How would you like your name to go down in history...from the worst part of your life, even though you've come so far since then, and will go further still. That wouldn't be fair to hold you to where you were at one point in time. And yet, so many of us do that with others, especially people who are no longer among us.
We hear stories about historical and even biblical figures, and the focus is always on one point of their lives. Some victory or failure. And yet their life on this earth was very much like ours--a mixed bag of wins and losses, successes and disappointments, accomplishments and regrets. There is no biblical character I see so unfairly viewed as the Apostle Peter. I hear sermons (and have heard several even recently) about how Peter was the buffoon who talked too much, took his eyes off of Jesus and started to sink the in water, was led by his impulses, and denied Christ. If anything good is ever said about Peter, it's usually from the point of view, "After all this dumb stuff he did, God still used him, and you're obviously not as dumb as him, so God can use you too!" But does Peter deserve that?
For one thing, the Peter of the four gospels did not have the Holy Spirit, and the Peter in Acts and the epistles did, so that is the biggest difference. Peter went on to do great things for the Lord, including dying for him (Jesus predicted it in John 21:18-19, and history records it). Long before his death, Peter was imprisoned for the faith more than once, and was bold and steadfast (Acts 4, Acts 12). Peter preached the first gospel message at Pentecost, seeing 3,000 come to salvation (Acts 2:14-41). He led the first Gentile family to the Lord (Acts 10). He was an Apostle of the Jews (Galatians 2:8). He was used by the Holy Spirit to pen the epistles of First and Second Peter. Why aren't there more sermons about any of these spiritual victories? Why do people just use his blunders in the gospels as negative examples?
Not only did Peter grow and prove himself after his earlier mistakes, but let's look at his so-called mistakes. Was Peter really worse than the other 11 disciples, or anybody else hanging around Jesus (he was certainly better than Judas!)? He was more external that the other disciples. But is that a fault? Is that a bad thing? Or is it just a different kind of personality? The Bible urges us to watch what we say, but it never tells us that it is a sin to be outgoing and talkative. Peter wasn't the only one who sometimes said shocking things. James and John were nicknamed by Jesus as the "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17). They asked their mother to ask Jesus to give them special honors of sitting at His right and left hand (Matthew 20:20-23). They could be quite vengeful (Luke 9:54). Where are the sermons about these incidents? I don't say this to suggest that we should be down on James and John. I just think it's hypocritical to be negative towards Peter and then not hold other disciples to the same standard.
Let's look at some of Peter's so-called missteps. Yes, he sank in the water when he looked at the waves around him (Matthew 14:22-33), but he was the only one who actually got out of the boat. For that brief moment, Peter was the one "of little faith" but the other disciples were of little faith that whole time. And to get personal a moment, I've felt a lot like Peter in this regard lately, feeling like I'm looking at the waves around me instead of at Jesus, and He has mercifully taken my hand. Peter walked by faith on the water! No other mortal in history has done that! Yes, Peter denied Jesus three times, but he was also the only one who had followed Jesus after his arrest. The other disciples weren't even there to affirm or deny him (in John's account, "another disciple" was also mentioned to go with Peter to Jesus as well).
Peter was an all-or-nothing disciple. He was given to extremes. He had a temperament, as we all do, and God used his personality, just as He uses ours. Jesus never criticized Peter's personality. He corrected him, as He did others at times. But Peter was one of Jesus' three closest friends (Peter, James and John were included with Jesus in otherwise private moments in the synoptic Gospels). He was called and chosen by Jesus from the beginning of His ministry.
Instead of treating Peter like some idiot Jesus humored, I wish more Christians looked at him as someone we can relate to--someone with a heart and passions, wanting to do right, but sometimes failing to do so; someone who needed the Holy Spirit to make him who he was supposed to be. That describes all of us. The next time you hear a sermon about Peter's shortcomings, thank God for His redemption for Peter, and for you, and thank Him that your shortcomings won't be printed in the Bible for all of history! I often wonder if Peter and some of the others in the Bible got more rewards for the sake of their lives being an object lesson like that. I don't know, but I certainly think Peter's position deserves respect, as does every flawed believer Jesus has used! That very much includes you. Don't put Peter or anyone else "down" in history. Put them up, where God has placed them--in His family, in His service, and in His forever kingdom!
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