Peter

Although I attempted to write another sermon—or possibly two—on spiritual warfare for this week to create a series as I had talked about last week, my studies, conversations, and prayer led me in a completely different direction. Perhaps it's ADHD, or maybe it's the Holy Spirit guiding me, but this is often how things unfold for me: I set a plan, and I end up throwing it in the trash and doing something completely different. So if it's not continuing our discussion on Spiritual Warfare, where did I end up?

Well, I ended up on the Apostle Peter. And today we are going to talk a little about this disciple who would later become the leader of the early church.

We all know Jesus had twelve close disciples, while many other people followed Him. These are the disciples we see most frequently in Scripture, and who primarily make up the apostles, but among the 12, there was an even smaller group. This group was with Him from the beginning until the bittersweet end—they were there in the garden the night He was taken, and later they were with Him on the mountain the day He ascended. This inner circle consisted of Simon Peter, James, and John. The pattern is striking: across all four Gospels, whenever Jesus withdrew from the larger group of disciples for intimate or transformative experiences, these three consistently accompanied him.

Among the three disciples closest to Jesus, I focused on Peter for today’s discussion. This is partly because he has the most dialogue with Jesus in Scripture. As a result, their frequent exchanges provide us with valuable insights into Peter's character. The second reason I chose to focus on Peter is that I think many of us can relate to Peter or know someone who reminds us of him.

The Scriptures depict Simon Peter as hot-headed and often impulsive, saying things that end up with him chewing on his own toes, if you catch my drift- traits with which I can easily identify in myself. However, Peter is not simply a hothead; he is also extremely zealous for the Lord. On multiple occasions, we see him express a desire to fight for and defend Jesus. Additionally, we know that Peter was a family man. Scripture indicates that his mother-in-law lived with him, and according to church history, his brother Andrew did as well. Furthermore, church history suggests that Peter was a father who had several children. He was also a businessman, working as a fisherman by trade with his brother and John and James, sons of Zebedee, whom Scripture refers to as his business partners.

And it was when he was fishing with these business partners that Simon Peter received his call to follow Jesus, which we will look at in a moment. There is just one thing I want to note here. This event was very probably not the first time Simon met Jesus. We have to remember, the gospels don't all say exactly the same thing; these are 4 different perspectives and retellings of the events. The gospels of Luke and Mark are second-hand accounts, passed down to them by the Apostles, and some think, in the case of Luke, even Mary, the mother of Jesus. But Matthew and John are from the Apostles themselves, and according to John 1:35-42, Andrew introduced Simon to Jesus after witnessing His baptism by John the Baptist, whom Andrew was a follower of. So now that we understand this scene in the proper context, let's look at the passage of Jesus calling Simon to follow Him from the book of Luke, which gives the most detailed account.

Luke 5:1-11

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret (the Sea of Galilee), 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

(Not important to the story or the point, but just so you understand, Jesus did this for acoustic reasons, because of how the lake was positioned; setting off from the shore a bit and talking to the crowd from the water worked as an ancient amplifier, so people further back in the crowd could hear him better. Now back to the text.)

Luke 5:1-11 Continued

4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

Luke 5:1-11 Continued

8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Other translations present verse 10 as reading, "From now on you will be fishers of men." I prefer that phrasing and point it out because you may be more familiar with it that way, but what I want to actually highlight in this passage is Peter's humble response to being called. In "The Chosen," when this scene is depicted, Simon Peter is crying, which is exactly how I have always imagined it when I read, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." See, Peter understood who he was as a man and who he was speaking to. He recognized his own sinfulness and acknowledged Jesus’ righteousness. He was aware of his past and everything that disqualified him from serving a holy God, but here was the Messiah, the anointed one, standing before him. And he was humbled, broken, and laid bare at the feet of his Messiah.

In Hebrew school and at the temple, Peter would have learned the Scriptures that spoke of the coming Messiah, the seed of David who would sit on the throne of Jerusalem for eternity. Put yourself in Simon's shoes for a minute; here he was a simple businessman with a modest home and a family, probably not a terrible man, but definitely guilty of some kind of sin, maybe something to do with his temper, and standing before him is this man who had performed a miracle that shook him to his core. Everything that had just happened seemed impossible, but it did happen, and now that miracle-working man who Peter was sure was the Messiah was calling Simon to follow Him.

Is He calling you too? Do you hear the call of the Messiah but, like Peter, are saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Later in scripture, we are told of a bad storm that taught Peter an important lesson; it's found in Matthew 14: verses 23-33

Matthew 14:23-33

23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

Matthew 14:23-33 Continued

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

In this moment, the truth of who Jesus is was reaffirmed for all the disciples in the boat. However, for Simon Peter, there was an additional lesson. When we take our eyes off Jesus and instead focus on our circumstances, fear and doubt will overwhelm us, causing us to begin to sink. For Peter, this was a literal experience; for us, it serves as a powerful parallel to our lives that we cannot ignore.

Despite all the miracles he witnessed, Peter faltered when it truly mattered. Although he defended Jesus by cutting off the ear of a Roman guard and boldly declared that no one would take Him, Peter ultimately ran away, trying to blend into the crowd. He denied knowing Christ three times, abandoning Jesus in His time of need. And on the day of the crucifixion, Scripture tells us that only John and several women, mostly named Mary, were there to watch. However, following the resurrection, during their encounter on the beach, Jesus restored Peter, in a meeting that echoed the first time he called Peter. Here's that passage for reference:

John 21:1-7

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias(another name for the Sea of Galilee), and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

John 21:1-7 continued

4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.

Peter was impulsive and zealous. Good at putting his foot in his mouth and maybe a little reckless. But this is the man who led the early church following the Day of Pentecost. That day he gave a sermon; Scripture says three thousand were added to their number. Three thousand people were added to the body and baptized in one day. How amazing would that be to see? To experience?

My dream is to experience a day like the Day of Pentecost—a revival where many are set free and saved in the name of Jesus. The life of Peter gives me hope that witnessing this is possible because Peter wasn't special by the standards of his day; he wasn't the religious elect; he was just an ordinary man who stepped out of the boat—a man who failed but was restored. A man who feels very familiar.

After our closer look at Peter today, I hope you feel inspired. To me, Peter's life exemplifies how God often chooses what seems foolish to the world to shame the wise and humble them. God makes the last first and the first last. He can take a man or woman whom many would overlook and transform them into a leader. Perhaps God is speaking to you through this message. Maybe you have sensed Him calling you to step out in faith and do something new, but you've been afraid to act. Let today serve as a reminder: with God, all things are possible. What may seem impossible with man is achievable with God.