New beginnings//Peter…If I can take certain liberties as far as favorite disciples are concerned, I would tell you that Peter is probably the one I have always liked best…not to say that I don’t admire all of them in a special way. But Peter has always been so, well, human I guess, if you know what I mean; he is so much like the guy I see in the mirror. Impulsive? Yes. Opens mouth, inserts foot…I think you get my drift. Ready to defend Jesus at all times, or so he thinks. Cuts a mans ear off while intending to cut off his head; he would have been in big trouble for that, if they could have proven it, but Jesus eliminated all the evidence because He reached down and picked up the ear and put it back on the man’s head…only God can do that. Jesus spent a lot of time getting Peter out of trouble; He really must have loved him. It was only a few hours later that Peter denied his Lord ,not once but three times.
Ah!, Peter; I’ve failed God so many times I can’t count them all, I guess I can’t remember them all but then neither can He, Hallelujah! Peter walked on the water but then his faith slipped a little bit and he began to sink…Jesus rescued him; he cuts off the ear…Jesus rescues him again
One time after Jesus had been preaching to a crowd of thousands (this was back in the days before mega churches and television); they had been with Him listening to every Word for three days, He said , I don’t want to send these people away without something to eat. So to make a long story short’ He performed another miracle like He did when He fed the five thousand men plus women and children, only this time it was four thousand plus, it was after this that He asked His disciples a question…”Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “One of the prophets” that was the easy answer…but then Jesus asked another question…”But who do you say that I am?” Now is the reality check, now it is personal, now is the question every man, woman and child will have to answer in all sincerity and in all honesty if we are ever going to make it to heaven and Peter is the man who gives the answer…”You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Look at Jesus reply from Matthew 16:17,18 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it”.
What Jesus was calling “this rock” was the confession that Peter made and that was “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said “Peter, you are blessed”…it wasn’t Peter’s revelation but God used Peter to proclaim this profession. Peter became one of the greatest preachers who ever lived. Look what he says in his first letter to the Christians who were dispersed in various regions…1 Peter 1: 18,19”For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. “
This was Peter’s confession..what is your’s?