February 10, 2003
CYBERCOLUMN:
About Peter?
___By Berry D. Simpson
___So what was Simon Peter doing with a sword is something I've always wanted to know.
___ I was reading from John 18 about Jesus and his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane when the soldiers came to arrest him. John says that when the soldiers and temple guards made a move toward Jesus, Peter slashed out with his sword, cutting the ear off a young guard named Malchus. Jesus told Peter to put his sword away, and he healed Malchus' ear.
___ So why did Peter have a sword? Did he carry one around all the time, and in this case, even to Passover? Did everyone carry swords, like in the old Wild West days in America, when every man carried a gun? One friend suggested that since Peter was a fisherman by trade, maybe he wielded his filet knife instead of an actual sword. Maybe so.
BERRY D. SIMPSON
___ For whatever reason, he had the sword, Peter used it bravely, if not foolishly, against a group of trained professional soldiers. He was brave, but he was also lucky that Jesus stopped the encounter when he did; the soldiers would have killed Peter in short order.
___Peter wasn't so different from me. I don't carry a sword, but I carry plenty of other weapons that I pull out when I think I have to solve my own problems, or as in Peter's case, when I think I have to defend someone else. Solving problems and defending friends isn't wrong, but when the problem is a spiritual one, the weapons should be spiritual as well.
___And actually, I don't usually strike out impulsively like Peter. I tend to withdraw into myself and plan my counterattack carefully. Fortunately, and often, conditions change or minds change (sometimes mine) before I make my well-planned attack, and I am spared from the embarrassment of attacking with earthly human weapons. I think God holds me back, just like Jesus held Peter back, so I won't cause irreversible damage. God wants me to be patient and watch the spiritual issues unfold before leaping into action with my human weapons.
___ Later in the story from the Gospel of John, we read that Peter was confronted by bystanders about his connection to Jesus, and Peter denied he was a follower. It's curious that one moment Peter was ready for a swordfight to the death, and then in another moment he lost his nerve and denied his Lord under simple questioning. When I read the account, I wonder what would have happened had Peter simply said, "Yes, I have been following him for the past three years." I doubt anything would have happened.
___Unfortunately, while I can't really put myself in Peter's shoes (sandals) regarding his swordfight, I can put myself in his place when he denied Jesus. I don't know if I've actually said, "No, I don't know him," but I know there have been many times when I kept my mouth shut when I should have spoken up. A tacit denial isn't much different than a verbal one.
___ And so that's the reason Peter's story is so compelling. We are all like Peter more than we admit. His conflict—brave one minute cowardly the next—doesn't make him unusual. It makes him just like all of us.
___The part of Peter that is not typical is what he did after Jesus' resurrection. Instead of slinking away from Jesus in embarrassment over his failure, he ran full-speed into Jesus' arms seeking forgiveness. That is hard to do. We all want forgiveness, but none of us wants to admit we were wrong. Peter is unique in his desire for Jesus.
___ I believe the same forgiveness offered to Peter was available to Judas. Had Judas run to Jesus for forgiveness after Jesus' resurrection, he would have been welcomed with open arms the same as Peter. Unfortunately, Judas couldn't deal with his own guilt (who can?), and he was afraid to let Jesus confront him with his betrayal, and so he took matters into his own hands and hung himself. He tried to solve a spiritual problem with human tools, but his tool was suicide. If he had returned to Jesus seeking a spiritual solution, forgiveness, how different the story would have been. But seeking forgiveness means admitting failure, and for Judas, and often for me, admitting failure is more vulnerability than we can handle.
___ I also wonder about Malchus. I hope he became a believer after Jesus healed him, but the Bible doesn't say. I like to think of Malchus and Peter sitting side-by-side in church comparing their unique stories of how Jesus healed them both.
___Berry Simpson, a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland, is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and member of the city council in Midland.
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