John 6:68-70

68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 

69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”

“Jesus…..the Only ONE With the Words of LIFE”

As some of Jesus’ disciples turn away from Him and walk with Him no more, Jesus turns to the twelve, “Will you all leave too? Is following Me too hard for you as well?” At that point, Peter speaks up as He so often will in the future, and answers a question with a question. Peter says paraphrasing, “Lord, who else would we follow? There is no one else who speaks as You speak. You are the only one who offers eternal life. Why would we walk away from eternal life?” (vs. 68) Then, in verse 69, Peter spoke that beautiful confession…..that confession which, if we are Christians, we have all spoken on the day we were baptized. He confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. I love how Peter says, “We have come to believe and know…..” The words “believe” and “know” prove that Peter’s heart had been transformed. But there is something else that sticks out to me in Peter’s statement. Peter made himself the spokesperson for the other eleven men when He used the pronoun “we”. Peter had all the qualities of a leader in the making, and Jesus knew this. This is why Jesus changed his name from Simon to Peter, which means “rock” or “stone”. Peter would be a “rock” solid leader in the church one day. But Jesus knew that Peter had to be humbled. He had to be molded into a humble leader the way an elder in the church is supposed to be. In verse 70, Jesus let Peter know very quickly that He didn’t know the hearts of these other eleven men. Jesus let Peter know that He was the only one who truly knew the hearts of the men standing before Him. Jesus spoke of one of them being “a devil”. It is as if Jesus was saying, “Peter, you don’t know all of the hearts of these eleven men like you think you do…..but I do, and one of them has a heart of stone.” Peter was an impulsive person who sometimes jumped to conclusions, and sometimes tried to take over in situations where he shouldn’t. We saw Him do this at the transfiguration when He wanted to build the temples to Elijah, Moses and Christ. Before Peter could even get all the words out, God spoke out of a cloud and said, paraphrasing, “This is my Son whom I’m pleased with. Stop making all these big plans, Peter. Listen to Him, Peter!” (Matthew 17:1-9) We saw this again when Jesus predicted His own death, and Peter spoke up and said that he would not allow that to happen. Jesus actually called Peter “Satan”, and told him he was only concerned with worldly things. Peter was interfering with God’s plan by trying to stop the inevitable. (Matthew 16:21-23) Then again in the garden when Jesus was arrested, and Peter drew his sword, cutting off the ear of one of the Roman soldiers. Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?” (John 18:10-11) Of course, Peter meant well in all of these situations, but just because he meant well, didn’t make him right. So where am I going with this? Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Don’t we see this in the religious world today? For example, a person or a group of people decides to establish their own church with their own doctrines and practices. I mean…..they are still talking about Jesus in their assemblies, right? Don’t they mean well? I’m sure they do, but does it make them right? When we look at all the denominations in the world, that is exactly what has happened down through the ages. One day someone thought, “If we add musical instruments, people will enjoy the service more. We will get more people to show up.” Another person thought, “If we have special guests come and perform, maybe people will enjoy worship more.” Then someone in the Lord’s church thought, “Hey, I have an idea, let’s add an extra contemporary service for people who enjoy the accompaniment of instruments in the worship. We will still have the traditional acapella service for those who want it. We are still the Lord’s church.” No, you are not. That is man’s idea, not God’s. Back to Peter, “Hey, I have an idea, let’s build temples to Elijah, Moses, and Christ to honor them.” No Peter, that’s not what God wants. That is your idea…..not God’s. Do you see the connection?

I may be “reaching” with what I am getting out of these verses, but this is where my mind went. This is what I got out of these verses. I believe Jesus began Peter’s training in leadership and humility right here in these verses that we are writing today. Jesus began His lesson on humility with Peter by letting Him know that he didn’t know as much as he thought he did about the hearts of the other eleven men. Jesus said, paraphrasing, “You don’t know this, Peter, but I chose y’all. And one of you is a devil.” Lessons in humility would be ongoing for Peter. In Matthew 26:31-35, Jesus told His disciples that “all would stumble” on the night Jesus was arrested. Peter said that everyone else might stumble, but not Him. (Because Peter was so much stronger than the other disciples, right? Nope.) Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times. To which Peter said, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” Well….we know what happened. Do we sometimes think that we know more than God about a situation? Do we, like Peter, speak or act impulsively without knowing all the facts? Do we try to fix things without consulting God? Do we think that we can’t fail as Christians? Let’s all remember Paul’s words, “Take heed lest you fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). On that day, when Peter spoke for the twelve, and said “we” believe and know that you are the Son of God, I’m sure that He didn’t think that he would ever deny Christ. “I’ll die with you!”, he said. What about me? Can I say that I would die for the cause of Christ? Only Jesus knows if I truly would or not. And when Jesus said, “one of you is a devil”, I wonder, did Peter give that much thought at the time? Probably not, but I bet he remembered it later. Peter was an amazing Christian and leader in the first century church, only because Jesus reprimanded him, and put him in his place every time he tried to overstep. Peter’s personality was not a humble one in the beginning, but he learned to be humble. Some people are more naturally inclined to humility than others. Peter was not naturally humble, but his heart was soft and pliable for Jesus to mold and shape into the leader that He knew he could be, and that is all that matters. 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)