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The
Confession of Peter - Matthew 16:13-20
Peter didn't answer
Jesus' question in this way
because he thought that was what Jesus wanted him to
say, or
because he wanted to be the leader of the apostles, or
because he wanted to get out of the supper dishes.
He answered, "You are
the Christ, the son of the living God." because that is
simply what he believed.
Peter was simple and
honest and bold.
Peter loved Jesus and
he believed in Jesus and he wanted to say it out loud.
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Jesus
said, "Yes, Peter, you are right."
Jesus went on
to say some things about a rock
and some
keys
that we might not understand now,
but
maybe Jesus was telling Peter that his
confession was the underlying basis
for
Christ's church
and everyone who wanted
to
be a Christian
must stand on this belief.
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Maybe he was telling Peter that he
would
be the first one to
preach to
people about
God's salvation,
the
first one to tell people how they
could know Jesus, thus, unlocking
the doors (for all of us) to the kingdom
of heaven which is the church. |
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Peter
'stepped up' to the challenge of preaching.
He
didn't say, "No, Lord, not me!" or "I'm not ready"
or "I'm too tired" or "I'm not big enough" or "I've
had a rough day" or "I'll do it later".
Maybe
we could do a better job when Jesus gives us a task;
even if it is just to 'smile through adversity'.
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When Peter
met Jesus, he said, "Depart from me Lord, for I am a
sinner." Peter knew that he
was not good enough to be near the Son of God.
Now we know
that Jesus came to earth to seek sinners and to
save them.
If we let Jesus
forgive us of our sins, and we let Jesus teach
us to do better, (and we really follow Him)
then we can be with Jesus here on earth AND
in heaven.
Neither we nor
Jesus has to depart from the other!
Yeah!
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Peter's name appears in the
Bible 183 times.
There are 9 Bible books that mentions Peter -- |
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they are: Matthew, Mark,
Luke, John, Acts, 1 Corinthians, Galatians,
1
Peter and 2 Peter |
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One thing about
Peter: If he didn't know what to say, he just said it
anyway!
Matthew 16:22
Jesus was trying to explain to the apostles what was
going to happen to Him, that He would be crucified on a
cross. Peter argued with Jesus and said, "Far be it from You,
Lord; this shall not happen to You."
Jesus was not happy that Peter was trying
to interfere with the will of God and the plan of
salvation.
Matthew 26:33
At the
Last Supper, Jesus told his apostles that all would be
offended in Him, but Peter said, "Even if everyone
else is made to stumble because of you, I will never
stumble." of course he did stumble
by denying Jesus later that night.
Mark
9:5
At the
Transfiguration, Peter said,
"It is good for us to be here,
Lord, let us build three
tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses and one for
Elijah.". He
just wasn't thinking that Jesus was God and Moses and
Elijah were mere men. |
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