The love of Christ: Peter
“You follow Me” (John 21:22).
We know only the names of some of the twelve disciples of the Lord, and get small glimpses of the lives of others. But there is one disciple whose life is laid bare for us all to see and learn from: Peter. The Lord uses Peter to teach us how to follow Him. Peter was brought by his brother, Andrew, to the Saviour. Andrew seems to have been a far quieter man than his larger-than-life brother, but he learned to follow the Lord first. Peter’s discipleship thrived in the presence of the Saviour. Of course, there were times when he made mistakes, and the Lord had to rebuke him. But Peter was the disciple who identified Christ as “the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). He alone had the faith and courage to walk on water. And though he sank, He experienced the Lord saving Him, a token of what would happen later. The Lord chose him to be a fisher of men. He was the lead member of a trio of disciples, Peter, James and John, chosen to go into the house of Jairus, up the Mount of Transfiguration, and into the Garden of Gethsemane. He saw the Lord’s power, glory and agony of soul. Sadly, the humility he felt at the beginning of his discipleship was not so apparent in the lead-up to the cross. He questions the Lord when Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. When the Lord refers to His imminent journey, Peter insists he can follow Him: “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Part of discipleship is understanding where we cannot go.
Peter tried to protect the One who could call on twelve legions of angels. The Lord had to say to him, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?” (John 18:11). Soon afterwards, all the disciples forsook the Saviour and fled. Mark tells us Peter returned to follow the Lord at a distance. As he saw the Saviour shamefully treated, he was identified as a disciple, which caused him to deny the Lord he loved. The Lord turned to look upon His failing disciple with a love that had not changed, and it broke Peter’s heart. Peter was humbled like Jacob at Penuel, so that his every step would be a reminder to stay close and follow the Saviour.
In John 21 the Lord tells the disciples where to fish after they had toiled all night and caught nothing. He took Peter back to the day when he first told him where to fish. That day, Peter had fallen before Jesus to recognise who the Saviour was, and his unworthiness to be in His presence (Luke 5:1-10). In John 21, Peter didn’t recognise the Lord. It was John who said, “It is the Lord.” How much we need each other to encourage us to see the Saviour! But once he knew it was the Lord, he did not hesitate to go to Him. This was not impetuousness. Failure should never drive us away from the Lord, but take us swiftly into His presence. It is the safest place. On the beach, eating breakfast together, the Lord restored his dear disciple. He did not take responsibility from him He added to it, calling him to be a shepherd as well as an evangelist. Peter had cast himself upon the Lord with the words, “Lord you know all things…” His confidence was no longer in himself but in the Saviour. And because he was forgiven much, he loved much. Peter knew that the Christ, the Son of the living God loved him. He no longer followed afar off, but lived in the good of the Saviour’s final words to him in John 21, “You follow me” (v. 22).
As a saintly old shepherd of the flock of God he reminds us that, “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” and of the love that always returns us to “the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:21,25).
