Learning From Peter

Matthew 16:13-23

Introduction

We have a lot of information in the Bible about the lives of people who have sought to follow God. But why? Why not just have a list of commands, the dos and don’ts of what life is supposed to look like? Rules are fine but lists of commands do not necessarily give us a picture of what faith looks like in real life. What really helps is if we can see actual examples of real human beings attempting to live out their faith. Not necessarily an ideal picture that we could never live up to but people who stumble and struggle but persist in their attempts to be faithful. This is why we have so much detail about people of the Bible. We can learn from their successes and failures.

We recently did a series on what I call the B-Team, people in the Bible who are not the most famous but people we can learn a lot from. I really appreciate their stories.

Today we are going to start a very short series on people from the A-Team, people that everyone knows about. These are going to be Peter and Paul. They would seem to be people at the top of the spiritual ladder and yet I think as we go through their experiences that we will have some idea of how their experience overlaps with us. Ultimately they are only human and we worship the same God. So let us begin with the life of Peter.

Life of Peter

If someone was asked to name one of the twelve apostles, probably Peter would be named more than anyone else. We also have the most information about Peter than any of the twelve. In fact we have very little information about Peter’s brother Andrew, even though we wish we did. What can we say about Peter?

The first thing that we know is that his original name is not Peter but Simon or Simeon. Both Simon and Simeon mean something like listening or hearing. As I have already mentioned, Simon had a brother named Andrew and they were partners in a fishing business. Simon would have been someone who understood the importance of hard work, as well as courage fishing on a lake that had some very unpredictable weather. One day, a travelling preacher came by while Simon and Andrew were working. This man named Jesus told them to leave what they were doing and follow him. Consider the cost of that. What would it have meant for them to just leave all their equipment and joining an itinerate teacher? We find out that there was even more of a cost than just losing a business. One of Jesus’s first miracles was healing Simon’s mother-in-law. This of course means that Simon had a wife. We do not know if he had any children. I suspect that the healing the mother-in-law helped Simon and his wife come to terms with the calling of Jesus. While his wife does not seem to travel with them during Jesus’ ministry, there are indications that they are together after the resurrection and during the early years of the church.

Simon, along with fellow fishermen James and John, were part of Jesus’ inner circle and they got to witness things that the rest of the twelve did not. One of these was the transfiguration of Jesus. On that mountain, they were joined by Old Testament figures Moses and Elijah. Simon offered to build shelters for them, which was a silly thing to suggest but reflects his tendency to say the first thing that comes to mind.

Let’s focus a bit on the passage that was read. Jesus asked his disciples who people were saying that he was. Then Jesus asked the more important question of who they thought Jesus was. Once again, Simon was the first to respond and he stated “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” That was in fact the correct answer! This was so well done that Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter. Peter is Greek for rock and it is in that form, because the New Testament was written in Greek. You will also see in the New Testament, references to Cephas, which is the Aramaic of rock and is what he would have actually been called. Imagine the incredible high that Peter must have experienced, that he would be praised in such a way by Jesus. But it was not to laugh. Jesus went on to explain that he was going to die in Jerusalem. Obviously, Peter had a negative reaction and characteristically, he said exactly what was on his mind. So Peter exclaimed that such a thing should not happen. With the previous compliment still ringing in ears, Peter heard the thing none of us would want to hear: “Get behind me Satan.” Is that not a bit of an overreaction? To not want Jesus to die is a normal and even commendable concept. The problem was not that Peter loved Jesus too much, the problem was that he voiced his belief that this should not happen in such a way that Satan could use it to tempt Jesus to avoid the cross. Jesus was always meant to go to the cross but Jesus never wanted to go to the cross. No one wanted to go to the cross. Jesus was determined to fulfill the will of the Father. The last thing that Jesus needed was one of his best friends to encourage him to avoid the cross. Unfortunately, this was not going to be the last major stumble for Peter. The night before the crucifixion, Jesus informed Peter that he would deny Jesus three times. Peter had no intention of denying Jesus once, much less three times. And yet by the end of the night, Peter had indeed denied Jesus three times. Peter was one of the leaders of the disciples and with Jesus dead, people were going to look to him. But he had failed so badly. And yet when Jesus was resurrected, he made a point of coming to Peter and making sure that they were reconciled. Jesus had not given up on Peter. And so after the ascension, on the Day of Pentecost, what is considered the birth of the Christian Church, it was Peter who gave the sermon and it was through his ministry that thousands were saved. Some have suggested that the difference was the Holy Spirit. The Spirit took this stumbling disciple and made him into a powerful preacher. While I do not disagree with that, I would not want to suggest that Peter was no perfect. We find in Paul’s letters that Peter still stumbled. He was spending time with Gentile Christians, even eating with them. This was natural as it was through Peter’s ministry with Cornelius that the Gentiles were welcomed into the church. But when Jewish Christians came by, Peter separated himself from the Gentile Christians because he was concerned about what the Jewish Christians would think. Paul ended up correcting Peter publicly over this misstep that could have been a stumbling block to Gentiles. 

Although his death is not described in the New Testament, legend tells us that he died like his Saviour, on a cross, although upside down.

Conclusion

That is the story of Peter. Why do I share this? It is much more than an interest in ancient biography. The details of our life and that of Peter’s are different. And yet we still might find some similarities.

I know I have said things before I had really thought about it and wished that I could take the words back. More than that, I see in Peter someone who is a normal person. Peter loves Jesus and wants to do what is right but does stumble from time to time. What I see as the most impressive trait of Peter is not his incredible leadership potential but his commitment to keep getting back up. There are people who would have given up long before and yet Peter brushes himself off and tries to do better the next time.

Can you identify with Peter? Have you disappointed yourself and perhaps have worried that you have disappointed Jesus? Do you have great goals but find that you sometimes miss the mark in the follow through? I certainly do not feel like a spiritual giant and I can see all sorts of areas for improvement.

Peter’s story can be an inspiration. He gets knocked and gets up again. He is persistent. Peter may be exactly the spiritual role model that we need, not because of his perfection but because of his stubborn love for Jesus.