2024_09_11 Insight Post- Rusty Coram
This week’s reading- John 1:35-42, Mark 1:29-39, Mark 5:35-41, Mark 8:22-38, Matthew 14:13-36, Mark 14, Mark 16:7, John 21:15-25, Acts 2:14-41, Acts 10
Years ago, a commercial for Cannon cameras (before everyone had a professional grade one on their phone!) had the tagline, “Image is everything!” They chose a top tennis player who was always in the news as their brand spokesperson. The idea behind that is to have the best life, we need to present a compelling image of ourselves to a watching world. Peter would disagree. For him, being real and honest before God and others is what matters. One of the things that I deeply respect and admire about Peter is his willingness to be genuine about his life, especially his faults and failures. We may never have known about them if he hadn’t insisted on them being included in the writings that became the New Testament. For example, in Mark, we read, “Then he asked them, ‘But who do you say I am?’ Peter replied, ‘You are the Messiah.” Mark 8:29 (NLT) Jesus went on to say to Peter, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” Matthew 16:17–18 (NLT)
Immediately following this high, Peter hit a low point. Jesus tells His disciples that He is heading toward sacrifice, suffering, and death, and Peter reprimands Jesus for saying such a thing. “Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Mark 8:33 (NLT)
If Peter had wanted to have a polished and perfect public image, this would have never been written. It could have been edited out of the story. The biography of Jesus written by Mark (which was the first of the 4) was heavily dependent on Peter for content and Peter could have just not mentioned the rebuke. Peter could have lobbied Matthew to omit it, too, but honesty and authenticity are a higher value than public image to Peter and the others. As we watch Peter’s life unfold, we see not a perfect follower but a growing one. One we can relate to as having strengths and also weaknesses. Later, we read in one of Peter’s letters this passage that we know he truly has experienced,
“And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.” 1 Peter 5:5–6 (NLT)
Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor