Sabbath: The Person of Peter
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 5:1-11; Matt. 16:13-17; Matt. 14:22-33; Luke 22:31-34, Luke 22:54-62; Gal. 2:9, Galatians 2:11-14.
Memory Text: “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:30-31, NKJV).
Peter is the author of the two books (1 and 2 Peter) that bear his name. He was one of the early followers of Jesus; he remained with Jesus during the Lord’s ministry here; and he was one of the first disciples to see the empty tomb. So Peter had a wealth of experiences from which, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he could draw in order to write these powerful letters. “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16, NASB).
Peter appears often in the Gospels, revealing both his triumphs and failures. He was the usual spokesman of the disciples in their interactions with Jesus. After the resurrection and ascension, Peter became a prominent early church leader. The book of Acts talks about him, as does the book of Galatians.
Most important, Peter knew what it was to make mistakes, to be forgiven, and to move forward in faith and humility. Having experienced for himself the grace of God, he remains a powerful voice for all of us who need to experience that same grace, as well.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 1.
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This theme on Feed my Sheep will help me grow more spiritually like Peter.
They are times when we try by all means to follow Jesus , but satan with send wind (problems ) in our jounery , when we cry to Jesus He will really serve us form sinking , if we don't trust on Him we will surely sink . What a powerful introduction .
Be comforted that when the storm is raging, the teeth of lions are sharper than a two edged sword and the fire starts blazing on our garments. God will deliver. We just need to cry out!
Yes and we need to be spiritually awake to recognize the first signs that we are sinking.For the downward journey is quick.
Indeed if Peter did not recognize that he was sinking, he wouldn't have asked for help
I am always encouraged by the boldness of Peter. Speaking honestly from his heart yet Jesus had to redirect and re-educate him so often. Making obvious mistakes requiring public and private forgiveness by Jesus, which was given, let me know how truly deep, transforming and accepting is the love of Jesus.
Peter was so loved making the errors and mistakes he made, so surely it's not legalism or a performance of perfection God wants from me.
He wants me, just me as I am. He'll fix the messed up parts. Peter is just one example and proof of this fact.
"But when he saw the wind..." How is it that only now he is seeing the wind? The wind was there when Peter was speaking with Jesus, when he stepped out the boat and when he started to walk on the water. The possible explanation for this statement is that Peter's eyes were so riveted on Jesus that nothing else could get his attention. When he lost focused, he saw the wind.
This experience of Peter is an invitation for us to keep our eyes on Jesus and not to allow the distractors of life to divert our attention from Him. Otherwise, we will be at risk of sinking.
"And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him..." Matthew 14:31.
Jesus was within arm's length away! How often we lose focus and cry out in despair when we are very close,when one more step of faith would usher us into victory. Ignore the tempest and focus on Jesus.
It always useful to have the Sabbath school lesson in different formulas. So believers and unbelievers can beneficial from this inspirational lesson. I think our Father Eternal God to set this generous idea in your mind. However, I like the strong introduction of the quarterly topic lesson for each day of the week. When I start reading the details, your thoughtful preface has already given me a clear understanding.
Mathew 14: 30,31
Peter was able to walk on water as long as he looked to Jesus but when he saw that the wind was heavy, he was troubled by fear and began to sink.
Like Peter, we normally start out with good intention but pride makes our faith to falter. In this status Peter still remembered that Jesus was there. We should always look out for Jesus whenever troubles surround us.Like He was ready to rescue Peter from sinking, He is still willing to do the same to us. Human nature is that we can do great thins but fear small things. Peter walked on water but feared the wind. When Jesus tells Peter of his 'little faith',He noted that it is the little faith that led to the doubt and distraction that made Peter sink under the wind and the waves.It was not the violence of the winds, nor the raging of the waves, which endangered Peter's life, but his littleness of faith.But let us know that even little faith is faith and it made Peter to walk on water.
Peter stepped boldly from the boat to walk on water and went where no man had gone before. He boldly stepped out of that boat to walk on water. Later,he boldly took out his sword to defend his Master in the garden of Gethsemane that fateful Thursday night. Still later, he boldly proclaimed the Gospel all across the world all because he believed in Jesus Christ. We too can step boldly in our walk with Jesus. How far did he walk? You may ask. We don't know. His mistake was that he began to look down to see what he was doing and at that moment he began to sink. But we must not forget that Peter walked on the water. He stepped out of the boat upon Christ’s command in obedience to the Lord's command and began to walk in faith. The same can happen to you and I only if we only believe. Instead of hiding in our boats of sin in the midst of life's storms, we too can boldly step forward and walk with our Lord. True, Peter begin to sink. He saw the high waves and heard the howling of the winds. Doubt began to overwhelm him and he was terrified. As a result he took his eyes off Jesus. We too must know that the moment we take our eyes off Jesus, allow pride to take over in our success in life, we too will begin to sink. But note that Peter didn’t drown. He prayed to the Lord to save him, and Christ simply stretched out His hand and pulled him up to safety. That is the assurance we too can have!
A question be, Peter was a fisherman by profession and I assume he probably knew how to swim. Why did he ask Lord save me instead of just swimming back to the boat?
Chako, have you ever tried swimming back to your boat in a storm? A boat does not stay in the same spot waiting for you to get to it. In Peter's situation, Jesus was the closest thing to him to reach out to in order to survive.
Chako, there is a spiritual lesson we're learning from the actions of Peter. Go through the comment posted by bro Bulumko V Msengana, I am sure you will understand what lesson we are to learn.
Thank you.