Thoughts on the Restoration of Peter

Recently, I was listening to a sermon and the speaker was talking about Peter, his falling away and his restoration by Yeshua (Jesus). Since then I have not been able to get it out of my mind. I have tried to personalize it to some degree. What must it have been like for Peter to do what he did? How did he feel? What must it have been like to come face-to-face with Yeshua (Jesus) after the resurrection?

Notice that Yeshua does not immediately restore Peter. In fact, it seems like it was several days or maybe a few weeks. During that time, there is no recorded statement by Yeshua of any accusation or condemnation. I wonder if we would have been so gracious? In fact, at the right time the Lord actively sought out Peter and restored him. It was a perfect example of the shepherd leaving the 99 to seek out the one sheep that was lost.

The question I have been asking lately is what affect it would have had on Peter for the rest of his life and ministry. Since it is part of scripture, Peter obviously told others and did it for several years. It must have been a constant reminder to him and a gentle one at that. Sometimes the Lord allows some things to remain as a way to help us remember the grace of God. Like Jacob and his limp. It’s something that we are meant to never forget.

After Shavuot (Pentecost) Peter was a changed man. Obviously, the outpouring of the Ruach (Spirit) of God changed Him. Yet could his falling away and restoration have changed Peter as well? I know it would change me. I would be less willing to condemn others.

To some degree, there have been times when we have not “been there” for the Lord. When the pressure gets intense, sometimes, we can back off and walk away. It has happened to me. Yet the Lord is seeking us out in order to restore us.

The Sower and the Four Soils

Read the Parable of the Sower – Matthew chapter 13

This parable is about how the Kingdom of God is told to people. I have to admit that for a while I was somewhat mystified about this parable; at least a little mystified anyway. I am a bit of a linear thinker. A leads to B and that means C and so forth. I sometimes wonder why anyone would want to scatter their seed all over the place. Why not be a bit more discriminating about where you plant your crops. After all that is what modern farmers do. They plant their crops where they know they can get a high return for their investment

The problem with my thinking is that the L-rd doesn’t think like me . . . or you. What strikes me about this parable is that the sower (The L-rd) scatters the seed everywhere. Even in places that He knows might be unfruitful. I keep forgetting that the Lord deals with us with grace and mercy. He gives to us even though we don’t deserve it.

If you are hard as rock, as in the soil along the path, He still speaks to you about the Kingdom. If you have a life that is 3 feet wide but 2 inches deep (shallow), He still tells you about Himself. If your life is a confused mess with lot’s of worry and distractions, yet again He still plants the seed in your life. If you go in directions that are unfruitful, seeking after riches, He is still reaching out to you.

However, what about for those who have a life that is hard, rocky, thorny and don’t want to remain that way? What about for those who want a life that is good soil, that is capable of bearing much fruit? The answer, at least to me who is not a gardener, is a lot of work, suffering and pain. To change or improve the type of soil requires getting rid of the weeds that choke the soil, purging the ground of rocks that prevent depth of root. It might even require having a soil transplant, changing the type of soil. Do you get the picture?

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Matt 16:24-26 (ESV)

Greater Than . . .

In Matthew 12, Yeshua brings up the statement “Greater than” three times. It’s a common and wise practice to not ignore anything in scripture. It’s wiser still to take notice of something that is repeated three times, particularly in such a short span of reading. So let’s explore the three times Yeshua brings this up in Matthew.

“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: ⁴ how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵ Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶ I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸ For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” Matt 12:3-8 (ESV)

By this time, Yeshua was attracting not only large groups of common folk but also the leaders of the nation, in particular, some of the Pharisees. They were following him into the rural areas and straight into the crop fields. I would not call that subtle! When the disciples of Yeshua started to eat the grain heads, they objected. Yeshua objected right back at them. He stated that they had their priorities mixed up. This particular group of leaders was more interested in obeying certain laws then helping a person. This topic was brought up to Yeshua and by Yeshua several times. Is it lawful to do good, to allow mercy, on Shabbat. They said that Torah prohibited any work, even doing good, on Shabbat. Yeshua flat out said they were wrong and had their priorities backwards. Since He, Yeshua, is Lord of Shabbat, that means that His ruling on what to do on Shabbat carries greater weight then their interpretation.

“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴²
Matt 12:39-42 (ESV)

The second time the phrase “greater than” appears is when the some of the leaders asked Yeshua for a sign from heaven to prove his works and ministry. Yeshua answered in a way they were not expecting or wanting. He stated that His death and resurrection is the only sign they will receive. Jonah preached repentance to Gentiles and they responded to the call. Yeshua, being greater than Jonah is, also preached repentance. Many in Israel responded to His call, many did not. Therefore, the contemporaries of Yeshua that rejected the call of Yeshua to repent will receive a greater judgment.

The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. Matt 12:42 (ESV)

The third time the phrase “greater than” appears is almost within the same breath as the second time he uses the statement. Yeshua puts His wisdom at a higher rank than the Wisdom of Solomon. People spend their entire life looking for “wisdom”. They travel all over the world. Seek after teachers, pastors and rabbis. Read tons of books. Spend great amounts of money going to school. Yet most people reject out of hand the words, life and wisdom of Yeshua who is the very source and definition of wisdom.

Like the other two times Yeshua mentions the phrase “greater than”, Yeshua is stating to them and to us as well to get our priorities straight. He is “greater than” any other priority. He is greater than the temple, Jonah or Solomon, greater than Moses, David or Daniel.