Matthew 17:1-4

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

 

Peter, Peter, Peter.

You can just imagine Jesus shaking his head. You know how someone just shakes their head when you say something dumb, and they know you don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. Yeah, that one.

Peter, impetuous Peter, Peter with foot-in-the-mouth disease Peter.

Notice that Jesus didn’t even bother to answer Peter when he suggested his three tabernacle idea.

Instead, God answered from heaven in dramatic fashion. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”

Peter, James, and John are now on the ground with their faces in the dirt, afraid for their lives, and Peter has to be thinking: uh, Jesus, can I take a mulligan on that whole three tabernacle idea?

What about one tabernacle? Yeah, that’s it Lord, that’s what I meant. One tabernacle just for you. My bad.

Poor Peter. As someone once said, his mouth is in motion, before his brain is in gear.

But, I love Peter. I wish I could be more like him.

Peter is bold. Peter is fearless. Peter rushes in with guns blazing.

Peter loves the Lord, and he’s not afraid to show it.

Even from the beginning, when Jesus called Peter and his brother Andrew to follow Him, the Bible says they immediately dropped their fishing nets and followed Him.

Peter was a man of faith. I want to be that man. When the Lord calls, I want to drop everything and follow him.

When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, he wanted to go to Jesus and stepped out boldly onto the water.

I want to be that man who trusts in the Lord and steps out in faith, knowing the Lord will save me when hard times come.

Peter was actually named Simon, but Jesus said that He was going to call him Cephas or Peter which means rock. Cephas is Aramaic for Peter in the Greek.

Who wouldn’t want to be called a rock! When you want to illustrate that you can count on someone, you say that they’re a rock!

Jesus knew He could count on Peter.

Even when Peter told Jesus at the Last Supper that he would never betray Him, and Jesus gently told him, yes, you will Peter. As a matter of fact, you’re going to deny me three times before morning comes.

And when he realized that he had done exactly what the Lord said he would do, he wept bitterly, sorry for what he had done.

Peter had done what he never thought he would do – betray his Lord three times.

But, the Lord wasn’t finished with Peter.

By grace, after His resurrection, He invited Peter to dine with Him on the shore.

And, he gave Peter the chance to tell Him he loved Him three times. Once for each time he had denied Him. Do you love me Peter? Feed my sheep. Do you love me Peter? …

Our Lord always knows just what we need.

I wish I could be the kind of man the Lord counts on, like when he told Peter: when you’re converted, strengthen the brothers.

Bold but humble. Not an easy thing to pull off. But Peter did it.

Peter was one of the leaders of the early church in Jerusalem, and first took the gospel to Cornelius and the Gentiles, but he would still mess up like when he wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles in front of his Jewish brothers.

But, when Paul called him out on it, Peter repented.

I want to be that man who recognizes right away when he’s done wrong and repents.

Humble and bold.

Legend has it that Peter was crucified upside down, because he said he was not worthy to be crucified like his Lord.

Sounds just like Peter, doesn’t it?

I want to be like Peter.

May God Bless You.