Tag Archives: Simon Peter

SIM0N PETER’S MELTDOWN

Christian Life, ,

SIM0N PETER’S MELTDOWN

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord: I am a sinful man!” …Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” Luke 5:8,10b.

While Jesus was preaching from Peter’s boat, some fishermen were a short distance away, cleaning their nets. Perhaps Jesus noticed the dejected expression on the men’s faces. They were tired and disappointed because a whole night’s fishing had brought them nothing. That meant no income for that night’s work.

When He had finished preaching, Jesus turned to the men and gave them an unusual instruction. “Push your boats out again and let down your nets for a catch.” They looked at Him in astonishment. Didn’t He know that no-one fishes in daylight? They would be wasting their time. But something in His voice brought a response from Peter. “We’ll do it because you say so.” And they did. The result was so overwhelmingly abundant that both fishing boats were filled with fish, and they battled to keep them afloat.

In that moment, Peter saw something in Jesus’ authority, His words and His action that caused him to fall on his knees before Jesus. How did Jesus know that the fish were there? He didn’t and they weren’t. But Jesus spoke and the fish obeyed His word. By the time the fishermen threw in their nets again, fish had come from all over the lake to the place where the nets had been cast.

Peter saw Jesus as a totally whole person, acting just as God had created man to act, ruling over nature and showing infinite kindness towards a bunch of weary and frustrated businessmen whose labour had brought them nothing. He saw himself not so much as morally corrupt as a fractured and fragmented man who was self-centred and selfish.

The wholeness of Jesus contrasted with his own brokenness, frightened him. He could not bear to be in the company of one who showed him up for what he was. Peter might have been an ordinary fisherman with not much spiritual understanding, but the presence of Jesus awakened in him feelings of inadequacy. He wanted to go far away from this man who made him feel so uncomfortable.

How comforting is Jesus’ response to Peter’s fear! Instead of confirming Peter’s sense of worthlessness, He spoke words which we can take hold of and apply to ourselves. “Peter, I am not here to show you up and make you afraid of me. I am here to go with you on your journey to wholeness.”

Jesus has no interest in making people feel worthless. When we stand next to Him, we feel His perfection and our imperfection, His love, and our lovelessness, but He sees us as already complete because He sees the end from the beginning. Like the disciples, He is calling us to follow Him so that we can become like Him as the Holy Spirit reshapes us to be like Jesus.

DO YOU LOVE ME?

Christian life, ,

“DO YOU LOVE ME?”

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” John 21:15a

It was early morning. Seven of Jesus’ disciples had gone fishing because they had nothing better to do. They knew Jesus was alive. They had seen Him, but He kept coming and going. He hadn’t yet told them what He wanted them to do. They fished all night but caught nothing. Imagine how unhappy they must have felt. They couldn’t even catch fish even though it was what they could do best.

In the dawn light they saw someone on the beach, and the smoke of a fire. He looked familiar but they couldn’t see who it was. He called out to them, “Have you caught anything?”

“No,” they called back and to their surprise He instructed them to throw their net in again, on the right side of the boat. Peter remembered a similar instruction three years ago, when they caught more fish than they could handle. John suddenly realised who it was. “It’s the Master!” he yelled. Peter flung on his tunic and jumped overboard. He wasn’t going to wait for them to row the boat ashore. He wanted to get to Jesus.

It was a painful moment for Peter, one he had probably been dreading. The coal fire reminded him of his denial of his Master. What would Jesus say to him? The other disciples came ashore with a huge catch of fish. Jesus carried on cooking breakfast, but He said nothing. All the disciples felt bad because they had deserted Him. They waited for Him to scold them, but He kept silent. He knew that their consciences were telling them all how they had failed Him.

After breakfast, Jesus spoke to Peter. “Simon,” He said, “Do you love me?” He called Peter by his old name just to remind him that he had to start all over because of his failure. Why did He not ask Peter why he had denied Him? That was not important to Jesus any more. The most important question Peter needed to answer was, “Do you love me?” Peter could not change what he had done but he could change what he was going to do.

Love is a powerful bond that connects people through thick and thin. Peter did not know it yet, although Jesus warned him of what was coming, but he was going to face many tests of his love for Jesus. He would be beaten, imprisoned, and even threatened with death for following his Master and he would be crucified in the end because he refused to deny Jesus a second time. If he loved Jesus, he would always be loyal to him no matter what happened.

How does our love for Jesus grow? When we experience His love for us in tough times, it gives us confidence to trust and love Him too. The more our love is tested the stronger it grows.

PETER’S RESTORATION

Christian Life, ,

PETER’S RESTORATION

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you truly love me more than these?’

‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’” John21:15, (NIV).

Have you ever worried that you have sinned yourself out of God’s plan for your life?

That’s probably what Peter thought after he had denied Jesus and fled from the scene of his Master’s crucifixion. He went back to fishing together with some of his buddies. Perhaps he thought, “I’ve blown it, so I might as well go back to the old life and forget about this ‘call’ thing.”

I find it fascinating – the way Jesus handled it. 

It was on the beach that He had met Peter the first time and called him to follow Him.  Peter and his business colleagues had been fishing all night – caught nothing. Jesus arrived on the scene and gave them a crazy instruction: “Go back, in broad daylight, and throw in your nets again.” They knew it wouldn’t work but they did it anyway and the result was startling. Jesus’ word had driven the fish into the net and Peter knew he was dealing with no ordinary man. On the strength of that he responded to Jesus’ call, “Follow me.”

Then Peter messed up and thought his life as a disciple was over.

Same place, same scene.  Once again, the disciples had fished all night and caught nothing. Now they couldn’t even do what they were supposed to do best catch fish. Imagine how dejected they must have felt. How did Peter feel? He couldn’t be a disciple and now he couldn’t even fish. 

A lone figure stands on the beach in the early morning.  “Caught anything?” He calls.  “Nothing,” they call back. “Throw in your nets on the right side of the boat.” There is a familiar ring to that instruction. Right side? No, wrong side! Fish don’t swim into nets there.  But they do it anyhow. Again, Jesus word drives the fish into their nets and John cries out in recognition, “It’s the Master!”

Something stirs in Peter’s memory.  It was in a moment just like this that Jesus called him to follow Him. Perhaps…If only…

After breakfast they walk along the beach and Jesus quietly takes Peter aside. Peter waits for the bomb to explode but instead, Jesus stops, looks him in the eyes and asks, three times, “Peter, do you love me?”  Not, “Why did you do it?” or “What’s your problem, man?” but “Do you love me?”

Is that all that matters to Jesus?  Yes. He is not interested in why you blew it. He isn’t surprised either because He knew you’d fail before you ever did it. All that matters is, do you love Him? All He needs is that reassurance from your mouth. It’s easy to answer, either “Yes” or “No”.

“Peter, do you truly love me?  Then follow me.”  That’s all you need.

HE SAW AND BELIEVED

Bible Study, ,

HE SAW AND BELIEVED

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So, she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him.'” John 20:1-3a.

John’s story sounds so true-to-life, doesn’t it?

Mary Magdalene is so distraught about the death of her Master that she can’t sleep. She gets up before daybreak and hurries noiselessly through the dark streets of the city until she comes to the tomb. What is she going to do there? She probably doesn’t know. She just wants to be there one more time, to be near her beloved Master.

In the light of the full moon, as she nears the tomb, she notices that something is amiss. Instead of the huge round stone sealing the entrance, it has been rolled away, leaving a gaping hole. She stops for a moment to assess the situation and then turns and runs, as fast as her legs can carry her, back to the city. Her first thought? ‘I must tell Peter! He’ll know what to do.’

With rasping breaths, she gasps out her story. ‘He’s gone! They’ve taken Him away. I don’t know where He is.’ That’s all. The stone has been moved. Something’s wrong.  Without even going inside the tomb to check whether He is still there, the only conclusion she can come to is that His body has been stolen.

“So, Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but he did not go it.

“Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple who reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead) Then the disciples went back to the others where they were staying.” John 20:3b-10.

Peter and John wrap their cloaks around them and rush off to see what the woman is talking about. By this time, it is beginning to get light. John, the younger man, outruns Peter and reaches the tomb first. The stone has been rolled away, just as Mary had said. He stops at the entrance, hesitant to go in. He bends down and peers into the gloom. As his eyes become accustomed to the dark, he sees something strange. The grave clothes are still lying there, intact but empty. The body has gone.

Peter arrives, panting and, true to character, goes straight into the tomb. He also sees empty grave clothes but sees something else even more puzzling. The cloth over Jesus’ face is lying, not with the grave clothes but by itself, almost as though the body had melted out of it, leaving it in place where the head had been.

John joins Peter in the tomb and stares at the strange sight. Slowly the truth begins to dawn on him. This is no act of grave robbers. No one can remove a body without disturbing the grave clothes. Why would they take the corpse and leave the burial cloths behind? He hears the echo of Jesus’ words in his mind, “…Rise again on the third day! …Rise again on the third day,” and at last it all begins to make sense.

Finally, everything Jesus had told them falls into place and John believes. What a life-transforming experience! “He saw and believed!” The evidence is beyond dispute. He is an eyewitness to the most earth-shattering event in history. A dead man comes back to life as He had predicted. That can mean only one thing — everything else He had said was true.

Many people have made outrageous claims about themselves and their beliefs and, on the strength of those claims, have started religious movements which others had devotedly followed. One thing is missing, though — the evidence. Jesus alone produced the proof that He is who He said He is, and that faith in Him is the only way to the Father.

The evidence is beyond doubt. Have you believed?

Acknowledgement

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.

THE PLOT THICKENS

Bible Study, ,

THE PLOT THICKENS

“Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

“‘You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?’ she asked Peter. He replied, ‘I am not.’ It was cold and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter was also standing with them, warming himself.” John 18:15-18 NIV.

Although John did not refer to the scattering of the disciples after Jesus’ arrest, as Jesus had predicted, at this point he and Peter followed as closely as they dared. John mentioned “another disciple” who was “known to the high priest”. As with the “disciple whom Jesus loved”, he was probably referring to himself. He had some sort of connection to the high priest — perhaps he was familiar with a member or members of his household — and gained easy entrance to the courtyard, but Peter had to stay outside the gate until John tipped off one of the servant girls who let him in.

While Jesus was being interrogated by Annas inside the palace, another interrogation was going on in the courtyard – Peter, confronted by a servant girl! What a contrast! Jesus was facing the most powerful man in the Jewish nation and doing it with dignity and control. In spite of being bound and guarded, He was free – free from guilt and fear, free to walk away any time He wanted to as He had done on many occasions in the past; but also, free to remain a prisoner facing death because He chose to obey the Father. He was not the one on trial. Annas was!

Peter was not a prisoner; he was free to walk away from that scene. He had no ropes around his wrists, no soldiers watching his every move, but he might has well have been chained to one of them because he was held captive by his fear. Who was the servant girl anyway? What power or influence did she have? Was Peter on trial before her? Of course not, and yet, in a moment of panic, Peter denied any association with Jesus. 

The girl must have known that John was a disciple of Jesus. Perhaps John had visited some of the servants more than once. They knew who he was and who he was following. He was in no danger of being arrested. Peter was his companion, hence the question, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” Why would Peter think he was in any danger? Yet he weakened and dissociated himself from Jesus rather than risk exposure to any “trigger-happy” soldier!

Perhaps Peter was not as afraid of the servant girl whose bold question was put to him in the company of people John called “officials”, standing around the fire to warm themselves, as he was of the company he was in at that moment. Not a good place to be, Peter! It was difficult for him to remain unnoticed amongst a group who obviously knew each other and were probably talking among themselves about what was going on inside the high priest’s palace. Then the silly servant girl had to go and deliberately draw attention to him.

Just as Jesus had predicted only a few hours before, Peter was being sifted like wheat and he, who thought he had the courage of a lion, crumpled before a servant girl, stung by her contempt in the presence of a few other unnamed people. But John wasn’t finished with Peter yet. There was more to come.

“Meanwhile the high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and His teaching.” John 18:19.

In the meantime, while Peter’s ordeal was continuing in the courtyard, inside the palace, Annas was squeezing Jesus even tighter, like an anaconda with its coils around its victim. He was probing for clues to His intention. Was He planning an uprising? How many followers did He have? Judging by the crowd that followed Him when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, He might have trained a secret army. The Pharisees had said, “Look how the whole world has gone after Him!” John 12:19b. Were the people loyal enough to support Him in a revolt against Rome? What was He teaching them? Was He secretly instructing them on His strategy when He made His move?

Watch this space!

Acknowledgement

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.