What was Peter's significance, and why was he so important?
'PETER' |
Who was Peter?
Perhaps the greatest redemption narrative ever told is Peter's life.
Fishermen were thought to be manly men with violent tempers and foul language in his day. They were historically uneducated, but they would have had plenty of wits and survival abilities honed by hard work and surviving the oceans and seafood markets. Fishermen were stereotypically action-oriented, physically strong, and unafraid of others, as Peter proves when he cuts off the soldier's ear in the Garden of Gethsemane after Jesus' arrest—a fleshly reaction to violence rather than the love he'd heard Jesus preach for three years.
However, in the New Testament, this simple journey of a fisherman to the apostle of Christ is found. The Gospel of Mark is actually by the Church tradition a collaboration with John and Mark, who wrote it and compiled it for an account of the life of Peter—a sort of biography. Then, in the Book of Acts, Peter's trouble with the spread of the Good News is found and he wrote two letters in which he adopted new Christians into the Bible. The following picture: Fisherman and Peter on the Galilean Sea.
The effects of Peter's life cannot be summarised in or even in a few articles since his influence is full of information, application studies, and relevant information. But I would like to present four remarkable points about the example and the ministry of Peter. I hope that these will inspire you to study this complicated and imperfect man for yourself.
'Peter was the first to be called by Jesus by the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke' |
The sinful man Peter was, yet he became part of the inner circle of Christ:-
Peter was the first to be called by Jesus by the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And Peter's brother Andrew, then James and John, followed closely.
The accounts of Matthew and Mark are almost the same as when Jesus came near to his fishing boats. Luke, however, adds more detail by portraying Peter and Jesus at the very beginning of their relationship, with a sincere moment. When, on an otherwise unclean trip, Peter sees the miracle of fishing, he realizes his sinful state and, falling on his knees, gives glory to the Lord before him, exclaiming: "Go away from me! "' (Luke 5:8). However, Jesus looked at this evil man and said, 'Don't worry, you'll fish for people from now on (Luke 5:10).
After his words, Peter and the other three dropped everything and began a wonderful journey with Jesus, including their very identity as fishermen. But Jesus loved Peter wholeheartedly and continued to use him for the work of His Kingdom, just as His nature is. This was the announcement by Peter of the Messiah Jesus (Luke 9:20).
Peter is considered to be part of the inner circle of Jesus because only Peter, John, and James, including the Transfiguration, have been testimonies in many cases. That was when Jesus' physical aspect changed and His divinity was disclosed to them (Matthew 17:2), and the father said to them with "glory glory" (Luke 9:30), "This is my son, whom I enjoy well. Listen to him! Listen to him!" (Mt. 17:5).
The close relationship between Peter and Jesus demonstrates that he wants a close connection with his followers — normal people like Peter and like me and you. Seeing that Jesus took and infinitely loved an uneducated sinful man gives us confidence that He can do this for us. The following picture: Jesus washing Peter's feet.
'He walked on the harsh sea to meet Jesus on the waters' |
As Jesus' follower, Peter grew up in maturity:-
Peter was a man during Jesus' ministry who wanted the powerful faith but often stumbled. He walked on the harsh sea to meet Jesus on the waters, yet he begins to be in doubt even after taking a few steps safely. Jesus saves him from "little faith" in this passage (Matthew 14:31). Later, after He had foreseen His death, Peter reproached the Lord and said, "Never, Lord! You're never going to do this!'" (Matt. 16:22). And after Jesus was arrested, Peter disowned Him three times before the rooster crowed the next morning (Matthew 26:69-75).
Even so, having been rehabilitated and forgiven by His Lord after Jesus ascended to heaven, Peter becomes the apostolic spokesman. This uneducated man spoke courageously to thousands of people, brought them the Fair News, and converted them to Christianity. In his more than 30 years of working for the Kingdom of God, he performed many miracles that brought the dead to life (Acts 9:36-43). He went all over with the message of God to show his maturity by living a spiritual life, enduring persecution, imprisonment, and death.
For Peter himself, 1 Peter 2, 2 says, "Like newborn children, long for spiritual milk so that by it, now that you have tasted of the good of the God, you may grow up in your salvation."See, the time spent with Jesus by Peter should bring about maturation in the relationship of the faithful, as it was with him. It can be shown by one's obedience to His Word and by one's spiritual fruit. Every day I pray that my understanding of Jesus will grow and that He will use me as He did with Peter in his ministry.
'Peter’s faithfulness' |
It cannot be understood the importance of Acts 10 through Acts 11:18. Following a vision, Peter went to Cornelius, the house of the Gentile. It was "against our (Jewish) law at that time that a Jew was associated or visited by a Gentile" (Acts 10:28 ). However, knowing what the Lord wanted, Peter brought to Jesus Christ Cornelius and his family and witnessed that the Holy Spirit had received them. Then in the name of Jesus, Peter baptized the family.
The Jewish faithful is questioning Peter about this. His story was told to them, "Who was he who believed in Christ the Lord if God gave them the same gift (The Holy Spirit), who would I have thought I could stand in the way of God?".
Because of Peter’s faithfulness, the Jewish Christians responded by having “no further objections and praised God saying, ‘So then, even to the Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to l
Isn't this incredible? God wanted to be certain that the entire world knew that He meant for everybody when He gave His life for all. And Peter has used it to make clear to us how great is his love and how able is his grace—to forgive everyone's sins and to give life forever. As stated in Romans 3:22-24, "This justice is given to all who believe by faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing is differing between Jew and Gentile, since everyone has sinned and falls short of God's glory, and by the salvation that came by Christ Jesus all are freely justified.
' Peter did all that he tried.' |
Coincidences, I don't believe. So when in His first few sentences Jesus said the same words to Peter, we should take note of him. Jesus told Peter to follow Him in their first interaction (Matthew 4:19). His last recorded words to him were then once again, following me, after Jesus' resurrection and the special breakfast at the coastline where Jesus restored Peter. (Genesis 21:19).
I can imagine that Peter also saw these words repeated. You imitate what you do from your position behind them when you follow someone. Behind Jesus, Peter went and shadowed him, seeking in all his ways to learn to be like Christ. Jesus is perfect, of course, and so Peter would not attain a perfect imitation in the earth, but he did all that he tried.
After a decision is made to follow Jesus, He is our identity. So we are followers of Christ. This identity is beyond our last name, title, and even position in the church. Behind our Lord, we are made his image-bearers.
And in the repetition of these words, the beauty is that Jesus forgave his offense even when Peter failed Jesus in denial of him. He understands our weaknesses and forgives our failure as we repent and return to Him since He has assumed human form. Jesus was denied by Peter.
"I'm going to build my church on this rock"- Jesus Calls Peter
Jesus gave Peter his identity, which was the most important thing about him—his belonging to God, back after this restoration.
"And I say unto you also, Thou art Peter, and will build my church upon this rock, and there shall not prevail against it a gate of hell." Jesus reminded Peter of his identity and importance in Matthew 16:18. Peter's name means rock or stone - Jesus knew Peter's destiny.
I am so appreciative of Christ's identity, and I am just as grateful that when I mess he forgives me. As already stated, we must mature in our relations with Christ, and become stronger in the fight against the world and its traps. But when we fail, our Lord loves us sufficiently to look into our eyes and tell us to follow him again.