Peter and Jesus

Peter and Jesus

2 Peter 1:1-2

Tim Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian church in New York City, was asked by the elders to address his congregation one last time. He knew he was close to death, and this was going to be one of his final messages. It was recorded in November but, in God’s providence, it was scheduled to be released to the church on May 19, 2023, the day Keller died. In this final sermon, he quoted Jeremiah 45:5 and charged his New York City congregation.

Lift up Jesus' name. Hallowed be Thy Name. Forget yourself, forget your reputation. Do what you can to lift up God's name. Seek thou great things for thyself. Even New Yorkers, of course, all New Yorkers are seeking great things for themselves. No, no, “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek not.”

What a great final message to the church! Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not. Lift up God’s name. Why those words? Although true for every believer, they were especially needed for New Yorkers. Keller knew the pride that lay in the heart of a New York City pastor because he was one for more than thirty years. He had learned a valuable lesson that he wanted to pass on to his church, and he wanted to take one last swing with his hammer to nail it into the hearts of his people. Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not.

Likewise, the Apostle Peter had learned a valuable lesson; he also wanted to swing his big hammer and nail a few things into the hearts of his hearers. I imagine Peter would not have fit in modern-day New York City. One pastor described him this way,

When I think of Peter, I imagine a broad-shouldered, loud, extroverted, assertive man who is always sweating.… He was a headstrong, unbridled hulk who was always getting into trouble and causing his Master plenty of the same.

This description makes me appreciate Peter all the more. Peter did not know New York City, but he did know the human heart. He did know failure. He knew sin, and he knew forgiveness. Another writer described him this way,

His impulsive deeds, his frequent questions, his eager exclamations and confessions … his sometimes manly and sometimes cowardly acts, his oaths, his bitter tears—all this makes Peter the great companion and the great instructor of his fellow men.

Peter is a great instructor of fellow sinners. He is a great instructor of fellow saints. He is a great instructor of fellow servants who have been transformed by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Most scholars place 2 Peter near the end of Peter's life as he waited in a Roman prison before his impending execution. As he sat in that prison cell, knowing the end was near, what was his final message to the church? “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.” My prayer for you is the same. I pray that as we study Peter’s last words, we would grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for to Him belongs all the glory both now and forever.

Finally, as we study Peter’s last words, I wonder what nail you would take a swing at if you had one last letter to write? What would be your last message?

The Person

The Bible was written by men who were carried along by the Holy Spirit. An orthodox view of the Bible does not erase the person and context of the human author. The Holy Spirit worked within the person and experiences of the author to deliver God’s message for God’s people. The Holy Spirit used Peter’s unique personality and experiences to communicate God’s truth. The opening lines of the letter read, “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.” and identify the Apostle Peter as the letter’s author. The style of 2 Peter is written in a much different style than 1 Peter. 1 Peter is written in a very polished Greek, while 2 Peter is written in a more ordinary style. This contrast in style has led some to deny Peter’s authorship of the second letter, but Peter probably wrote his first letter by the hand of Silvanus, while this letter was most likely written in his own hand. Imagine a teenager writing a paper with the help of a parent who is an English teacher versus a teenager writing a paper without any help. The author is the same, but the style may vary slightly. 

I believe the way Peter began this second letter was intentional. His first letter began, ‘Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,’ while his second letter begins, “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.” Why the difference? Well, it’s just conjecture because we can’t know for sure, but I believe it was because Peter wanted to show his full humanity. Simeon was a semitic version of  the name Simon, used in a Palestinian setting. It would have been the name given to Peter by his parents, the one he heard his mother call him when he needed to come home. I imagine Peter sitting in that prison cell thinking about his life and thinking about his parents and his children and his identity. He was Simeon by birth-born from his mother and named by his father. He was a Jewish man from a fisherman’s family.  He was a human being with his own history.

We all have a history. We all were given a particular name at birth. We all have earthly parents. We all grew up in a particular place with particular people. The Bible does not deny our humanity. Peter uses his last letter to embrace his own humanity, and I think we should do the same. God made Peter who he was. God made me who I am. God made you who you are. Do not deny God’s plan in your own story. I believe we need to recover more of our humanity and earthiness in our identity. In his book, Imperfect Pastor, Zack Eswine wrote about Jesus’ humanity and how Jesus inhabited a place. His description has always stuck with me. He wrote,

Jesus knew the name of trees. He built from them what his mind imagined and what his skill learned over time could call forth. Amid the aromas of freshly cut woods, bone and blood in Jesus' hands would form an alliance. He would shape and sand long trunks and planks of wood into tables and chairs…I’m puzzled over what Jesus is doing among the wood chips. Aren't you? What is the meaning of this sawdust caught in Jesus’ beard and dangling from his smile–and all this tree-bark obscurity for thirty years? Thirty years! Jesus had a world to save, injustice to confront, lepers to touch. Isn’t greatness for God squandered by years of obscurity? What business does a savior have learning the names of trees?”

Jesus was from Nazareth. He was the human son of Mary and Joseph. He grew up with brothers and sisters. He had a profession. He knew the names of trees. Peter was born Simeon son of Jonah. He knew the names of fish. He knew how to mend nets. He knew where and when the fish would bite. As he sat in that prison cell, all the years of Peter’s life were coming back. And yet, Simeon is not his only name. He is Simeon Peter. Peter was the title given to him by the Lord Jesus.

[13] Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” [14] And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” [15] He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” [16] Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [17] 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. [18] 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 16:13–18

Simeon was given a new name. He was named Peter, the rock on which Jesus will build His church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 

This declaration is known as The Good Confession because it is the first time in the New Testament where Jesus is clearly identified as the Messiah. All the disciples were asked who Jesus was, but it was Peter who spoke up and declared that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus reveals how this confession is other-worldly. It did not come from flesh and blood but from God the Father. Peter was given a new title. The church will be built on people like Peter who confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. When you confess Jesus Christ as God and Savior, you have encountered the Divine. You have obtained a faith of equal standing with Peter. It was not given to you primarily by your parents, your flesh and blood, but by your Father in heaven. Simeon Peter is teaching us a vital lesson as he begins his last letter: we are both physical and spiritual. We have a place. We have a family, but we have a God in heaven who has come to save us. 

Peter continues his introduction by giving himself two titles, one unique and one shared. “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.” The first title is servant or slave. It has the connotation of humility and honor. It is humble for Peter because he has submitted his whole life to Jesus Christ. He belongs to Him. He has no authority but that which has been given to him by Jesus Christ. He is low; Jesus is high. But it is not merely a humble title, it is an honored one. Peter is honored to be called a servant of Jesus Christ. As in the line of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Peter is called a servant of God. 

Remember Peter is about to be executed. He was sitting in a prison cell because of his faith in Jesus Christ. But, much like early in his ministry in Acts when he was persecuted and beaten for his faith, he rejoiced that he was counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Christ (Acts 5:41). As persecution grows in our own day, we must be like Peter and humbly submit to God and rejoice that we have the privilege and honor to serve Him. Do you view your service to Jesus as a high honor? Is it something you have to do or something you get to do? Peter was sitting in a jail cell awaiting his death, and he still felt it was an honor to be Simeon Peter, a servant of Jesus Christ.

We can share the title of “servant” with Peter. We all can be servants, but we cannot all be apostles. Peter is an apostle of Jesus Christ. He had unique authority given to him by God. He was not writing mere opinions or ideas; he was commissioned by Jesus with a specific message. He will be writing against false teachers and challenging the church to hold on to sound teaching, the faith once and for all delivered by the apostles. He writes 2 Peter 3, 

[1] This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, [2] that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles  2 Peter 3:1–2

And what will Peter be reminding us of? The judgment that is coming. The false teachers of Peter’s day were filled with greed and sensuality and denied the coming of the Lord Jesus. Peter wrote this letter to remind the church to continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, for He IS coming. Peter is not writing as a mere servant but as an authoritative Apostle. 

Why should we listen to Peter? We should listen because he was an apostle. We should listen because we can relate to Peter as both a human being and fellow sufferer and servant. We should listen because he wrote the letter to us. 

The People

Peter wrote the letter as an apostle and a servant. He was not trying to elevate his place but to encourage the saints the unique place they shared with him. He writes, “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” These opening words are more than a mere customary greeting. They are packed with theology. He begins with the phrase, “to those who have obtained a faith.” The word “obtained” used here is a rare word found only here and one other time in the New Testament. It is used also in John 19:24 when the soldiers were casting lots for Jesus’ clothes. It means “to receive by lot or divine will”. As Peter received faith and knowledge of God, not by flesh and blood but from the divine will of the Father, so have we. As one scholar notes, 

The statement is remarkable indeed. Faith, which is necessary for salvation, is a divine gift. It cannot be produced by the mere will of human beings but must be received from God himself. He appointed, as it were by lot, that Peter’s readers would receive such faith.

We have received faith, not by our own efforts but by the righteousness of God. This faith is in equal standing with Peter for even he declares that it was given to him. Some scholars think Peter is addressing Gentiles here because they have received a similar faith to the Jews. Now, this is possible because much of Peter’s ministry is to drive home the point that Jews and Gentiles received the faith in the same way as we read in his dream and interaction with Cornelius in Acts 10-11. Jews and Gentiles have been grafted together in the same faith. The Kingdom of God has no second class citizens. Yet, I do not think Peter is referring merely to Gentiles here. I believe Peter is saying that his audience, probably Jews and Gentiles, have obtained a faith of equal standing with the apostles. 

Faith is the same for all–Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, slave or free, apostle or non-apostle. All have the same faith. In this verse, “faith” probably does not mean mere belief but is a reference to the good news of the gospel. Peter is saying all Christians have the same beliefs or body of faith. They all believe the same things about God. This will be important as Peter devotes a large section of his letter to warning the church about those who teach beliefs that are contrary to the Word of God. 

Peter then introduces a key theme in the letter; it is really a key theme in the entire Bible. He writes how we obtained this faith, it is “by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” One of the key questions the Bible addresses is, “How can people be made right with God?” The Bible has to ask that question because we are not right with God. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Paul writes in Romans 3

[9] What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, [10] as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;

[11] no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

[12] All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.”  Romans 3:9–12

We know this by experience, don’t we? We know our sinful thoughts and attitudes. We know our anger and our jealousy. We know our sinful comparisons or our inability to be content with what we have. We all know sin. We know we are not right with God or we know that “we lack righteousness.” And if we do not have righteousness, then we cannot be right with God. 

This is the key question the Bible seeks to answer. How can we be made right with God? The answer is found at the end of 2 Peter 1:1, “by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” First, notice that the word “our” modifies both God and Savior. This is one of the clearest verses in the New Testament that claims Jesus Christ is God. We need righteousness to be saved from our unrighteousness, and that only happens through the righteousness of Jesus Christ who is God incarnate. We are made righteous by a divine exchange. Consider the following verses. 

[18] For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. 1 Peter 3:18

[21] For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 

And this excellent paragraph in Romans 3,

[21] But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—[22] the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, [25] whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. [26] It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:21–26

All these passages are communicating the same thing:  we are made right with God through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jesus was righteous. He never sinned. He was perfect, and He died on the cross to pay for the sins of all who would turn to Him in faith. He died to save sinners by exchanging their unrighteousness for His righteousness. This is the doctrine of imputation. God imputes the righteousness of God to sinners, and God imputes the sin of the world to Jesus on the cross. Jesus takes the penalty of our sin to the grave. Then, because of His righteousness, God raises him from the dead. This resurrection proves that Jesus is both God and Savior. 

Friend, if you have never repented of your sins and trusted in Christ, do it today. We are born in sin and are not right with God. But we have been given the right to become children of God, to obtain righteousness through Jesus Christ. He died so we could be forgiven. He was raised so we could live forever. If you are not right with God, repent today. 

Christian, if you are not living right with God, you too must repent. As Christians, we have been declared righteous, but we are also called to live in righteousness. This is the goal of Peter’s letter.

The Pursuit

Peter wants the church to live in righteousness and holiness. He wants the church to persevere in Christ and live where righteousness dwells in the new heavens and the new earth. 

[2] May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:2

I love these opening words. Peter is saying may grace, unmerited favor, and peace, right-standing with God, be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. The way to grace and peace is through knowing Jesus Christ. It is not merely knowing about Jesus; it is knowing Him personally. Peter’s aim in the letter is to give the church a proper understanding of what is to come and to implore them to live differently because of it. 

To know God does not merely mean to know theology. It does mean to know theology but not only theology. One can know all the theology in the world and still be a cold, loveless person. One can know all the theology in the world, and still be bitter, arrogant, and immoral. One can know all the theology in the world and still not know God. To know God is to have a relationship with God. To know someone biblically is to be intimately related with them. (“To know” often refers to knowing someone physically, as in a sexual relationship). Peter wanted the church to know Jesus Christ as he had known Him. His pursuit to know Christ and fulfill his role as a servant and apostle to strengthen others in the knowledge of God was at the heart of his calling to follow Christ. 

Peter was concerned for the church. He knew he was not going to be around much longer, and he wanted to make sure that, after his death, the church would continue to grow in the knowledge of Jesus and not fall away. He writes, 

[10] Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. [11] For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

[12] Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. [13] I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, [14] since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. [15] And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.  
2 Peter 1:10–15

We will continue to see these themes as we study this letter, but I want to swing my hammer a few more times at this nail before we close. We are shaped by our experiences. Tim Keller was shaped by his time in NYC, and the Apostle Peter was shaped by the tenderness of the Lord Jesus after their last passover meal together. Jesus looked at Peter and said,

[31] “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, [32] but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” [33] Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” [34] Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”  Luke 22:31–34

Peter was ready to go to prison and die for Jesus. But even though his spirit was willing, his flesh was weak. A few hours later, Peter would deny Jesus three different times. Luke records the last denial, 

[60] But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. [61] And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” [62] And he went out and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:60–62

Peter is sitting in a prison cell and remembers the words of the Lord Jesus. He remembers his bitter denial and his bitter tears. But he also remembers grace. “And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” The same word for “strengthen” that is used in Luke appears three times in 2 Peter. Peter wants to finish the charge given by his God and Savior so many years ago. He wants to make sure the church does not fall away. He wants them to hold fast to the Word of God and resist the false teaching of wicked men. He wants them to grow in the grace and knowledge of God. 

How do you grow in knowledge? We will unpack this in the months ahead, but simply put, we grow in knowledge by God’s Word, prayer, and fellowship. If you want to grow in knowledge, read your Bibles. Meditate on the Word. Memorize Scripture. Read long passages. Go deep in short ones. Give your life to know God’s Word. Pray to God. Lay your hearts bare before him. You will never regret praying. He is eager to hear your requests. God has given us the church to strengthen our faith. He desires that we live in community. Spend time with one another. Eat together. Study the Word together. If you don’t understand something, ask questions of mature saints. Love the church because she is precious in God’s sight; so precious that He sent His only son to purchase her with His own blood. Grow in knowledge by knowing God’s Word, by praying, and by committing yourselves to the church. 

Peter knew God. He knew sin, and he knew Jesus as his Savior. We can listen to Peter, not because he was perfect but because he was forgiven. Beloved, how precious is it to know that even though we fall, we can turn again to God and be forgiven. Some of you here today may need this reminder. Even though you have fallen like Peter, you can be restored. You must weep over your sins and turn to God in faith. Then you will be richly welcomed into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Peter was a servant called by grace. He was an apostle chosen by grace. He was a sinner saved by grace. He was a herald of grace by grace. Even today, he continues to speak grace to us so that we may know God, having obtained a faith like his by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Beloved, my hope is that grace and peace would be multiplied to you through the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. I pray you would know Jesus Christ, be forgiven, and live righteous lives. I pray that you would not fall away but that you would grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ our Savior.