Tag Archives: Peter

THE BOOK OF ACTS – SAUL’S SIDE-KICK

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SAUL’S SIDE-KICK

“Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. He found him and brought him back to Antioch. They were there a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching a lot of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were for the first time called Christians.” Acts 11:25-26 (The Message).

Luke shines the light on the two main characters of his story, Peter and Saul. Up to this point, Peter was in the limelight, with Saul making brief appearances as a kind of introduction. Peter’s function and influence were in and around Jerusalem and in widening circles around Israel. He was the natural leader of the new movement, together with James and John until James’ untimely death at the hands of Herod.

Saul appeared briefly in Jerusalem before and after his conversion but he was essentially an out-of-Jerusalem Jew. His hometown was Tarsus in Asia Minor to which he was smartly returned when his fiery preaching stirred up trouble in Judea. He disappeared off the scene for a while until Barnabas, realising his worth as a teacher, fetched him from Tarsus and brought him to Antioch to ground the new non-Jewish believes in the Scriptures.

What a Bible School that must have been! As a rabbi, Saul was well-versed in the Scriptures and, with the Holy Spirit as his teacher; he was able to anchor the new converts in the accurate understanding of the Messianic prophecies and of Jesus as their fulfilment.

Saul himself was being enlightened as he taught, honing his understanding of the life and ministry of Jesus as the Messiah, qualifying him to be a skilful exponent of the good news. All these factors were preparing him for what lay ahead, pioneer missionary, author of many of the writings which would later be gathered together into the sacred volume of the Book, and martyr for Jesus.

Although Barnabas was initially the leader, his major role was to be Saul’s side-kick in the missionary enterprise. Without the support of Barnabas, Saul might never have been recognised as the significant and prominent figure he was to become in the history of the early church.

God has room for every kind of person and every gift in the growth of His kingdom on earth. No one is greater than anyone else regardless of whether he is in the limelight or not. We all fit together in an amazing mosaic of divine purpose. Our reward lies, not in the visibility of what we are doing, but in the effectiveness of our obedience to our calling. Had Barnabas not been who he was and done what he did, Saul might never have been in the right place at the right time to become who he was to the church.

Like Jonathan in the Old Testament, who was willing to play second fiddle to David, knowing that David would take his place as king of Israel, God needs people who are not bent on making a name for themselves but are there to stand by and support another chosen by God for leadership. These are the truly great people of the kingdom without whom God’s purposes will not be fulfilled. What an important role they play!

It takes wisdom and humility to promote and support someone else. Your name may never appear in the history books but it will be written on the palm of God’s hand.

“Therefore my dear brothers, stand firm. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15; 58 (NIV).

THE BOOK OF ACTS – BETRAYED – KILLED – RAISED UP

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BETRAYED – KILLED – RAISED UP 

“‘Fellow Israelites, listen carefully to these words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man thoroughly accredited by God to you — the miracles and wonders and signs that God did through Him are common knowledge — this Jesus, following the deliberate and well-thought-out plan of God, was betrayed by men who took the law into their own hands, and was handed over to you. And you pinned Him to a cross and killed Him. But God untied the death ropes and raised Him up. Death was no match for Him…'” Acts 2:22-28 (The Message).

What was Peter to say on an occasion like this? The events of the past six weeks were fresh in the minds of his audience. Many of them had been in the city when Jesus was crucified. Passover was an important feast of the Jewish calendar. As pious Jews they would have come then and stayed for Pentecost.

They knew the events. Now it was time to understand their meaning. It was Peter’s role to interpret the prophetic Scriptures which would clarify everything for them.  True to the promise of Jesus, the Holy Spirit in them brought everything into sharp focus. Peter saw it all and was more than eager to explain what he himself had finally understood.

His famous first sermon was the outpouring of the revelation which had produced worship from the mouths of the disciples when the Spirit came. His mind was alight with the truth of the Old Testament which had lain dormant in him from his early childhood. It was all so clear and all so real!

What did Peter say? He began by quoting from the prophet Joel. ‘You think we are drunk or crazy. This isn’t something that just happened. God spoke about it centuries before through the prophet Joel. Like everything else God has done, He told us it would happen and now it has – just so that we will know it’s God.’

‘Jesus didn’t just happen either. God set it all up and then got it going. You and your unscrupulous leaders put God’s plan into action. They betrayed Him, handed Him over to you and you killed Him. But that didn’t work because God raised Him up again. Death had no permanent grip on Him and now He’s alive!’

What a bold and courageous thing to do! How could Peter have spoken like that when, just a few weeks before, he cowered before a serving maid in the courtyard of the high priest? Now he lays the blame for Jesus’ murder squarely at the door of his hearers. They could have easily mobbed and lynched him and all the others right there!

Instead of being apologetic, he declared the truth, loud and clear. But his intention was not to accuse or blame. He put their culpability in the context of God’s sovereignty and plan. Yes, they did it but God set it up because He had a higher purpose for His Son and for all who believe in Him. This was not about them. It was about Jesus.

When we compare the weak, tame preaching of the gospel in many streams of the church today – “Come to Jesus. He’ll forgive your sins so that you can go to heaven when you die” – with Peter’s startling declaration on the day of Pentecost, we miss the robust content of his message. ‘God planned it; you did it – killed Him by nailing Him to a cross. God had the last word; He raised Him up and He’s alive. Your little scheme didn’t work. And now? You are guilty. You will have to answer for what you did.’

What did Peter mean? Take ownership for your guilt. Only then does God’s mercy come into play. We were all guilty of murdering Jesus even if we weren’t there. Our sin was responsible for nailing Him to the cross. We can never receive mercy until we have received the verdict – guilty as charged.

“God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice because, in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who believe in Jesus.” Romans 3:25-26 (NIV).

And The Rooster Crowed

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AND THE ROOSTER CROWED

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. ’You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,’ she said. But he denied it. ‘I don’t know or understand what you are talking about,’ he said, and went out into the entryway.

When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, ‘This fellow is one of them.’ Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, ‘Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.’ He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know this man you’re talking about.’

Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times.’ And he broke down and wept. (Mark 14: 66-72)

Oh Peter, how could you? Don’t you remember Jesus’ warning?

It’s so easy for us to stand back and judge Peter, isn’t it? Of course we wouldn’t do that, now would we? Or would we? Put yourself in Peter’s shoes. The events of the night happened so fast and so unexpectedly that he was caught unawares. Jesus had given him and all the others plenty of warning about what was to happen to Him, but they had chosen to dismiss His words and not to take Him seriously. Peter had even cancelled out Jesus’ words to him personally by protesting his undying loyalty.

Then things began to spin out of control. Instead of being awake and alert as He had urged them, because His betrayer was on the way and His arrest was imminent, they all fell asleep, giving way to the weakness of the flesh. When the mob fell on Jesus, they were unprepared. As usual, Peter acted first and thought afterwards. It was Peter who recklessly swung his sword and connected with the one person he would not have chosen to tangle with, an important member of the high priest’s household. Fortunately for him, Jesus was there, always watching for an opportunity to fix what was broken in spite of the adverse circumstances.

You have to give it to him, though. He was the only disciple who dared make his way right into the enemy’s camp. He mingled with the crowd in the courtyard of the high priest’s residence and tried to make himself invisible. But, unfortunately for him, he stood out like a sore thumb. His Galilean accent gave him away, for one thing, and for another, he was known to be a disciple of Jesus. He’d been seen all over Jerusalem hanging out with Jesus.

In spite of the evidence, Peter tried to lie his way out of trouble. Would he be arrested because he was guilty by association? He didn’t want to take the chance because he was not about to face crucifixion if the Romans got hold of him. Not once but three times he denied any knowledge of his Master, vehemently cursing and swearing his ignorance of the man he had confessed to be the Son of God not long before.

His conscience stabbed him like a knife because he knew he had lied. And then the rooster crowd. Suddenly his memory lit up like a prairie fire, burning and searing his heart until he crashed in a heap of misery. Jesus’ warning words rang in his mind and even more loudly his protestation of loyalty. In that moment he was stripped naked and saw himself for the first time as he really was – not the brave leader of the pack as he thought he was but a cowardly little weasel, cowering before a serving maid. He wept until he had no more tears to weep but, like feathers in the wind, he could not take his words back.

Worst of all. Jesus knew. Peter saw His glance and burned with shame. There was no opportunity to make right with Him. He was heavily guarded and on His way to death. Peter knew it. He remembered all the altercations He had had with the authorities. The crunch had come and they had Him in their power. There was no escape for Him this time. The Sanhedrin was not interested in them. They wanted the ringleader and the finally had Him.

Had you been in Peter’s shoes would you have acted any differently? How did Peter feel? Desperate enough to do what Judas did? Thank God he hung on, and eventually reaped the reward of forgiveness and reinstatement as a beloved disciple.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Watch this space. My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master, will soon be on the bookshelves.

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God Guilty Of Being God!

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GOD GUILTY OF BEING GOD!

A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put Him to death, but they did not find any. (Mark 14: 51-55).

What a formidable bunch – high priest, chief priests, elders and teachers of the law – the whole shooting match! The most powerful civil and religious authority in the land. They knew they had Rome behind them because they were hand in glove with the Roman authorities, if they could just convince Pilate of His guilt. And Jesus. One man against a ruthless mob but, as we read on we will soon find out who was actually in charge.

The writer of this gospel put his signature to his work in two short sentences. Who was the young man who was sneaking around in the dark, watching and following the crowd to see what was happening. Why was he out in his underwear in the pre-dawn chill? Whoever he was, when he wrote the story he must have been speaking about himself. Who else would have been aware of an insignificant detail like this and included it in his gospel as if to say, ‘I was there’?

Once again Peter was out front. He was brazen enough to shed his fear and follow Jesus to see where they were taking Him. Of course, their first port of call would be the high priest’s residence – and he was waiting for them. The rest of the religious hierarchy quickly assembled.

Jesus and the might of Israel – face to face at last, and they thought they had Him. They had subdued their enemy, and now they had to find a charge that would stick, and one that would put Him away for good. What sort of a justice system was that? Arrest a man because they wanted Him out of the way, and then cook up a plausible accusation to make Him look guilty. How many governments, even the most corrupt in the world, apply justice like that?

They had a difficult situation to contend with – first a charge, then the evidence to convict a man who had dared to challenge His accusers, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” Not a single person came forward with an accusation, not even His avowed enemies. O, they had lots to say about Him but they could make none of it stick.

Many testified falsely against Him, but their statements did not agree. Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against Him, ‘We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’ Yet even their testimony did not agree. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, ‘Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are brining against you?’ But Jesus remained silent and gave not answer. (Mark 14: 56-61)

Is that really what Jesus had said? A few words changed the whole picture. He said, to quote Him accurately, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ (John 2:19) John added, ‘But the temple He had spoken of was His body.’ In a play on words, Jesus was speaking prophetically of what they would do to Him – destroy His body – and His resurrection. Of course they would not understand. But how could a statement like that make Him worthy of death?

To them it did not matter whether the accusations agreed and whether they were false or not. They had their “proof” of His guilt and they could go ahead and sentence Him. In their eagerness to get rid of Him, they overlooked an important detail of their justice system. Anyone who bore a false witness against the accused was subject to the same sentence as the accused. These false witnesses should have been crucified along with Jesus!

What a mess – created by the very ones who were entrusted with the sacred task of exercising justice in the name of their God. God condemned to death for being God, at the hands of men!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

Untested Loyalty

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UNTESTED LOYALTY

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ‘You will all fall away,’ Jesus told them, ‘for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.’

Peter declared, ‘Even if all fall away, I will not.’ ‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘today – yes, tonight – before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.’ But Peter insisted emphatically, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ All the others said the same. (Mark 14: 26-31)

Why did Jesus sound a warning like that? There was no doubt that Peter was very sincere in his declaration of loyalty. Weren’t they all at that moment? Unlike Judas, who had every intention of betraying Jesus, Peter had no such plan of ever denying his association with Him. Why would he? He didn’t have a bone to pick with Him. He may not have always agreed with Him or even understood Him, but there was no doubt about his commitment of loyalty to Him.

Peter adored Jesus, so much so that he did everything in his power to impress Him. Did you notice that when you read the gospels? He was Peter, the “motor mouth”. If there was anything to be said, Peter said it. He was the spokesman for the group. On behalf of them all, he declared without hesitation, in response to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” No doubt they had discussed it among themselves when His words and actions baffled them.

There was no way that He could be just an ordinary man. Never could a man, in all their history, not even the most powerful of prophets, hold a candle to Him. It was not only His words and actions that held them spellbound but also His very nature, revealing the mercy, compassion and love they had never experienced before. There was nothing in Him that resembled other men, and yet He was all man. They were mesmerised by Him.

So, at that moment, in the face of His declaration, they could not think of doing something as dastardly as disowning Him. Their intentions were of the best, but they did not know themselves.

But why was Peter singled out for a warning when they would all be in it together? After all, which was worse – verbally disowning Him or running away when He needed their support. It was one and the same thing.

Peter had to take the rap because Peter was the blabbermouth as usual. The others took their cue from him. We must not forget that these men were very young, probably not much older than teenagers. Rabbis chose their disciples, not from the seasoned scholars but from among the learner rabbis. Jesus, no doubt also looked for the young ones – those He could mould into His image before they became too set in their ways. Perhaps one like Matthew might have been a bit older, in his late twenties, but the rest were still apprentices on the journey of life – untested and inexperienced in handling crises.

Once before, Jesus had warned Peter about Satan’s intention, but he brushed it off with no comment, obviously not really taking His words seriously. Jesus had indicated that He was not perturbed – in fact He promised to pray for him, not to get him out of the test but to pass the test so that he could use the experience to support others when they were tested.

This was the crux of the matter. It was imperative that Peter and his fellow disciples be tested. That they failed was not the issue. They had to experience the test because it was part of their maturing process. Failure was far more important than success. Failure imprints the lesson far more deeply than success. Peter’s protestation of loyalty, backed up by the others meant nothing without putting it to the test. He had to feel the shame of failure. He had to taste the sweetness of the Master’s forgiveness and the realisation that the love of his Master did not depend on his performance but on His character. Peter could not fail himself out of his union with Jesus.

Peter had to learn that it was love for Jesus, not his will power that would steady him in the storms of life. The greatest commandment, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength’ still stands as the solid rock upon which loyalty is built. Everything else is but shifting sand.

‘If you love me,’ Jesus said, ‘you will do what I command you.’

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com