Peter: The Second Chance Apostle (6)

The Fighter Forgives

“And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” (Matt. 26:51-52). When reading this, it is pretty obvious that Peter was not aiming for the ear of Malchus. He was likely aiming at a larger object and wanted to kill the man wanting to arrest Jesus. Peter is ready to fight and kill anyone who is trying murder the Christ.

Skip ahead to Acts 2. Peter is the premier preacher at Pentecost. The masses have come to the realization, “We have murdered the Christ. What can we do about our sins?” Listen to what Peter tells them. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Whereas he once was ready to murder a man, he is not doing the opposite. He is offering life to those who would obey Christ. He is preaching that forgiveness of sins is something that Christ is willing to offer those who would obey Him. It is offered to those who murdered Jesus. It was even offered to Peter.

There is a lesson we should learn from this. We all have struggles in our lives. We looked at some which Peter faced. We have times in which we give in. Peter did. God was willing to take Peter back and offer him a “second chance.” But you may be wondering, “I thought a second chance was something like ‘one last chance.’ Peter sure got a lot of second chances.” You would be correct. It is from the example of Peter where we learn a valuable lesson. Christianity is not a religion of “second chances.” It is a religion of unlimited chances, that is, unless we refuse to do what is right and serve God. If we are honestly trying to do His will and sin, we can know that God will be willing to take us back, no matter what it is we have done.

We must be willing to do certain things.

If one is not a Christian:

1.       We are to hear God’s Word (Rom. 10:17).

2.      We are to believe that Word (Heb. 11:6).

3.      We must be willing to repent of sins (Luke 13:3, 5).

4.      We must confess Christ as the Son of God (Rom. 10:10; Acts 8:37).

5.      We must be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38).

6.      Live a life of faithfulness (Rev. 2:10).

If one is a Christian:

1.       If we sin after becoming a Christians, we know that by praying for forgiveness and repenting of our sins, we will be forgiven (1 John 1:7-10).

Peter: The Second Chance Apostle (5)

The Protector Professes

Matthew 26:33-35 contains a very bold statement made by the apostle Peter. Jesus told them, “You will all be offended in me.” That is, they will all be “stumbled” because of this. What does Peter tell Him? “Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended” (Matt 26:33). “These other guys might be offended by you but I will NEVER be offended by you, Lord!” Christ replied, “Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice” (v. 34). Peter responds by saying, “I will die before I be offended!” The rest of the disciples joined in with Peter’s statement. What really happened? Peter is recognized as a follower of Christ, which he denies. It gets to the point that he begins to “curse and swear” (v. 74). This is not to be understood as we would think of someone cursing and swearing today. In this day and age it would refer to someone using foul language. In those times, it meant someone swore that a statement was true and that a curse be put on them if it were not. He swore an oath that he did not know who Christ was. The cock crew a third time and Peter remembered what Christ told him. Fleeing the scene, Peter wept bitterly.

We, too can be guilty of this. How many of us were on fire for the Lord when we first became Christians? How long did that last? Many individuals go through what is called a “Honeymoon” period. Think of a couple before and shortly after the marriage. He sees the moon and the stars within her eyes. She believes he is the one that hung them. Everything is perfect. There are no problems in the world. Then the honeymoon ends and the rubber meets the road. The couple faces their first big problem and begin thinking, “I did not sign up for this!” They begin to realize certain realities that were never noticed before. He may leave his clothes lying about. She has an annoying whistle coming from her nose when she sleeps at night. Couples have to work through certain issues in the relationship.

The same is true for members of the church. We eventually have to face certain realities concerning the world and the inhabitants thereof. There are also certain realities we must face concerning the members of the church. They are not perfect people. But we can ultimately do a lot to deny Him by our reactions to these groups of people.

Peter: The Second Chance Apostle (4)

The Confessor Constricts

Matthew 16:13-23 is well known for the confession that is made by the apostle Peter (Matt. 16:18). Peter was correct in saying that whereas some men believed Christ to be Jeremiah, Elijah, or another of the prophets, He was really the Son of the Living God. Christ said that His church would be build upon that great confession. Honestly, it was a big deal for Peter to say something like this. Christ made a lot of people angry by making this claim. Our focus is not so much on the confession which Peter made but a statement he makes after this great confession.

“From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (Matt. 16:21). Peter does not like what Christ had revealed to them. It seems from the wording that Peter pulls Jesus to the side and says, “Lord, that’s not going to happen to you.” While the act of rebuking is normally thought to be someone speaking in an authoritative tone, it seems the apostle was very calm in making this statement. He is speaking one friend to another. Still, Peter rebuked the One he earlier referred to as “the Son of the Living God.” In turn, Christ refers to Peter as “Satan.” The word “Satan” is from a Greek word which means “an adversary.” Christ did not refer to as literally being Satan at that moment. Rather, He is saying that Peter’s mindset is making himself an adversary to Christ’s ultimate purpose. He tells Peter, “You are not thinking on the level of the spiritual but of worldly things.”

Man can surely be guilty of this action. It is easy to claim Jesus as Lord but how many are living according to His will? Think of the culture in which we live and its attitude toward certain Bible topics. Think of the attitude toward the topic of baptism. Many will claim a proper relationship with Christ but when the topic of baptism arises there are many sparks of controversy. Point out clear scripture on the subject and you may hear one of many phrases (Acts 2:38; 22:16). “I do not see the importance of it!” “It does not make sense to me. How is going under some water important in the eyes of God?” Too often people will ignore plain scripture to say, “I will not do it.” If one of us has this mindset, the best thing to do is get over ourselves and what WE expect from the scriptures and to DO what God has commanded. That mindset can and will hinder our Christianity.

Interestingly enough, the apostle Peter is seen with Christ at the mount of transfiguration (Matt. 17). Despite being an adversary to Christ, he was given a second chance.

Peter: The Second Chance Apostle (3)

The Walker Wanes

There was something great which occurred after the feeding of the 5,000. The book of Matthew records Peter doing something extraordinary (Matt. 14:22-33). While Christ was alone praying, the disciples were being tossed around by a storm in the Sea of Galilee. Obviously, they are somewhat frightened by what is occurring. To make matter worse, they see what they believe to be a ghost walking toward the ship. Imagine how calming it must have been to hear, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (v. 27). Peter upon hearing this comes to a realization. “If this truly is the Christ, then I should be able to walk on the water toward Him.” After receiving an invitation by Christ, Peter walked on the water and began heading toward Jesus. At this moment Peter is focused on the right person. His focus is on the Christ. That focus is about to shift. Peter begins to pay more attention to the strong winds and the waves beating upon his legs. Peter begins to slowly sink into the seas. Too often people use this time to critique the apostle for his lack of faith. Did any of the other apostles use this opportunity to walk on water? It was only Peter who did this. Yes, he did end up focusing on the wrong things but do not discount that which he did.

We can be guilty of the same actions of Peter. While none of us will walk on water (1 Cor. 13), there are moments where are spiritual lives will not be as they should be. Think of a time in which things are going great spiritually speaking. We have our focus on Christ and are going strong as Christians when all of a sudden something comes along and derails our progress. Our focus goes from Christ to other things. The storms which this life brings cause us to channel our energies where they should not be and our faith begins to waver. If one is not careful, that one can find himself in over his head.

There is a word which should encourage any Christian who finds themselves in such a state. That word is “immediately.” Peter, realizing his state, cries out, “Lord, save me!” (v. 30). Notice, we do not read of Christ waiting for a moment before He pulled Peter out of the waters. He did not tell Peter, “Keep thinking about what you have done and I will pull you out of this situation when I am good and ready.” IMMEDIATELY, Christ pulled Peter up and brought the apostle back to the ship. When we find ourselves overwhelmed by the world and the trials which we face, please realize there is a hand outstretched and waiting for us to take hold. Peter was given a second chance. So will we be given one.

Peter: The Second Chance Apostle (2)

Peter’s Profile

The word Peter means, “a stone” and is the Hebrew counterpart to Cephas (John 1:42). As seen from the preceding verse, Peter’s name was originally “Simon” (hearing) by the Christ. He and Andrew had a father named Jonas but nothing is known about their mother. His later residence is that of Capernaum (Matt. 8:14). It is also from this verse that we realize that the apostle was a married man. His initial meeting with Christ was that which occurred when Andrew spoke of the Messiah and brought Peter to him (John 1). Later, Christ calls him to become a fisher of men. “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.” (Matt. 4:18-20).

There is much recorded about the apostle within the four gospel accounts and the book of Acts. So much that one could do a number of studies on the apostle. There is little recorded after what is given in Acts. The International Standard Encyclopedia records, “There is little authentically recorded about Peter…” There are many traditions about Peter’s life after the recordings of the Bible which would contradict Holy Scripture. As an example, we will examine the tradition that Peter began the church at Rome. “It should be observed, however, that the tradition that he visited Rome is only tradition and nothing more, resting as it does partly upon a miscalculation of some of the early Fathers, who assume that he went to Rome in 42 AD, immediately after his deliverance from prison” (ISBE). When Paul first visited the city, the church was already established (Acts 28:15-16). At no point does Luke record any of Peter’s activities within the region. This would be strange since the two men who receive the most focus within the book of Acts are Peter and Paul. Even when Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans there is no mention to the apostle Peter anywhere, nor did he mention a connection between Rome and Peter. The statement “…is irreconcilable with the silence of Scripture, and even with the mere fact of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, written in 58, since the latter says not a word of Peter's previous labors in that city, and he himself never built on other men's foundations” (Rom. 15:20; 2 Cor. 10:16).

What we do know is that Peter did missionary work in the area of Asia Minor with his wife (1 Cor. 9:5). “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Pet. 1:1). Peter wrote his first epistle in light of Nero’s persecution of Christians and it is said that he was in prison awaiting his execution date when Peter wrote his second epistle.

That being said, we will notice what tradition teaches concerning the death of the apostle. History records a peculiar death for the apostle Peter as he was crucified about 67-68 A.D. What was peculiar was not that he was a martyr. All of the apostles but John are reported to have been martyred. It was not the fact that he was crucified. While he did not face the same type of punishment that many Christians received at that time, it was not uncommon for Christians to face a very painful death for faithfulness. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records that Peter, “was crucified, his head being down and his feet upward, himself so requiring, because he was (he said) unworthy to be crucified after the same manner as the Lord was. Keep in mind, this is what tradition states.