Saints and Sinners: St. Peter – Sermon for CATM – May 24, 2009
Last week for our Quiet Service Pastor Ronda took us through the internal dialogue of an important woman in the Bible who we know as the Samaritan Woman or the Woman at the Well.
That message was an introduction to a short series we’re starting about some of the important characters that we find in the Bible.
The Bible is a book that contains hundreds and hundreds of stories about people as they interact in some way with God. We come to know ourselves best when we look at our relationship with God and that’s also true of the people we find in the Bible.
The Samaritan woman came to see her hope and her joy in Jesus, who, she discovered, knew her intimately and cared for her situation profoundly, so much so in fact that Jesus broke all kinds of taboos just talking to her at the well.
Today we look at how another person encountered Jesus, and how he interacted with Jesus in a few different situations over three years. And perhaps we may see ourselves in his story.
We’re going to look at 4 short stories about Peter, who was a simple fisherman.
Here’s how Luke records Peter’s first encounter with Jesus, our first snapshot of Peter.
Luke 5:1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." 5 Simon answered, "Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him”.
This was, as far as we know, Peter’s first encounter with Jesus. It became clear to Peter, after a pointless night of fishless fishing, after Jesus directed Peter and his co-workers to a huge bounty of fish, it became clear to Peter that Jesus was someone special. Very special.
Peter saw the miracle, but he didn’t focus on the miracle. He got that the real point of this event was Jesus and His power. Faced with Jesus and His power, Peter falls at Jesus knees and says: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.
So we see in Peter a man with his eyes open…both to the sinfulness of his own heart and also to the beauty of Jesus’ heart. And, his eyes being open, he was ashamed. Not a self-absorbed, woe-is-me kind of shame.
A pastor I knew received a consistent comment from people that we’re new to him. They would tell him how humble he was. He would always respond, “I’m not humble…I’m just accurate”. In other words, “I know who I am, and I know who God is”
Peter knew himself. Peter meets Jesus. Peter sees the first glimpse of the potential of a life bound to Jesus. He sees a life of incredible fruit, and he is overwhelmed with how short he falls of the glory of God.
But Jesus says to Peter, to put a fine point on this incredible object lesson: “"Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men."
So Peter, along with the other fishermen pulled their boats up on shore. They left EVERYTHING and followed Jesus.
That’s our first snapshot of Peter. Our second snapshot is from Matthew chapter 16.
Matthew 16: 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
This snapshot is about the single most important single question ever asked. All kinds of opinions about Jesus…and this was 2000 years ago while He was still in the flesh! Even then people formed their opinions of Jesus based on their hopes and wants and needs. Their best guesses.
Sound familiar? Sound familiar how people adapt God to suit their own expectations and aspirations?
To some Jesus was John the Baptist, to others the prophet Elijah or the prophet Jeremiah. The biggest single challenge you and I face is the same Peter and the early followers of Jesus faced.
Will we accept Jesus as He is? Will we accept Jesus on His terms? Will we let the Word of God inform us, shape us and conform our understanding of reality, or will we try to bend it to suit the spirit of this passing age, to suit our itching ears?
I don’t know what kind of thoughts were swirling in Peter’s head when Jesus asked him: “Who do you say I am?”
He was standing around a bunch of people that were really confused about who Jesus was. People who were spouting off their opinions, all of them wrong, about Jesus.
But something in Peter knew, and something in Peter gave him a holy boldness to speak the truth He knew…a truth he definitely understood at one level, while at another level he was struggling to let it fully sink in: Peter said to Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”.
This is huge, friends. Peter’s the first one that gets Jesus! Peter has a revelation that comes not from his own smarts, not from his own capacity to figure stuff out…rather the revelation Peter has is, as Jesus says, from God…from Jesus’ Father in heaven.
God has spoken, and somehow, being a simple fisherman and not an educated Pharisee…somehow Peter has heard.
And the reward Peter is given is that Jesus says He will build his church upon Peter…upon someone who knows God.
It is so important that we know God. Not that we know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows God.
You’ve heard of the “Six Degrees of Separation”. [PPT: Photo] It’s the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most six steps away from any other person on Earth.
It is so critical that we know God. Not that we know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows God.
Jeremiah 9: 23 This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, [who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD].
Jesus says He will build His church among people who know Him, who see Him as He has revealed Himself in Scripture.
Peter knows Jesus…really knows Him and is willing to put it out there that he knows him.
And Jesus makes this awesome promise to Peter, and to all who dare to know God on God’s terms…through Jesus Christ. God will build His church.
Another snapshot of Peter. This one is pretty famous because for all of Peter’s passion and understanding of Jesus that he showed us in the last story we looked at, we see Peter here in this story really tripping over his passion.
He’s falling all over his confession of Jesus and finding in himself one who did not have the courage to match his conviction.
On the Mount of Olives Jesus had said this:
Mark 14:27 "You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written: "’I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." 29 Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not." 30 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "today--yes, tonight--before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times."
Peter asserts himself really boldly here, responding to Jesus prediction by saying that he, Peter, himself, is the one exception to this prediction. “Even if all fall away, I will not”.
What was that? What was that in Peter? I’m askin’? Why do you think Peter said that?
Peter had deep convictions about Jesus. Profound, life-altering beliefs and understandings of Jesus that truly had made the difference in Peter’s life.
He had walked with Jesus and he knew who Jesus was and he was all on fire for Jesus…so much so that he couldn’t even imagine himself failing Jesus.
I’ll admit, I’ve been there. Has anyone else here been there? Or is it just me and Peter?
After Jesus is arrested, Mark records the following:
Mark 14: 66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. "You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus," she said. 68 But he denied it. "I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about," he said, and went out into the entryway.
69 When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, "This fellow is one of them." 70 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." 71 He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, "I don’t know this man you’re talking about." 72 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.
Ouch. Big ouch. How do you think Peter felt here? Peter is brought, in the most painful way imaginable probably, Peter is brought to an understanding that he is frail, that he is human, and he is very, very shaken by this experience. How can it be that he can have all this confidence in Jesus, and still find himself failing himself and God?
How is it that being a follower of God, of the One whose power knows no match, whose holiness know no equal…how is it that one can be an authentic Christian, a “Christ-one” or a “little Christ” (which is what ‘Christian’ means) and fall so short of God’s glory?
I don’t mean ‘how can Peter have tripped a little’? I mean, how can Peter actually deny Jesus when push comes to shove?
Peter started out as a humble guy who, seeing just a glimpse of Jesus power, falls at Jesus’ feet and says: "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" He then spends a lot of time with Jesus…he finds a lot of, frankly, spiritual success. After all, Jesus said that he was going to build his church on Peter.
Peter had journeyed from being this truly humble guy to being, as is clear in a number of other stories of Peter that we haven’t time to look at, to being a pretty strident, blustery guy.
Here, as he is forced to look at himself and his own denial of Jesus, we see Peter returning after some journeying to a place of great humility. Remember that song: [Sing] “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord…”]
Hmm. One last snapshot into Peter’s life. We’ve seen his calling by Jesus, his confession of Christ, we’ve seen perhaps Peter’s lowest moment, the point at which he denied our Lord, the point at which his human frailty became very real to him, when his religious fervour was so deeply tempered by the brokenness of his humanity.
Here we find Peter on a beach after the crucifixion, a beach very like that which Jesus first encountered him. He’s returned to what he knows.
Peter, Thomas and Nathaniel are there with 4 other disciples. Peter decides to go fishing and he’s joined by the others. They’re out all night and have zero luck catching any fish. Jesus stands on the shore but the disciples are a bit too far out to recognize him.
He hollers out to them: “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” They confess they’ve caught nothing. Jesus tells them to toss the net on the right side of the boat and of course they caught so many fish they couldn’t haul in the net.
Then John says to Peter: “It is the Lord”. Peter immediately wraps his outer garment around him and jumps in the water. Jesus invites them to bring their fish and join him for breakfast.
John 21:15 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." 16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." 17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.
This is known as Jesus’ reinstatement of Peter. When I first read this years ago I thought…wow, Jesus is really badgering this guy. Why is he rubbing it in so bad? And why is he even asking if he knows the answer?
Well…Jesus is not badgering or provoking Peter here at all. You see, Jesus knows the depths to which Peter has fallen. Jesus knows that all the air came out of Peter’s balloon, so to speak, when Peter denied Jesus.
Jesus FEELS and KNOWS just how low Peter is, how much regret Peter has been living with, how Peter had given up on himself because he knew he betrayed Christ. Jesus knows the depths of our sin, and He knows the depth of the regret and shame we feel when we fail him.
And Jesus knew that Peter, like us, is not just kicking himself. Jesus knew that the enemy of Peter’s soul, the same enemy we fight against, was using the guilt Peter felt to drag him lower and lower. Satan does that. He tempts us with sin.
“O…go ahead. Just try it. It’s not so bad. Everybody’s doing it!” And if we listen and we fall, the first thing Satan does is accuse. “See…you call yourself a Christian. You oughta be ashamed of yourself. May as well just throw in the towel, ya failure!”.
Sound familiar? We face that all the time. So did Peter. Jesus knew that Peter was vulnerable because of his sin. So Jesus asks a question.
You know, that’s what true spiritual friends do! They don’t condemn you, they don’t point out your flaws. They ask really good questions at the right time. They care enough to wait, and their motivation is to build you up, to strengthen you.
Jesus wanted to strengthen Peter. So he asked the question most critical and most on Peter’s mind. Peter failure was so bitter because it was a failure of love.
He had earlier confessed his devotion to Christ, his love for Jesus, but then he failed to follow through. Three times he failed to follow through. Three times Peter denied Jesus. So for each denial Jesus asks a question:
"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."
Earlier Peter had said that even if all the other disciples abandoned Jesus, he would not.
Now, asked if he still put himself ahead of others, if he still considered his devotion greater than others, Peter simply responds: “You know that I love you”. Something has changed in Peter.
16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
A second question, same as the first. Same answer this time. But now a new word from: Take care of my people. Be their shepherd. Love them as I have loved them.
17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.
By this time, Peter is a bit wounded. Lord…you know everything.
YOU KNOW THAT [a bit of wonder, believing himself perhaps for the first time] I LOVE YOU.”
And Jesus, in his final word to Peter in this moment, reinstates Peter as the one who would feed the sheep of God, the people of God. Peter, who knows God revealed in Jesus Christ;
Peter, who despite this knowing remains terribly broken and needy of God himself; Peter, is called upon to, with his knowledge of God and the deep KNOWING of God that Peter was learning through humility, Peter is called upon to provide spiritual food to God’s people.
Peter, now, is fully restored to right relationship with God. Peter is far from perfect. He makes some serious mistakes and missteps down the road…a couple of whoppers actually.
But Peter, is restored…by being reminded that he really does love Jesus, despite his tendency perhaps to wander. And he is still called by God…God who never changes equips Peter to make a powerful difference for the Kingdom of God.
Now what about you? Can you relate to Peter’s journey? Does Peter’s story sound at all like your story? Have you embraced God and embraced the truth of God in Christ only to find yourself, when tested, falling short of the mark?
Have you experienced a great humbling in your life? Do you feel like God has disciplined you, that God has chastened you, that God has reigned you in?
Well, that’s because He loves you. You are loved by God who asks us through the struggles we face to continually look to him, to affirm your love for him, to embrace and be embraced by Him.
Let’s pray.
God, you love us, and we thank you for your love. Thank you for Peter and for the very human example of Peter’s life and of Peter’s struggle to follow you through adversity.
God, I feel much hope when I think about this life and his mistakes, and yet how you redeemed the dark situation he found himself in, and You restored him fully to relationship with you. Would you do that for each of us, O God?
Would you encourage us by Peter’s example to never give up, to never lose hope, and to always have a heart that responds in love to your presence and to your commands? In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
