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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – What did Peter say when he first encountered Jesus?
“Depart from me. I am a sinful man.” Peter, an unsuccessful fisherman, believed he was unworthy to even be in the presence of the Christ.
And, nonetheless, Jesus said “follow me.”
If Jesus had told Peter all of the things that would happen after that, he wouldn’t have believed.
You, Peter, will see Jesus walk on water.
You’ll see him transfigured on a mountaintop.
You will see lepers, and the blind and the lame, healed.
You will see Jesus crucified, and days later he will appear before you and you’ll have a meal with him on the beach.
And there’s more that could not have been told at the beginning.
You, Peter, will be the rock upon which I will build my church.
You, Peter, will open my ministry to Jews and gentiles – the founder of the church universal.
You, Peter, will go to Rome – the crossroads of the ancient world – and you will establish my church there. And from that day to this day, Rome will be the center of Christianity.
If Peter were told all of those wonderful things up front, at his first meeting with Jesus, he most likely would have walked away. Those things were too fantastic; and totally unbelievable.
And, suppose for a moment, that God has similar plans for you and me. That we might do things, in his name, that are beyond our imagination. You say that’s unlikely? Perhaps. But remember the bible is full of stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Perhaps you are one of those people.
Chris Conley
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