Matthew 16:13-28
Peter Confesses Jesus is the Messiah
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Jesus Predicts His Death
21 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, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 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 they have done.
28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Matthew 14:22-33
Jesus Walks on Water
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said,“why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Matthew 26:69-75
Peter Denies Jesus
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken:“Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
1 Peter 4:8
Love Covers a Multitude of Our Sins
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
I was once ask if reading the Bible and trying to follow Jesus makes me feel guilty...Trying to follow Someone as perfect as Jesus might tend to do that...Jesus does set the bar very high and shows us the potential of humans and mankind...I realize that I am not Divine like Jesus and have many faults and failings, so it is an interesting question...I wonder how Peter might have felt about this question?...Did being so close and loving Jesus so much make him feel guilty?...My guess is, I don't think so...And as I read through the gospels, Peter is the one Disciple, that helps me not feel guilty...I love Peter for all his human concerns and for who he is, and for his failings...
Jesus nicknamed the son of Jonah, whose real name was Simon, Cephas or Peter...Jesus told Peter that he would be blessed and that His Father was the One Who had told Peter that Jesus was the Messiah...Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven...And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it...I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”...Then He ordered His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Messiah...
So Jesus tells us that He is going to let Peter build and lead His church, and calls Peter a Rock...Yet, in the next set of verses when Peter is trying to defend Jesus about dying and suffering in Jerusalem at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life... Peter taking Jesus aside, began to be rebuked by Jesus...“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 concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”...Peter has went from the Church Leader and the Rock to being called satan by Jesus...
Jesus knew Peter's failings...Not only did Jesus recognize Peter's failings to the other Disciples, He calls Peter satan, in front of the other eleven Disciples...But Jesus knows Peter was doing his best in his human concerns...
Jesus reminds us we are more than any guilt we might have, we are more than any negativity we might be thinking, we are more than our personal faults and failings -He sees our goodness...Just as He saw Peter's goodness...And Peter would lead the Church of Jesus, after His death...Before Peter and the other Disciples have a chance to prove themselves they had to get through their own failings and flaws...Jesus knew this...Our weaknesses and our failings have a way of showing us that we are alive, and there are good things and a goodness in life...
In Peter, we find doubts, denials, faults, and yet the compassionate love for His Teacher and Master...In Peter, we can see how love trumps our multitude of sins...I believe that some, if not much, of Peter's compassion for His LORD, grew out of some of his doubts, denials, and his faults...Peter' faith was shaped by his doubting him on the water, his constantly trying to please His Teacher, and finally His denying that He knew Him on the night of His arrest...I believe out of these doubts and failures, Peter's faith actually grew...Some of Peter's toughest days would remain etched in his mind, that would help him lead others to Jesus...Our doubts and faults remind us we are quite human, and Peter having seen the Divineness in His miracles and His resurrection, understood this...Peter, no doubt, carried a pain and maybe a shame in his doubts and denials...But these failures are ones each of us can relate to...And all these things makes St. Peter who he is, and it helps me see why Jesus told him that he would lead His church..He helps me see that when we doubt, Jesus remains faithful...