Peter From Fisherman to Fisher of Men â„–1
Who Was Simon Peter? Who was Simon Peter? Is he Saint Peter? Is he the first Pope of the Roman Catholic Church? Let’s set the record straight. Though Peter was a child of God, he never referred to himself as Saint Peter nor did Christ. This was a name given to him by the Catholics. The Catholic Church proclaims that he is their first Bishop and Pope. But do the Catholics believe as Peter did or more importantly Christ. It is well known, that the Catholics worship on the first day, which is Sunday; that they celebrate holidays, such as Easter and Christmas. They do not acknowledge the Seventh Day Sabbath as holy nor do they keep the Passover or other holy feasts commanded by God in the bible. But when we read the scriptures, we can clearly see that Peter, who followed Christ very closely, indeed worshiped on the Seventh day Sabbath. He celebrated the convocations listed in the bible, such as, Passover and Pentecost. Therefore, he has no affiliation with the Catholic Church. He was a leader of Christ’s Church, which was built upon the laws of God. №2
Who Was Simon Peter? Peter was one of the 12 apostles, who witnessed Christ first hand as he walked the earth in the flesh. He was a great leader and trailblazer of the truth. In fact, Peter’s journey towards God, is a testament of faith and not only that, a lesson that we must all take to heart so that we, ourselves, can grow stronger in the word of truth.
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Who Was Simon Peter? Simon Peter was the son of Jona and was from Bethsaida. His brother was Andrew, who also was chosen to be one of the 12 apostles. By trade, he was a fisherman and his business partners were James and John, both of which were chosen to be apostles as well. It is not 100% clear as to what exactly was Peter’s first encounter with Christ. There are two different encounters I will share with you, as outlined by the scriptures. №4
Peter Humbles Himself to Christ In Luke 5: 4-9, Christ commands Peter to let his net down into the water to catch fishes. Peter stated that he and the fishermen had worked tirelessly all night to catch fish with no success but at the commandment of Christ, he obeyed. When he let his net down the amount of fish was so great that it indeed broke the net. Peter was so astounded by this great feat and literally fell to his knees. He said these very touching words, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” №5
Steps Toward Salvation At that very moment, Peter humbled himself to God and acknowledged his sins. Christ told Peter, along with James and John, to fear not, for he would make them fishers of men. And without hesitation they forsook all and followed Christ. This great act of faith serves as an important example to us all as it pertains to our steps towards salvation. â„–6
Becoming Perfect Before we can become converted and born again we have to first humble and submit ourselves to God while simultaneously recognizing who we are and who God is. This means we must know that we have sinned against the Lord and that Christ is God and has authority over us. By coming into this realization it will make us want to follow after Christ, so that we might learn about the truth, apply this truth into our daily actions, thereby, becoming perfect as our Father in heaven. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are brought into repentance. â„–7
Another Encounter with Christ Now in John 1: 40-42, depicts another encounter that Peter had with Christ. Two of John the Baptist’s disciples began following Christ when they heard him refer to him as the Lamb of God. One of these disciples was Andrew, Peter’s brother. It was Andrew that came unto his brother Peter and said that they had found the Messias, which means Christ. So Peter followed and when Christ saw him this is what he said to him, “Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.” №8
Upon this Rock I Build We can also reference this scripture in Matthew 16: 17- 18: “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Now in both scriptures, we can see that Christ prophesied of Peter’s leadership and the great work of building his church, by teaching and gathering the people. №9
Upon this Rock I Build God described Peter as a rock. When we think of a rock, it is sturdy and strong. And when compared to the word of God, the laws and Christ, it is a rock that cannot be moved or tossed about. It is the foundation upon which we stand, his body of saints, his church. Peter, being a child of God, took on the qualities of Christ. We know the history, after Christ left and during the Pentecost, the apostles received the Holy Spirit. They became stronger than ever, courageous and bold in the teaching of the word. Remember the great sermon that Peter spoke before the people in Acts. He was not as he was before. And like Christ, Peter performed miracles, taught the people and stood as a great leader amongst the apostles and the entire church. Not only that, Peter would also be killed because of how he stood for the truth. â„– 10
Peter Had Challenges in Life Before Peter came into full spiritual maturity, he did have challenges that he had to overcome, as all of us do. At times, he lacked understanding of Christ’s word or parables. There were times, when he wasn’t as faithful as Christ would like him to be. He let his fear and anger overtake him. Each of us have gone through these challenges. We will look at some of Peter’s challenges on his journey of faith, not to criticize, but to be edified. № 11
Sift As Wheat Satan sought to destroy Peter, like all saints. As Christ said, he wanted to “sift him as wheat.” Let us read in Luke 22: 31-32, “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not: and when thou are converted, strengthen thy brethren.” When we say sift, I’m sure many of you think of cooking. The word sift means to separate, scatter or isolate. № 12
Satan Seeks to Destroy Satan wanted to separate Peter from Christ and isolate him into darkness so that he would fail. As we just read, Christ prayed on Peter’s behalf and served as an intercessor for him, thereby, preventing Satan from destroying his son. Satan seeks to destroy us as well. He does everything he can to separate us from God, so that we might fail and gain eternal damnation like him. № 13
Christ Is Our Intercessor He is a very powerful being that knows our strengths and weaknesses. Satan even knows who God’s leaders are and goes on a full out attack to take them down. Despite Satan’s power, Christ is so much stronger and he is our intercessor, standing in the breach for all of us. Remember, that the Holy Spirit is also an intercessor for us. Christ and the Holy Spirit, prays to the God the Father for all of his children so that we too, can become stronger and be saved. № 14
Spiritual Nourishment Peter humbled and submitted himself to Christ. He knew that he was God but spiritually, as with all of the apostles, he could be liken to a babe or young child whose teeth had not fully come in, therefore, he could not fully chew, swallow and digest the tougher foods that Christ had to offer. That would come later. Christ had to feed them milk and break everything down to perhaps a pureed diet until they grew stronger through the Spirit and were able to tolerate more. â„– 15
Christ Taught in Parables Because Peter and the apostles did not always understand Christ, he would periodically become frustrated, just as a parent would become frustrated with a child. We can read in Matthew 16: 5-12. By reading this scripture we learn the following: 1) When a person is spiritually immature they may take things in literal terms or evaluate matters on the surface; 2) We need Christ and the Spirit of God to give us further understanding of the word so that we can be saved; and, 3) Christ experienced emotions in the flesh just as we do, like frustration with our loved ones. â„– 16
Christ Spoke Frankly with Peter In the bible we see that Christ spoke very frankly with Peter, perhaps like no other apostle, correcting him when he misspoke or misunderstood his teachings. For example, Jesus prophesied of his death to the apostles. Peter, not understanding the necessity of Christ’s death and under the influence of Satan, rebuked Christ for saying that he would die, stating “this shall not be unto thee.” What was the Savior’s response? “Get thee behind me Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matthew 16: 22-24) № 17
Christ Spoke Frankly with Peter Some might say that Christ spoke very harshly to Peter. However, Jesus knew that Satan did not want him to die and resurrect from the grave and it was important for Peter and the apostles to understand that His death was the will of the Father. It was indeed a holy act of God and absolutely vital in order for us to be saved. â„– 18
Christ Spoke Frankly with Peter Also, in St. John 13, Christ teaches the apostles about the sacrament of foot washing. Peter, knowing that Christ was his master, initially refused for Jesus to wash his feet. He felt it was too lowly of an act for Christ to perform for him, to which Jesus responded “If I wash thee not, thou has no part of me.” It is not a surprise that Peter then asked Christ to wash not only his feet but his hands and head. He, of course, wanted to be a part of Christ. № 19
Christ Spoke Frankly with Peter You see, Peter did not fully understand the spiritual meaning behind foot washing and instead focused on the physical act in itself. We have learned that when we wash our brothers and sisters’ feet, the water that we use symbolizes the cleansing by the word of God. Remember, the way that we walk is how we live our lives and our feet must be shod with the gospel of peace, which is the word. Moreover, a person whose feet are spiritually washed, are walking perfectly before God and is clean “every whit,” as Christ so said. № 20
Oh Ye of Little Faith Like each us of in this room, Peter initially struggled with his faith, with the crutch of fear and uncertainty holding him back. Recall when the apostles saw Christ walking on the sea, they were terrified thinking him to be some kind of a spirit. Jesus told them not to be afraid, announcing that it was him, their Savior and Master. It was Peter who asked the Lord to bid him to come out onto the water to walk towards him. â„– 21
PETER walking on the water
Oh Ye of Little Faith Indeed, Peter did walk on water but as the winds became boisterous, he became fearful, began to sink and cried for the Lord to rescue him. Christ reached out his hand to Peter and stated, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” Recall, that faith is a fruit of the spirit and spiritual gift given to us by the Holy Spirit. Looking at this scripture, how can you relate this to your own personal experience with God? № 22
Oh Ye of Little Faith When we walk towards God, the boisterous winds can be compared to our trials and tribulations we face or the wicked forces of Satan that try to knock us down. It can cause us to be fearful, we may feel like we are losing control; that we are sinking and soon will drown. This fear may further paralyze us and prevent us from doing all that we can for the Lord because we want to avoid the difficulty and the struggles. But through faith, we do not doubt that God is with us, he will in fact rebuke the winds and say “Peace be still.” He will stretch his hand out and pull us out of the turbulent waters. He will help us to continue walking towards him until we reach the shore where there is safety, peace and God’s light shining upon us. № 23
When Emotions Take Over There were times that Peter’s emotions got the best of him. We can all testify to this. Let’s talk more about the emotions of fear and anger. When the high priests and elders came to take Jesus, Peter reacted in anger and sought to defend his master. So what did he do? He took a sword and cut off the right ear of one of the servants of the high priest. № 24
When Emotions Take Over Now what was so amazing is that God picked up this servant’s ear and healed him, though this man, along with the others, sought to kill him. He then commanded Peter to put up his sword, reminding him that he had the power to pray for 12 legions of angels to save him but he would not do so. Why? Because the scriptures had to be fulfilled, meaning the scriptures that prophesied of his death. № 25
When Emotions Take Over We know that fear can be so crippling in everyday life, particularly as it pertains to our faith. Peter truly believed in Christ and told him that he would follow him into prison and to death. But we know that the Holy Spirit had not brought Peter or the other apostles into complete spiritual maturity, meaning that had not been born again. Christ told Peter that he would deny him three times before the cock would crow twice. â„– 26
When Emotions Take Over Now when they had taken Christ into custody, Peter had followed afar off. He was terrified. They had taken his Lord and Savior and he was afraid of what would happen to him. Flesh indeed had taken over the spirit. As prophesied by God, there were three separate occasions that people recognized and stated that Peter was a follower of Jesus and each of those times Peter denied Jesus, becoming more adamant in his response. Upon the last time he denied, the cock crew and Peter remembered the words that Christ said unto him. Not only that, Christ looked and turned upon Peter. At that moment, Peter experienced godly sorrow and wept bitterly for what he had done. â„– 27
When Fear Becomes a Sin We may not have been faced with the exact situation but I’m sure we can all relate in some way. Think about it. When you transgress against the laws of God, you are denying Christ and his principles. When you modify the way that you speak about God, so as not to offend or to make it more appealing to others, you are denying Christ. When you place your loved ones above God, you are denying Christ his just due. № 28
Godly Sorrow But when we read the bible, with our eyes clear and our hearts ready to receive, it is like we are looking at the face of Christ. The Holy Spirit will further help us to remember and understand the laws. He will enable us to take our actions and measure it against the laws. When we see that we have fallen short, this will prick our hearts. It will cause us to feel godly sorrow and to weep bitterly for our sins. This process is necessary in order for us to repent and leave our old ways behind. â„– 29
Peter the Leader Though Peter may have made mistakes, though he did not always understand Christ’s word, he humbled himself to Jesus. He immediately followed him, giving up his family and his job. Most people can not say they have sacrificed as Peter did. After Jesus resurrected and visited the apostles, he commanded Peter to “feed his sheep.” Three times he stated this to him. We also know that when Peter, along with the other apostles, received the Holy Ghost, he was stronger than ever. He stood before the people, without hesitation or fear, and spoke like he never did before. God specifically chose Peter to be a leader amongst the apostles as well as his church. And so, his exploits and the sacrifices he made are a sweet savor unto the Lord and are a testament of his faith. He indeed drank of his cup of Christ. We know that this great patriarch was eventually killed as so was prophesied by Christ. But God never forgets the works and sacrifices of his saints. For in the bible, it states that the apostles would sit on the 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Not only that, but an apostle’s name is to be written on each of the 12 foundations of the wall of Jerusalem. So through sacrifice there is great reward! № 30
Words From Peter “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” (I Peter 2: 1-3),
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (I Peter 5: 8-10) № 31
Special Thanks This presentation was developed by: Elisabeth C. Pointer
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Questions? For questions regarding this presentation please contact us via email at info@householdofisrael.org or by phone at 219.949.9308.
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