3/26/61

Scripture: Mark 8: 27-33; 11: 1-9.

Once again we come to that exciting day which we call “Palm Sunday.” I think that we miss its point if we allow our thoughts to focus on palm trees or even on palm branches. For they were mere incidents in a stirring occurrence. We might better call this day “the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem.” The story of his entry presents a picturesque and powerful symbol of something that needs a symbol --- the kingship of Jesus. The Christian church has rightly taken the entry into Jerusalem as a symbol of the coming into the world of one whose right it is to rule.

As a king, Jesus was vastly different from the usual kind of ruler. He was a meek king, riding into the city on a donkey. Some people have said, “O well, he had to come into the city that way in order to fulfill a prediction or prophecy.” That may be open to debate among the scholars and theologians to whom I am content to leave it. Nonetheless, his riding into Jerusalem on a donkey marks Jesus as a meek king; not a proud or arrogant ruler.

King Saul was a mighty man! King Solomon was man of superior wisdom! But Jesus came in common humility, yet full of confidence. So he entered into Jerusalem! And his disciples doubtless came in with him. They had made a great effort to be loyal, from the time that he had “set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem.” They may have had a hard time understanding his determination. But they came with him. Two of them had been sent ahead to Bethphage to get the beast on which he was to ride into the city. When the bystanders saw the little procession, recognized the possible importance of it, began to shout and sing and strew their coats and branches on the way, it seems quite possible that Jesus’ own disciples may have joined in the shouting and elation of the moment.

There was James and John; there was Matthew and Andrew; and there was Peter with the others. During several of these Lenten Sundays, we have been considering these various men who followed Jesus as his special disciples. Today let us think especially of Peter. In every list of the twelve apostles, it is Peter who is named first. “Peter” is the name by which we know him and think of him. But he is known by at least 3 other names as well.

1) When he first appears on the scene, he is called Simon. Probably that was his own given name. Matthew refers to him as “Simon who was called Peter.” Apparently he is called Simon at times which might be referred to as “domestic occasions.” Mark and Luke speak of Simon’s house and Simon’s mother. And he is also called Simon in the great and intimate moments of his relationship with Jesus. Jesus calls him Simon when he tells him to launch out into the deep.

2) Twice, the New Testament calls Peter by the name Simeon. Apparently Simeon is the original Hebrew form of the name, while Simon is a gentile modification. It is perhaps natural that he should have been called Simeon in the church at Jerusalem.

3) The other name for Simon is, of course, Peter. It was Jesus himself who gave him the name Peter. When Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus, Jesus said: “Thou art Simon the son of Jona; thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone.” Cephas and Peter mean a rock. In the new name which he gave to him Jesus put all his hopes and purposes for this man’s future. The gospel writers frequently put his old and his new names together, and call him Simon Peter.

We have already noted the Peter and Cephas are the same name. Peter is the Greek, and Cephas is the Aramaic for rock. And New Testament people generally were acquainted with both the Greek and the Aramaic tongues.

We know more about this man, Peter, than about any of the other of the 12 disciples. For one thing, some scholars believe that Mark’s gospel is the preaching material of Peter. And the treatment of Peter in that gospel is full and frank. Mark’s gospel tells of Peter’s mistakes, of the occasional rebukes he received from the Master, of Peter’s own terrible disloyalty and denial. Nothing is concealed, for Peter himself wished to show the lengths to which the forgiving love and redeeming grace of Christ could go, and did go, for him.

Peter was a fisherman, and it was from the fishing boats that Jesus called him. Peter was a married man. His home was in Capernaum. Jesus may have made Peter’s house his headquarters while there, for it was there that Jesus went when he came out of the synagogue, and it was there that he healed Peter’s wife’s mother.

Peter was a Galilean. And the typical Galilean was chivalrous, courageous, impulsive, quick-tempered, emotional, loyal, adventure-loving. If that be a fair description, then Peter was typically Galilean. It was not long before Peter had a leading place among the 12. Probably one reason why he is first-named in every list of the apostles is that he was, in a sense, chief among them. Within the 12, there emerged an inner circle of 3 who were especially close to Jesus --- Peter, James, and John. They were with Jesus at the raising of Jarious’ daughter, on the Mount of Transfiguration, in the Garden of Gethsemane. And Luke writes that it was Peter and John who were sent ahead to prepare the Upper room for the last Passover in Jerusalem.

It is Peter who, in the Gospel records, stands out as the spokesman for the 12. (1) He was the one to ask the meaning of a difficult saying. (2) It was he who asked how often he must forgive; (3) he was the one who wanted to know what reward there is for those who leave all to follow Jesus. (4) He asked the meaning of the withered fig tree; (5) the meaning of Jesus’ statements about the approaching end. (6) It was Peter who answered, when Jesus asked who had touched him in a crowd. (7) When certain Jews wanted to know if Jesus had paid his taxes, they asked Peter. (8) It was Peter who asked questions of the risen Christ.

As we study the life of Peter in the New Testament, we can pick out certain things about it. (1) There was a great discovery. The gospel of John tells how, when Jesus had fed the 5000, there was a strong movement to make him king, and that he refused to have anything to do with it. The result was that many turned away from him in disappointment and ceased to follow him. Jesus asked his chosen few if they were going to desert him, too. Thereupon Peter made his great declaration and his great discovery: “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [John 6: 68-69].

As Jesus found his mortal time drawing to a close, there appears a more vivid and dramatic incident. With the opposition forces closing in upon him, it was essential to know if there was anyone who even dimly realized who he was. He took his disciples away to the North in Caesarea Philippi for a time of rest and intimate fellowship and teaching. Then he put to them the question: “What are men saying about me?” They told him that some said he was John the Baptist; some that he was Elijah; some that he was Jeremiah; some that he was surely one of the prophets. It may have been great, but it was not great enough. So Jesus put the question directly to them -- “Who do you say that I am?” It was Peter who answered: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [Mark 8: 27-29]. Even if nothing else should be said of Peter, he remains as the man first to discover who Jesus of Nazareth was.

(2) Then there followed a great promise. For it was then that Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” [Matthew 16: 18]. The meaning of that promise is quite simple. Peter was the first to discover who Jesus was; to make the great confession which is essentially the confession of every Christian, he was quite truly the first member of Christ’s church here upon earth. In that sense he was the foundation stone of the church. Every Christian is a stone in the edifice of the church of Christ, and Peter was the first; the foundation stone of all.

(3) Then there came a great rebuke. Peter had hardly made his great confession when Jesus foretold his own coming death. Peter was shocked and horrified. He protested that such a thing must never be. Mark says that Peter took Jesus and began to rebuke him. But Jesus, looking on his disciples, rebuked Peter. And he said, “Get behind me Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men.” [Mark 8: 33].

Perhaps so shattering a rebuke calls for an explanation. As Jesus foretold his imminent death, Peter’s horrified reaction comes from two causes: (1) Peter loved Jesus with all of his passionate, enthusiastic heart. It was unbearable for him to think that Jesus was soon to die on a cross. (2) Peter’s horror came also from the fact that this announcement by Jesus ran counter to all that Peter had ever known, or been taught, or believed about the Son of Man. For this title “Son of Man” was not just invented by Jesus. It had appeared before, in some of the sacred writings. All his life, Peter had thought of the Son of Man as a celestial figure, clad in power and glory, dealing out death and destruction to his enemies, arousing kings from their couches or putting down arrogant rulers from their thrones. Now Jesus was correcting this idea of the Son of Man -- with a cross! And he reacted violently against the idea.

Of course Jesus used very strong words to Peter when he said, “get thee behind me Satan.” But the reason for the sternness in Jesus’ rebuke was that he had already fought out the very same temptations in the wilderness after his baptism, that now confronted him again in Peter’s position. Give them bread - material substance; dazzle them with a leap from the temple pinnacle; “fall down and worship me” in the world’s ways. Jesus had deliberately rejected this way of the world for the way of the cross. And here Peter was confronting him again with practically the same temptation! That may be the reason why Jesus spoke so strongly, and so sternly, as to say: “Get behind me, Satan.”

There was ahead, for Peter, an even blacker time. (4) For there was to come the night of his great denial. In an upper room Peter was to affirm his great loyalty to Jesus. In the garden of Gethsemane it would be he who would whip out a sword and start slashing in an effort to stop Jesus’ arrest. He was willing to sell his life dearly for his Master. But in a courtyard of the high priest’s home, Peter’s Galilean accent gave him away. He was challenged with the charge that he had associated with Jesus, and he hotly denied that he had ever known him.

It is easy to condemn Peter; to censure him without mercy for his denial. But certain things must be noted. The fact is that he was there when the rest had melted, terrified, into the night. His failure was what could have happened only to a brave man. None of the others was even in a position to fail in that way! Remember also that it is Peter’s own source that reveals this story -- the gospel of Mark. If Peter felt the blackness of shame over his denial, he nonetheless told of it. It must have been in his “preaching material” so that in telling of how miserably he failed he could show how completely Christ had forgiven.

(5) The New Testament story of Peter goes on to the great commission. It is clear from the gospels that Peter rejoined the other disciples, even though they were to know how he had denied their Lord. It was Peter who was first to enter the tomb of Christ and find it surely empty. Peter received a special mention and message from the risen Lord and he must have found “the forgiveness beyond reason which can meet the sin beyond excuse.” Then there came that day beside the lake when Peter was given the great commission to be the shepherd of the flock of Christ .... “Feed my sheep.” [John 21: 15-17].

But not even this ends the story of Peter. For there was still to come (6) a great realization. We may see, in the early chapters of Acts, that Peter became the leader of the church. It was he who made the first move to choose another apostle to replace the traitor, Judas Iscariot. It was Peter who was spokesman for the church on the day of Pentecost, and who preached the first Christian sermon with such power on that day. It was Peter who, together with John, healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. It was Peter who defied the Sanhedrin when he and John were arrested for preaching Christ.

It was a great step when Peter took the gentile, Cornelius, into the fellowship of the Christian Church. This was difficult for all Jewish Christians, for they so despised gentiles, were so deeply convinced that only Jews were God’s chosen people, that they could hardly dream that God’s offer of grace was for gentiles as well. But Peter realized it, and took the steps that brought people like you and me into the possibility of that saving grace.

The New Testament has no more information about Peter. But there are many traditions about him --- how he went to Antioch and became a leader there (some say a bishop for 7 years); how he visited Asia Minor and carried on work there; how he went to Rome, preached there, set some of the people straight, fell under persecution and was finally himself crucified.

Peter may have had serious faults. But he had the saving grace of a loving heart. And when he fell or failed, he always recovered his courage and integrity to try again and try harder. As in the courtyard of the high priest -- one look from Jesus could always bring Peter back to the way of honor and fidelity

So may we, too, pray in the words of a hymn:

When thou seest me waver, with a look recall.

And let not our rejoicing on this day of Christ’s triumphal entry be marred by any later denial of the king of kings.

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Delivered in Wisconsin Rapids, March 26, 1961.