1 Peter 3:18, 22 NLT‬
[18] “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit….
[22] Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.”

We must be careful not to read Peter’s words as though he were quoting from a theological text book.

Peter had personal, firsthand experience of this man, Jesus. He was called to follow Him as a raw young Jew, possibly in his late teens or early twenties. How long did he live in the company of Jesus? Three years? Seven years years? Ten years? We don’t know but long enough to get to know something about Him.

In this unique relationship of “talmid” (disciple) and “rabbi”(teacher), Peter lived side by side with Jesus, walking, eating, sleeping, talking, living in His company for a long time. He could not help getting to know the man Jesus.

Of course, Jesus knew Peter. He could read him like a book. However, getting to know Jesus was a different matter. How can a human know and understand God, even in the flesh?

Peter must have puzzled, pondered, and thought deeply about this ‘mystery’ man who had chosen him to be a close associate. With his meagre education in the ‘torah’, he must have tried to understand Jesus in the light of Messianic prophecy. After all, it was Peter who boldly voiced his conviction that this rabbi was God’s Son.

‭Matthew 16:16 NLT‬
[16] “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

He might not have understood all the implications of this revelation then, but it was a good place to start. Only after Pentecost, when the full deluge of the Holy Spirit fell on him and his fellow disciples, did he understand Jesus enough to proclaim Him as Lord.

‭Acts of the Apostles 2:36 NLT‬
[36] “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

So, with great conviction, Peter could pen the words that summarise what he had seen with his eyes and heard with his ears, and which the Holy Spirit had had blown open with revelation and understanding.

What a powerful witness Peter was to what he had seen and heard. After years of gathering the evidence, it all made perfect sense. God’s Word came alive in this Person. Peter could preach and write the words of a witness par excellence with absolute conviction.

“Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. (Peter was there, in person).

He never sinned, but… (Peter lived with Him for years).

… He died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. (Peter was at the cross, watching Him die).

He suffered physical death,…

… but he was raised to life in the Spirit…. (Peter saw the empty tomb).

Now Christ has gone to heaven. (Peter was there when He went).

He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and…

… all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.”

With a skilful use of words, Peter summarised the life and death of one man who changed the world. Without Jesus, the whole earth and its human population is doomed but…

Jesus came into this earthly scene and changed everything for those who believe.

We may not have walked in Peter’s shoes alongside the man, Jesus, but we have experienced the miracle that His life, death, and resurrection have made possible. We have been forgiven, made alive, given a new nature, and filled with His Spirit. We are a new species, sons and daughters of God, being renewed in the image of Jesus and destined to share His glory in God’s eternal kingdom.

So, we too, are witnesses par excellence to this life into which God has catapulted us by His grace!