How Peter’s Ending Influenced Everything Else
““I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him,“Follow me.” Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?” Jesus replied,“If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.””
John 21:18–22 NLT Read More
In this exchange, Peter has just had the conversation that would end his fishing career forever. As he realizes the singularity of his calling from Jesus to lead the disciples, Jesus also tells him how it’s going to end. Thinking through the implications of that declaration from Jesus to Peter would affect many of the things that Peter does for the rest of his life.
Knowing the End Gave Peter Boldness
When Peter gets up to speak before the Sanhedrin, they are amazed at how bold an ‘uneducated man’ can be. Peter knows that the words of Jesus are true, and that the way his life as a proclaimer of the good news is going to end. These men killed Jesus just months before, so it will be no surprise when they kill Peter too. Since death and persecution won’t come as a surprise, Peter isn’t afraid to speak the truth. He is expecting them to arrest him for his words, so he’s going to stick to truth over self-preservation.
Expecting the Last Day Gave Him Urgency
Peter knew that any of the speeches he gave might be his last. Standing up on Pentecost and addressing the crowds, might end in death. Healing the man in the doorway of the temple, might end in death. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit had to be explained on Pentecost and God wanted to heal that man. Peter did the things that needed to be done when he had the chance, knowing fully that any one of these exploits would be the one that would get him executed.
Shifting from Preserving Christ in Us Instead of Preserving Ourselves
When a woman is pregnant, she no longer lives according to what she wants, but instead by the best interests of the life that is inside of her. She might quit smoking, stay off of the Thunderbird, and eat more healthy foods. She takes the attitude that the life that is inside of her is more important than her own. Peter was freed from the burden of trying to preserve his quality of life, his longevity of life, and the failing work cycle of his life. (Only recorded times he caught fish were during miracles! Poor guy.) Peter began to live his life from that day forward according to the life of another life that was in him. Christ’s life in Peter would now take priority over Peter’s own life.
Even though we haven’t been given the same kind of conversation, we’ve been given the same kind of conversion. Our lives are not our own, we have been bought by Jesus Christ. The implications are as different for us as they were for Peter or John, but they are just as great.
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