Do You Appreciate The Similarities between Peter and Paul?
Good Morning Friends,
Paul and Peter never became close on a worldly level; they were however together in Christ. They both came to grow up in grace. They both repented and were transformed by Jesus. Despite their obvious differences, I think we each have a little of Paul and Peter in each of us. They have some fights but in the end, were on the same team. Do You Appreciate The Similarities between Peter and Paul?
Scripture: One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Acts 3:1-10 (NRSV)
For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days; but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord’s brother. In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!
Galatians 1:11-20 (NRSV)
For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
Galatians 2:19-21 (NRSV)
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
John 21:15-19 (NRSV)
About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him. The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.
Acts 12:1-11 (NRSV)
As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing. But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18 (NRSV)
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:13-19 (NRSV)
Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
2 Peter 3:14-18 (NRSV)
Message: Today we commemorate two of the great New Testament heroes, Peter and Paul and the text that informs us about them is rather extensive. And the amazing thing about them is that they both had a passion that reflected patience in the coming of the Day of God and a zealous and earnest desire to see Jesus return as quickly as possible. They both were martyred for their faith, both jailed, and both did miracles of healing and both preached. But moreover, both believed that the sins of men would delay the coming of a closure on the events of human history and so altered their behavior to reflect an attitude more similar than dissimilar. They both matured in the grace of God to become filled with the Holy Spirit’s justification. The apostle Peter had lived the life of a Galilee fisherman. The apostle Paul had lived the life of a Pharisee. When we first read of them together in Jerusalem, Peter was a Christian apostle having repented of his denial of Christ, while Paul was a Christian killer having yet to experience Jesus in a transformative way. Both were gifted church leaders but so different from one another in background, education and temperament that in some of the churches at least – most notably Corinth – people were divided into several rival parties depending on whether they preferred Peter or Paul. Paul was well educated citizen of Rome. He had been tutored by the famous leader of the Hillel School of Rabbis called Gamaliel. He knew the Scriptures inside and out and he was someone who lived every minute of his life by the Jewish Law. Most importantly he had spent his early years persecuting the Christians, so he had the experience of being able to see things from the Roman, Jewish and Christian perspective. Peter, by contrast, was someone whose formal education had ceased early on, but he had the enormous privilege of having known and worked alongside Jesus during his earthly ministry. He was a fisherman, married with a family, and a kind-hearted man, chosen by Jesus to lead the other apostles. He was nevertheless impulsive by nature and often said and did things without thinking about them first. You have only to compare his letters with those of Paul to see that he was someone who, whilst passionately sincere in his love for our Lord, was not so elegant in his wording as Paul. Peter’s heart for Paul is shared in today’s scripture from 2 Peter. And the beauty is that we see them both maturing in the faith and overcoming the reality that they did not always agree. We know for a fact that the two had a big fight in Antioch, described by Paul in his letter to the Galatians. It concerned the vexed questions of whether Jews who became Christians should be allowed to continue to eat separately from their Gentile brethren, even though it had been agreed that in matters of diet, for instance, the Gentiles were not bound by the Jewish Laws. Paul was in favor of making this a matter of principle. Jews and Gentiles should eat together whether they liked it or not, because he saw quite plainly that if they did not you would soon have two Eucharists, a Gentile and a Jewish one in every church, and from there it was only a short step to rebuilding the division between Jew and Gentile. Peter, on the other hand, felt genuinely sorry for those Jewish Christians in Antioch who were expected to abandon the habits of a lifetime the moment they became Christians. You can see how easily it all happened and how, acting from the best of intentions Peter and Paul came to see each other. It was many years before they made up their differences but the beauty is that they did and for the right reasons. Tensions like this have always been part and parcel of the Christian Church. On the one hand there are those who, like Peter, kind and generous by nature, want the Church to be a place which is welcoming, and where everyone gets on with everyone else. On the other hand, there are the counterparts of Paul who realize that if the rational Truth which is in Jesus Christ can become obscured or disregarded in the cause of being kind, generous and inclusive. Curiously enough, it seems to have been a third person who, quite unintentionally, brought Peter and Paul back together again. That person was called John Mark who had his own transformation.
Pray we appreciate the conversions of Peter and Paul but also their reconciliation. Pray
we experience a time of mutual love, respect and agreement, believing that though this is not always our heritage, it might yet be our legacy. Pray we understand like Paul and Peter eventually did, that we ultimately are not in competition with each other. Pray we appreciate the differences and similarities of Peter and Paul and the relevance of their characters for the church. Pray we appreciate that Peter was called by the Lord as he appeared in a human body on earth to take the gospel of the kingdom to the Jews and yet did take it to one Gentile. Pray we appreciate that Paul was given the gospel of Christ, by the ascended, glorified Lord from heaven for Gentiles but still offered it to Jews. Pray therefor we lead godly lives to do what we can in the hope, and fear and intellectual expectancy of the Day of Our Lord. Pray we are at peace because we have not lacked in moral stability.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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