Peter is a central figure in the Gospels, second only to Christ. The events of his life are well-known, but a closer look reveals characteristics of Peter which are building blocks in his relationship to Christ.
Last chapter we looked at Peter’s struggle to overcome personal and religious prejudices regarding Old Testament ceremonial laws, especially dietary laws. Christ had really made them free. This chapter narrows the focus even more. We will look at the two confessions Peter made of Christ and give at least one incident where Peter’s questions initiated a teaching of Jesus. We will also look at Peter’s vain-glorious confessions about himself on Maundy Thursday.
Read John 6.60-71
John 6 marks the high point of Christ’s earthly ministry. It starts out with the miraculous feeding of the 5000. Then comes the awesome account of Christ walking on water as Christ and his disciples flee the earthly-minded crowd which wants to make Christ its Bread King. But the crowd catches up to Christ back in Capernaum where Christ gives his sublime Bread of Life sermon. Christ is the real bread of life that gives eternal life. As people need to eat bread to survive, this eating of Christ is faith in him which gives eternal life.
How did Christ’s teaching go over with these people?
Badly! Many who had followed him stopped being his followers because of all this talk about eating Christ’s flesh and drinking his blood, pictures of the necessity of faith which they did not catch.
How does Christ make the situation only worse?
He speaks of his coming ascension and the necessity of listening to his Spirit-filled words.
Many people have pointed to these words of Christ to prove what means the Holy Spirit uses to convert people. Can you explain their point?
The words of Christ convey the Holy Spirit and eternal life through faith that the Holy Spirit works through that Gospel word of Christ. The Holy Spirit works through means—the Gospel.
Christ makes matters even worse—how?
By telling some of the people the hard truth that they don’t believe in him and he knows it! John can’t help making the connection with Judas Isacariot here.
How does a person come to faith, when all these people who seem to be following Jesus really don’t believe in him?
They are given faith to follow Christ by the Father. This is a cornerstone passage for the Bible’s teaching of salvation by grace, God’s undeserved favor, alone.
The results are predictable. But maybe so many stopped following Christ that it hurt him very deeply. Why does he ask his Apostles if they are going to leave?
Either he actually doesn’t know if they will leave or not or he wants to give them an opportunity to analyze why they are following him.
The way Christ phrases the question, what answer is he hoping to get?
No, they don’t want to leave Christ.
Look at Peter’s response and prove your answers from Peter’s words.
Who is he speaking for?
The apostles—we.
Will they desert Christ?
No, there is nowhere else to go.
How did Peter know Christ had the words of eternal life?
He had been listening and believing in Christ’s previous words to the crowd.
How did Peter clinch his argument, showing it was unthinkable for any of the Apostles to desert Christ?
Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Holy One of God.
What is Peter confessing when he calls Christ “the Holy One of God?”
Christ’s divine nature—he is more than a human being. This was the claim Jesus was making that was turning off the crowd, that he was more than a human being.
How does Christ throw a wet towel over Peter’s confession?
He talks about one of the very Twelve being a devil.
Was it wrong of Christ to say this? Why would he say it?
No, it wasn’t wrong of Jesus to say this. It shows how hurt he is by the betrayal of so many followers deserting him. Peter’s confession on behalf of the Twelve might allow Judas Iscariot to blend in with the crowd, so Christ specifically turns the heat up on him, showing he knows what is going on behind the scenes. It is not a slam on Peter as much as it is needed to warn Judas.
It’s time to honestly confront the text.
Read Matthew 15.13-28
Locate Caesarea Phillippi on the map.
How far off the beaten path is Caesarea Philippi?Really far off—it is in a totally different country—Philip’s territory. Granted, his holdings started on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, but Caesarea Philippi was almost at the foot of Mt. Hermon, the northernmost boundary of Palestine.
Why would Christ be there?
Christ was there to have some time away from the crowds, to have some time to privately instruct his disciples.
What is lacking in all the identifications people are making with Christ?
They are missing the fact of his divine nature.
What does Peter mean when he confesses these two things?
? Christ
Jesus is the Messiah, the God-appointed Savior of the world.
? Son of the living God
Jesus is true God, God the Son.
How did Peter get so smart?
It was revealed to him by the Father, who has given Peter faith.
Who is Jesus praising—Peter or Peter’s confession or a combination of the two?
Jesus is praising Peter’s confession as a teacher would praise a student’s perceptive answer, but it is impossible to separate the answer and the answerer!
What is the role of praise in a Christian’s life? Consider these scenarios.
Ø The pastor preaches a particularly powerful sermon—he has worked hard at it. After church a member thanks him for the sermon, the pastor replies, “Well, I don’t walk on water yet.”
Ø The youth choir sings such a winsome, wonderful song in church that the congregation breaks out in applause afterwards.
Ø The church council has a tradition of giving a going away banquet to outgoing members of the council, thanking them for their service.
Praise is something we Christians need—we seek the praise of God, that is, his justification of us that we might have a right standing with him. Praise from fellow Christians is also appreciated. When that happens, we recognize they are congratulating us, but even more so giving praise to God for working those accomplishments through us. It’s how God treats good works. He does them, the Holy Spirit is the powerhouse of all that is good in us, yet God praises us and graciously rewards us. The preacher seems uncomfortable with praise—maybe he protests too much and is putting too much stock in his own efforts. Spontaneous applause certainly encourages the children to keep up singing God’s praises. There is no reason why seasoned leaders won’t recognize that God is being given the glory for their long years of service. If that banquet gives them the big head, well, what a fool that congregation was to have voted them into office to begin with!
What is going to be built on Peter’s confession?
Christ is going to build his Church on the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
We are going to take an in-depth look at this passage in chapter five, but what does it appear Christ is giving Peter?
The ministry of the keys, the peculiar power to forgive sins to those who repent and to refuse to forgive sins to those who refuse to repent.
Why would he do that in this setting?
It is natural to think of the work of the Church in the same breath as talking about building the Church.
What is the only job of the Church?
To proclaim the forgiveness of sins. All other messages are foreign to its mission. All other works are incidental to its mission.
Why would this knowledge about Jesus being the Christ need to be kept a secret at this point in his earthly ministry?
People were eager to see in Christ a King of Glory and the information that he was the Messiah would be hopelessly twisted into an earthly King who would drive out the Romans. The Christ came to be a spiritual King who would drive out sin from his believers’ hearts.
How does Christ show what the most important part of his mission is?
He starts teaching the disciples of his suffering and death.
How detailed is Christ in predicting the future?
Very detailed—even his resurrection on the third day is mentioned.
Are there any details he is leaving out?
He does not mention the Romans and crucifixion.
What is Peter’s response?
He tells Christ that it will never happen to him. He is telling Christ to stop talking about it.
How does Peter show he thinks he has special privileges with Christ?
He takes Christ aside to speak to him, apart from the apostles.
What is really happening here?
A temptation is rising before Christ to avoid the way of the cross.
Why does Christ call Peter “Satan”?
This is what Satan has been trying to do since the first temptations in the wilderness, to get Christ to choose the path of glory to save the human race rather than follow the Father’s will and walk the path of shame and the cross to save the human race.
How does Christ amplify this teaching of the cross?
Every believer will take up his own cross of self-denial and shame to follow Christ.
Christ’s teachings do not come out in a concise, clearly thought-out way like we read teachings in a philosophy book. They came out according to the situation. Most often Christ’s teachings were drawn out or instigated by challenges from his enemies. Sometimes his teachings were the result of questions by his disciples.
Read Matthew 18.21-35, but first scan the chapter.
What has Jesus been teaching his apostles during this chapter recounted by Matthew?
Forgiveness. They were mistaken about greatness—a little child is the example—they were so wrong. They were like a lost sheep that had to be brought back and there are lots of people who are like lost sheep that sin against us; we are to go to them to bring them back!
Prove that Peter has been listening and assimilating Christ’s teachings.
He asks whether seven times in a day is the limit of forgiveness.
We show the scars of our teachers—who had been the teachers of Peter’s childhood and how does this show in his question to Christ?
The Pharisees had rules and answers to everything. Just follow the operating manual and everything would be all right.
What does Peter’s question occasion?
Christ’s teaching of the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.
Remember the definition of a parable? An earthly story with a heavenly meaning!
Who do the characters represent?
|
King |
God |
|
First Servant |
Me |
|
Second Servant |
Those who sin against me |
What does the parable mean to you?
I am to forgive my fellow man when he sins against me, because God has forgiven me so much.
Is forgiveness such a good work that it earns God’s forgiveness of us?
No!
What, then, is the meaning of the “punch line “of the parable?
If I do not forgive my brother when he is repentant, it shows I have an unforgiving heart. An unforgiving heart is a heart untouched by God’s forgiveness, because it has rejected that forgiveness. An unforgiving heart lives in a person who thinks he is God, he doesn’t make any mistakes. He doesn’t need anybody to forgive him. What’s your problem?
Would Christ have taught this parable had Peter not asked the question?
Probably not. It is not taught in any other setting in the Gospels. So many of Christ’s teachings were taught in response to people’s questions. He is more of a passive teacher than a systematic and aggressive dogmatician.
When Peter confesses Christ, all is well. When Peter confesses Peter, let’s just say he isn’t really good at self-evaluations.
Read Mark 14.26-31 (Matthew 26.30-35, Luke 22.31-24, John 13.36-38)
Where are we in the events of Maundy Thursday evening with this episode?
After the Lord’s Supper/Passover, when Christ and his disciples are walking from Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane, about two miles east of Jerusalem, on the path which leads down into and up form the Kidron Valley.
What must Christ tell the apostles?
About their coming failure to stand by his side.
How does he prove his words.
He proves them from Scripture.
Who is quick to make a confession?
Peter.
What is his confession?
He will be better than the other apostles—he will not fall away from Christ.
Prove Peter doesn’t know himself very well at all (see Mark 14.66-72).
He will deny Christ three times in the most cowardly ways with the filthiest language he can find.
How good is Peter’s confession and why?
It wasn’t worth the breath he wasted on it, because it was filled with self-pride and reliance on self. God was not at work at all in these words. In fact, Peter was again contradicting the words of God.
When Peter confessed Christ, he received praise. When Peter confessed himself, he received trouble, grief and sin. Consider these scenarios.
? A high school girl wants to go on a weekend trip with her boyfriend’s family to an out-of-town wedding. It will be a long, four day weekend. The girl’s parents discover the boy’s folks are going to see old friends on the Sunday following the wedding—catch a Dodger Sunday day game and go to Little Tokyo for a long supper. “We both have good kids. They will be fine at the hotel with the swimming pool, weight room and HBO.”
Evaluate this confession and give cogent reasons why the girl’s parents should politely inform the other parents their girl won’t be coming on the trip.
The confession is a bad confession because it is putting weight on the supposed “goodness” of the kids. The sinful human nature will take any opportunity it can to drag a person down as far as he can go. Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” He expects his Christians, including parents, to steer their children away from situations where they may be tempted beyond what they can bear.
? A Mormon missionary unwittingly bumped into a very tired and out-of-shape Lutheran pastor who was finishing up his evening walk. The Mormon was a handsome lad, freshly scrubbed with a gleam in his eye. The Lutheran minister made no secret of his profession and calling, but the Mormon was unfazed. He kept trying to get an appointment to share the Book of Mormon with the minister, even though the minister politely reminded the man of the Bible’s words about adding and subtracting from the Bible landing a person in outer darkness. The Mormon kept hammering away, clearly enjoying the moment and not hearing a word that was spoken to him. Eventually the minister said he had to go. One went away proud, the other sad.
Explain why.
The Mormon went away proud that he had made his confession. The Lutheran minister went away sad that his confession of Christ had not been heard.
? A joint Reformation Festival was announced to the congregation. It happened to be on a Sunday when the quarterly voters’ meeting was held after service. The head elder took it upon himself to push the Reformation Festival and get a lot of the congregation to attend. “We’ve got to show the flag,” he concluded.
Evaluate his confession.
He is missing a lot of good reasons to attend, hearing the Word of God from gifted preachers and musicians, the sweetness of Christian fellowship, the opportunity to rejoice at the success the Gospel was making in other congregations. It seems he wants his congregation to look the best with the greatest attendance.
? “We have to give more to synod. We have to at least get up to the average per communicant giving in our conference,” the pastor pleaded with the voters.
“Let’s drop some delinquent members, then,” replied a voter.
Got a better suggested approach?
We give what we want to show our love for God. We want to avoid the sins of selfishness with how we divvy up our congregational income. We have been given so much by the Lord through our synod, we will want to show our love and appreciation for our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith by encouraging and supporting this ministry we have, in love, bound ourselves to support.
Next time: Was Peter the First Pope?