Life of the Apostle Peter

In the role of the Apostle Peter, we do hear a lot about Paul. We read his writings consistently, including Hebrews. Paul wrote 14 epistles, which are kind of a backbone of the New Testaments, especially after the life of Christ had ended and he was sent into heaven. Much of what we know occurred then was through the preaching of Paul. But we don't often think a lot about Peter, a man who had a significant influence in the church, who obviously was one of the original twelve disciples. So I thought that was an excellent sermon suggestion that was in our cermets, and that's what I would like to cover today. The story of Peter is a man who had remarkable gifts, who God used in great ways. But it's also the story of a man who, like every one of us, struggled with some personal flaws and some problems that had some personality characteristics that were not very desirable. The good news is, I think we can clearly see by the end of his life, that he was able to temper. He was able to at least temper and perhaps overcome some of the attributes of his character or his personality that he had struggled with, particularly earlier in his ministry. We'll see that he was a man who grew through the power of the Holy Spirit, and he matured into a positive servant of God. First, let's talk a little bit about his background. Unlike most people, he has four different names in the New Testament.

Not too many people have four different names, but he certainly does. His original Hebrew name was Simian, and that's actually recorded a couple of times in the Bible, even though most modern translators take that original Hebrew name Simian, and they take the liberty, like the New King James Version does, and it translates it to Simon, where Simian was part of the original in the New Testament. So that's what his name means. The name Simian, by the way, his given name means two different things. Hebrew was not a huge... did not have a huge alphabet, a huge number of words. So oftentimes words have two different meanings, depending on their context. Simian, who we know the patriarch Simian, one of the brothers of the 12 original 12 tribes of Israel, sons of Israel. His name means hearing, and it also means little hyena beast. Now that isn't something you would like to be called around the house very often, is it? Hey, little hyena beast, come over here. I'd like to talk to you. But it's interesting in that hyena at that time was a stockily built animal that they were all familiar with in Palestine in the near Middle East. It was a carnivorous animal, and it fed on carrion, and it was known for its cowardice and its cruelty.

And when you think about the original patriarch Simian, you may remember that he and his brother went in and hacked a whole town to pieces. Their sister was violated. You remember that story, Diana, she was violated. And they said, hey, we'll tell you what, we will intermingle with you. We will trade with you. We will take your daughters to be our wives, and you can take our daughters to be your wives. All we ask is that you circumcise yourselves, become like one of us, and then we can all be brothers. We can be friends. Well, the people in this, I think they were high-bikes, if I remember correctly, did circumcise themselves. And while they were recovering from that very delicate surgery, Simian and Levi marched in and hacked everybody to pieces. And you may remember the prophecy that the old man gave, I think, in Genesis 49. He said, instruments of cruelty are in their habitation, speaking of Simian and Levi. He said they would be scattered throughout Israel. So the example of Simian was certainly one of being a coward, certainly one of extreme cruelty, to deceive people to that point, and then going and just hacked them to pieces was certainly an act of cruelty. But that was the original name given to Peter. And then there's the Greek equivalent of Simian, and it's Simon. And we're pretty well familiar with the name Simon in the New Testament. It's used nearly 50 times in both the Gospels and the Book of Acts. So those are two of the names. Simian, his original given Hebrew name, the Greek equivalent, which is Simon. And then there was a third name that was primarily used by Paul. If you'll turn to 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 11, Paul uses this a lot for the man that we know of as Peter. There's only one time the word Cephas is not used by Paul, and that's in 1 John or in John chapter 1, and we'll get there in a couple of minutes. But first let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 11. So in every instance except one, it is Paul who refers to Peter as Cephas.

1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 11, Paul says, For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. Can you imagine that? Contentions in the Church of God. I never heard of such a thing. Verse 12, Now I say that each of you says, I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas, or I am of Christ.

Paul says, Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Well, of course not. We were all baptized into the name of Jesus Christ, into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, not into the name of any sect or denomination, not into the name of men, but certainly into the name of Jesus Christ. And he's the one. Paul here uses the term Cephas. Now, Cephas, again, was used mostly by Paul. It's an Aramaic name. So you had a Hebrew name, you had a Greek name. Now you have an Aramaic name for Peter, and this means a stone or a small rock.

And that's what Cephas means in Aramaic. It's actually the equivalent of a Greek name, Peter, which Jesus is going to call him Peter. And Peter, which comes from the Greek pithros, means a stone or a small rock. Let's now go to John chapter 1 and verse 32 and see what Jesus says about the calling and about the name of Peter. First John chapter 1 and 32. And again, we're going to see the name Cephas, the only time it's used outside of Paul's writings.

First John chapter 32 and verse 42.

And John bore witness, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove.

This is John the Baptist. And he remained upon him, speaking of Christ. I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, Upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. Verse 35. Again, the next day John stood with two of his disciples. So these are the disciples of John the Baptist. And looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold, the Lamb of God. The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following said to them, What do you seek? And they said to him, Rabbi, that is to say or translate a teacher, Where are you staying? He said to them, Come and see. And they came and saw where he was staying and remained with him that day. Now it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. So this gives us an indication that Peter's brother Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. And it could very well be that Peter was also. One thing we know about these two brothers is they were deep religious.

Before Christ came along, they already were interested in God. And they were already interested in a religious faith because at least Andrew was literally a disciple of John the Baptist and was there with him. So again, verse 40, one of the two who heard John speak and following him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which is translated the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, he said, You are Simon, the son of Jonah. So we know that is right there. That tells us that his father's name was John, which is the original for Jonah. You are Simon, the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas. That is translated a stone or a very small rock, something you can small enough that you can carry around in your hand. So we learned a little bit more about the fact that he's given a nickname. Perhaps it's like the nickname. We don't hear this much anymore, but I grew up with people who had the nickname Rocky. Right? And it's almost like he's giving the nickname, Hey, Rocky! Because the name literally means stone or a small rock.

Verses 43, it says, The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee and he found Philip and said to him, Follow me. Now Philip was from Bethania, the city of Andrew and Peter. So this tells us that the brothers, Andrew and Peter, came from the town of Bethania. Now, guess what that town means? Guess what the name Bethania means? It means house of fish. Well, what a shock! All right, they were fishermen by trade, so they obviously lived in a grew up or were born in a city that meant the house of fish. It is located in the city in the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee.

It was near this city that Jesus later fed 5,000 people, including with fish. That's in Luke, the ninth chapter. He healed a blind man there in Mark, chapter eight, and he even pronounced severe judgment upon Bethania for its lack of a response to his preaching and to his miracles.

That's in Matthew, chapter 11, in Luke 10. So we see here that Peter came from or at least was born in this town. Let's now go to Matthew, chapter 16, verse 13. Matthew, chapter 16, verse 13.

Take a look at a scripture that has confused many about the role that Peter would have, and it's a scripture that the Catholic Church, frankly, uses to support the belief that Peter was the supreme disciple, that he was the first pope, and that special qualities and authority were given by Jesus to Peter that were never given to anyone else. So we have to take a few minutes to look at this scripture a little more closely. Matthew, chapter 16, and verse 13, if you'll turn there. It says, When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked the disciples, saying, Who do men say that I am? or Who do men say that I, the son of man, am? So they said in him, Some say John the Baptist, Some say Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.

And he said to them, But who do you say that I am? And verse 16, Simon Peter answered. Now, I'll stop right there because one of the qualities that Peter had, if you study the Gospels closely, one of the qualities he had is he usually asked the questions everyone else was thinking. But his personality was bold enough that he was like the one who would raise his hand first to make an answer to say he'd make a comment. And usually, if the others were a little inhibited, perhaps wise enough not to say anything, Peter would usually be the one to just blur it out and say it.

And sometimes he suffered the wrath of Christ because he would say some things that came back to haunt him. But it says here, in typical fashion, because this was one of his characteristics, Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now, that's recognizing Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Now, at this point, he doesn't yet recognize or understand that Christ has to die, that he has to shed his blood for the forgiveness of the sins of men. He doesn't understand any of that yet, but he understands that Christ is the Son of the living God, that he is the promised Messiah. Verse 17, Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonas, Simon, Son of John, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say unto you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind in earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose in earth will be loosed in heaven. And he commanded his disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ. He didn't want to let the cat out of the bag.

Disarray, there was a lot that he had to do yet before major persecution would come upon him that would cost him his life. So he asked them not to tell anyone what they had already acknowledged and realized. Now, according to the doctrines of the Catholic Church, when Jesus says, and I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, they interpreted that you were Peter, and upon you Peter, which name means stone or small rock, upon you, your authority, as the first pope, that I'm going to build my church, and you will have the ultimate authority over this great organization that will encompass the world.

That is how they translate what Jesus said here. What Jesus is using a play on words in these scriptures, he's saying that Simon is now Peter, and again, Peter comes from the Greek word pithros. It means a small rock or a stone. It means something that you can hold in your hand, whether you want to call it a stone or a small rock or whatever, you literally can hold it in your hand.

Jesus continues by saying, when he uses the phrase, on this rock, a entirely different Greek word is used. The word rock on this rock is the word petra, and that word petra means a boulder. It means something that's massive, unmovable, a foundation stone that can't even be moved. So what Jesus is basically saying is that you are a stone, a small rock, and upon me, upon my foundation, being the Christ, the unmovable boulder, the petra, you will be able to serve me and you will be able to serve all mankind upon the rock that I am as Jesus Christ.

He says, I will build my church. When Jesus uses the word church here, he's referring to the phrase ecclesia, and it means simply a group of assembled people who come together to worship. It does not mean or imply some established church organization or some official church, like one that would eventually arise in Rome.

I'd like to read what the Scofield Bible notes say about this verse. It says, in the Greek, there is a play, quote, in the Greek there is a play upon words in this statement. You are Peter, Petros, a stone, and on this rock, petra, a massive rock, I will build my church. It is upon Christ himself that the church is built.

Not upon any man, certainly not upon Peter, but upon Jesus Christ himself. Now some, again, use verse 19, where it says, and I'll give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind in earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose in earth will be loosed in heaven.

Some people use that verse to imply that Peter was intended to be the ultimate leader or the most powerful apostle above the other disciples, but this is simply not supported by what Jesus Christ said. In Matthew chapter 18, if you'll turn there, just a few pages back, Matthew chapter 18 verse 18, he repeats the second part of this phrase, to all in the presence of all the disciples, he says, assuredly I say to you, whatever you bind in earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose in earth will be loosed in heaven.

So this is an authority that he gives to all of his disciples, not just simply Peter. And I might also add that what Jesus is saying in context here is, as my disciples, you can't go out and create doctrine. You can't go out and decide that sin is good and that good is sin. You know, you have to come to this understanding through prayer and fasting, and God will reveal his will to you so that when you bind something on earth, it will be reflecting what God's will is on that topic, and that's why it will be binding.

So, you know, we need to understand that that doesn't give a church or man ultimate authority to make sin good and to turn goodness into something that's sinful. You know, that's part of God's law. God decides what is sin and what isn't sin, not any organization or human beings. I wanted to give you something to think about here, though, in the phrase that Jesus said to Peter.

He says to him on verse 19, and I'll give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. I think that's an interesting phrase when you consider what Peter did. You know, what does a key do? If you have a key, I have, I think I have car keys on me. I have a couple of keys so heavy that it's wearing holes in my pockets, but what every one of these keys do is they open something.

Don't they? They open the door to this building or they open the door to my home or they open the door to my car. That's what keys do.

And if you think about it, who was it on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given who stood up and gave the first powerful sermon regarding the need to receive God's Holy Spirit?

It was Peter. Peter was being used by God to open the door of salvation to Jewish converts who had not directly seen Christ or who had who was in town visiting, observing the day of Pentecost, but it was Peter who was opening that door to allow the gospel message to be preached to the Jews. Now, a number of years later, who was it that through a vision went to Cornelius, the first Gentile, and spoke with him and heard him out and saw the Holy Spirit fall in Cornelius and his family. It was none other than Peter. So again, Peter was opening the door. Christ was using Peter to open the door so that the Gentiles around the world could hear the gospel, could receive the good news of the gospel message, believe in Jesus Christ, and ultimately be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. So historically, after this is said, if you look at the life of Peter, you will see that he opened the doors so that people could be saved, so that people could understand and respond to the calling that the Father was giving them to support their Savior, their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Again, the point that I wanted to make here, specifically, about what Jesus told Peter was that the same promise that he gave to Peter about being able to bind on earth and loose on earth, that the same would be done in heaven, was also given to the other disciples. Oftentimes in the New Testament, we find the name Simon in combination with Peter.

So we see two of those four names oftentimes merged together, and he'll be referred to as Simon Peter. And that intent is to remind the reader that Simon was his earlier original name, which is a version of Simeon, and that Peter was the name that he was later called by Jesus.

Well, let's talk a little bit more about this interesting individual called Peter.

We saw earlier in John's account that Peter's hometown was in Bethsaida. But he also, apparently, he did okay for himself because if we were to turn to Mark 1, verse 21, we would see that he also maintained a residence in Capernaum. So apparently the fishing business was pretty good for Peter, or at least for his family. We also see in Luke, if we were to go to Luke chapter 5, that he was a partner in the fishing business with the sons of Zebedee. Remember the sons of Thunder? He was a partner in the fishing business with them, which perhaps also indicates why he seemed to be well off financially. So his hometown was Bethsaida. He had a home in Capernaum. He was in the fishing business before he was called with the sons of Zebedee. Let's now go to Mark chapter 1, verse 29, and see something about his personal life that we don't often read about regarding the other disciples. Unfortunately, it doesn't say much often in Scripture about the wives of the disciples. We know that Jesus didn't have a wife. Of course, he died as a young man, and the older I get, the younger he is. He died as a young man and is 33 years old. John the Baptist, there's no indication that John was married. We just don't read about many of the disciples having wives, but we do in the case of Peter, Mark chapter 1 and verse 29, it says, Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told him about her at once.

So he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her, and she served them. So obviously, if he had a mother-in-law, the price you pay for that normally is that you have a wife if you have a mother-in-law. Remember the song? Mother-in-law.

So we see that he was married. As a matter of fact, we won't go to 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 5, but Paul also comments on the fact that he was married. And Paul comments in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 that Peter took his wife with him when he traveled throughout the world in his ministry.

So we have another confirmation here from Paul himself that Peter was a married man.

How about in the eyes of those who wrote the scriptures, the eyes of God who obviously inspired scripture, what can we know about Simon Peter? Let's go to Matthew 10 and verse 2.

Matthew chapter 10 and verse 2. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 2. It says, Now the names of the twelve apostles are these. First, Simon, called Peter. Now I'll stop there because it lists the names of the other apostles. The point I want to bring out is Peter's name always occurs first in the list of the apostles. If you go to Mark, Mark chapter 3 and verse 16, it's the same thing. Peter is mentioned first. If we were to go to Luke chapter 6 and verse 14, Peter is mentioned first. So he was highly respected by God, by Jesus Christ, because Christ could see the incredible potential that this raw recruit in the faith had. And those who were inspired to write the gospels put Peter first. So again, I think that says a lot for him.

I mentioned earlier that he frequently served as the spokesman for the disciples, and he was usually the one who raised questions that they all wanted to know the answer to, but didn't have the courage to ask themselves. If we had more time, we could go to Mark chapter 10 and verse 28 and see where he posed the question. Matthew 15, 15, see he was the one that asked the question. Matthew chapter 18 and verse 21, he was the one that asked the question. Luke chapter 12 and verse 41, you see just a constant thread through the gospels. That was one of the positive aspects of his boldness. Throughout the ministry of Jesus Christ, Peter was part of the inner circle of disciples that Peter was preparing for the ministry to serve him in a great way. Here are some of the things that Jesus did to prepare Peter for his calling. Jesus often singled out Peter for teachings intended for the entire group of disciples, and he did this in Matthew chapter 8 and verses 29 through 33. So he would often use him as an example, kind of like a Chinese volunteer.

We'll take Peter, for example. Peter, and he would use Peter as an example so that all the other disciples could learn, usually from something Peter may have said that was wrong. Peter was present with Jesus at the raising of the synagogue ruler's daughter in Mark chapter 5. The raising of the leader's daughter, Peter was right there to be part of that, to be able to witness that.

Peter was part of the transfiguration in Mark chapter 9, so he was considered important enough to have been there and saw the transfiguration and to participate in that actual vision, which I like to emphasize as a vision about the Kingdom of God, which every seventh-day Sabbath pictures and reminds us about, of course, which the Feast of Tabernacles, as part of one of God's holy days, reminds us about the Kingdom of God. Peter was present at the arrest of Jesus at the Gethsemane, that's Mark chapter 14. So in major events in the life of Christ, whether it was miracles that he performed or things he was trying to teach the twelve or events, significant events in what Jesus was doing, Peter was always there, including making comments on the night of the Passover and discussing things with Christ on that very evening. But you know, Peter, like all of us, he also had some personal weaknesses and things that he struggled with, that he needed to overcome, just like we do. He frequently typified a disciple of little faith. You may remember the account of Matthew chapter 14 and verse 31, where Jesus was walking in the water. And Peter, in his boldness, said, Christ, can I come out and walk in the water with you? And Jesus said, absolutely, come on!

And as soon as he got on top of the water and started walking, he must have realized what he was doing, because he began to say, Jesus saved me! And Jesus told him, he said, O you of little faith, you were bold enough to get up on the water and bold enough to ask if you could walk in the water, why did you lack faith? If you were courageous enough to go to that point, why did you lack faith when it came time to literally do it? So Jesus often singled Peter out for these kinds of examples, and in this case it was his lack of faith. Peter was bold sometimes to being even to the point of being a braggard, bragging about himself. And that's not a good thing. Let's go to Matthew chapter 26 and verse 33. That's the problem with if boldness is taken too far, then we come across to other people as a gas bag. We come across as empty wind, as a braggard, and that's not a positive quality. And again, if you temper that and back that off so that you just have boldness, there certainly are a lot of situations in which boldness is a very admirable quality. Well, Jesus is talking about the fact that he's going to have you going to go through persecution. He's going to die. Matthew chapter 26 and verse 33. And Peter answered, said to him, Even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble. And Jesus said to him, Assuredly I say to you, this night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. And Peter said to him, Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And so said all the disciples.

Well, you know the story. Of course, when the chips were down, boy, that rooster is crowing to the point of being hoarse because sadly, Simon exhibited a lot of cowardness that night. Remember one of the qualities that said earlier being a hyena was being a coward.

That night he was a coward. He denied Christ and even got to the point one of the times and somebody said, You know, I'm almost sure that he lost, he started cursing and he just lost his cool.

And he became very irate in the fact that he felt shame and was being discovered for who and what he was. Another negative quality that Peter had that he needed to work on is sometimes he could be impulsive. He could be violent. It was the night of Jesus arrest, as I mentioned in John 18, that he cut off the ear of Malchus during the arrest of Jesus. Just and the odds are that he wasn't, I might add, that he wasn't aiming for his ear. He probably, I think he was aiming to behead him and that the servant wisely went and the sword, as it was swung horizontally, caught his ear and cut his ear off. So it just shows how impulsive that he could be, prone to violence. Maybe it was the good influence of those sons of thunder that he was being in the fishing business with that caused him to be that way sometimes, but nonetheless he could be very impulsive. Peter also struggled at times with some inconsistencies. He came across as a bigot. One very pronounced time was in Galatians chapter 2 when Paul had to confront him publicly that Peter was fellowshipping with Gentiles, but when some of the Jewish believers from Jerusalem came, he withdrew from the Gentiles and wouldn't have anything to do with them. And Paul called him a hypocrite, which is a pretty strong term. Paul publicly called him to task on his conduct because it offended a lot of people what he had done. So he may have struggled with bigotry. Remember, this is from a man whom God used to call the first Gentile. He said after he saw that vision of the unclean meats, he said, I've come to see that I should not call any man unclean. Everyone's equal in the eyes of God when God and one Father is calling them, yet he was a man who could also at times show bigotry.

So the final weakness that he has that I just want to emphasize is that sometimes he was inconsistent in his faith, almost contradictory. On one hand, he said he would be willing to die for Christ, and then he turned out to exhibit cowardness. He was used to call the first Gentile, Cornelius, and then at another time when he could have set a powerful example to the church members when they showed up from Jerusalem, he withdrew from the Gentiles and treated them like they were inferiors rather than setting a beautiful example of inclusion. He could have done that, but he didn't. He asked Christ if he could walk in the water, and then he got there and we might say in modern terms he chickened out and lost faith and lost courage and began to sink, and Jesus corrected him because of his lack of faith. So we see again that Peter, like all of us, and we all have our own cross to bear, we all have our own things that we struggle with and that we need to overcome and that we're working on, Peter did as well. Well, at this point in the sermon, I'd like to do just a little survey of the book of Acts. We'll be in here for a while. So you'll turn to Acts chapter 1, and what we're going to do is we're going to see in the early history of the church what a significant and powerful influence that Peter had. He had an incredible example, and a lot of this was due to his boldness. He was very comfortable in front of people in tense situations. He always had the ability to speak up, to speak boldly, to be powerful in what he said, and again that is a beautiful quality as long as it's tempered, as long as it's balanced, because if it isn't balanced, then it goes into being a braggart. It just goes into, you know, saying things that unfortunately are inflated. Acts chapter 1 and verse 12. Let's see the example here.

Jesus has ascended to heaven. It says, then they return to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey.

And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying.

Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, the son of Eltheas, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Verse 15, it says, And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples. So Peter saw a need. He's looking around. He's pretty good at counting. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. There's only eleven of us left. There's only eleven of the disciples who were with Jesus. We've got to fix this. It's important that we have twelve. So it says he stood up in the midst of the disciples.

Altogether, the number of the names was about 120. The whole audience, everybody assembled.

And he said, Men and brethren of Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle, and of all of his entrails gushed out. That's pretty graphic, isn't it? That makes somebody dropping a picnic table on their toes seem kind of tame. Verse 19, And he became known to all of those dwelling in Jerusalem.

So that field is called in their own language, ekaldama, that is, fields of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let this dwelling place be desolate, and let no one live in it, and let another take his office. Therefore of these men who have accompanied us, who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when he was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness of us of his resurrection. So who took this leadership role?

Who said that we need to replace Judas? It was Peter. His confidence, his strength, his boldness, that there needed to be twelve disciples who could proclaim, who were eyewitnesses of the whole events of the ministry of Jesus Christ, who could proclaim his message to the world.

So again, he takes the leadership role in replacing Judas. Now let's go to chapter 2, chapter 2 and verse 1. We're all familiar with events that occurred on the day of Pentecost.

Acts chapter 2 and verse 1, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly they came astound from heaven as a rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues of fire, and one sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. So why did this happen?

Well, it's because they believed that God's annual holy days were still in effect. This happened because they are all gathered on the day of Pentecost, which is one of God's holy days.

Someone forgot to tell them that the holy days are done away. That's why they were able to receive the Holy Spirit on this day, because they respected and honored all of God's holy days, because every one of them reflect the work of Jesus Christ. Verse 5, it says, And there were dwelling in Jerusalem, Jews, devoured men from every nation under heaven.

And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. When they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, Look, are not all of these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear each one in our own language in which we were born? So this was a miracle of the hearing.

For example, if John were speaking, those who were from Babylon would hear John in their language.

Those who were from Sicily, I'm just making up these terms, I'm not saying these people were there, those who were from Sicily would hear John speaking in their native tongue. So the miracle wasn't just in the speaking, it was also in the hearing. God was performing a tremendous miracle here. And of course, this is when the Holy Spirit was given to the church in Pentecost, the 31 AD, verses 12. So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, Whatever could this mean? And of course, within every congregation, within every group, you have the mockers, don't you?

You have the cynics, you have the know-it-alls, you have those who just have to put their two cents in. And they said, They are all full of new wine, implying that they're drunk, implying they've been drinking too much, and implying that this is not a true religious experience, it's a sham. It says, verse 14, But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice. Do you think maybe Peter was a little disturbed at the comment that had been made?

It says, He raised his voice, and he said to the men of Judah, and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let it be known to you, and heed my words. In other words, he says, You better listen, for these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hours a day.

But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. And we'll stop right there. The point I want to make is that it's Peter who boldly stands up and gives a powerful message, powerful sermon, that results in the baptism of many, many, many, the conversion and baptism of many people. The first powerful sermon about the Gospel on the day of Pentecost. So there again is his leadership, his boldness, his courage, when it's a time that it's needed. Now let's go to chapter 3.

Acts chapter 3 and verse 10. Peter and John are boldly preaching the Gospel, doing marvelous things in nothing less than the temple itself, which certainly was going to cause problems. Verse, they healed a man. Again, Acts chapter 3 verse 10. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the beautiful gate of the temple. And people were filled. They were filled with wonder and amazement of what had happened to him. This man had had a disease for many, many years. Suddenly he's healed. They don't understand it. Now as the lame man who was healed on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch, which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. It says here in verse 12, so when Peter saw it, an opportunity. When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, men of Israel. Why do you marvel at this or look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we've made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our Father glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go. And then with both barrels, Peter gives them the gospel. And he draws some attention. We need to understand that this is in the temple.

This is risky business doing this in the temple. This part of the temple, the beautiful gate, was on the east side of the temple. It was a gate on the east side of the temple that led to the court of the Gentiles. So this was a pretty risky thing to do, as we see here in chapter 4 and verse 1.

Acts chapter 4 and verse 1 says, Now as they spoke to the people, the priest, uh-oh, the captain of the temple, double-uh-oh, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Remember specifically, the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection to the dead. So that certainly caught their antennae. Verse 3, Then they laid hands on them, and they put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of men came to be about five thousand. You talk about explosive growth going from 120 that we've read about a couple of chapters ago, that five thousand believers. This is having an impact, and this is a threat to the established religious leaders, particularly those who operate and control the temple. Verse 5, And it came to pass in the next day that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas, the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and many, as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked by what power or by what name, have you done this? Guess who's going to boldly answer. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers and people and elders of Israel, if we this day are judged for the good deed done to a helpless man, by what means has he been made well? Let all be known to you all and to the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands before you whole.

This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.

Let me stop right there. Remember what he said to Peter, upon Peter, upon this rock, you're a small stone, that I will build my church. Upon you, a small stone will be part of this foundation, this huge, massive foundation, this unmovable boulder that is my church, me, the rock, the church will be founded on. And he says, this is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved. Then, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled, and they realized that they had been with Jesus. So again, Peter, because of his boldness, because of his strength, he impresses the priests and the Sadducees, and he gives them an undiluted version of the Gospel, and what they're accountable for because of the fact that they had rejected Jesus Christ. Now, let's go to Acts 9. Let's go back a few more pages and see what he was doing during this period of time. We'll see here that Peter was a very busy man. Acts 9, verse 31.

In context here, this is after Paul has been converted, but he's laying low because the fact that he had persecuted the church earlier. Paul is laying low and taking his time to learn the faith, to settle down a little bit. And then it says here in Acts 9, verse 31, then the churches throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified, and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. Now, it came to pass as Peter went through all parts of the country that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Leda. There he found a man named Aeneas who had been bed-ridden eight years and paralyzed, and Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you, arise and make your bed, and he rose immediately. So during this time, Peter is doing a lot of travel.

He is preaching the gospel. It says all parts of the country. So he's not sitting in his cave waiting for the phone to ring. He's out there doing the work that God gave him to do. Now, Acts chapter 10, verse 25, Peter is used in a great way, that I alluded to earlier, in that he opens the door for the Gentiles to be able to respond to the preaching of the gospel, which is what was always intended. You may remember the story before we jump in here in verse 25. He sees a vision in his vision, his dream. The sheet comes down. It has all kinds of unclean animals and meats on it. He's told to eat. He says, No, I wouldn't even consider doing that. He goes through that episode. He's trying to ponder what does it mean. I know God doesn't want me to eat these slimy, foul creatures. It just doesn't make sense, and he's pondering it. Then one thing leads to another. He's told to go to visit this man, Cornelius, who has also seen a vision. He's spoken with God.

Then all the puzzle pieces come together. Here, we'll pick it up in verse 25. As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, Stand up. I myself am also a man. And that's all any minister is. He's just simply a mere man, hopefully a man that God is working through. And that should be evident by his life, by his fruits.

But any minister, any disciple, is only also simply a man and nothing more. Verse 27, And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. Then he said to them, You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company or to go to one of another nation.

Then the puzzle pieces. Now he understands what the blanket, what the unclean meats, were all about. He says, But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

The light came on. He understood it. He got it. And God uses Peter to open the door of salvation to the Gentiles. So Peter was very active in this first stage of calling the Gentiles, wasn't he? Yet, even though he opens the door, it's Paul who became the apostle to the Gentiles.

So he just opened the door and someone else took control, took authority, took accountability from that point on. Here, let's walk down to verse 44 here. Acts 10 44, while Peter was still speaking these words to Cornelius and his company, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.

And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, those who were with Peter, as many as came with Peter because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. And Peter answered, Can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?

And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, and they asked him to stay a few days.

He obviously had lots of questions, having now received God's Holy Spirit, and he stayed with them a few days, the mentor and coach, and ministered to them so they would be grounded in the faith.

So who does God use to start this whole new epic in church history in which Gentiles can be called?

He uses Peter. Now, is this an easy thing for Peter to do? Is he going to be applauded because he does this bold step? Is he going to be welcomed by the brethren back in Jerusalem? Acts 11, beginning in verse 1, it says, Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God, and when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, saying, You went into uncircumcised men and ate with them. So he is confronted because of what he did by, it says, the apostles and the brethren. So they're not quite where he's at yet. Of course, they didn't have the advantage of seeing the vision and the unclean animals on the blanket. And, you know, they didn't have his experience. And he goes about explaining to them everything that happened, but he was willing to take the flack for doing what he needed to do. He was confronted by Jewish believers who were offended, deeply offended, that he would dare go to the home of a Gentile and not just have a meal with one. That's bad enough that you would break bread with a Gentile. But you offered them the faith? You offered to baptize them? They received God's Holy Spirit and they still have the thing? Unheard of, unbelievable, can't happen, impossible. And he had to patiently explain to them exactly what it happened and why he did what he did. Let's now go to Acts chapter 15 and see where he exhibits another level of leadership and boldness. Acts chapter 15 and verse 6. Eventually, what we've been reading about here blows up in the church. It could have divided that it could have literally split the New Testament church in whole, because there were individuals who insisted that you had to be circumcised to be of the faith. And if you were a Gentile and converted, it didn't matter if you were a 60-year-old male. It was essential and part of your salvation that you had to have something trimmed. That was what they believed. And it almost split the church. And their arguments were very powerful. Did not God tell Moses to circumcise? Did not God tell Abraham to circumcise? Isn't it the sign that God gave us circumcision? So, I mean, they had... We look at it today and it's a settled matter, right? Well, I hope it's a settled matter. It's a settled matter.

But at this time, this was very controversial, because those who believed that you must be circumcised had a lot of Old Testament figures and characters in history to support their belief that you must be circumcised to be saved. So, it almost tore the church apart. In 49 AD, they had to have a ministerial conference. And here's what happens beginning in verse 6. Now, the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. And when there had been much dispute... So, there's a lot of argument, a lot of contention over this issue. It says, Peter rose up and said to them, men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. Peter says, look, I'm the one who started this.

It was by my mouth that I preached the gospel to Cornelius and that his family believed. He and his family believed. He said, I'm the one that started this controversy. I was there that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So, God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples of which neither our fathers nor we are able to bear?

But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they. Then all the multitude kept silent and they listened to Barnabas and Paul, declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. So, Peter takes an active role in the ministerial conference in 49 A.D. regarding the issue of circumcision being required for Gentile converts. You know what? Though he played a very influential role in establishing the Jerusalem Church and being part of this conference, he was not the pastor of the Jerusalem Church. James was the pastor of the Jerusalem Church. Even at this conference, James makes the final conclusion or he states the final result of the conference. So, I think that's important for us to consider as well. Now, what happens to Peter from this point on? Well, from this point on, he's not a prominent figure in Scriptures. Peter becomes very quiet. Anything we know about him is fragmentary. It's like after the conference, he goes back to traveling, he goes back to doing his ministry, but he's no longer mentioned often by Paul or by other writers in the New Testament. He no longer appears to play a prominent role. Tradition tells us that Peter died as a martyr in Rome in the 60s, and that is just secular tradition. We have no proof of that. As a matter of fact, the so-called proof comes from the writing of 1st Clement. You may have noticed that that's not in Europe. Scriptures. And it says that he died in Rome. Tradition states that Peter was believed to have been crucified upside down in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero in 64 AD.

It is said that he asked to be crucified upside down, saying he was not worthy to die in the same manner of Jesus Christ. That's what tradition says. Tradition also says, and I find this interesting, though it's not true, tradition also says that during the persecution of Nero that Peter decided to leave Rome. And as he's leaving Rome, he passes Jesus Christ, who's walking into Rome. He does a double take, and he says, Jesus! He says, what are you doing? What are you doing going into Rome? There's persecution there! Nero is killing people, and according to tradition, Jesus says, well, Peter, he said, you're unwilling to be a man and to deal with what your end result is supposed to be, and that is martyrdom, so I'm taking your place. And according to tradition, he turned around and he went back into Rome. Cute story. Unfortunately, it's not true.

Or fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you want to look at it, it's not true.

Now, how do we know that this is doubtful? Well, first of all, there's no biblical confirmation that he went to Rome and died in Rome. There is an agenda of a large church who wants to teach and wants Peter to have been their first pope, wants Peter to be the authority, the ultimate first authority for their existence, so it's important for them to teach and believe that he died in Rome. But as I said, these traditions are doubtful, and here's a couple of reasons why.

When Paul writes the book of Romans in 58 AD, he writes a letter to the Roman congregation, he doesn't mention Peter anywhere in that book. He doesn't mention that Peter was even there. Normally Paul is very good at commending others for what they're doing, and he doesn't say anything about Peter being there. He wrote the letter to Rome, and he wanted to visit Rome, he hoped to visit them, because he knew they needed a pastor, that he knew they needed spiritual guidance. As a matter of fact, Paul says in two places, in Romans 15-20 and in 1 Corinthians 10-15, he says that I never built upon another man's foundations. In other words, Paul said if that area of the world already had a pastor, if it already had ministerial influence, I don't go there. I go someplace that doesn't have a pastor, doesn't have ministerial influence. So the fact, by 58 AD, that Paul writes the letters in Romans shows that Peter is not there, that Peter had no influence at all within Rome. Now, there is evidence that Peter traveled to the western parts of the Roman Empire. There are traditions and oral and written histories that he traveled to Britain to preach the Gospel there, to some of the lost tribes of Israel. But as far as documenting in Scripture, we don't know exactly where he went, and we don't know exactly how he died. But we do know something about his death. If you'll turn with me to John 21, verse 18, Jesus gave him an indication that he would die a martyr, an old martyr, but nonetheless a martyr.

John 21, verse 18, Jesus says to Peter, Most assuredly I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished. So when you were a young man, you just put your clothes on. You say, I'm going to go here today, and you just go there.

I'm going to go over here today, and you just go there. You have the right and the liberty and the flexibility to do that. He says, But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, probably because they'll be tied together. You will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish. So he basically says, as an old man, you're going to be a prisoner. You're going to be tied up. Other people are going to tell you, they're going to throw clothes on you, and they're going to drag you around. They're going to carry you to places you don't want to go. And that was a prophecy that Jesus said about Peter. And certainly we understand what Jesus said is true, and that everything he did say would come true, was fulfilled. Verse 19, this he spoke signifying what death he would glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, follow me. So Jesus predicts that Peter is going to die an old man, but he's going to be martyred for the faith. Well, brethren, Peter wrote two books in the New Testament, and for the remainder of our sermon here, just a few minutes, we're going to take a look at just a couple of scriptures that he wrote to conclude our sermon today, because he's the author of two short epistles in the New Testament. We're just going to look at the introductory remarks that he makes in each of the books that he wrote. In 1 Peter, his purpose was to offer hope. If you'll begin turning to 1 Peter, the persecuted Christians in Asia were encouraged by Peter to hope in God's ultimate deliverance and remain faithful in spite of their persecutions. These two books were written, it is believed, somewhere between 64 and 68 A.D. And 1 Peter, beginning in verse 1, we'll see what he says here. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, and it is believed that in some of these cities were also remnants of the tribes of Israel that had been lost and captured at this time. Verse 2, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in sanctification of the Spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Verse 6, in this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while if need be you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love, though now you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith the salvation of your soul. So that just gives us a foretaste of how encouraging he's trying to be to them. He says that you have a living hope. He says you're going through persecution now, but it's more precious than gold. It is refining the genuineness of your faith.

And it's just very encouraging. That was the purpose of 1 Peter. Unfortunately, after 1 Peter, he felt compelled almost immediately to write a second letter, write another letter. Its purpose was to counter the influence of heretics who had come into the church, who wanted to leave the brethren to believe falsely that they had total freedom of the law, that there was no longer a need to be responsible for our conduct, that grace does everything, and that we no longer had to respect the law of God. So here's what he says. And again, we'll just read the first few verses here in 2 Peter, chapter 1, beginning in verse 1. And I think we'll also see things, a couple of statements here, where we see that this old, grizzled patriarch, after a lifetime, had grown quite a bit and had developed some qualities that he knew he needed to work on himself. Second Peter, chapter 1, verse 1. Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ, grace and peace be multiplied, multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. As his divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great in precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature. So he said, I want you to remove human nature and I want you to acquire, to put you partakers of the divine nature, that is being more like God. And how could you do that? Going back to verse 3, it says, as his divine power has given us those things, that is his Holy Spirit. So again, picking it up here, partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, but also, for this very reason, given all diligence, add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge self-control. An important statement, the man who could be impetuous at times, who could lop off people's ears because he lacked self-control. I think he learned a few things through the hard knocks of life, through time and the influence of God's Holy Spirit and ministering to others. And to self-control perseverance and to perseverance godliness and the godliness brotherly kindness. Another good quality that he may have felt that he lacked at times when he was bigoted against people who were Gentiles, who weren't exactly like him, and the brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short-sighted even to blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble and so in entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So, brethren, that's our examination of the life of Peter today, a remarkable man who served God faithfully. Here we see by the end of his life a very mature, a dedicated disciple expressed the things that he learned in a lifetime, written shortly before his death. This impetuous man emphasizes the need for self-control.

The formerly violent man who took off a man's ear discusses the need for brotherly kindness and love. So as time went on, he grew. He changed. He became more than he was. How about us, brethren?

One of the lessons that we can learn from Peter's life is that life is a process, a process of change and growth. If we do what we need to do, if we stay close to God, if we pray and we study and we fellowship with fellow believers, that over the process of time, we too can begin to balance out some of those sharp edges in our personalities and in our lives and in our character. We, like him, can mature, and we can become better, and we can change and grow more into the glory of God. And I hope that's something that we can take with us from the study of the life of the Apostle Peter. Have a wonderful Sabbath!