JUST LIKE US (part six)
Joshua was the successor to Moses. No one in the entire nation of Israel believed they could conquer Canaan except him and Caleb. When he was leading them into battle against Jericho, God told him to march around the city seven times and blow the trumpets and the wall would come down. It would take a lot of faith to believe God would do this but Joshua obeyed and it happened.
But when Achan disobeyed orders and took some of the sacred things that were supposed to be for God and kept them for himself, the Lord didn't give Israel success against Ai. Joshua's response was very dramatic and emotional. But God told him to get up. He showed him what the problem was and what to do to take care of it.
We can be like that. We can show courage in facing certain situations but then when we get blindsided by something we weren't expecting we can panic. But God will break in and show us what we need to do to take care of the problem.
David was a man after God's own heart yet there were times when he wasn't. He committed adultery with Uriah's wife Bathsheba and then had him killed. But God also said David would do everything God wanted him to. Surely these two things were not what God wanted him to do.
Though David did some things God didn't want him to do, he still did the things God did want him to do. Just like us-sometimes we do God's will and sometimes we don't. That doesn't mean it's okay or that we're hypocrites; it means we're human and we make mistakes.
Today we'll look at Peter.
1) Two steps forward and three steps down.
Peter was a mixed bag-of sorts-passionate yet wreck less-like when he cut off Malchus' ear when Jesus was being arrested. Loving Jesus yet rebuking him when he learned Jesus was going to suffer and die. Peter was fearless one moment and fearful the next-like when he walked on water.
Matt. 14:25-31, "During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Peter was the one who was willing to get out of the boat and walk across the water toward Jesus but then became overwhelmed by his surroundings and started to sink. Jesus asked him why he was afraid. We can be like that. We can face a challenge with courage but it can also be mixed with an amount of fear.
I'm sure Peter didn't just get out of the boat and start walking as if he was taking an afternoon stroll. Every step he took was probably nerve-racking for him. Yet for a while his courage was stronger than his fear. It's interesting that Jesus said he had little faith. If that was the case what did that say about the faith of the rest of the disciples who didn't get out of the boat?
I think Jesus' response to Peter wasn't so much a firm rebuke as it was meant to be corrective. "You could've made it. You didn't have to sink." Jesus would do the same to us. "Come on, you have the strength to overcome", or, "you can do anything through me so why did you doubt".
Not that Jesus never rebuked his disciples for their lack of faith but in this case I see it as more of an encouragement than a reprimand. We can get discouraged when we start out well but along the way we take our eyes of Jesus and start to doubt. We need to work on that but also take into consideration the positives-like the fact that at least we got out of the boat.
Did Peter's doubt show that he was double-minded? James 1:5-8, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."
Was James giving the analogy of the wind and the waves as a reference to what happened here with Peter? No. Peter may have had some doubt, he may have had a mixture of courage and fear-but that's just in this incident. Peter had courage when he got out but when he took his eyes off Jesus he became afraid. Either way, Peter was not a double-minded person.
There's a difference between having mixed emotions or even struggling with faith and doubt in the moment and being a double-minded person. James was addressing the double minded person. As we see in 4:8-9 with the challenge he posed. "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."
We might get discouraged thinking if we have any fears or doubts then we're double-minded. But a double minded person is someone who lives, or tries to live, on both sides of the fence. Like when we looked at Elijah when he had everyone brought to Mt. Carmel? What did he say to the Israelites? “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
This is being double-minded-flip-flopping between belief-systems; wavering between two lifestyles. Jesus talked about this in Rev. 3:16 when he addressed the church in Laodicea. He said they were lukewarm-neither hot nor cold. Jesus wished they were one or the other. Lukewarm and double-minded are in the same genre- having to do with those who try to live in the world and the kingdom. This wasn't Peter. He wavered in the moment but he wasn't double-minded.
Another up and down moment for Peter was when he was adamant that he would never disown Jesus but that's what he ended up doing.
2) "Me...disown you? Never!"
Mark 14:27-31, “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.” “I tell you the truth,” 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.” And all the others said the same."
Even though Jesus tells Peter he will disown him, Peter insistently disagrees. Here we see Peter's arrogance and delusional thinking; albeit noble in one sense. He can't picture himself doing such a thing. But think about it-how many things have we done that if someone told us a while back that we would eventually do it we would've said, 'no way; not me'?
When the things we thought we would never do or the levels we thought we would never stoop to become realities for us we become shocked and humiliated that it ever got to that point. Let's see what ends up happening with Peter.
66-72, "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’re 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 on himself, 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."
Peter finds out the hard way that Jesus was right. Does this mean Peter was a hypocrite? He said one thing but did the opposite. No. When Peter said he wouldn't deny Jesus he truly believed it. A hypocrite says one thing all the while knowing he is doing the opposite. Peter loved Jesus but he needed to realize his devotion was not as strong as he thought it was.
Peter caved in to fear. He thought if he revealed his allegiance to Jesus he may end up like Jesus. Plus he didn't think Jesus would've allowed himself to be arrested without a fight (that's why he was cutting off ears) and so Peter may have been in a state of emotional confusion. But we see that after he denied Jesus he remembered what Jesus said and he had godly sorrow. Peter repented and later Jesus reinstated him.
What about us? We might have faith and devotion to Jesus but do we give in to fear in certain circumstances? It can be easy to talk about Jesus with like-minded people but what about when we're at school or work or with our friends who aren't believers? What if people make fun of Christians? Do we take a stand for Jesus or do we stay silent; not wanting to be laughed at or criticized?
Jesus did a great transformation in Peter's life after Pentecost. He developed the boldness and leadership skills that enabled him to be a pillar of the church. Peter went from being afraid to admit he knew Jesus to being willing to face the religious leaders and preach Christ-even though it brought him persecution.
Although Peter has a great before and after story, that didn't mean his flip-flop issues were totally removed.
3) Peter the chameleon.
A chameleon is a reptile that can change colors to adapt to their surroundings. Because of this, the term chameleon has also been used of someone who changes their demeanor depending on who they happen to be around. Unfortunately, this happened to Peter. When he was in Antioch, there was a situation that rubbed Paul the wrong way and he confronted Peter about it.
Gal. 2:11-14, "When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?"
Paul's like, 'why do you force gentiles to follow the Jewish customs when you yourself, who is a Jew, don't follow them unless there are certain Jews around'? When there were no Jews around, Peter was all friendly with the gentiles. But, when certain Jews were around, Peter was afraid of what they would think when they saw him hanging around the gentiles and not enforcing Jewish regulations on them so he withdrew from them.
As he acted like he didn't know Jesus after he was arrested, he may have done the same thing when it came to knowing the gentiles when these Jews came around. This was no doubt offensive to the new gentile converts and we see it also caused Barnabas and some others to follow Peter's lead. Peter was an influential leader of the church.
If Christ fulfilled the requirements of the law and the gentiles were included in the gospel and upon accepting it were declared equals then why was Peter acting this way? He was afraid of the ridicule he would receive from Jewish converts who felt that gentile converts should adhere to certain Jewish standards, like circumcision. Peter had previously been confronted about eating with gentiles.
Acts 11:1-3, "The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
From there Peter explains the vision that God gave him when he was praying regarding clean and unclean animals. This had to do with Cornelius and the vision God gave him to send for Peter. Peter went to Cornelius' house and witnessed their conversion and was convinced of the gentile's inclusion in the gospel.
After Peter explained all this, vs. 18 states that they had no further objections and even praised God that the gentiles were included in salvation. On top of that, this debate had already been settled by the Jerusalem Council. In Acts 15 it talks about them meeting regarding the debate over whether gentile converts needed to be circumcised. Peter made it clear that it wasn't necessary.
But obviously Peter was still afraid of certain Jews who perhaps weren't willing to let go of their focus on these topics. But Paul would have none of it. He calls Peter out in front of them all. He exposes that when the Jews weren't around, he lived like a gentile and wasn't focused on Jewish customs until the Jews came around. Peter didn't want the Jews to see him not enforcing Jewish customs so he played the part when they were around to appease them. What Peter was doing was not right and Paul confronted him about it.
Do we act like chameleons? Do we act a certain way around Christians and another way around non-Christians? What about when we're at church? Do we typically talk to certain people but if they're not there on any given Sunday we gravitate toward other people? And then when they come back we avoid the other people? Playing favorites is not right. Being friendly to some people only when our closer friends aren't around is not right.
So, surely this signifies that Peter was a hypocrite since Paul uses the word hypocrisy to describe what Peter is doing. Although this does show that Peter was being hypocritical, that doesn't mean he was a hypocrite. There is a difference between the two. Peter's transformation was legitimate-he wasn't faking his devotion to Jesus.
However, in this situation he was being two-faced. Peter had some strong and weak moments. He had some moments where he was being hypocritical. But these isolated incidents don't indicate that Peter was a double minded hypocrite.
There were problems that needed to be addressed, but the real essence of Peter was that he had the faith to get out of the boat even though he started to sink after a few minutes. He was a devoted follower of Jesus even though there was an instance where he denied knowing Jesus. He was a pillar of the church even though he set a bad example in the situation Paul had to address.
This shows that Peter-although bold, courageous and on fire for Jesus-also made some mistakes. Just like us. We may have some issues in our lives that need addressing. We may have some flip-flop moments of our own to contend with. And we may have times where we cave in to fear and don't show the faith we normally do. But does that mean we're hypocrites? No, it shows we're capable of being hypocritical-like Peter.
The boat story, the denial and the two-faced situation didn't define Peter. These isolated incidents weren't the majority of Peter's behavior. They happened, they weren't good, but they don't negate all of what Peter showed himself to be. Same with us. We can be people of integrity but have moments where we compromise our integrity.
Does telling a lie in a moment of fear make us completely untrustworthy? Do our moments of weakness erase the positive qualities we have? It shouldn't. For those who really are hypocrites, the bad things they do show their true colors. But we err when we automatically conclude that making mistakes means someone is a hypocrite or double-minded. Peter's mistakes didn't define his overall character. The same is true for us and others. Peter was just like us.
