What was among the MOST important messages Jesus taught us about? Jesus made several points through examples He showed us with His experiences with Peter. The first story that comes to mind pertaining to FAITH is Peter’s walk to Christ on the water.
We can be strong Christians and still have moments of faltering faith. One of the best examples of this I can think of is Simon Peter, Jesus’ disciple. Peter was an adamant follower of Christ and one of Jesus’ three best friends. However, even he struggled with faith, and we can learn from his struggle! When Jesus rose from the grave, He relieved His disciples from their grief and proved that He was the Messiah. However, some disciples needed more closure than just knowing that Jesus was alive again. We definitely can see this in Peter’s walk with Jesus.
In the few days after the Passion week, Peter was devastated with the grief and guilt of denying Jesus three times before His death. When we reflect more on Peter’s story, we can learn about the emotions and impulses that drove Peter to deny Jesus, and we can see how emotions and impulses can sometimes lead us to sin.
When Jesus renamed Simon as “Peter,” which is derived from the Greek word “rock,” Jesus made it clear that He trusted Peter to be the foundational “rock” of the Church (Matthew 16:18). Indeed, Peter was a great man of Christ and an amazing man of faith, but he wasn’t perfect. Peter’s faith in Jesus sometimes faltered when Peter was overwhelmed with intense emotions or impulses. For example, when Peter saw Jesus walking on water in Matthew 14:22-33, Peter was filled with such faith that he was the only one Jesus called to walk on the water to Him. Peter was doing well at first as he looked only at Jesus. However, when he looked away and saw the wind and the waves, Peter’s fear was stronger than his faith, and he began to sink.
There were also times when Peter had strong faith but displeased Jesus by acting rashly. When Jesus was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, the disciples asked Jesus if He wanted them to defend him with swords (Luke 22:49). Peter didn’t wait for Jesus to respond, but he immediately went to attack the high priest’s servant. Quoting other examples in the Bible, theologian J.B. Lightfoot summarizes Peter’s character as “impetuous” or impulsive (315).
This assessment of Peter’s character can be connected to why Peter denied Jesus. Before the Passion week, Peter promised Jesus that he would rather die than deny his faith (Matthew 26:33-35). When Peter was sitting at the Last Supper with Jesus and his friends, it was relatively easy for Peter to commit himself to Jesus. However, when other people began to question Peter’s association with Jesus right after Jesus had been taken, Peter was afraid of being accused and persecuted like Jesus. Peter’s faith was shaken, leading him to deny Christ and give in to his fear and impulses.
In light of these examples, it is important to remember that the Bible is God’s word written to help us become more like Christ and glorify God. I have listed these examples of Peter not so that you can judge Peter and feel good about yourself in comparison, but so that you and I can learn from Peter’s mistakes. As Christians, we struggle every day to obey Jesus and to put our full faith in Him. As Christians, we promise to devote our lives to God, but whenever we sin, we deviate from that promise. Jesus forgives us, but our sins still take a toll on us, and we have to find some closure from our mistakes. Peter broke his promise to Jesus, and it wasn’t until after Jesus’ resurrection that he began to find some closure.
Peter found forgiveness and peace when Jesus reunited with him. After Peter saw that Jesus’ tomb was empty (John 20:1-10), Jesus appeared to Peter when Peter decided to take up fishing again (John 21). Similar to the time when He first called Peter to be His disciple (Luke 5:1-11), Jesus enabled Peter and the other fishers to fill their nets with fish. After Peter recognized Jesus, came back to the shore, and ate breakfast with Jesus, Jesus asked Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” Interestingly, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, not just knew Him.
When Peter denied that he knew Jesus during the Passion week, Peter claimed that he had no connection to Jesus. However, to say that you love someone is to say that you know him and hold him close to your heart. When Peter told Jesus that he loved Him, he professed that he was a disciple and a friend of Jesus. Jesus responds to Peter by urging him, “Feed my lambs…tend my sheep…feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). Jesus reminded Peter that if he truly loved Him, he shouldn’t be afraid to express his love. Hence, Jesus reminded Peter that he was the “rock” of the Church. As the rock of the Church, Peter needed to encourage other Christians to have strong faith in God while being strong himself. Although Peter was not perfect, he went on to proclaim his faith with exceptional boldness and support the Church in essential ways. **He did not let his past mistakes define him. ** When the time came, Peter went on to die horrifically as a martyr for the name of Christ.
Today, we can learn from Peter about what it means to be faithful. Although Peter sometimes fell in his journey with Christ, Christ was there to pick him up again. He made mistakes, but Peter continued walking steadfastly in Christ’s name and guiding others as they walked with Christ. Because we are humans, fear and doubt come naturally to us. At times, the world may seem like a stormy sea. However, Jesus calls us to walk with Him and to Him through the storm. Even if the wind and the waves surround us, even if the world punishes us for pursuing Jesus, we must not let our fear and doubt overpower us. Like Peter, our faith must be stronger than our fear.
9 Old Testament Passages for Fighting Fear through Faith;
Joshua 1:9: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Psalm 42:5-6: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Psalm 73:23-26, 28: Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever…. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.
Psalm 118:5-7: When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.
Isaiah 26:3-4: You will keep (guard in a safe place) those in perfect peace (shalom, shalom) whose mind (yeser, imagination) is stayed (focused/imaging) on Thee, because they trusts (rest upon, held up by) in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
Isaiah 40:9-11: You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
Isaiah 40:28-31: Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 41:10: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Habakkuk 3:17-19: Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.
Accredited articles;
1) https://activechristianity.org/what-is-faith
2)https://rpmministries.org/2017/11/9-old-testament-passages-fighting-fear-faith/