Peter, the aggressive one who cut off the ear of one of Jesus’ accusers in the garden until Jesus stopped him and restored the ear. Peter, the one who said he would never deny Jesus but a few hours later denied him three times!  Peter, the one who walked on water until he didn’t.  Peter, the one who didn’t believe until he did after fishing all night and catching nothing until Jesus said cast your net one more time.  Peter, the one who gave all he had and all he was to Jesus.  Jesus forgave him, transformed him, and sent him to build his church in His Name.  Peter’s first time to preach netted over 3000 who came to know and believe in Jesus! 

Simon, renamed by Jesus to be Peter, the Rock, “upon whom Jesus would build his church” did exactly what Jesus told him to be and do.

“Peter’s concise confession— ‘You are the Messiah, the Christ’—focused the faith of the disciples on Jesus as God among us, in person, carrying out the eternal work of salvation.  Peter seems to have been a natural leader, commanding the respect of his peers by sheer force of personality.  In every listing of Jesus’ disciples, Peter’s name is invariably first.”

“In the early church, his influence was enormous and acknowledged by all.  By virtue of his position, he was easily the most powerful figure in the Christian community.  And his energetic preaching, ardent prayer, bold healing, and wise direction confirmed the trust placed in him.”

“The way Peter handled himself in that position of power is even more impressive than the power itself.  He stayed out of the center, didn’t ‘wield’ power, maintained a scrupulous subordination to Jesus.  Given his charismatic personality and well-deserved position at the head, he could easily have taken over, using the prominence of his association with Jesus to promote himself.  That he didn’t do it, given the frequency with which spiritual leaders do exactly that, is impressive.  Peter is a breath of fresh air.”  —Eugene Peterson, Introduction to Peter, The Message Bible

1 Peter 1, The Message

^1-2 I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!

A New Life

^3-5 What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.

^6-7 I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

^8-9 You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation.

^10-12 The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah’s Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!

A Future in God

^13-16 So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”

¹⁷ You call out to God for help and he helps—he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living.

^18-21 Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.

^22-25 Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said,

The old life is a grass life,
    its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers wilt,
    God’s Word goes on and on forever.

This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Know the Living Word is Jesus who saved us and set us free.  Live the Word as if our lives depended on it because they do!  God’s Word goes on forever.  God Word lives in us!

“The two letters Peter wrote exhibit the qualities of Jesus that the Holy Spirit shaped in him:  a readiness to embrace suffering rather than prestige, a wisdom developed from experience and not imposed from a book, a humility that lacked nothing in vigor or imagination.  From what we know of the early stories of Peter, he had in him all the makings of a bully.  That he didn’t be come a bully (and religious bullies are the worst kind) but rather the boldly confident and humbly self-effacing servant of Jesus Christ that we discern in these letters, is a compelling witness to what he himself describes as ‘a brand new life, with everything to live for.’” –Eugene Peterson, The Message Bible

Lord,

Help me to know You more and more as the Word of Life.  Help me to live daily in readiness, learning your wisdom, with humility as I trust and obey.  You are God.  We are not.  You gave us life at the cost of Your Son.  Oh, dear Jesus, thank you! May your Holy Spirit lead us, mold and shape us, all day long, every day, until we see you face to face. You are my everything to live for and love.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

“Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” –Jesus, Matthew 16:18, NLT