Peter: What Can We Learn From Peter's Life?Sample

"Follow Me."

Sometime after Peter was first introduced to Jesus by his brother Andrew, Jesus performed a very personal miracle for him, which ended with an invitation to be His disciple. Three of the Gospel writers record aspects of this event. Matthew and Mark nearly duplicate each other in their focus on the calling of Peter, and Luke describes the miraculous multiplication of fish. All three tell us that Peter was a fisherman. He wasn’t well-educated or wealthy or well-known, just an average man working hard every day to support his family.

On this particular day though, Peter had caught nothing, despite working all night for a catch. As fishing was his livelihood, this was probably discouraging. Jesus’s request to use his boat as a teaching platform, and then to let down the nets one more time after they had already been washed, may have seemed like ridiculous inconveniences. But when the nets came back so full that they were breaking, Peter had a revelation of his own heart and who Jesus was. “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (Luke 5:8) This miraculous catch of fish that would help provide for Peter’s family made him recognize how undeserving he was to be in the presence of Jesus.

Rather than departing from him, as Peter had suggested, Jesus actually invited Peter closer: “Follow me.” It was an invitation with a purpose – to learn to be a fisher of men. Peter probably had no idea what this meant at the time, but Jesus knew full well what He wanted Peter to do and become. It started here, with the invitation. Peter and his brother immediately followed Jesus. Whereas a night without a catch used to be a discouragement, now they were willing to leave the tools of their trade behind. Jesus could have met and called Peter in hundreds of different ways, but He chose to do so in a way that really meant something personal to him. Meeting Peter in this way stirred in him a recognition that Jesus was worth leaving everything for.

Reflection:

Jesus invites all of us to follow Him. How does your response to this invitation compare to Peter’s?