The Simon Peter Perspective

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If you've missed any episodes, this series launched on March 19th. Visit SalvationArmyRadio.org to listen and get caught up. In today's message, we study the perspective of Simon Peter as he witnessed the Easter story unfold. The disciple Peter is one of our favorite characters. He's the disciple that speaks before he thinks. He's the one that Jesus often had to humble and correct. True, but I would also say that Peter was this natural leader.

He stood out amongst the others as this leader. In fact, if you look at the Bible, we see where in Luke 5, Peter meets Jesus for the first time. It's a story where Jesus is teaching to a crowd.

How it's getting bigger and bigger. So Jesus realizes he needs to create a boat pulpit. And he jumps in the boat, asks the owner of the boat to push him out just a little way. And of course, that's Simon as he was. And so he goes out. He finishes preaching. He turns to Simon and says, go out to the deep water.

Cast your nets out there. Now Simon was pretty tired. He'd been working all night. He said he washed his nets. He was done. But he didn't ask questions.

He just went out and did as he was told. And he cast out the nets. And the story tells us that they caught so many fish that the nets were beginning to break. So he calls over one of his partners. Come on, I need your boat here as well. We got so many fish. And it says that there were so many fish that both the boats together started to sink because of the waves.

Yeah. So then it records in the book of Luke where Simon Peter recognizing something incredible just happened. It says this, when Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, go away from me, Lord.

I am a sinful man. For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken. And so were James and John and the sons of Zebedee. Then Jesus said to Simon, don't be afraid.

From now on you will fish for people. So they pulled their boats off the shore, left everything, and followed him. I find that quite interesting actually where Luke says that Jesus said to Simon, specifically to Simon, leave everything and follow me. And then it says, and all of them did it. So the message was to Simon, but all of them left.

So it appears that the call to Simon was also responded to by Andrew and James and John. And then it says that Jesus changed the name of Simon to Cephas, which translated means Peter, which of course means the rock. Therefore Jesus had now brought on board probably his most enthusiastic disciple, often speaking out, often pushing back against Jesus, like the time that Jesus predicts his death. That encounter that we see in Matthew 16 where Jesus said, from that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. So Peter takes him aside.

There's the arrogance right here. Peter takes him aside and begins to rebuke Jesus. Never, Lord, he said, that will never happen to you. And what a response from Jesus. Get behind me, Satan, he says to Peter.

You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, you have merely human concerns. Here we see a difference in perspective for Peter and in fairness all the disciples and Jesus. And a difference really that's been in place for all eternity, it's the perspective of man versus the things of God.

We're always wrestling with those perspectives. Peter saw Jesus as a Messiah, but a human Messiah, one who would evade the clutches of man and have this sort of heavenly protection put upon him until he would die of old age. But the Messiah was a different kind of prophet, one where God's hand of protection would be removed at the appropriate time, a prophet who had to die. Now, to be fair, this would have made no sense to Peter. This would have made no sense to the disciples before the cross. It would have been a very, very difficult thing.

The only way it made any sense was it was coming from the mouth of Jesus, but the truth is for the disciples it made no sense. I liken it to when my dad got sick, if you remember that. It was 25 years ago that my dad had two massive strokes. So I'm sitting on this side of the pond, not quite sure what to do. Do I go home now to be with him?

Do I wait till he passes? I mean, remember that period? Well, your mother caught us in January to go back to England because they thought that he had a second one and it was time.

Yeah. And I remember praying one night, and I prayed this earnest prayer, that my dad would survive this, that he wouldn't die and succumb to this. I wasn't ready for that. And then for 11 years I regretted that prayer. Remember that?

I do. You wrestled with that because you wished that you had prayed God's will be done and not what you as his son wanted to happen. So for 11 years he existed. He didn't live. He existed.

He couldn't speak, couldn't walk. You know, he was in a nursing home. But you remember my mom? Your mom was amazing. Every day for 11 years she either visited or made sure that he got a visit. So my mom would visit us.

My sister Linda would usually pick up the slack. Every day for 11 years there was a visit by my mom. And when dad passed away, remember my confusion in all of this, for 11 years, regretting that prayer, thinking this makes no sense. Why would God allow my father to simply exist all that time? God always has a plan.

Well, he did. And that was revealed to us, as you recall, when my mom went to the apartment or to the nursing home to collect dad's belongings right after he died. And two nurses came in and they looked at my mom and said, we've been working here since this place opened.

Ted, that's my dad's name, Ted was the longest serving or longest living resident that we had. We've watched as people have been sent here and nobody visits, yet we've watched you visit every single day for 11 years. Why?

That's the question, why did you do that? And mom was able to give her testimony. As a result of that, these two women both went to the Alpha course, that's sort of an introduction to Christianity. And suddenly, it all made sense. I was looking at this from a worldly perspective.

Why is dad struggling? God had a heavenly perspective in mind. And it was really, really an important eye opener. I think for Peter, this shift from the worldly perspective and the heavenly perspective really, really accelerated at the Last Supper. I love that story where Jesus is washing the disciples' feet. And he gets to Peter and Peter goes, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? And Jesus replied, do you not realize now what I am doing?

Later you'll understand. Peter says, no, no, you're not going to wash my feet. And Jesus said, unless I wash you, you have no part of me. Then Lord, Simon Peter said, not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well. To which Jesus responded, those who have had a bath need only have their feet washed. Their whole body is clean.

And you are clean, though not every one of you. That is a really fascinating exchange between the two of them. Well, it's facilitated by Peter's arrogance.

That's the thing. And it's a terrific message for us. I mean, I look at that, and I recognize that we're called to be in the world but not of it. Therefore, we who are cleansed, we who have been saved are walking in this dirty world. Our feet get dirty. So Jesus is saying to us, make sure you're coming to me. Come, I will wash your feet.

I will forgive you of your sins. That's really where this is going. But if we don't do that, the filth will build and build. It will overcome our thoughts. It will overcome our actions. We'll become, therefore, more worldly and less like Christ. But for Peter, it doesn't stop there.

It just keeps accelerating. Jesus said, my children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me. And just as I told the Jews, so I come to you now. Where I am going, you cannot come. A new command I give you, love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. Simon Peter asked him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus replied, where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later. Peter asked, Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you, he says very boldly. And Jesus answered, will you really lay down your life for me?

Very truly, I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times. And this is probably the best known story, Peter, isn't it, where he denies Christ. To be fair, he's very quick to defend Jesus when Jesus is arrested. He pops off the ear of the high priest's servant.

Yes, you do, yeah. That's right. But then Jesus is arrested. Peter and another disciple kind of follow on behind. And three times while he's there, three times, people ask him, are you one of his disciples? And three times Peter says no. And of course, what we do know next is the rooster crowed. And Peter went outside and wept bitterly.

And here again, we have a difference in perspective. For Jesus, as horrible, as unpleasant as it was, he was doing exactly what was needed to be done for the hope and the future of mankind. Only he knew that the hope of mankind hinged on his death. For the religious leaders, this was a glorious day.

They were now finally getting rid of public enemy number one. But for the disciples, particularly for Peter, this was the most distressing period of their lives. And for Peter, perhaps it was worst of all. Jesus had been arrested. There was a likelihood he was going to be executed. And Peter had failed Jesus on a mighty level. And his guilt would never be reconciled because Jesus would be gone. That was Peter's perspective.

And then the events of Good Friday took place. There was no sign of Peter at the cross. How distressed he must have been not to be there. Because all the evidence would suggest that Peter believed Jesus was dead.

He just assumed this was done. So he was beleaguered with no sense of hope until Easter Sunday. Could it be true? Could Mary be correct? Has the body been removed from the tomb?

If so, what does that mean? I'm very sure that Peter had this glimmer of hope that he might see his Savior again. But was it too much to hope for? And so it is in John chapter 21. We bring the story of Peter who's again going fishing. Jesus has died.

Stories of the resurrection. And Peter is out fishing again. And suddenly, and again we know the story, from the shore comes a voice.

Cast your nets on the other side. And of course they cast their nets on the other side and they had that magnificent catch to which John responds, it's the Lord. And Peter realizing that's the case, he jumps into the water. He wants to get to Jesus as quickly as he possibly can. And he knew that was the quickest way. And he got to the Lord because he needed to be forgiven. How that guilt must have eaten him. How that must have destroyed him.

How lost he must have been. And now he has the opportunity for forgiveness. Jesus not only forgave Peter, but installed him as a leader of the believers. And then Jesus repeated something that he said when he first met Peter. Follow me.

But this time it wasn't follow me as I minister in Israel. Follow me in this earthly walk with me. This time it was follow me in my teachings. Follow my Holy Spirit. Follow me to the cross. Follow me to paradise.

Follow things from my perspective. That's what Jesus was saying. And from that point forward, Peter's perspective was Christ's perspective.

That's very good it was because the future of Christianity was squarely on his shoulders and 119 other people. But the beautiful thing is that ultimately Peter's story is one of faith, trust, and obedience. And how important it is that our story is one of faith, trust, and obedience.

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