out of the boat to go to him - the others brought the fish in... incidently, it numbers the fish as 153, at this time, there were believed to be only 153 different types of fish - so thats pretty neat that john would use that number... anyway... Jesus then proceeds to ask Peter if he loves Him three times - the same number that Peter had denied him... I think Jesus did this on purpose - a second chance for each denial, and then again, He asks Peter to follow Him - this time for good... for this time, Jesus will build His church on him....
so... what did we learn? ha ha... another typical Sunday School question... well, thats up to you what you learned, if anything at all... you dont have to take my word for it, in fact, I encourage you not too... go look it up for yourselves and make up your own mind whether Peter was a good guy or not - whether he is fairly portrayed so often...
as we end our lenten journey and walk through this Holy Week, think about these things... think about the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made, and also the sacrifice of the Father (I come to a new realization of what that is this first year with Gabriel)... and also what the disciples and followers went through - their world is on the brink of being ripped apart... and then think about your own life, if you are a Christian, are you meditating on this week - what your whole faith is based on - does it affect you in any way at all or have you grown desensitized by it all? if you arent a Christian, then make up your own mind, but know that Christ still died for you whether you choose to accept it or not - He loves you whether you want Him to or not, who else can you say that about...
Why Peter? The biggest characteristic I share with Peter is that we are both very passionate... Doesnt matter what we do, we do it whole-heartedly - whether its good or bad... If we say something, its whole-heartedly - even if it comes out of our mouth before we know what we are saying... This oftentimes got Peter in trouble and is the reason why he is seen in such a bad light so often...
As we are now in the Holy Week, Peter plays quite a few key roles and has a quite a few memorable performances in the last week of Jesus... too often, we look at the surface value of these roles/actions and write Peter off... lets see if we can dispel some of the darkness on Peter and look at what was really going on... (this is probably going to be a lengthy post, so read at your leisure)
Well, first Peter was one of the three that was praying with Jesus in the garden... one of the three that fell asleep... too many people say 'if they loved Jesus so much, why did they fall asleep?' lets look at Luke 22:45 (all are in KJV unless indicated otherwise) "And when He rose up from prayer, and was come to His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow," - they hadnt just fallen asleep, they had cried themselves to sleep - they may not have known everything that was about to unfold, but they did know Jesus was upset and something bad was about to come - maybe they weren't dumb as everyone makes them out to be, Jesus had been telling them for some time now that He was about to die (I think they missed the whole resurrection part though)
Lets move ahead... Peter next cuts the guy's ear off and Jesus rebukes him... this is the passionate Peter I mentioned before - he was ready to protect his Savior and to go to jail for Him, although not quite what Jesus had in mind...
After that happened, Mark 14:50 says "And they all forsook him, and fled." So yeah, all the disciples left him after the mob came and Jesus healed the guy's ear (his name was Malchus, btw)... but... Peter came back and followed, besides John, he was the only one... mind you this is after all the other disciples swore like Peter did that they would die for Him and wouldn't deny Him (no, Peter was not the only one to make that promise - check out Matthew 26:35 and Mark 14:31)
Speaking of denial... lets back up to the last supper and see what Jesus told him about doing this, Luke 22:31-35 says "31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 33 And he said unto Him, Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison, and to death. 34 And He said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest Me." ... so Jesus tells Peter he is going to do this beforehand, and Peter (as passionate as always) says that he won't... now that's usually all that people see in that Scripture... but look at the part that Ive made bold (vs 31) - Satan asked to sift Peter - kind of like Job (in fact, I believe that Peter and Job are the only ones the devil ever asks to test - correct me if Im wrong)... so even Satan could see that Peter was worth something... Jesus says that He prays for Peter not to fail, but Jesus already knows that he is going to... so He says 'when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren' - or in other words, when you mess up, come back to Me with everything you have and strengthen your brothers - remember all the disciples but John and Peter had deserted Him... so no, there isn't a real excuse for Peter's denial, but there is a reason it had to happen... (sometimes we have to be broken before God can use us)
It was also Peter that went immediately to the empty tomb when the women came and told them about it, while the other disciples didnt even believe them... Luke 24:10-12 "10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass." or in John 20:1-8, John is also mentioned, but again it is Peter who runs passionately into the tomb "1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre(tomb), and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved(John), and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. 3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple(John), and came to the sepulchre. 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. " Jesus later shows himself to all the 11 and scolds them for their lack of faith...
The last chapter of John is a great story to end this on... and also a little bit of a complexity - its not mentioned in the other 3 Gospels... John 21: 1-19 (NLT, since its so long, I thought it might be easier to understand in this version) "1 Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there – Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. 3 Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. 4 At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn't see who He was. 5 He called out, "Friends, have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied. 6 Then He said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get plenty of fish!" So they did, and they couldn't draw in the net because there were so many fish in it. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved(John) said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and swam ashore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only out about three hundred feet. 9 When they got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it, and there was bread. 10 "Bring some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn't torn. 12 "Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said. And no one dared ask Him if He really was the Lord because they were sure of it. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead. 15 After breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," Peter replied, "you know I love You." "Then feed My lambs," Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: "Simon son of John, do you love Me?" "Yes, Lord," Peter said, "you know I love You." "Then take care of my sheep," Jesus said. 17 Once more He asked him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, "Lord, you know everything. You know I love You." Jesus said, "Then feed my sheep. 18 The truth is, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will direct you and take you where you don't want to go." 19 Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then Jesus told him, "Follow me." - I love this story... does it sound familiar? it should... this is the way Peter first met Jesus... personally, I believe Jesus did it this way just for Peter to let him know that Jesus still loved him even though he had failed... Peter passionate as ever to see the Lord jumped out of the boat to go to him - the others brought the fish in... incidently, it numbers the fish as 153, at this time, there were believed to be only 153 different types of fish - so thats pretty neat that john would use that number... anyway... Jesus then proceeds to ask Peter if he loves Him three times - the same number that Peter had denied him... I think Jesus did this on purpose - a second chance for each denial, and then again, He asks Peter to follow Him - this time for good... for this time, Jesus will build His church on him....
so... what did we learn? ha ha... another typical Sunday School question... well, thats up to you what you learned, if anything at all... you dont have to take my word for it, in fact, I encourage you not too... go look it up for yourselves and make up your own mind whether Peter was a good guy or not - whether he is fairly portrayed so often...
as we end our lenten journey and walk through this Holy Week, think about these things... think about the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made, and also the sacrifice of the Father (I come to a new realization of what that is this first year with Gabriel)... and also what the disciples and followers went through - their world is on the brink of being ripped apart... and then think about your own life, if you are a Christian, are you meditating on this week - what your whole faith is based on - does it affect you in any way at all or have you grown desensitized by it all? if you arent a Christian, then make up your own mind, but know that Christ still died for you whether you choose to accept it or not - He loves you whether you want Him to or not, who else can you say that about...
posted by dangermama at 12:53 PM
3 Comments:
yay - a Peter convert... :)
*starting to get in the Easter mood myself...
Hey Addie, what a good post! I think Paul is my favorite. After doing a study of Philemon a few weeks ago...I learned so much about him and it was so interesting.
interesting... I really like to hear who people relate to...
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