Sermon for January 11, 2026 Peter: The Fisherman, The Common Man, The Impulsive Man & The Apostle”
I love the Bible—I love the Word of God. There is no book more beautiful, more wise, or more important. There is no book that is a greater commentary on the human condition, what it's like to be human.
And in the pages of the Bible we meet real people encountering the living God. As we read and watch how God deals with them, we start to understand ourselves more clearly too—because we learn to see our lives in the light of how God sees us.
Last week we looked at Abram in Genesis chapter 12, who became Abraham. We looked at Abram’s call from God, the Cost of that Call, the Covenant God made with Abram and God’s Commission to Abraham.
Today, in the second part of our series, 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 will see ourselves in his story.
We’re going to look at 4 short snapshots about Peter, who was a simple fisherman.
Here’s where we’re going:
Call: Jesus, God-in-the-Flesh, calls Peter
Cost: Peter leaves it all behind to follow Jesus
Covenant: Jesus promises Peter that He will have an important role in His church
Commission: To preach the gospel
Snapshot 1: Jesus Meets Peter
Here’s the first snapshot. In Luke Chapter 5:1-11, Jesus teaches from Simon’s boat, then tells him to fish in deep water. Though they’d caught nothing all night, Simon obeys and they haul in an enormous catch that nearly sinks two boats. Overwhelmed, Peter confesses his sinfulness, but Jesus tells him not to fear and calls him to “catch people.” They leave everything and follow Jesus.
This was, as far as anyone can tell, Peter’s first real encounter with Jesus. And honestly, it did not start great for Peter. He’d just spent an entire night fishing with the grand total of zero fish.
Then Jesus shows up, tells him to try again, and suddenly Peter’s nets are overflowing.
Peter saw the miracle, experienced that impossible experience, but Interestingly he didn’t focus on the miracle. He pretty quickly summed up that the real point of this event was Jesus and His power.
Faced with this, 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.
Peter knew himself. Peter meets Jesus. Peter feels the first hint of the potential of a life bound to Jesus, and he is overwhelmed. He is overwhlemed with how short he falls of the glory of God. He’s trembling. So he says: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man. It’s like he’s giving a “no” to this encounter with goodness.
But Jesus says to Peter: "Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men." Jesus doesn’t affirm the “No!” Peter is giving himself. Jesus immediately responds with something that connects directly to Peter and what he knows the most about - fishing - and He redefines for Peter his life’s purpose.
So Peter, along with the other fishermen pulled their boats up on shore. He left EVERYTHING and followed Jesus.
That’s our first snapshot of Peter. His encounter with the one who would save him and completely redefine his life.
So Today’s Big idea is this: Jesus takes ordinary, impulsive people and, through calling, failure, and restoration, turns them into faithful witnesses who help build his church.
Snapshot 2 - Peter Identifies Jesus
Our second snapshot is from Matthew chapter 16. To summarize, in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks who people—and the disciples—say he is. Peter confesses, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and Jesus says this truth was revealed by the Father. Jesus renames him Peter, promises to build his church on this “rock,” declares the gates of Hades won’t prevail, and gives him kingdom authority to bind and loose.
This snapshot is about the single most important question ever asked: Who do you say I am?”. All kinds of people had opinions about Jesus. Even then people struggled to understand Him.
To some, the Disciples said, Jesus was John the Baptist, to others the prophet Elijah or the prophet Jeremiah.
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”.
Peter has a personal revelation of who Jesus is and says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”
This revelation, this understanding doesn’t come 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. Jesus says He will build His church among people who know Him, who see Him as He has revealed Himself in person and 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.
Snapshot 3: Peter Denies Jesus
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 really tripping over his passion, stumbling over himself.
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”.
Why did Peter say: “Even if all fall away, I will not!”
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.
How do you think Peter felt here? Peter is brought, in the most painful way imaginable, 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.
Snapshot 4: Peter is Restored and Commissioned
One last snapshot into Peter’s life. We’ve seen his calling by Jesus, his confession of Christ, we’ve seen Peter’s lowest moment, the point at which he denied our Lord, the point at which his human frailty overwhelmed his convictions, 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. Does this ring a bell?
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, when I didn’t know any better I struggled with this situation in Scripture because 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 has come out of Peter’s balloon, all the bravado, perhaps the arrogance and illusion of self-sufficiency 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's 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. Take care of them. 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, but, critically, aware of his profound need of God; 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 still makes some serious mistakes and missteps down the road…a couple of whoppers actually. Just like us, friends.
But Peter, is restored…by being reminded that he really does love Jesus, despite his tendency 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? Maybe that’s happening right now. Thank God for this truth: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Hebrews 12:5B-6
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.
Peter was a fisherman. Jesus invites him to follow Him and He eventually gives Peter a calling to be a pastor, a shepherd, an Apostle-one who was a direct witness to Jesus’ life and ministry. Jesus gave Peter the promise that He, Jesus will build His church “on this rock”, which at the very least means that Peter would play a key role in the establishment of Jesus’ church, which is why we’re here today, by the way.
Interesting, AFTER Peter’s what we might call “fall from grace”, Jesus, by probing Peter as to whether he loved Jesus, then commissions Peter as a central Aposolic leader, along with James, Jesus’ brother, who was prominent in the church in Jerusalem, and Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament letters.
So here’s where I want to land this today. If you don’t yet know Jesus—if you’re curious, sceptical, unsure, or you’ve simply never taken that step—then hear this: Jesus is not standing on the shore with crossed arms, waiting for you to clean yourself up.
He is the one who steps into ordinary lives, speaks a simple word, and says, “Don’t be afraid.” He meets people like Peter—people with rough edges, mixed motives, and a real past—and he calls them close.
And if you do know him, but you’re struggling with yourself—tired of your inconsistency, discouraged by your detours, ashamed of what you’ve said or done, worn out by the gap between what you believe and how you’ve been living—then Peter is your proof that failure is not the end of the story.
The same Jesus who looked Peter in the eye after the denial, made breakfast on the beach, and patiently asked, “Do you love me?” is the Jesus who comes near to you today: not to condemn you, but to restore you, strengthen you, and put your feet back on the path.
And for those of you who have followed Jesus faithfully for years—still battling, still learning, still aware of your weakness—take heart: your long obedience has not been wasted, and your Shepherd has not grown tired of you.
He is building his church with ordinary people who keep coming back to him, and he is still calling, still keeping, still commissioning. So whatever stage you’re in—seeking, struggling, or steady—let this be your hope: Jesus calls you by name, he holds you by grace, and he has real purpose for your life as you simply keep saying yes to 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.
