BaptistWay Bible Series for December 9: Peter: Telling Jesus he’s wrong

 • Download a powerpoint resource for this lesson here.

The pathway to leadership is an arduous path. Good leaders often continue to push forward even if they are wrong. Part of the problem is, in the moment, many leaders still think they are correct, even if the facts say otherwise. Some call this ego. Others may very well call it stupidity. But, none the less, we all admire strong leaders who risk it all for what they believe in. They only get rocks thrown at them when they are wrong.

This is why we love George Washington. He risked high treason, his very life, for what he believed in. Thankfully he was brave and right. When “King David” was “Kid David,” he was just certain he could kill that giant. What if he had been wrong? He would have been called the most irrational, self-absorbed child of all time. His confidence propelled him to kill that giant. That’s why you love him, because of strong leadership.

And in steps Peter. He was an amazing leader of course. But in our text, his confidence had not caught up with his maturity just yet. Mistakes build your maturity really quick. Mistakes are not the ideal way to mature, of course, but they do have a way of humbling us and placing us in a position to be a “learner” next time rather than a “mistaker.”  

Peter is an easy target for us. When you consider just the Gospels, he does look rather foolish at times. What’s amazing is Jesus seemed less concerned about Peter’s current foolishness and more concerned about whom Peter later would become.

Think of this. Jesus intentionally chose Peter. He picked that overreacting, quick-to-speak, slow-to-think, wonderfully courageous, terribly spontaneous person with no future in ear surgery. Jesus looked around at Pharisees who were educated in the law and picked this callous-handed fisherman. But what if Jesus picked him for who Peter would become. Perhaps that spontaneous, rousing courage was an attribute more important than “safe and timid.”  Perhaps Acts even proves this point.

My point? Peter is an easy target for us in the Gospels. But what negative thing can we find to say about Peter in the book of Acts. And there lies my point. We can’t. The stories of Peter we are examining are stories of his process of becoming an incredible leader.

Mistakes formed and shaped Peter into who he needed to be. Being a blabber mouth and telling Jesus “I will never leave you” and “I will protect you” is simply Peter’s inexperienced charisma. And Jesus chose that! He chose uneducated, simple, mistake-laden disciples.

Did you catch something interesting in Mark 14:31? “But Peter insisted emphatically, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the others said the same” (14:31).

Peter is not the only disciple to say “I will never deny you or forsake you.” According to this verse, all the other disciples said exactly the same thing. Did not all of them abandon Jesus after Gethsemane? They equally are guilty to Peter in this regard. But somehow, Peter has taken the majority of our criticism. Why?

Have you ever noticed that Jesus does not criticize Peter? He rebukes Peter more than once, but Jesus always seems to recognize Peter was a leader in the making. Peter was an unpainted canvas. Peter was rough around the edges, yet still edgy enough to be shaped into an incredible leader. In fact, he is a leader we still rely upon today. Timidity was not a problem. Maturity was a problem. And Jesus was ok with that. He looked to Peter’s future.  Jesus knew we needed Peter’s boldness and maturity would come.

And of course, after Peter’s “fall from grace,” Jesus cares enough to challenge Peter and reinstate him in John 21. Jesus recognized Peter’s mistake but didn’t allow that mistake to keep Peter from being one of the greatest leaders the world ever has known. Jesus rather thrusts Peter back into the spotlight despite his fall from grace.

And what about you? What defines you? Those moments when, with your actions, you have told Jesus he is wrong? Can you get under grace in those circumstances? Jesus died to put you there! Making mistakes merely makes you human, not unusable. Good grief! Look at Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah, Phillip—the list goes on and on. God uses perfectly flawed people just like us! Just like Peter.

“We meet people where they are.” I never will forget when I heard a wise deacon utter that phrase. It makes ministry very messy to embrace that truth. Seems we’ve been singing “Just As I Am” for generations, but we haven’t fully believed it or embraced it. Do you know some Peter-type characters around you? What if you learned to meet people where they are but them led them to a stronger, maturing faith.  

Don’t expect people to show up in your life as fully devoted followers of Christ. Expect to find chaos and carnage. And when you are willing to meet them there, but bold enough to lead them forward, then you will have fully embraced the Great Commission. Let’s meet people right where they are. Let’s run to the messes of their lives but point them to Jesus Christ.

So, quit beating up Peter and quit beating up yourself. Stop cutting off the ears of those who have made mistakes. Stop viewing yourself as unusable in God’s kingdom and instead, get busy and bold in God’s kingdom. Be like Peter and kick down a few doors. Don’t be timid. We need you to be a leader.

Since we are morphing your Bible study group into a Bible-doing group, let me suggest a few application ideas for this study:

1.    Are you guilty of not practicing the great hymn “Just As I Am”? Read verses three and four to your  Bible study group, read it very slowly, and see if this hymn screams out “run to the messes of the lost people around you.”

2.    In what way with your actions are you telling Jesus he’s wrong? Why? If you can be that bold in your disobedience, what would happen if you could be equally bold with your obedience?

3.    Challenge your group to examine Peter in the Gospels vs. Peter in Acts. Why the difference in Peter’s life? What is the same about Peter’s life?