There is a spiritual lesson from this scene that we can all use when we get discouraged. God knows we are all flawed, we are weak and frail and beaten down. But He encourages us all to "Get up! Get up you child of God!! 'Cause Jesus loves you." What encouragement!
There is another spiritual lesson, I think, from the Rocky series. The star, Rocky Balboa, is not the sharpest tool in the shed. He doesn't make the best choices. Yet the actor (and some say he type-cast himself) Sylvester Stallone is still receiving royalty checks from this very successful franchise.
When Jesus was starting His earthly ministry, He chose twelve disciples to follow him. Three of them seemed to be in His inner circle--whenever something of importance happened, He took with Him Peter, James and John. And even though John was the youngest disciple, his writings seem to show the most maturity. James has written very little, so there is no real judgment to make on him. But Peter--Peter was a knucklehead. Like Rocky, he didn't always make the best decisions.
His given name was Simon, which means to hear, or to be heard. But Jesus called him Peter, which means the Rock in the Greek. (The Aramaic name is Cephas, meaning Rock.) It was like calling him Rocky. I don't think it was because he was the paragon of stability--in the Gospels, Peter was anything but a rock.; he was impulsive and unstable. Later, in the book of Acts, Peter was seen as a pillar of the church. We don't know if Jesus gave him this nickname because he was thick-headed, but He did say "You are Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my church." Some denominations, like the Catholics, take that to mean that the Apostle Simon Peter was foundational to the church; they ascribe to him the title of the first Pope. (Catholics believe the Papacy should be celibate--but Peter was married; Jesus healed his mother-in-law.) But I think it only means that Jesus was going to use ordinary people, like Simon Peter, to grow his church.
Peter himself did not appear to believe himself anything special. In his first letter to the churches, he says this:
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5)He took the words spoken by Jesus and made them analagous to all Christians. That means all of us, not the most polished, or the strongest, or the least flawed. (The Catholic church ascribes sainthood to Peter, because he is credited with at least two miracles--walking on water (see Matthew 14:28-29) and healing of the lame man (see Acts 3:6-8). But in this case"saint" does not mean "perfect".) We are all building-blocks of the Church of God, with Jesus Himself as the Cornerstone.
Thank God that Jesus saw potential in Peter. Peter is a good example of the adage, "what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger." As a follower of Christ, Peter had been rebuked by Jesus (see John 18:11 for just one example); he had been called out by three different people present at the mock trial of Jesus (see John 18:17, 25-26); and by God Himself (during the Transfiguration, while Peter, James and John were witnessing one of the most holy sights ever seen on Earth, instead of silent reverence, Peter offers to build three shrines; God interrupts and says, "This is my Son--hear Him!" It was as if God had said, just shut up and listen to my Son (see Luke 9:28-36).) Peter may have even been rebuked by the Apostle Paul (see Galatians 2:11-14--I am not sure whether this was before or after Peter's vision of the sheet being lowered from heaven, containing all the animals and reptiles God had created, which he interpreted as meaning that the Gospel should be shared with the Gentiles as well (see Acts 10:9-23); or even if this was the same Peter that was the Apostle and disciple of Jesus). Jesus told Peter that He was giving Peter the "keys to the Kingdom of Heaven". (see Matthew 16.19. This started the myth that Peter is the one saint that is stationed outside the Golden Gate of Heaven, the first person you see when you die; like a spiritual bouncer, he would be the one (according to this myth) that either denies or allows entry into Heaven.) Since Peter was instrumental in opening the Gospel to the Gentiles, I think that was where the prophecy was fulfilled.
One thing you can say about Peter--he was brutally honest. After the Resurrection of Jesus, this conversation took place:
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you truly love me (with an everlasting love capable of self-sacrifice for my good) more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said. "You know that I love you (like a brother)". Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again, Jesus said, "Simon, son of John, do you truly love me (with an everlasting love capable of self-sacrifice for my good)?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you (like a brother)." Jesus said, "take care of my sheep." The third time He said to him, "Simon, sone of John, do you love me (like a brother)?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you (with a brotherly love)." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." (John 21:15-17)Peter knew his limitations; Jesus knew his potential. The good news is that Jesus sees potential in all of us. It doesn't matter how many times we fail, as long as we keep trying in faith. It doesn't matter how many times we fall, as long as we get up, dust ourselves off, and give Him our all. Peter said these words to the Church:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)
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