The Highs and Lows of Faith
As one of the twelve disciples, Peter had a front-row seat for Jesus’s three-year ministry on earth. Peter witnessed amazing miracles and even participated in some. His growth curve was steep, and in many cases, Peter’s personality was his biggest roadblock to his ability to understand what Jesus was teaching him.
Peter seems impulsive at times, but I can’t help but see him as authentic in his belief in Jesus. I think this is why I believe we can learn so much from Peter.
In Matthew 14, Peter spends the day with Jesus and the disciples. He listens to Jesus teach a crowd and then watches as he feeds all five thousand people with only two loaves of bread and five fish. Later that same evening, Peter is in a boat when a storm begins. Along with the other disciples, he becomes afraid when they see a man walking toward them on the water.
When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” (NIV)
What a day! Peter’s faith endures a rollercoaster of highs and lows in less than twenty-four hours. He isn’t shocked by Jesus’s ability to expand fish and loaves to feed the massive crowd, yet when Jesus calls out to the disciples in the boat, Peter responds, “If it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Does Peter want to walk on water? Is he wondering if Jesus’s presence on the water was a dream? Either way, a few minutes later, Peter begins to sink when he takes his eyes off Jesus.
One example of Peter’s limited understanding of Jesus’s calling is revealed in a conversation in Matthew 16:13-23:
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (NIV)
In one conversation, Peter learns he will build the church in one breath and is called Satan in another. Talk about the highs and lows of faith!
Peter’s high and lows are also documented in the accounts of Jesus’s last days on earth. During the last supper, Jesus tells Peter he will deny they know each other three times before morning. Peter insists Jesus is wrong. However, the denials are recorded in Matthew 26.
After Jesus ascends to heaven and the disciples receive the Holy Spirit for the first time, it’s Peter whose words are recorded in Acts 2, revealing that Jesus was the Savior the Jews had been waiting for. Acts 2:36-41 says,
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (NIV)
Peter’s faith is strengthened, and he heals a lame man just as he watched Jesus do during their times together (Acts 3). is was able to speak boldly before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4). Peter doesn’t panic even though he and John end up in prison.
Peter’s courage is a model for the apostles. As persecution begins, Acts 5 reveals that Peter was discipling believers just as Jesus taught him. Acts 5:29 NIV says, “Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than human beings!’”
Just when we think Peter is well on his way to building the church as Jesus told him he would do, Peter hits another low in Acts 10. God shows Peter in a vision that it’s OK for him to eat with Gentiles. This is so confusing and objectionable to Peter that he needs to see the dream several times. Peter also has to have this confirmed by Cornelius.
Peter accepts that he isn’t supposed to show favoritism (Acts 10:43). Regardless, this is something he seems to have a difficult time reconciling publicly. Paul writes about having to confront Peter about ignoring the Gentiles during meals. Galatians 2:11-13 says,
But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. (NIV)
Peter encountered some highs and lows throughout his faith journey, but he never stopped believing in God or Jesus, and he sought to embrace his calling. He was imperfect, yet many came to faith because of his obedience to God. Wherever you are in your faith journey today, be encouraged, God will use you for his glory, just as he used Peter.
is a football coach’s wife and mom of two energetic boys. She strives to encourage those around her to pursue their best lives in Jesus whether she is near the game field, in church, or at the local coffee shop. As a writer, Beth has been striving to find her voice through seeing Jesus in the ordinary and extraordinary of daily life. She blogs at Lessons from the Sidelines.
Photograph © Joshua Earle, used with permission
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