Peer Pressure
John 13:31-38?
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
John 13:31 Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of ?Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; 32 if God is glorified in Him, God will ?also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. 33 “Little children, ?I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ?now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 “A anew ?commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, ?that you also love one another. 35 “By this all men will know that you are My ?disciples, if you have love for one another.”?
John 13:36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus ?answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” 37 ?Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down ?my life for You.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, ?truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.?
Peer pressure is an interesting thing. Peter said he would die for the LORD, but ?when confronted, he denied Jesus. Peer pressure took over. It was probably the ?result of saying that he was a disciple of Jesus. He thought he would be grabbed and ?killed as well. Wait, he said that he would die with Jesus. Therefore, we have an ?interesting conflict. That is why Jesus called his disciples little children. Peter’s faith, ?like the other disciples, was developing and growing. It was not ready for such a leap. ?It would eventually happen.?
I should probably not tell you this story about myself because it was a shameful thing ?to do. In High School I stole a magnifying glass. The only time it ever happened. ?Why would I do such a thing? One word: PEER PRESSURE. My friend Randy was ?in the class and was my laboratory partner. One day, I saw him put a magnifying ?glass into his sock. He saw I saw him do it. He challenged me to do the same thing. ?My first response was “no.” It is wrong to steal, period. I was 17 years old and his ?peer pressure was intense. ?
Yes, after being called a chicken, with my heart pounding, I placed the magnifying ?glass in my sock and together we left the classroom when the bell rang. The feeling ?of dread that we would get caught turned into a victory feeling when we boarded the ?school bus and went home. I kept that magnifying glass until it broke 20 years later. ?It also reminded me how utterly stupid I was and how peer pressure can get a 100% ?honest teenage boy to steal. ?
My when children were growing up, I warned them about peer pressure. I told them ?the story of the magnifying glass. It was at the end of senior year. Graduation was ?two weeks away. If Randy and I got caught, we might not have graduated. It was a ?ridiculous stunt and risk. I did not need the magnifying glass. I collected stamps and ?owned a better one. Peer pressure from Randy got me to take it. As far as I know, ?none of my children had done anything like this. Of course, I did not tell my parents ?and perhaps they did not either. ?
You are thinking what does peer pressure have to do with this story and Peter’s ?denial of being a disciple of Jesus? In this narrative, Jesus starts by calling his ?disciples little children. This is a Semitic phrase that means that the disciples were ?new to Jesus’s teaching, and they were inexperienced in religious politics. They ?would get into situations that they never dreamed of. They needed something to ?support them before going into the world to preach the Gospel. ?
Peter spoke up and said that he was ready! Jesus told him he was not ready. He also ?told Peter that on that night, he would come up against the peer pressure of the ?crowd. The crowd was not Jesus’ fans. Would Peter stand out from the crowd who ?were against Jesus or would the peer pressure of the crowd force Peter to lie??
We know the answer. Peter was confronted with the acknowledgment of Jesus and ?sided with the crowd and deny his friendship. Peer pressure from the crowd won the ?day. After the third time and the rooster crowing, Peter realized he was not ready to ?take the Gospel out into the world. He had succumbed to the crowd. ?
Peter was going to be the leader of the Jesus movement. You cannot be a leader of a ??“radical movement” if you cannot stand up for what you believe. Peter had to have ?learned that. The events of Passion week were difficult for Jesus. Sometimes we ?forget to think about how difficult it was for his disciples. They came close to dying ?with Jesus, which I am sure scared them. Also, how could they tell others about the ?Gospel if they were dead? I am just saying they did not have a good week. ?
I believe Jesus told them to await the Holy Spirit to come upon them before going ?to into the world because Jesus knew they needed support to make it all happen. So, ?what happened? After Jesus’ ascension, the disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem. ?On the day we call Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to the disciples. The Holy Spirit ?armed them with the knowledge and, more importantly, the courage to go out and ?spread the Gospel. ?
All disciples of Jesus need to be evangelists. This was an area that I was scared to do ?when I started my ministry journey. I was a child in that I knew very little about ?Jesus. I spent hours and hours learning everything I could about Jesus and ?Christianity. I graduated from seminary, and I still spent my personal time reading ?theological and doctrinal books. I wanted to be able to talk to believers and non-?believers about faith in Jesus. I can answer the typical questions about Jesus. I had ?those questions in my mind until I learned about Jesus. ?
The fear of evangelism left me when I felt I was no longer a child. I even taught 4 ?classes on evangelism for Lay Servants in my church’s district. If I can do it anyone ?can do it. You just need the training. You already have the support of the Holy Spirit ?through your baptism. Do not let peer pressure of any kind stop you. There are ?forces in our society that want Jesus to disappear. It is the responsibility of Jesus’ ?disciples to ensure that the next generations come to know about him.
Jesus is counting on us! Do not stay as a child of the faith. Become an adult. Then ?you can show your love for Jesus by sharing the Gospel. ?
