For the OneSample

Day 4: The Apostle Peter

When you study the life of the greatest person who ever lived, Jesus Christ, you notice in the Bible that He spent much time alone in prayer with the Father, but He also spent large amounts of time in the presence of others. He taught, healed, and helped the multitudes, but He poured His life into the twelve apostles, and especially into the lives of Peter, James, and John. 

Here, we focus on how Jesus loved and ministered to one of His disciples, the Apostle Peter, who, along with James and John, made up the inner circle of three that our Lord spent most of His time with here on earth. I love the Apostle Peter. He was quite an individual.

Peter is one of the great trophies of God’s grace, and he indeed left an indelible mark for the kingdom of God. You read about his life and ministry in the Gospels and the Book of Acts, as well as studying the two epistles he wrote. Many of us can see ourselves reflected in his life. He is bold and yet cowardly; he is faithful and at times faithless; he often speaks his mind before thinking about what he is saying.  On one occasion he even pulls Jesus aside and rebukes Him! 

Peter finishes well, which is important to remember. At Jesus’ passion, he denies the Lord, but after Christ appears to him in John 21 and restores him, we see a mighty transformation in Peter.  At Pentecost, he stands and preaches, and three thousand people are saved in Acts 2, and five thousand men in Acts 3! 

How is a man like that made? Jesus patiently shaped, disciplined, and chiseled this hot-tempered man from a chunk of coal to a diamond. It did not happen overnight. Peter was difficult, exasperating, and stubborn, but he was worth the effort Jesus invested in him, as he became a champion and chief spokesperson for Christ and the church.

Peter was brought to Jesus by his brother, Andrew, in John 1:40-42. Jesus changes his name from Simon to Cephas, Petros, or Peter, which means stone. He was a rock for Christ. Along with James and John, Peter spent more time with Jesus than the others, and these three had the pristine honor of being present at the Lord’s Transfiguration in Matthew 17. 

Some lessons from the life of Peter—

1. An unguarded strength can become a weakness.

Peter’s quick mind and sharp tongue got him into trouble. Just as he can be bold and zealous in defending Jesus by cutting off Malchus’s ear (John 18:10), he can also be equally tenacious in denying that he even knew Christ, as he did in the hour of Jesus’ passion (Matthew 26:69-75). He can say with great conviction that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and then he can, with the same tongue and within the same setting in Matthew 16, rebuke Jesus. “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, ‘Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!’” (Matthew 16:22)

We should be on guard and humble with our strengths because if unchecked, those same strengths can become obstacles and trip us up.

2. Even the finest saints must continue to grow in grace.  

Peter was a pillar in the New Testament church, as the first twelve chapters in the book of Acts demonstrate; however, he still struggled and needed to grow in grace and in sanctification. Twenty plus years from the events recorded in Acts 2-3, we read in Galatians 2:11-14 that Paul confronted Peter. Paul told Peter that he was being a hypocrite because he had fellowship with the Gentiles until the Jews arrived, and then he withdrew from them. None of us ever arrive; we are all in process and should be growing closer to the Lord daily, but we will have setbacks.

3. To err is human and to forgive is indeed divine. 

Peter erred, but Jesus forgave and restored him completely. Peter rebuked the Lord, he lacked faith at times, and he even denied Jesus and cursed that he did not know Him. Yet Jesus fully forgave and restored Peter in John 21. 

Peter finished well; he died a martyr’s death in the AD 60s under Emperor Nero. He was crucified upside down. Peter was not perfect, but he genuinely loved Christ and repented when he sinned, and God forgave and used him mightily up until his death.

4. Winning souls for Christ is the passion in life for the dedicated Christian. 

Peter shows us this in his life and teachings. We see him witnessing and preaching in the Book of Acts, and thousands came to faith in Christ through his ministry. Peter wrote these words:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9).

Peter was a unique man whom God used powerfully. May Peter’s zeal and passion for Christ and sharing Him with others encourage and motivate you and me to be better witnesses for Christ. 

Questions:

1. What happened to Peter that so radically changed him from someone who denied Jesus to a man who died for Jesus?

2. How patient are you with yourself and others when God is working to make us more like Christ?