And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again… And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Mark 8:31-33 When Jesus spoke about “the things of God,” He was referring to what He had jus...
Nov 30, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 30
He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan!” Mark 8:33 When we sin, there is always a story of how we came to do what we did. Someone says, “This person put me in an impossible position. I was provoked, and that is why I acted as I did.” When Eve was tempted and committed the first sin, she said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen. 3:13). The serpent was responsible for the deceiving; but Eve was responsible for the eating. And God dealt with both according to their responsibility. ...
Nov 29, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 29
But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter. Mark 8:33 When Peter rebuked Jesus, he was trying to stop Jesus from going to the cross—we should be very thankful that Jesus rebuked Peter. Imagine Peter standing at the pearly gates of heaven. If Jesus had followed Peter’s counsel, what would have happened to him when he arrived? Peter knocks on heaven’s door and an angel answers, “Who are you?” “I’m Peter. I was one of Jesus’ disciples.” “Yes, but why are you here?” Peter confesses, “Wel...
Nov 28, 2023•2 min•Season 11Ep. 28
“Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Matthew 16:22 If ever there was a moment when you would feel you could have full confidence in what someone said, this would be it. Peter was blessed by God. He had been walking with God in the flesh. God has opened his eyes to the truth about Jesus—surely what this man says must be right! But Peter’s well-meaning counsel to Jesus was completely wrong. When Peter said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” he was rig...
Nov 27, 2023•2 min•Season 11Ep. 27
“Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Matthew 16:22 If you have faith in Jesus, there will be times when you are tempted to tell Him what you think He must do. That is what Peter was doing. Telling Jesus what He must do might sound like faith, but it is the opposite of faith. Here is the great contradiction: on the one hand, to confess Jesus as the Christ means that you embrace Jesus as your teacher, saviour, and master but, on the other hand, when Peter confessed that Jesu...
Nov 26, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 26
Peter took [Jesus] aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, [Jesus] rebuked Peter. Mark 8:32-33 This is a story about two rebukes: Peter rebukes Jesus, and Jesus rebukes Peter. There are certain times when we are especially vulnerable to temptation. One obvious example is when we are tired. When we are tired, we do not see things clearly and we are less careful in what we say. We are less patient and more easily provoked. For example, when the disciples were in the Ga...
Nov 25, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 25
He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. Mark 8:31 There are four things that Jesus must do: suffer, be rejected, be killed, and rise again. When Jesus told this to the disciples, Peter “took him aside and began to rebuke him” (8:32). Jesus “said this plainly” (8:32). Peter’s problem was not that he did not understand; it was that he did understand—and he ...
Nov 24, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 24
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!” Matthew 16:16 Peter did not come to this confession of faith suddenly. He had been in the company of Jesus for eighteen months. Faith in Jesus had been forming; convictions about Jesus had been settling. Faith is formed by walking with Jesus, and it may be that for some time faith has been forming in you. This was a decisive moment in Peter’s journey of faith—blessing...
Nov 23, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 23
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18 What is the rock on which Jesus will build His church? Some say it’s Peter. Some say it’s faith. Some say it’s Jesus. When there is debate over how to understand a verse, a good question to ask is whether there are other Bible passages that shed light on this one, and there are. Some believe the answer is Peter, since Ephesians 2:20 teaches that the church i...
Nov 22, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 22
And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17 Jesus said to Peter, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you.” You didn’t work this out for yourself. And you didn’t get this faith from someone else. As you think about your own journey to faith, if you are a believer, you will be able to think of people who helped you along the way. Maybe your mum played a role in you coming to faith,...
Nov 21, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 21
“You are the Christ.” Matthew 16:16 Confessing faith in Jesus does not mean that you have your whole life sorted out—that you never have doubts and that all your questions are answered. What it does mean is that you embrace Jesus as your teacher, your saviour, and your master. Your teacher Embracing Jesus as your teacher means that you give up your right to disagree with Him. When you commit to learning from Jesus, you are saying, “Jesus, your teaching in the Bible is my creed. Even when I do no...
Nov 19, 2023•3 min
“You are the Christ.” Matthew 16:16 Faith is a believing response to Jesus in which we confess two things: 1) who He is in relation to God, and 2) who He is in relation to us. Let’s look today at who Jesus is in relation to us. Peter called Jesus the Christ, and the name means “Messiah” or “Anointed One.” But this raises the question: anointed, chosen, set apart, for what purpose? Throughout the Bible story, God is engaged in three activities. First, He reveals Himself, so that we may know Him. ...
Nov 19, 2023•3 min
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Matthew 16:13 Son of Man was a favourite name that Jesus used for Himself. And this was a question about culture. Jesus was inquiring, “Tell me what people are saying about Me. What are the prevailing ideas about Me in your culture?” Opinions about Jesus were all over the map. “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (16:14). There was no consensus or agreement. You could hardly have two characters more...
Nov 18, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 18
“You are… the Son of the living God.” MATTHEW 16:16 Do you have faith? Faith is not confidence in ourselves. Faith is not confidence in the church or in other Christians. Faith is a believing response to Jesus. You may say, “I’ve been disappointed by Christians and hurt by the church.” The good news is that Jesus does not ask you to confess faith in other Christians or to confess faith in the church. Jesus invites you to place your faith in Him. Faith is a believing response to Jesus in which we...
Nov 17, 2023•2 min
And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:32-33 The disciples probably still had a thousand questions. Why did Jesus allow this storm? Why did He tell them to get in the boat when He knew a storm was coming? Why did Jesus leave the disciples straining at the oars for so long? Why did He not come in the first watch of the night, or the second, or the third? What if there is another storm? These men ha...
Nov 16, 2023•2 min
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Matthew 14:30 We do not know how far Jesus was from the boat when Peter stepped onto the water, but suppose Jesus was 50 feet from the boat. Jesus said, “Come,” and Peter put one foot on the water. It held. Then he swung his weight over the side of the boat and stood with both feet on the water. He looked at Jesus and took his first step forward, then a second, and then a third. He was doing it—Peter wa...
Nov 15, 2023•3 min
He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. Matthew 14:29 Jesus can impart His power so that you can do what would not otherwise be possible. “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). What has Jesus called you to do that you fear is beyond you? You say, “I cannot do it.” Yes, you can, for Jesus will give you what you need to do what He is calling you to do. This is good news, because Jesus calls us to a life that is impossible...
Nov 14, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 14
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Matthew 14:28 Would you have said this? Most people would not have the courage. Maybe you would have said, “Lord, if it is you, calm this raging storm, and take us safely to the shore.” When we face a great trial, our natural reaction is to ask, “When will this be over? When can I get back to the life I want to live?” We plead, “Lord, calm the storm and get me out of here!” But that is not what Peter said. He s...
Nov 13, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 13
But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. Matthew 14:26 The disciples felt they were in the presence of evil. After all, it was dark, the wind was howling, and the waves were beating against the boat. When the light of Jesus’ presence drew near, they thought they were seeing a ghost. They were afraid that the night is ruled by dark and sinister forces, but Jesus rules the night as well as the day. He rules in th...
Nov 12, 2023•2 min•Season 11Ep. 12
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side… the boat… was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. Matthew 14:22-24 The disciples were caught in a storm, and Jesus was not with them. They were stuck in the middle of the lake. Storms often pass quickly, but this one just kept coming. The disciples were straining at the oars and making very little progress. How much longer could they keep this up? Perhaps you know wh...
Nov 11, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 11
When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. Matthew 14:23-24 Jesus fed 5,000 people, multiplying five loaves and two fish in His hands. And when the crowd saw what He could do, they wanted to take Jesus by force and make Him king (John 6:15). Some of the disciples probably liked this idea, so to keep them from this temptation, Jesus “immediately… made the disciples get into the boat and go befo...
Nov 10, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 10
At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. Hebrews 2:8 It is one thing to have faith in Jesus when the sky is blue, but it is another to have faith in Jesus during a storm. What does that look like? Matthew shows us in the story of two men walking on the water (Mat. 14:22-33). There were two miracles here. Jesus walked on the water to reach the disciples, and Peter walked on the water to reach Jesus. These point to two marvellous truths: Jesus rules over every storm, and one ...
Nov 09, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 9
And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:11 It took two large boats and their crews to haul in the nets filled with fish. The weight of the fish was so great that the boats barely made it back to the shore. Never in their lives had they pulled in such a catch of fish. Peter might have looked at Jesus and said, “Lord, we could really use you in this business. If you became a partner in what we’re doing, then we would have the biggest fishing fle...
Nov 08, 2023•2 min•Season 11Ep. 8
And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” Luke 5:10 Jesus did not give up on Peter, and He will not give up on you. Jesus knows you and what He can make of you. This is why Jesus moves toward sinners. Jesus called him Simon, which was Peter’s old name. Most likely, Jesus called him by his old name, because Simon was behaving like the person he used to be. The whole story is about how Simon becomes Peter—the man Christ was calling him to be. Since Peter’s ...
Nov 07, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 7
“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 Jesus was saying, “Peter, the great project of your life will be to throw the net of the gospel into the sea of the world and draw people into the shores of God’s kingdom.” What kind of person can do this? Only some kind of saint. But Peter knew that he was no saint. So, he said to Jesus: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.” Peter showed tremendous honesty. He didn’t say, “I’ve made a few mistakes.” He didn’t say, “At least I was ...
Nov 06, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 6
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Luke 5:8 Peter was happy to lend his boat to Jesus. He called Him “Master” (5:5). When Jesus told him to throw out the net, he was ready to do what Jesus said. Peter probably would have described himself as a good person, a hard worker, a man devoted to his family—a man who believed in Jesus. But when Peter saw the glory of Jesus, he saw himself in an entirely different light: “Dep...
Nov 05, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 5
And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4 Peter had worked an entire night on his own and he caught nothing. Now, with Jesus in the boat, there are so many fish, he cannot pull them in. So, “they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink” (5:7). Peter and everyone with him “were astonished at the catch of fish that they had...
Nov 04, 2023•2 min•Season 11Ep. 4
Getting into one of the boats, which was [Peter’s], he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. Luke 5:3 The crowd was pressing in, and Jesus was in danger of being pushed into the water. So He called Peter, who rowed him out from the shore, and Jesus spoke from the boat. After Jesus was done, He said to Peter, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (5:4). Peter gave an honest response: “Master, we toiled all night and ...
Nov 03, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 3
On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Luke 5:1-2 Picture the scene: Jesus stood on the shore with his back to the water. A crowd had gathered and was anxious to hear what He had to say. Many were pressing in—eager to hear the Word of God. Then Jesus noticed a couple of boats near the lake. Peter was there with ...
Nov 02, 2023•2 min•Season 11Ep. 2
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." Matthew 28:19 “How many members are in your church?” he asked. The pastor gave a ballpark answer. The man replied, “Yes, but how many of them are disciples?” A whole world of programmes, practices, courses, and ministries have sprung up around this theme of discipleship. These programmes lay out what you must do— and some of them are helpful. But these kinds of programmes sometimes discourage, for the “model” disciple is often held up as someone ...
Nov 01, 2023•3 min•Season 11Ep. 1
