Peter: Dissing Jesus One Minute & Loving Him The Next

"Feed Me!"  

You have to love Peter.  Or maybe you don't.  I don't know you so I won't presume to tell you what to do.

Anyway, Peter is a man of high highs and low lows.  Dude jumped out of the boat when he saw Jesus walking on the water toward them when everyone else was messing themselves and shaking like a leaf.

Then he sank into the water because his fear and lack of faith got the best of him.

He was also eager to build tents for Elijah and Moses when they networked socially with Jesus during the Mount of Transfiguration experience.  They weren't planning on hanging out long enough to need the digs, so he never got to build them.

Then during the Last Supper when Judas was all-Satan-ed up, Peter dramatically declared that he would never betray or leave Jesus only to have Jesus rebuke him by predicting his betrayal as a prologue to the exciting event of a rooster crowing.  Me thinks the burly fisherman doth protest too much.

You get the sense when you read John's Gospel that there was a friendly rivalry between these two.  John-boy was the "beloved disciple" and often subtly refers to himself as such when writing his Gospel narrative.  I guess it's a way to try to remain humble about the honor.

To read his account, you see that when Jesus was arrested and Peter was warming up for his betrayal performance of a lifetime, John was also there:

"And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.  But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in."  JOHN 18:15-16

Now, it's true that the account doesn't specifically say it was John, but among the 10 possibilities (let's go ahead and rule out Judas) for this mysterious other disciple, only John is recorded at being at the cross during Jesus' crucifixion.  John and Peter are almost ALWAYS referred to as being together.  Pretty much any major narrative involving one of them involves the other.  Symbolically their partnership serves as a glimpse of the collaborative relationship between FAITH & DEVOTION (John) and ACTION (Peter).   Additionally, John ALWAYS refers to himself in third person, but typically names the other disciples. 

If it is indeed John (and since I'm the author of this blog, I'm declaring that it is) it is interesting that the only disciple to see Jesus through to the cross and the one who bore such a deep and abiding love for Jesus was probably a first-hand witness to at least one of Peter's denials.  According to the text, Disciple X (see also John) was allowed into the courtyard but the salty rough and tumble Peter was not.  Physically, John-boy was probably not nearly as menacing as Petey and yet he doesn't deny Jesus for fear of peer pressure the way Mr. "Rock" does.  Anyway, John used his street cred with the door-lady and "brought Peter in."  Then the very next verse says, "Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, 'You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?' He said, 'I am not.'"  

So, John went to get Peter, vouched for Peter and then "brought Peter in" and in that very same instant, Peter was questioned by this door-lady and denied Jesus.  Ouch.  

That my friends is a literary contrast.  And this English teacher likes it.

So, after Peter denied Jesus and runs from the courtyard weeping, John stays and watches his Savior die for the sins of the world.

The two then also face off in racing to the empty tomb.

And then there is Peter's restoration.  Peter was previously described as a "rock" by Jesus and then he had that epic rooster-crow-inducing FAIL of denial.

So when Jesus appears to the disciples after His resurrection, it should be no surprise that He makes a special point to restore Peter's rock-ness. And just as John gave Peter access to the courtyard that night, it's again John that confirms to Peter that it is Jesus speaking to them from the shore in John 21:6-7:

"And He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea."

After Peter gets to the shore, Jesus engages him in a little game of "Do You Love Me" where He asks Peter THREE times whether he loves Him or not.  Peter basically answers that he likes him a lot.  And each time Jesus commands him to feed and tend His sheep.  This is to restore Peter to his rightful position as a rock of the faith that will help lay the foundation of the early church.  Jesus knew that Peter had the tenacity and the ACTION to get it done, but here He's restoring Peter's love and devotion (see also relationship) with Him after the nasty denial episode.

Again, interestingly enough, Peter will now get his wish to follow Christ even to death as Jesus predicts that Peter will also die via crucifixion.  Jesus is allowing Peter to truly go where He has gone even after Peter dropped the ball and cajoled a rooster into breaking the serene morning hours with his obnoxious wake-inducing melody.

And even still Peter is comparing himself to John.  He wants to know about John's type of death.  Perhaps because he now feels like he's in the inner circle of relationship again and wants to confirm that all folks in the "in crowd" will suffer and die like that.  Jesus' answer is to again turn the wayward eye of Peter back to Him and not on others.

(Side note:  It's always troubled me that Jesus seems to suggest that John would live to see the end times and the typical "Jesus was just redirecting Peter's attention" explanation never quite cut it.  Thankfully this time reading through the Holy Spirit reminded me that John did in fact see the end times when he wrote the book of Revelation.  Mystery solved.)

John and Peter represent the need for faith and action to work together.  Peter may have had shortcomings and failures but Jesus demonstrated through his story that He is all about restoring broken people by giving them opportunities to learn from their failures and grow closer to Him as a result.

As parents and world-changers in the lives of children, we need to understand that our kids are the same way.  We need to build up both a deep and abiding love of Jesus AND the boldness to act and rock this world to the foundation.  There's a lot to learn from the lives of Peter and John.  

And there are a lot of the Master's sheep to tend and feed.  And if we truly LOVE HIM we will do just that!

Martha, Lazarus & Whats-Her-Face

Admit it, you have been conditioned to judge Martha as a hopeless case.

If you've grown up in the church like me, you are expected to give Martha the evil eye.  She's so obsessed with household chores that she doesn't love Christ or something.  I don't think that I've ever really sat under someone teaching something positive from Martha's example until recently.  She's always been this one-dimensional busy-body who is the personification of works-based theology.  She only cares about works and misses the Messiah entirely or so the standard boiler-plate teaching goes.

Having a mother who bears the name of Martha, I always hoped for some kind of shout-out from the pulpit pointing out something positive about Martha.  Sadly, Martha remained a cautionary tale against the evils of cooking, cleaning and other sinful household chores.

Meanwhile, we obsess over Mary lethargically sitting in awe of Christ and wiping his feet with her hair and anointing them with oil.  While we heap praise on the emotional yet work ethic-challenged Mary, we tend to heap judgment on Martha.  And to simply retain that simplistic view of these two passionate followers of Christ is to diminish them and to miss the complete picture.

As God is a God of perfection and the Author of the complete picture, there's sure to be more to the story.  Let's look at the original text with haughty Martha running around like a chicken with its head cut off from Luke 10:

38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

Yes, Martha misses the point of having Jesus there because she's concerned with her household chores and preparing for her guest.  Yes, Mary understands the importance of just basking in the presence of Christ.  Notice, however, who it is that "welcomed" Jesus into her house.  It wasn't Mary.

It sets up an active-passive contrast between the sisters.  Martha's faith is one of an active and bold woman.  Mary is more of a silent and passive taker-in kind of gal.

Martha has been referred to as the "female Peter" for her fearlessness in approaching the Lord and her boldness.  Martha's boldness during that time is in many ways more remarkable than Peter's due to her gender.  Jesus' rebuke to Martha is not one of complacency but of priority.  It's not a call to a life of lethargy but a life of ordered priorities.  He's not upset with Martha for cooking and cleaning.  He's upset with the condition of her heart AT THAT MOMENT.

In John 11, we see more of Martha's tenacious faith.  Lazarus is sick to the point of death.  The ladies call for Jesus to come and heal their brother:

Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." 4 When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

A small caveat and yet everything in the Word of God is intentional.  Look at verse 5, "Jesus loved MARTHA and her sister and Lazarus."  God is a God of restoration and healing.  Jesus may have rebuked Martha for missing the point of his previous visit but he loved her.  And the wording of this verse basically reduces the so often over-glorified Mary to the status of "what's her face?"  I believe the wording here is intentional and meant to restore the readers view of Martha to a positive one.

And when Lazarus dies and Jesus tarries, it is the bold Martha that approaches Jesus while the more passive Mary stays home:

20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." 

Martha is breaking societal protocol by approaching Jesus directly.  As a woman, this would be highly unusual.  As a woman in mourning, Martha would be expected not just to submit in silence, but also to remain home.  Martha, however, pulls a Peter and runs right to Jesus demanding answers.  She recognizes His lordship: "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is com into the world," but she also boldly declares to Jesus "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

She's not happy and she's letting Jesus know.  There's something powerfully bold and authentic to her faith in this passage that the passive Mary doesn't seem to demonstrate.  Martha speaks her mind, but still acknowledges that "even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."

Mary later meets Jesus and her weeping causes Jesus to weep.  After raising Lazarus to life, Jesus again encounters the sisters and Lazarus in the following chapter of John where Martha is still about the business of serving and Mary is anointing Jesus' feet with oil.  There is no condemnation here of Martha as in the Luke account.

Martha may have temporarily missed the point but she had a bold and active faith.  Faith without works is dead.  Pastor Gary Clark from Calvary Fellowship of Gloucester County recently pointed out that this family trio represents the mission of the church.  Martha represents serving, Mary represents worship and Lazarus represents witnessing.  People were drawn to this family because of Lazarus' testimony and resurrection.  Jesus celebrated the powerful and authentic worship of Mary.  And it was the boldness and action of Martha that demonstrates faith through actions.

As people of faith, we need to be about all 3 of these things.  We need to get up and serve like Martha.  We need to passionately worship like Mary.  We need to boldly witness like Lazarus.  To remove any pillar of our faith will distort the view of authentic Christianity to our children and our community.  Parents who don't follow the teachings from Sunday in their daily living will undermine the Gospel and detach their children from having a relevant faith.  Parents who focus only on accomplishment and deeds will fail to impart the message of grace and the importance of worship.  There's a huge difference in attending church and being a Christ follower.  Following Christ demands action and sacrifice. Bottom line?  Do the dishes and your devotions.

To diminish Martha as simply a cautionary tale about the evils of works based theology and to elevate Mary to a place of spiritual perfection is a woefully inaccurate picture of these two very complete Christians.  As with Biblical heroes from Abraham to John, these ladies are not perfect.  And in their imperfection we can find valuable lessons of how to live as followers of Christ.  Plus, Martha's one heck of a cook.  Or so I've been told.