The Symbolism Surrounding Peter's Denial of Christ

 

Today as my wife and I listened to another powerful message from Pastor John Stickl at Valley Creek Church, God opened my eyes to some amazing revelations when he was continuing a series titled "It is Finished", (It is Finished, Separation), (It is Finished, Striving) (It is Finished, Shame) a reference to Christ's last words on earth as he was crucified. That simple phrase, just four syllables, so indelibly changed out relationship with God. The series has been very enlightening and full of hope, but more on that at another time.

Last Sunday May 4th, John spoke of how Jesus told Peter how he would deny him 3 times before the cock crowed. Peter, a large strong and powerful man because of his many years of fishing, was petulent and rash, assured Jesus he would not. In fact John would deny you before me. Everyone else maybe but never me. Not surprisingly he of course denied Christ 3 times, once to a servant girl who wasn't even an adolescent. The third time he denied Him, the cock crowed and Peter locked eyes with Jesus.

Can you imagine the shame and pain he felt? Peter ran away, in pain and anguish, crying, and returned to his fishing, no doubt trying to forget what had just happened.

As a foreshadow of how He acts with you and me today, Jesus pursued his disciples and came upon Peter fishing, Jesus calls out to the men on the boat in John 21:5 asking "Children, have you caught any fish?" to which they answered "No." Jesus then tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Following His direction they cast the net on the other side and caught so many fish they were unable to easily pull it into their boat.

That's when God revealed to me somethings I had not seen before in this passage, and the significance of this simple interaction was quite stunning to me.

The first thing that struck me was when they stopped relying on their EARTHLY knowledge their catch was far greater than they could have hoped for, and in fact more than they could handle. Understanding how these men thought, I can only imagine their amazement at how this stranger could so impact their results despite their many years of experience. And oh, by the way, the width of the boat being no greater than maybe 15 feet seemingly was all the difference in the world. Amazing.  But such is what happens when we stop thinking and using the world experience we have and LISTEN to what God would have us to do WHEN He would have us do it.

Second, He of course changed WHERE they fished, and perhaps even to teach them to go one more time even though they thought they had already tried that place. Perhaps the place was right but the timing was not, underscoring the importance of everything being in God's timing, and how He reveals to us what we need when we need it.  This of course a key part of the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread". Give us today the Word You would have me to hear and sustain me.

Third, I think it was clear this was a hint of things to come, when Jesus told Peter to follow Him and He would make him a fisher of men. The catch they experienced with Jesus' direction was greater than they alone could handle. So prophetic about what the future held for the work they were about to embark upon, and the groundwork they were about to lay.  Just as God promised Abraham in Genesis 15:5 your descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky

Lastly, I thought about the significance of the previous stories about Jesus blessing a couple of fish and feeding thousands. How far then would these "fish" (the men the disciples had shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with and brought into the fold of believers) the disciples caught and brought to the Lord go with the blessings of Jesus? How many lives would they impact with His Word and guidance? How much light from His Kingdom would they be able to bring?

Far enough to fulfill the prophecy He gave Abraham. And then some.

Why were the wise men "wise"?

The definition of wise is possessing inside infor-mation, exercising good judgment, or to be informed about a particular matter.

For me, to be wise means to be able to apply your book knowledge with grace and love to your fellow man. This grace comes from the Lord, and thus wisdom, for me, comes from Him.  The Christmas story (Matthew 2:11) tells us the story of the 3 wise men who traveled to meet the new-born king.  At first blush, this seems innocuous, especially when we have long-forgotten the significance of the gifts. Our pastor's sermon this week reminded me of the significance of these gifts and the import of the prophecy they foretold. I felt compelled to share these ideas with you to deepen your faith and hopefully get you to ask more questions.

The old tales we have been told of the "3 Wise men from the Orient" may not be entirely accurate. Some accounts mention Magi, which could have numbered 12, while the number "3" may refer to the gifts which were rendered to baby Jesus. This link to Wikipedia names three probable Magi- Melchior from Persia or modern-day Iran, Caspar from India and Balthazar from Arabia.  When you look at the current map of the middle east, it is apparent they did not all come from the east nor travel the same distance. Arabia is to the south and quite close to Jerusalem while Caspar traveled the greatest distance coming from India. It doesn't really matter HOW many actually made the journey to see the new savior, at least not in this article, but why they came and what they brought.

Since we can reasonably assume these wise men were from different nationalities, they intuitively knew by the new star in the sky symbolized something significant had just taken place, and individually decided to make this trek to meet this new king. We know they realized the newborn was a king for in biblical times gold was a gift for kings. We also know frankincense was used in preparation by the priests for communing with God for the atonement of sins and myrrh was used in conjunction with the preparation of a body for burial.  Combined, these three gifts are quite prophetic which of course indicates these men were wise indeed; so much so they prophesied the arrival of the King of Kings, the Lamb of God and the Savior all in the same baby, and 33 years hence that prophecy would be fulfilled.

To further illustrate the wisdom, in Matthew 2:, he writes King Herod received these visitors and was quite angered by the proclamation the King of the Jews had been born. Herod was after all, the King of the Jews and of course being a small-minded man could not appreciate what the wise men shared with him. Rather, he was threatened by this proclamation so he calmly asked the men to return to share with him where the baby lay so he too could offer worship and praise.

    Realizing Herod had ulterior motives, the Magi were reticent to tip their hand they were on to him and returned home a different way.  Pastor John made an interesting analogy here: They came before the new born king, received new wisdom and returned home on a different path. Likewise we are born of this world and, when we accept Christ as our savior, we too take a different path to our destination (assuming we become followers rather than just believers).

Word quickly spread later when Herod realized the Magi were not going to return and report to him the first-born sons of all residents in Bethlehem were to be sacrificed, Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus fled for Egypt.  There they lived comfortably for several years off the proceeds of the gifts they had received.

Here is another sage piece of insight Pastor John shared: Those who are the furthest from God seek Him the most. People nearby in Bethlehem didn't even bother looking for the baby in a manger yet the wise men traveled a vast distance each to find an answer for themselves. God even announced the birth by sending angels to the shepherds in the fields and the gentiles, the simplest and furthest (spiritually) from Him. John added the lesson of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-31) in which the son turns his back on his father, family and responsibilities, leaves home, squandering his inheritance before humbly returning home to live as a lowly servant. His father would have none of that and hastened his other son to welcome and honor his brother and his servants to prepare a feast. Angered by his father's not honoring his loyalty, the other son wanted no part of the celebration. His father had to share his wisdom with him by saying "It is right to make merry and be glad for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found." (v31)

John goes on to point out the prodigal son, like the the Magi and the many other instances (Lazarus, the sick daughter whom was resurrected, the bleeding woman, the prostitute, Zacchaeus are but a few examples) in the Bible where people take from Jesus first before they can receive.

You must first take before you can receive. 

In other words, before you can have anything to give to God or anyone else, you must first receive from Him for without God, we have nothing. The Magi realized this, sought the new born king, took wisdom from Him and then gave him the gifts of a king, a holy man and a man being prepared for a funeral.

What is Jesus wanting you to take from Him?