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Category Archives: Peter and John

Peter & John — John 20:1-10

26 Nov

John 20:1-10 NASB
[1] Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. [2] So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” [3] So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. [4] The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; [5] and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. [6] And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, [7] and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. [8] So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. [9] For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. [10] So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

Dear God, several years ago I noticed something interesting about this story. In fact, this is one of the reasons I wanted to compare and contrast John and Peter. John outruns Peter there (what does it say about his state of mind that he would either intentionally or unintentionally outrun Peter), but then he cautiously stops and doesn’t go in, but only looks at a distance.

On the other hand, Peter isn’t as fast as John, but he’s certainly more bold. He gets there last, but goes straight in. John then follows Peter.

As I sit here and think about it this morning, this is the first activity of the new Christian church’s leadership post-resurrection, and in it I think Peter shows why his personality allows him to be the leader. He is, indeed, courageous. He is also a little less cautious, which can be a problem. In the case of how things will play out, I think John will need that part of Peter’s personality to move him out of his comfort zone, but Peter will need people like John to help him see the big picture before acting.

Father, help me to be the person you want me to be to accomplish what you have for our group to accomplish. It’s board meeting week. I bring a certain set of weaknesses and strengths to the table as does everyone else. As we talk and discuss everything before us, my prayer is that we will be able to accept the work and input of the others that you need us to have so that we can be as effective in our work as possible. And of course, do it all for your glory and not ours.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 26, 2018 in John, Peter and John

 

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Peter & John — John 19:25-27

25 Nov

John 19:25-27
25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.

 

Dear God, for the purposes of what I’m doing here, I am going to assume that John is referring to himself in verse 26 when he mentions “the disciple he loved.” I wonder what it was about John that made Jesus decide to do this. Was it his dependability? Was it that he knew John would be the last of the disciples to die so he’d be around longer? Or was it simply that he was the one who was there? Of course, we don’t know that none of the other disciples weren’t there. We’ve assumed, but we don’t know that.

I’m guessing it was a combination of trusting John and his availability at the time. But I wonder why Jesus didn’t assume that his siblings would take care of her. I know that it is vague about whether or not Jesus’ siblings were from a previous marriage for Joseph and Mary had no other children besides Jesus. I’ve never subscribed to that belief, but this story would seem to support that theory. On the other hand, perhaps Mary had been following Jesus and his siblings just didn’t understand or know how to relate to everything they were seeing. They didn’t know what to make of Mary, Jesus, or the disciples. James (Jesus’ brother, not John’s) finally figured it out, but I don’t think we know about any others. John was probably his best option and as he hung there dying, he needed John’s help for his mother.

I suppose there is something to be said for just showing up. John was there. We don’t know how close he was able to stay all day, but he seems to have some good information about things that were said and done throughout the day so I think he was certainly lurking in the shadows, if nothing else. But there he is, the temperamental disciple, now pensively and fearfully following Jesus to the cross. There is no asking if he should call down fire on the church leaders. He’s not rebuking people. He’s just there, being traumatized and watching his world change before him in ways that he cannot begin to understand. Again, though, to his credit, he’s right there and in a position to hear Jesus for what John thinks will be for the last time.

Father, I don’t know what I have to offer, but I at least offer you my presence. I give you my submission to your will—as best as I know how. I give you my ego—as much as I am capable. I give you my dreams that focus on my own comfort, reward, and enjoyment. And I give you my willingness to embrace the task that you have given me to do. The task of testifying to the Gospel of your grace.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 25, 2018 in John, Peter and John

 

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Peter & John — John 18:17-18,25-27

24 Nov

John 18:17-18,25-27 NASB
[17] Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” [18] Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself. [25] Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” [26] One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” [27] Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

Dear God, John chooses to tell this story much more mercifully and matter-of-factly than the others. He leaves out Peter’s shame, although later, along the water after the resurrection, he will capture the restoration.

The thing I notice about John throughout this book is that he seems to empathize with people. He has mercy for them. I concluded several year ago that he has mercy and sympathy for Pilate. In this case, he was as scared as Peter was and would probably have denied Jesus too if anyone had bothered to ask him. He feels for Peter.

How is my mercy level for other people? I hope it’s at least getting better. The hardest part is when they have offended me. How do I look beyond my own feelings and ego and try to see where that person might be coming from and then extend grace to them while also seeing if I can help them?

As I sit here, I can think of countless times I have not done this well—especially with family. It’s frustrating. And the times I have done it right, my eyes have seen no benefit from it. It seems like the other person often takes advantage of my mercy and tries to use it as an opportunity to abuse me more.

Father, thank you for John’s example of mercy and discretion. Thank you that he was able to look at the failings of others and at least appreciate where they were coming from. Give me that ability today. I have certain situations in my heart. Please give me peace and wisdom to deal with them beyond my natural capabilities.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 24, 2018 in John, Peter and John

 

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Peter & John — John 18:7-11

22 Nov

John 18:7-11
7 Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”
And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
8 “I told you that I AM he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” 9 He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”
10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. 11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”

Dear God, it’s interesting to see what John decides to tell us and what he leaves out. He tells us about Peter cutting off the ear, but he doesn’t tell us that Jesus healed the ear or why Peter had a sword in the first place (Luke 22:36-37). He also leaves out something else important. He doesn’t tell the part about Jesus praying on the Mount of Olives and the disciples praying with Him falling asleep. Hmmm. I wonder if he carried that shame the rest of his life.

But back to Peter. I already mentioned this in a previous journal, but I think it is significant to note that Peter was, indeed, ready to defend Jesus, follow Jesus, battle for Jesus, and die for Jesus. That’s just not how Jesus needed this to work out. This is evidenced by what John tells us in verse 8 with Jesus saying, “”And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” I don’t remember Matthew, Mark, or Luke giving us that detail. At some point, I am going to do a side-by-side comparison of every story the four Gospels give us so that I can get a better look at exactly what John wanted us to know that was unique to the other three.

I was watching a documentary on Bill Murray the other day, and a guy talked about a Taoist Proverb that has a principle I’ve clung to the last few years as things have and haven’t gone the way I wanted them to. To paraphrase quickly, it seems there was a man who had a prized horse:

  • One day the horse ran away and his neighbor came over and told him it was such a shame that this bad thing had happened. The man replied, “Who is to know what is good or what is bad?”
  • The next day the horse came back, but he brought with him 10 prized wild horses. The neighbor came and rejoiced with him remarking that it was such a great thing. The man replied, “Who is to know what is good or what is bad?”
  • The next day the man’s son was trying to train one of the horses and broke his leg. The neighbor expressed sympathy for such a terrible thing happening, but the man replied, “Who is to know what is good or what is bad?”
  • The next day the army came to conscript able-bodied men to go to war. The son was left behind because of his broken leg, and the neighbor rejoiced with the man, but the man replied, “Who is to know what is good or what is bad?”

And so the story goes on and on. Peter felt like a failure that night. John felt like a failure too. And they did, indeed, fail. Judas Iscariot failed that week as well. But in all of it, your plan prevailed. You didn’t need them to fail, but you allowed for their failure. They didn’t understand that Jesus’ death was good and fighting to save Jesus by cutting off an ear was bad. But looking back and telling the story years later, John was able to see a little more clearly and understand what you were up to.

Father, I am truly sorry for my failings. I really am. But on this Thanksgiving Day, I want to thank you for working around all of my faults and flaws to not only love me, but to do you will on earth through me. Maybe things could be done better if I was better, but I am able to sleep peacefully at night knowing that you are my God, you love me, and you forgive me. Thank you.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 22, 2018 in John, Peter and John

 

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Peter & John — John 14:5,8,22

21 Nov

John 14:5 NASB
[5] Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
John 14:8 NASB
[8] Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
John 14:22 NASB
[22] Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?”

Dear God, I want to look at John as writer and storyteller this morning. He gives us a unique window into the Last Supper. Thomas, Philip, and the good Judas get call outs here. I don’t know that it’s as important what they asked (they were basically all just trying to make sense of what was happening around them) as it is that John was going through the evening in his memory and these are some of the specifics he remembered. “Thomas asked Him where He was going.” “Philip wanted to see a revelation of God (that one was pretty silly of him to say—Jesus didn’t seem to like that one).” “Judas (gotta be clear which one) wanted to understand why things were so shrouded and confusing.” These might have all been things John himself wanted to ask and that’s why he remembered them. Or maybe he was remembering Jesus’ answers and then thought back to which questions had provoked each one. Either way, John is painting a unique picture of that evening. The disciples were confused, scared, insecure, and a bit intimidated.

Father, thank you for these 11 men. Thank you that you gave the early church a group of people who were imperfect but cake together to continue the work here on earth. Thank you that one day we will all follow you and go where you will go. Finally, thank you for John taking the time to write all of this down and give it to us.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 21, 2018 in John, Peter and John

 

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Peter & John — John 13:36-38

20 Nov

John 13:36-38 NASB
[36] Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” [37] Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” [38] Jesus *answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.

Dear God, ah, the most famous foolishly hubristic line spoken in history—Peter’s claim that he will follow Jesus to death, only to receive the prophecy from Jesus that Peter will, in fact, deny him to save his own life.

As I noticed back in one of the previous tellings of this story, Peter was, indeed, ready to follow Jesus to death. He took a sword and cut off a man’s ear. What we wasn’t prepared for was a death that required his surrender. He was willing to accept death in glory, but he wasn’t thinking about surrendering to death in humiliation.

My own paradigms can really get me into trouble. I am meeting with some board members this morning and we are talking about the programs our nonprofit offers the public. How much will my own expectations, preconceived notions and paradigms drive my opinions? That’s just one example. There are others like my children and the attitude I have about their life choices. My marriage and what I think my role is as a husband. My parents and father-in-law and what my role is as a son. I know I let my own values and ideas get in the way of what you want me to do sometimes. I’m sorry for that.

Father, help me to be flexible. Help me to be quiet and listen for your still small voice. Open my eyes and ears so that I might see and hear what you are showing and telling me. And help me to decrease so that you might increase. All glory and honor to you, oh Lord.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 20, 2018 in John, Peter and John

 

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Peter & John — John 13:18-30

19 Nov

John 13:18-30
18 “I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’19 I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I AM the Messiah. 20 I tell you the truth, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me.”
21 Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!”
22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23 The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table. 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talking about?” 25 So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. 27 When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.” 28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night.

Dear God, for the purposes of what I’m doing here, I am going to work with the premise that “the disciple Jesus loved” was John referring to himself. In this instance, it is interesting to note that:

  1. John was sitting next to Jesus. Had he positioned himself there? Had Jesus put him there?
  2. Peter must have been sitting at a different part of the table because he “motioned to him” instead of just leaning over and asking talking to him.
  3. Peter had just been caught talking too much when he went through the whole foot washing thing so he decided to get someone else to do his dirty work for him.
  4. Even with Jesus explaining things to a certain extent, everyone was still in the dark and could only figure it out in retrospect.

I think that last part is the key. I heard a pastor say yesterday morning something that I’ve often said about you and how you keep me in the dark sometimes. My line is, “God keeps me on a need-to-know basis, and I very rarely need to know.” In this case, Judas had something brewing and if Jesus had let everyone know what was going on they might have stopped him. They might have protected Jesus and made him leave. Jesus didn’t want that interference or temptation, so he kept them in the dark. Their intentions would have been good, but their actions would have been disastrous for all of us.

Father, help me to be at peace in my ignorance, help me to welcome all that you bring into my path, and help me to not mess up your plans. I don’t want to get in your way. I don’t want to have my good intentions cause you problems. Guide my heart. Guide my actions. And please be faithful to the prayers I bring to you in private. I trust you, Lord.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 19, 2018 in John, Peter and John, Uncategorized

 

Peter & John — John 13:1-17

18 Nov

John 13:1-17
1Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.
6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”
8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”
10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

Dear God, I think I’m correct in stating that John is the only one who gives us the foot washing story at the Last Supper. What a remarkable thing for him to remember and convey. First, he is the narrator so he gets to add his own editorial to the story. Here’s what John wants us to know:

  • Jesus is aware of what’s about to happen to Him the next day (verse 1)
  • Jesus loved His disciples and was ready to show them how much He loved them (verse 1)
  • Jesus was self-aware enough to understand His own power (verse 3)
  • All of this prompted Him to express His love to the disciples by washing their feet (verse 4)

Then John gets to describe the scene. Everyone at the table seems to willingly accept Jesus washing their feet until He comes to Peter. I’m sure the others felt the same awkwardness that Peter felt, but it was Peter who had the courage to put words to it. Peter’s problem was that he didn’t quite understand what servant leadership looked like. Jesus was teaching a lesson.

Back when I was in my early twenties, I was the leader on a church retreat for a church out of Houston. There was a rough group of about three or four kids who went on the retreat that had mainly middle class kids. They were hard to handle. At one point, we decided to blow their minds by washing everyone’s feet, including theirs. I think it was a good idea, although we didn’t execute it very well. Or maybe we did. We kind of did it out of the blue like Jesus does here. The kids were confused, and I’m frankly not sure it did anything to change their behavior or their receptiveness of your message during the week. But as I think about it now, their reaction was pretty similar to Peter’s, but not because they had so much respect for us that they couldn’t receive our service. I think, for them, it felt more like a way we were trying to humiliate them.

As I further unpack this, I went on a retreat a couple of years ago where the leaders wash the feet of the participants. But are we getting it wrong with doing this? Or maybe not wrong, but are we accomplishing something different than Jesus was accomplishing. The premise within which Jesus was working was that He was their obvious superior. He was their rabbi. He was the Messiah. He was God. And He was now washing their feet. He was loving them. If I am with a group and decide that it is time to wash their feet, what I am communicating to them? Especially if there is no previous relationship. Am I subconsciously setting myself up as their leader?

Father, I don’t know that I resolved anything today or if I might have even gotten some of this wrong this morning. But I do think this has made me think about this story a little more. I have probably treated it a little too casually in the past and possibly done more harm than good in times like that summer at camp over 25 years ago. If I did—if I hurt those boys in any way, I am sorry. As I try to figure out the real lesson of this story—that I am to love others through serving them—help me to do it in a way that is truly sacrificial and not in a way that passive aggressively lift me up over them.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 18, 2018 in John, Peter and John

 

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Peter & John—John 6:66-71

16 Nov

John 6:66-71 NASB
[66] As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. [67] So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” [68] Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. [69] We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” [70] Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” [71] Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.

Dear God, I told a friend yesterday that if you read John’s Gospel and don’t believe the first 15 verses—“In the beginning was the Word…”—then for the rest of the book, Jesus comes off as quite radical and mad. I confess that I would probably have been a person who fell away during this chapter. I need thousands of years of history to see this picture more clearly.

As for Peter, he was just keeping it simple. When it came down to it, he completely believed in you and realized that he had nowhere else to go that would be what you are. Was it an easy life, following you around? No. But it was the best life.

This makes me think of marriage to some extent. I’m grateful that I feel like you’ve given me an ability to look beyond my emotions in a given moment and fast forward to a time when the emotions are gone. What I mean is that when my wife and I were dating and I was deciding I wanted to marry her, I didn’t dream about the early years of marriage. I tried to imagine myself as a 60-year-old waking up in the morning and seeing her at the breakfast table. Would I still want to talk to her? Would I still enjoy her company? Was it a pleasant thought? I got an image in my mind, and while we have certainly encountered struggles along the way, and while I’m still a good decade shy of 60, I can gratefully say that my image has proven to be true. The grass is never greener on the other side of the fence. Peter knew that to be true of Jesus, and while I can now take that as a given in my faith, I can say that I firmly believe that there is no greener grass for me than the grass I enjoy with my wife.

Father, make me the husband and father you need me to be. I still don’t really know what I’m doing in any of these areas. I let my wife and children down all of the time. So help me to lean into my ignorance and seek out your leading. Use my ignorance to drive me into your leading in how you need me to love them, and into what you want to do to help me grow closer to you through them.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 16, 2018 in John, Peter and John

 

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Peter & John — John 1:40-42

15 Nov

John 1:40-42 NASB
[40] One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. [41] He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). [42] He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Dear God, going through John in the way I’ve been going through the other Gospels is going to be interesting. His telling of the story has an entirely different pattern and feel. I know that the other three are considered the Synoptic Gospels because they track together fairly well and John doesn’t follow their outline, but I noticed something else this morning as I skimmed through the first eight chapters. I noticed that John focuses on different things within the stories. For example, this is the only time he mentions Jesus recruiting any of the disciples. Also, he mentions more Passovers than just the last one when Jesus was crucified, and he really gives us some insight into just how confused the disciples were most of the time.

In the case of this story, we get a little better look at Andrew. We learn that he was already looking at John the Baptist and having spiritual stirrings. It was him who was hungry for more of you. He was the reason Peter found Jesus. And then it was Peter in whom Jesus saw the potential to be the rock.

So many times, we want to be the person of note. We want to be Peter. We want to be the person people look to. At least, I confess that is true of myself. But there are times when you are calling us to play a small yet pivotal role. When Jesus gathers his top disciples it almost always seems to be Peter and then the brothers James and John. Andrew, even though he is Peter’s brother, isn’t part of that special group. That wasn’t the role he had to play in the story. He was critical to this whole thing, but in a low-key way. I like how John was careful to let us know about Andrew while telling us something important about Peter too.

Father, there are time you call me to be a point person, times you call me to be a member of the team, times you call me to be a connector between others, and then times I am to stay out of it and let others do your work because you have something else for me to do. Help me to be sensitive at all times to what you are calling me to do. And thank you for how you used Andrew in this story. We all owe him a debt.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 15, 2018 in John, Peter and John

 

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