September 2009

Part 1
The Man

And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren”,

Luke 22:31-32.

Simon, “who is called Peter”, Matthew 10:2, was the first named apostle of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus changed the name of Simon to that of Peter, which means a ‘stone’, John 1:42. Peter held a prominent place as a leader among the twelve apostles. A relationship of intimacy grew between Peter and the Lord. Peter was among the three of Jesus’ closest disciples which consisted of Peter, James, and John.

Peter was never hesitant to speak what he thought. Sometimes he spoke boldly and correctly such as recorded in Matthew 16:16. Jesus acknowledges the truth of Peter’s confession of Jesus being the Christ, the Son of God. Sometimes he spoke rashly, before thinking. Like the incident recorded in Matthew 16:21-23; when Peter rebuked Jesus for His prophesy of His pending death and resurrection.

When Jesus performed His many miracles, Peter was present. The mother-in-law of Peter was healed of a fever by Jesus. At the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter witnessed the glory of Christ. It was Peter who stepped out of the boat in faithful obedience and walked on the waters of the Sea of Galilee!

During the public ministry of Jesus, Peter had experienced a multitude of miracles and a close intimacy with Christ Jesus. Peter was a leader, a disciple of Jesus, an apostle of Christ, a chosen man for the kingdom of God. It is easy to understand why Peter would become confident in his Christian life.

In the text verse, Jesus addressed Peter by his old name, Simon, and not by the name which meant “a stone”. Twice Jesus spoke the name of Simon which implied an earnest and somber tone of warning. When Jesus reverted back to addressing Peter by his old name, this could have been Jesus’ way of intensifying His rebuke of Peter’s fleshly overconfidence. The Scriptures warn us in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

The accounts of Scripture concerning the night before the betrayal of Jesus reveals the disciples, especially Peter, was sleeping when they should have been praying. Jesus warned, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”, Matthew 26:41.

You may be a leader among Christians, out in the front lines of the battle for the souls of men. Or you may be in the background quietly living your life for Christ. Regardless of your position, you, as a child of God, are an enemy of Satan. The devil will target you and attempt to trip you and cause you to fall into sin and out of fellowship with the Lord. If we allow ourselves to become too busy with work, or become preoccupied with other activities to pray, we will be powerless to resist the devils attacks. If we are not a people of prayer, we will fall! We may think we are strong enough, close enough to Jesus, used so greatly that we cannot fail, or we will never fall into sin and Satan’s snare, that we do not need to pray. So did Peter! We fail because we fail to pray!

May we be people of prayer; grant us the power to resist the devil, James 4:8.

Learning to serve,
Robert Finley