“Hey dummy, get smarter!” Peter got owned frequently, but ended up being the toughest

Okay, so when we read about Peter in the books of the Apostles, he just doesn’t seem that bright

He opens his mouth without thinking, Jesus calls him stupid, and he is even called satan for saying and thinking things that contradicted God’s wisdom and plan

So why did Jesus pick him to be an Apostle if he was such an idiot, or was he?

Oh Peter, You Are The Height Of Just Too Muchery

I kind of wonder how the relationship between Jesus and Peter was on a day to day basis

I mean, how often could you be called stupid, by God no less, and not have it impact your state of mind somehow

Not only that, but what did the other Apostles think when Jesus said tough things to Peter, did they laugh at him behind his back or were they quietly glad he asked the questions they did not have the courage to speak up about

Matthew 15:10-20
Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean’”

Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit”

Peter said, “Explain the parable to us”

“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean’”

And let us not forget or just focus on the things Jesus swatted him over, Peter was also the only disciple who walked on water (a little is more than nothing!)

Matthew 14:22-31
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distancefrom land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water”

“Come,” he said

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Despite all the time the Apostles spent together with Jesus, Peter was the first among them to openly acknowledge that Jesus was God, and since this happened pretty far into the history of the Apostle Posse, it leads me to wonder if the others were still doubtful at the time

Matthew 16:13-17
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven

But, despite this wonderful moment, just a few verses later, Peter gets the ultimate smackdown and lecture

Matthew 16:21-28
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, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men”

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”

*boom*

Roasted

I mean seriously, imagine making a well intentioned statement to one of your best friends at church and they fire back:

“Get behind me, Satan!”

…um, what?

The best part about this verse, is that Jesus not only says this to Peter, which was no doubt like getting slapped in the face, but then he also goes on to say that the life we live is totally pointless unless we use it to secure our place in heaven–apparently, Peter did not get the memo about the Messiah being the sacrifice for all creation

Yeah Peter, he was talking to *you*

Duh, I Was Dumb But I Am Not Now!

Despite all of these hilarious foibles, from what I can see in the Bible there is no doubt that, out of all the Apostles, Peter gained the most wisdom from his time with Jesus

Why do I say this?

In reading through 1 Peter recently, God suddenly put two and two together for me, ie: Jesus called Peter out all the time, but in the end, Peter wrote the deepest theology of any of the Apostles, and was their leader on the day of Pentecost

So despite being constantly told off, scolded, and getting verbally pwned all the time, Peter must not have been totally stupid, or if he was, he still somehow managed to become the most mature in the end, despite doing and saying things that caused Jesus to unleash some verbal backhands

True Wisdom And Knowledge Only Comes Through Intimacy With God, Which Begins With Obedience, Hardship, And Rebuke

In what must have been one of the most difficult things Jesus went through, we see another example of how strong God’s calling on Peter’s life was

It is easy to overlook, but when Jesus openly tells Peter that Satan personally asked to test Peter, it is important to understand this meant Peter was doing something so right, and his calling was so strong, that satan came before God and asked to take him down

Luke 22:31-34
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers”

But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me”

(Peter was called “Simon Peter” as well)

Even though Jesus knew Peter was going to deny him, his prayer was not that Peter would change his mind, Jesus’ prayer was that Peter’s faith would not fail afterwards and/or spiral downwards in a torrent of guilt

This makes a ton of sense, as I do not even want to imagine how guilty Peter must have felt when Jesus not only tells him ahead of time that he is going to deny him, not once, but three times, but also because Peter must have been convinced he would never turn his back on Jesus for any reason–the guy said he would die with him!

But when push came to shove, Peter failed the test

Wah wah wahhh…

The important thing in the story is to look at the end game, as satan did not really care about Peter denying Jesus, he wanted Peter to be filled with so much remorse and shame that he would think he was unforgivable, and would turn away from God

Does that shame tactic sound familiar?

*cough*

Of course not!

*cough*

However, the most important lesson Peter learned that day was not that he should have died with Jesus, or that he should have done everything possible to not deny him

No, the real lesson for Peter was one that would change his life forever: that he should never, ever speak without thinking

Matthew 12:36
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken

God knew exactly what it would take for Peter to learn the real lesson that would build true godly character, and it involved exposing his shortcomings in a way that cut him to the heart, as he was not willing to live the bravado he spoke, no matter how loudly he spoke it in private

Up Next, Peter The Spiritual And Theological Master

After all this, Peter becomes a mature, amazing believer, with no end to glorious gifts of power, wisdom, and divine revelation that were reflections of the God-focused character he grew into

As part of his growth, Peter’s messages did not become less spirited, they grew even more so, as his theology was deep, his message passionate, and his sense of urgency stemmed from a heart that knew the truth–one that wanted nothing more than to share it with holy fire, without pulling any punches

Acts 2:14-17
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams”

1 Peter 1:13-16
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

1 Peter 4:11
If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ

1 Peter 2:1-2
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,now that you have tasted that the Lord is good

1 Peter 3:18-20
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whomalso he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built

(Mind blower: who were the spirits Jesus was preaching to when he died and was made alive in the spirit, it says they had been in prison since the days of Noah!)

1 Peter 4:16-18
However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

2 Peter 3:17
Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position

Until we leave behind elemental teachings about not sinning, we are unable to move on to the greater mysteries that are reserved for those who know and love God

Even though the heat was hotter next to Jesus, for Peter it was the pathway to become the closest, and the most intimate with him

This is seen as well in the OT, when the closer people were to God, the swifter, and more severe, God’s judgment and rebuke came for one simple reason: they knew God’s heart and they just simply knew better

Hebrews 6:1-3
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so

So the next time someone comes to you in love, or God whispers something you don’t like, just remember the road Peter took in order to become so amazing

Hebrews 12:5-6
And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a so

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