Life Lessons: Peter: The Student
As we pick back up with Simon Peter, we see him beginning his “education” under Christ. Like I said before, Peter is so relatable and I think you see his personality really come out in these moments. The first moment I’d like to look at takes place in Matthew 14:22-36, when Peter takes a walk of faith…literally! In this passage, we see the disciples get in a boat to go across the lake while Jesus goes up the mountain to pray. While on the lake, a storm comes upon them and Christ walks out to meet them which was quite shocking as you can imagine. In fact, they thought he was a ghost until he spoke peace to them and it is in this moment that Peter shows his true Peterness. He said, “Lord, if it’s you tell me to come to you on the water” (vs 28) and the Lord does. So, Peter gets out of the boat and starts walking on water towards the Lord until he sees the wind and waves and then he starts sinking. How relatable is that? How often do we take leaps of faith only to falter when we take our eyes off the Lord and focus on the challenges around us? I know personally this has been my story more than once. Peter gives me hope that faltering isn’t necessarily failing and just like in my life, the Lord catches Peter. The Savior doesn’t let him drown because of his doubt and he won’t let us drown either.
Another moment that is a huge landmark in Peter’s growth comes in Matthew 16:13-20, when Jesus is discussing public opinion and who everyone thinks the “Son of Man” might be. During this discussion Christ asks them, “Who do you say I am?” to which Peter answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God”. I had a mentor who referred to this as the BAM Moment. The pieces are coming together. Peter knows he isn’t dealing with just a great man. He’s got it figured out and while he may not have realized at that moment what this declaration truly entailed, he knew that what he observed was from God. As Peter said, “You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:67-69)
Christ had many followers, not just the twelve, but not everyone of them were truly aware of who He was, outside of a local celebrity. There were even many who thought He spoke truth but that He did so as a prophet or teacher, however, Peter realized the truth of Christ…a truth for which he would eventually die. What I love about Peter’s story is that even after making this declaration…after seeing Christ for who he was…fully man and fully God…. he still continued to fail and so do I.
Thoughts:
Do you have trouble keeping your eyes on the Father in the midst of storms?
Have you had the revelation that Peter had about Jesus? Do you know him as more than a good man or teacher?
If not, you can freely ask the Father. Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” It’s a free gift to anyone willing to accepted and I promise like Peter (and me), your life will never be the same.
Ask the Lord to reveal himself to you in a real and powerful way and to help you keep your eyes focused on him in the midst of your storms.
As we continue on, we will look at the moments that were both an end and beginning for Peter, the disciple.
