LEADER S GUIDE April 9, 2017 Mark 8:22-33, Matthew 4:18-20 The Life of Peter during the Life of Jesus Main Point Jesus relationship with Peter is a testimony to the grace, mercy, forgiveness, and patience of God. Introduction As your group time begins, use this section to introduce the topic of discussion. Who in our group would say they are impulsive? What are some of the biggest issues your impulsiveness gets you into? (Think: over-spending, over-committing your time or talents, etc.) When you think about Peter the disciple, what stories come to mind, and what general thoughts do you have about him and his character? Today we will look at the life of Peter, a disciple of Jesus, during Jesus earthly ministry. Peter is often referred to as the most impulsive of the disciples, because he frequently was the first to speak his mind and make quick decisions, for good or for bad. In our discussion today we will look at some of the highlights of Peter s time with Jesus. Jesus relationship with Peter is a testimony to grace, mercy, forgiveness, and patience, all things that God exhibits toward us in Jesus. Understanding Unpack the biblical text to discover what the Scripture says or means about a particular topic. HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ Matthew 4:18-20. Peter was one of the first disciples Jesus chose to join Him during His earthly ministry. What do we learn about Peter from this scene of his calling? What stands out to you about Peter s initial response to Jesus? Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee when He encountered Andrew and Peter, described here as Simon, who was called Peter. When Jesus walked up to the two men, they were fishing, which was their occupation. When Jesus called Peter to follow Me, the text tells us he immediately left his net behind to be Jesus disciple. Leaving his net behind symbolized the total abandon with which he committed to Jesus call. A disciple is one who studies under a teacher. Peter and Andrew were being called to go beyond mere study to become laborers alongside Jesus.
HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ Matthew 14:22-33 One of the most familiar stories of Peter from his time with Jesus is the story of his walking on water. What do you think about Peter in this story? Can you relate to him? How? What can we learn about both fear and trust from Peter s example? In this one story, Peter is an example for us of both fear and trust. Along with the rest of the disciples, Peter feared this person who appeared on the water, so he asked for proof it was Jesus. Jesus responded by inviting Peter to join Him by walking on the water. That Peter stepped out of the boat at all shows great trust in God. Sometimes life can feel so lonely and isolating that we can t help but focus on our surroundings rather than on Jesus. Peter s example reminds us that it doesn t have to be that way, though. When life feels like that, Jesus hasn t moved. He is still standing in front of us, reaching out his hand to support us and lift us up. HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ Mark 8:27-33 At another point during Peter s time with Jesus, Peter demonstrated both a commitment to and a lack of understanding about Jesus mission. What did Peter s response to Jesus in verse 29 reveal about who He understood Jesus to be? What else do we learn about Peter from his reaction in verse 32? Why do you think Jesus reacted so strongly to Peter? What does this reveal about their relationship? The people of Galilee and Judea debated the nature and identity of this Teacher who demonstrated the power of God through healing and deliverance. Until Jesus own disciples came to understand and acknowledge Him as the Messiah, they would not be ready to follow the difficult road of true discipleship. Peter made that declaration here, but the rest of their conversation reveals he didn t understand what Jesus role as Messiah would involve. A combination of denial, spiritual immaturity, and love motivated Peter to correct, or rebuke, Jesus. Peter s confrontation provided further opportunity for Jesus to teach. He could not allow the rebuke to go unchallenged. Peter put human preference above God s will. Jesus death was not something any of them wanted to consider. But He taught the truth that the cross could not be avoided, and it was not to be feared. HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ Luke 22:54-62 The low point in Peter s time with Jesus definitely came when he denied knowing Jesus after Jesus arrest. Jesus Himself had predicted this would happen, and at the time Peter had vehemently denied it (Luke 22:31-34). What emotions might Peter have felt in that moment when he realized Jesus prophecy came true? When have you felt like Peter? What is the lesson for us from this moment in his life?
During Jesus three years of earthly ministry, Peter was present for some of the most miraculous moments. Peter exhibited great faith, and he was one of Jesus best friends. He wouldn t have been in the courtyard outside Jesus trial if he didn t love Jesus, but fear and self-preservation kicked in, and he allowed those emotions to control him. Peter blatantly denied his friendship with Jesus. Thankfully, in God s grace, Peter s story didn t end there. HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ John 21:15-19 The climactic moment in Peter s time with Jesus came after Jesus resurrection, when he met with Peter on the shore. What stands out to you about the conversation between Peter and Jesus in this scene? What do we learn about the rest of Peter s life, specifically how he will demonstrate his love and loyalty to Jesus? What picture of Peter are you left with at the end of the Gospels? How does this encourage you in your own relationship with Jesus? Though Peter denied Jesus, Jesus was not finished with him. He again issued His call to Peter to follow Him and to serve Him out of love for Him. Peter s love for Jesus was to express itself in caring for His people. Jesus conversation with Peter shows He viewed love as the key to faithful discipleship and service. Jesus challenged Peter to show His love for Him and follow Him by caring for His people. Peter had denied the Lord out of fear of possible arrest and suffering. Jesus, however, revealed to Peter following and serving Him would require sacrifice. In fact, Peter would be called on to sacrifice his life. APPLICATION Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives. What are the biggest takeaways for you from Peter s life that relate to your own walk with Jesus? Based on the example of Peter, what is one area in which you need to exhibit more faith and less fear as you live as Jesus disciple? PRAY Thank God for the example of Peter and the encouragement his life is to your own faith today. Pray that we would be disciples who embrace Jesus mission with the same faith and abandon as Peter.
COMMENTARY Matthew 4:18-20 Jesus command, Follow Me, urged the disciples not just to accompany Him on His travels but to follow His example and emulate His character. Following Jesus involved significant sacrifice for Simon... Andrew... James, and John. They abandoned their careers as fishermen. The words they left... their father indicate that following Jesus also required the disciples to place commitment to Jesus above commitment to their own families (10:37; 19:29). Matthew 14:22-33 14:24. Whether the original text stated that the disciples boat was in the middle of the sea or many stadia (a stadia equaling about 600 feet) from the land, the location of the boat is roughly the same. John noted that the boat was 25 or 30 stadia from the land, a distance ranging from about 2.8 to 3.5 miles. The Sea of Galilee is about eight miles wide at its widest point. 14:25. Around three in the morning is literally during the fourth watch of the night. The Romans divided the period from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. into four watches of three hours each. Thus the fourth watch lasted from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. 14:26. The word ghost (Gk phantasma ) was used in Greek literature to describe dream visions or spirit apparitions. In the Old Testament a closely related term referred to a dream or vision in which one saw something that was not real (Isa 28:7; Job 20:8). Matthew s usage may imply that the disciples thought their eyes were deceiving them. The language of the text does not imply that the Bible supports the belief that spirits of the dead roam the earth. 14:27. The words It is I are literally I am. The statement is Jesus purposeful echo of Old Testament texts like Exodus 3:14 and identifies Him as Yahweh God. 14:33. The disciples confession of Jesus as Son of God is not surprising in light of close connections between this miracle and important Old Testament parallels. The title Son of God often serves as a messianic title in the New Testament, but here it also implies Jesus deity. The disciples likely interpreted the miracle in light of Job 9:8 which states that Yahweh walked on the sea as if it were dry land. Their worship of Jesus also confirmed their growing recognition of His divine nature. Mark 8:27-33 8:27-28. Caesarea Philippi was 25 miles north of Bethsaida in the foothills of Mount Hermon. Caesar Augustus gave the city to Herod the Great. Herod s son Philip rebuilt and enlarged it and renamed it in honor of Caesar Augustus. The villages refers to surrounding settlements. Jesus question and the disciples response recall the opinions voiced to Antipas in 6:14-15.
8:29. The words but you are emphatic and call for a deeper answer. Jesus asked His disciples to state their own belief. Peter responded, You are the Messiah. This is the first time in Mark s Gospel that a person made this identification. To this point, only God (1:11) and demons (1:24,34; 3:11; 5:7) had testified to Jesus true identity. The word Messiah (Christ) means anointed one, and refers to God s appointed deliverer and King. 8:30. Strictly warned is the same Greek verb Jesus used (1:25; 3:12) to silence unclean spirits. His command to tell no one was a response to the popular misunderstanding that Messiah would be a military conqueror. Jesus had to teach His disciples that Messiah would actually suffer and die. 8:31. This is the first of three times in Mark that Jesus predicted His death. Jesus will now use this title often, including in His death predictions. Must suffer points to the necessity of His suffering and death. The elders, the chief priests, and the scribes were the three power groups of the Sanhedrin, the ruling Jewish body. Jesus would be killed, not by a lawless mob but by Israel s religious leaders. 8:32-33. Peter could not accept a suffering Messiah. He took Jesus aside in a bid to convince Him to stop speaking of His death. Get behind Me, Satan are the same words Jesus spoke to the Devil during the wilderness temptation (Mt 4:10). Luke 22:54-62 22:54. Jesus stood at the house of the high priest. What should have been holy ground, keeping the leading religious official in Judaism holy and pure, became the scene of the most evil deed in history: the mockery of a trial that convicted the Son of God. Again, a disciple followed Jesus (see v. 39), but this time at a distance. He followed with curiosity to see what would happen, not with devotion to identify himself with the Master. 22:55. This disciple did not follow Jesus for long. He distanced himself from the Master until he had joined the crowd around a comfortable campfire. He had quietly shifted identities. No longer a follower of Jesus, he became one of the crowd, curious to see what was about to happen and eager for a good time around the fire. 22:56-61. The rugged Galilean fisherman could not hide among the group at the Jerusalem court. He stood out from the crowd. A slave girl quickly noticed him. This man had been with Jesus. Without thinking, Peter went into a defensive mode. Peter had denied Jesus, but what he had done did not sink in. He had successfully defended his right to enjoy the warmth of the campfire. Another passerby noticed Peter. Peter again moved away from Jesus and joined the crowd more intimately. A defensive reaction changed his identity without him being aware of the immensity of what he had said and done.
An hour passed, still the devil s hour. Another face in the crowd spoke up, recognizing the Galilean accent. Peter was completely distant from Jesus. He had denied three times any knowledge of or relationship to the man. He now belonged to the crowd and to the devil. Satan had sifted him and found him wanting. A rooster s crow, not a human voice, made Peter realize what he had done. Reinforcement came in one glance from Jesus. Jesus words stabbed their way into Peter s memory: Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times. 22:62. The brashly self-confident man disappeared. Now he distanced himself from the crowd. Outside by himself, he wept bitter tears. Grief overwhelmed him. Follow Jesus to prison and to death? He could not even follow him to a mockery of a trial. The grief was as deep as Judas s later proved to be, but the response and subsequent actions would be quite different. Guilt led Judas to suicide. It led Peter to Pentecost. John 21:15-19 Following their breakfast meal on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus turned to Peter and asked a series of questions related to Peter s devotion. The first word for love, used in Jesus first two questions, refers to a love that involves the will and personality. The second kind of love, indicated by the word for love used in the third question of Jesus, refers more to the emotions than to the will. Regardless of whether or not much is to be made of these word distinctions, the key issue is that of love for Christ, and this Peter surely expressed. His earlier three denials are here answered in three affirmations of love and service. Jesus clearly wanted love for Him to include both will and emotions, demonstrated in a life of discipleship and devotion to the church. Then Jesus forecast the kind of death Peter would die in order to glorify God. The early church understood the stretching out of hands mentioned here to mean crucifixion. Tradition understands the death of Peter to have been by upside-down crucifixion.