by David Scott Robertson
(John 21:7 NIV) Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
* * *
This single verse endlessly fascinates me. I cannot prove the things I am about to say regarding this scripture. Nevertheless, it is my conviction that there is an amazing story embedded in this passage regarding Peter.
A few verses earlier, the Bible records Simon Peter’s statement: “I’m going out to fish” (John 21:3). What was he really saying here to the other disciples? Could this have been code for, “since Jesus is dead, I’m going back to my old job as a fisherman?”
Peter had washed out as the cocky disciple who boasted to the Lord, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will" (Matthew 26:33). Jesus broke the news to him that "…this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times" (Matthew 26:34).
Peter, at that point, still had not been broken of his bad habit of correcting the Lord as we discover when Peter responds: "…Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you” (Matthew 26:35).
So back to point about Peter jumping into the water that flagged my attention in the first place.
As soon as Peter heard John say that “it is the Lord!” he snapped into action. Immediately he put on his outer garment. Don’t you find that interesting? I’m a swimmer and before I swim laps I take off my garments; including my shoes and socks, and put on a light swimsuit. It’s hard to swim with clothes on. Why did Peter put on his outer garment, which may have been a cloak or robe that when waterlogged would make swimming to shore exceedingly difficult, perhaps even dangerous?
I think I may have the answer. Could it be that Peter didn’t plan on swimming to shore at all? If he was going to swim, wouldn’t he leave his outer garment in the boat and maybe even take off his sandals and dive in head first? But he didn’t dive in; the Bible says he jumped in.
Could it be that Peter, once Jesus’ identity had been confirmed by John, wanted to get back into the Lord’s graces by walking on the water to Him? Could it be that Peter wanted to “hit the ground running” in making his way back to the Lord? What better way to demonstrate to Jesus that he would was no longer willing to take his eyes off the Master than by walking on water like He had before? Perhaps in Peter’s thinking it was the perfect scenario for him to “make up” for his denial and get things back on track with the Lord.
Whatever thoughts or hopes might have been racing through Peter’s impulsive mind at the time must have drown as gravity took him below the water’s surface, outer garment and all. If this were the case, so much for impressing Jesus Christ.
A few verses later, we find Jesus striking at the heart of the matter in His conversation with the sopping wet disciple.
“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" 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." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17).
The point I sense that Jesus was possibly making to Peter that could apply to us centuries later is this: Walking in miracles isn’t as impressive to Jesus as caring for His flock.
It may not be exploits that Christ is looking for as much as faith expressed in works of love. Jesus seemed to confirm this thought with His profound statement of what true discipleship would look like:
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35).
DSR
11/28/05
Monday, November 28, 2005
Sunday, November 6, 2005
But...
by David Scott Robertson
“At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there” (Numbers 13:25-28).
* * *
Moses had ordered twelve tribal leaders to explore the land of Canaan prior to the nation entering in to possess the land. This territory was the exact destination that the great God Jehovah had led them to using a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. There could be no mistake, this was the place.
The passage I opened with sadly chronicles the official report of the majority of the twelve spies upon returning from their expedition. The consensus was a dismal one.
The first words out of their mouths were good! It was truth!
“We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is the fruit” (13:27).
Oh, that they had stopped right there and kept their fears to themselves! An entire generation’s future lay in the balance on the next few words. Then, brace yourself, here it came – the bombshell. The next word was like an atomic warhead exploding – “but…”
What do you mean “but?” After all God had done to sustain, uphold, and preserve hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children in an impossible situation, one would think that the very last word out of their mouths would be “but…”
Had not God led them to that precise spot supernaturally? Had God not performed miracle after miracle in order to set the stage for the conquest of Canaan? Had not God fed an entire nation with manna from heaven and watered their herds with water from a rock, for goodness sake?
The very men who had walked on dry ground at the bottom of the Red Sea with massive walls of water on either side of them somehow had the audacity to say the word “but…”
(Num 13:28 NIV) But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.
It was as if the word “but” was the transition from a blessing to a curse for an entire nation. From that word forward, the anger of God Himself was aroused, the very God whose declared that He was slow to become angry.
When I came to the word “but” in the text, I lowered my Bible to my lap prayed out loud in my recliner: “Holy Spirit,” I prayed, “what can you teach me from this passage?” Then I waited in silence. The following words bubbled up within my spirit:
“With many words sin is not absent.”
“Quit while you are ahead.”
“Even a fool appears wise when silent.”
“Parents stopped naming their children after the names of the ten spies.”
“It would be better not to speak at all that to speak in such a way that another’s faith is crushed.”
“The word ‘but’ is not the culprit in this instance rather a lack of faith in God.”
God doesn’t expect us to lie or pretend that problems, even severe problems, okay, even problems that appear impossible to resolve in the natural, don’t exist. Of course they do! God doesn’t get any glory out of you and me trying to “cover for God” and pretend that real problems don’t exist.
Caleb was one of the spies who gave God the opportunity to use the word “but” in its proper context.
“But Caleb tried to encourage the people as they stood before Moses. ‘Let’s go at once to take the land,’ he said. ‘We can certainly conquer it!’” (v. 30).
Well, the rest, as they say, is history. The ten spies with their faithless report perished in the wilderness along with every Israelite twenty years and older (Numbers 32:11) down to the last person. (Can you imagine being the “last Israelite” from that generation still living holding back the forward progress of an entire nation? He probably had a “do not resuscitate” sign on his sick bed there at the end!)
God used the word “but” again later on in his reference to Caleb:
“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it” (Numbers 14:24).
The conclusion of the matter is this: Be very wise in your usage of the word “but.” The words that follow that important word in your speech may very well determine life or death, blessing or cursing, a commendation from the Lord or condemnation from the devil.
DSR
11/6/05
“At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there” (Numbers 13:25-28).
* * *
Moses had ordered twelve tribal leaders to explore the land of Canaan prior to the nation entering in to possess the land. This territory was the exact destination that the great God Jehovah had led them to using a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. There could be no mistake, this was the place.
The passage I opened with sadly chronicles the official report of the majority of the twelve spies upon returning from their expedition. The consensus was a dismal one.
The first words out of their mouths were good! It was truth!
“We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is the fruit” (13:27).
Oh, that they had stopped right there and kept their fears to themselves! An entire generation’s future lay in the balance on the next few words. Then, brace yourself, here it came – the bombshell. The next word was like an atomic warhead exploding – “but…”
What do you mean “but?” After all God had done to sustain, uphold, and preserve hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children in an impossible situation, one would think that the very last word out of their mouths would be “but…”
Had not God led them to that precise spot supernaturally? Had God not performed miracle after miracle in order to set the stage for the conquest of Canaan? Had not God fed an entire nation with manna from heaven and watered their herds with water from a rock, for goodness sake?
The very men who had walked on dry ground at the bottom of the Red Sea with massive walls of water on either side of them somehow had the audacity to say the word “but…”
(Num 13:28 NIV) But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.
It was as if the word “but” was the transition from a blessing to a curse for an entire nation. From that word forward, the anger of God Himself was aroused, the very God whose declared that He was slow to become angry.
When I came to the word “but” in the text, I lowered my Bible to my lap prayed out loud in my recliner: “Holy Spirit,” I prayed, “what can you teach me from this passage?” Then I waited in silence. The following words bubbled up within my spirit:
“With many words sin is not absent.”
“Quit while you are ahead.”
“Even a fool appears wise when silent.”
“Parents stopped naming their children after the names of the ten spies.”
“It would be better not to speak at all that to speak in such a way that another’s faith is crushed.”
“The word ‘but’ is not the culprit in this instance rather a lack of faith in God.”
God doesn’t expect us to lie or pretend that problems, even severe problems, okay, even problems that appear impossible to resolve in the natural, don’t exist. Of course they do! God doesn’t get any glory out of you and me trying to “cover for God” and pretend that real problems don’t exist.
Caleb was one of the spies who gave God the opportunity to use the word “but” in its proper context.
“But Caleb tried to encourage the people as they stood before Moses. ‘Let’s go at once to take the land,’ he said. ‘We can certainly conquer it!’” (v. 30).
Well, the rest, as they say, is history. The ten spies with their faithless report perished in the wilderness along with every Israelite twenty years and older (Numbers 32:11) down to the last person. (Can you imagine being the “last Israelite” from that generation still living holding back the forward progress of an entire nation? He probably had a “do not resuscitate” sign on his sick bed there at the end!)
God used the word “but” again later on in his reference to Caleb:
“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it” (Numbers 14:24).
The conclusion of the matter is this: Be very wise in your usage of the word “but.” The words that follow that important word in your speech may very well determine life or death, blessing or cursing, a commendation from the Lord or condemnation from the devil.
DSR
11/6/05
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)