Simon Peter; what a lad!

Simon Peter has often been one of those characters in the Bible I've had a dig at. He's the mastermind behind such hilarious concepts as:

'Hey Jesus, you're glowing and there are two dead prophets with you; should I build you some tents?' [paraphrased from Mark 9, which is honestly one of my favourite passages in the Bible - not just for Peter being a muppet but generally as well]

There are a few other places where Peter made some more severe blunders than just saying something totally daft:

Moments after having one of the Bible's biggest moments, in which Jesus asks him "Who do you say that I am?" to which Simon Peter answers, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" [Matthew 16:13-19], Peter promises Jesus that he won't let Jesus be betrayed and die, to which Jesus famously replies "Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling-block to me . . . " [Matthew 16:21-23]

After Jesus had told the disciples that it was time for him to die, a band of men come to capture Jesus, and Peter, after three years of listening to Jesus' teachings, decides to cut a man's ear off. I think it's fair to assume that he was probably aiming for the guy's head and was just a bit lousy with a sword. [Luke 22:47-53]

Later the same night, after promising Jesus that he'll stay by his side, he tells three different people that he's never even met Jesus, to save his own skin. [John 13:31-38 & 18:15-18,25-17]

There are other examples, but I think you get the picture. Peter was far from perfect.

Of course, later on he becomes a major leader in the early Church, and does a good job of it too. Now, I thought this was something he gradually grew into as he went into the world after Jesus returned to the Father. But yesterday I read this in Acts 2:

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
²¹ And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Wow. Where did Peter learn that stuff and why haven't we seen him use that knowledge before?! I think the answer is in the context of that passage, and that is that it is Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has just made His first grand appearance, and the followers of Jesus are all getting whacked. Most are speaking in tongues, but I think Peter received the more appropriate gift of not being a muppet any more!

I guess the point I'm trying to get to (in a REALLY roundabout way) is that God uses all of us, regardless of intelligence, qualifications, and whether we are pragmatic theologians or just really keen muppets.

Thanks, Peter! You've set a perfect benchmark for us.

J.R.