Three Questions
Peter has often been maligned and accused of being of dubious character.
Matthew 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
On three occasions he had the right answer. Three times he got it right.
Let us consider the matter.
John 6
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
1. The first question
Here is the first question asked by Jesus that Peter answers correctly.
John 6
67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Jesus had been preaching a somewhat controversial message to a not very receptive crowd.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Here he speaks of a new level of relationship. One of mutual indwelling with him.
Not your usual religious platitude and pablum consisting of dos and don’ts and rituals and ceremonies trying to appease God.
Being saved means you and Jesus are intricately united.
He would offer his body and his blood in the redemptive event and a true believer has to identify with his sacrifice on the cross. And accept it as the only way to God. Later he would give us the communion ordinance that would remind us of this intimacy. This is my flesh, eat it. This is my blood, drink it.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
It will be with the believer as it is with Jesus and the Father.
We shall have Jesus life, eternal life.
And then the conclusion of the matter is that Jesus says:
58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
That manna was representative of me, Jesus says. I am the true bread from heaven. They ate manna in the wilderness and died. If you partake of Jesus you shall live forever.
There is eternal life in him. He is God.
And then he throws in the ascension.
61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was be-fore?
Declares his Godness again.
The response of many hearers of this revelation was:
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
That is a good question today.
Many walk no more with him. They have strayed. They were unwilling to continue in the steps of the master. They grew weary, They fainted. They stayed away so long that they lost interest and desire for the things of God, the word, the church, His presence. It was easier to just go the other way. And that they have done. We know many of this kind.
Jesus asks you today, Will ye also go away?
Peter had the right answer.
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
The words that offended others had a distinct effect on Peter.
69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
Have you come to that conclusion yet? That is the right answer.
2. The second question is as follows. It is two-fold.
Matthew 16
13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
There are a lot of opinions concerning Christ today,
It is a personal matter. But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Again that is the right answer Peter. It is akin to his response in John 6.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
May you have that revelation today,
It is the foundational truth of the church.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Believing it has its perks too.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
This was not just for Peter in spite of some religious dogma.
It is for all who have believed and are a member of his church.
3. And now we come to the third question.
John 21
14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou know-est that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
This is a redemptive event here.
Peter in spite of his previous right answers has had a major setback. He has denied he knew Jesus three times on the crucifixion eve.
Mark 14:66 And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest:
67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth.
68 But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.
69 And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them.
70 And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.
71 But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.
72 And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.
But there is redemption. This is the first major restorative act of Jesus after the cross. This is what the cross is about.
Our worst failures can be turned around. There is forgiveness in Jesus.
The resurrection has confirmed Peter’s earlier confessions.
Jesus indeed is the Christ the Son of the living God.
And now Peter is about to be restored and commissioned to ministry.
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
And once again Peter has the right answer.
Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.
The third time he responds: And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; You know all things. Who knows all things but God? So Peter has come around full circle and declares again the deity of Jesus. You are God.
And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.
Do you love him today?
He has a purpose for your life. For Peter, it was feed my sheep.
Get my church established.
What might be his purpose for you?
Tell him you love him today. And start over. Begin anew to walk with Jesus.
Amen. -PJF-
And now a word from our Pastor…
God Who Will
40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. Mark 1:40-42
As believers, we have an understanding that God can do anything. We know that he can heal. We know that he can save. We know that he can deliver. We know that he can provide. We know that he can answer our prayers. We have seen God move in our lives and in the lives of others. That confirms our belief, our position that God can do those things.
Perhaps you’ve heard this conversation before:
Child: Can God do everything?
Adult: Yes.
Child: Can God make a rock so heavy that He couldn’t lift it?
Adult: Um… no.
Child: Then God can’t do everything.
I know that seems silly, however there are so many believers that ponder something like that all the time.
God can do anything, but I don’t know if he can do this thing. I know he can save anyone, I just don’t know if he can save that one. Perhaps this thing or that one is the rock that is so heavy that God himself cannot lift.
The true answer to that line of questioning is No, God cannot do everything. There are things outside of God’s character that he will not do because He simply cannot.
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Exodus 15:26 says “I am the Lord that healeth thee.”
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
I Corinthians 14:33, says that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace…
God cannot do anything against his character. He cannot do anything against his Word. If he said it, he is obligated to fulfill it. He is not a liar.
The passage in Mark makes it clear that Jesus had the ability to heal and he made the declaration “I will” and then he healed the man with leprosy.
The Lord showed me that he is “God who will.”
God declared himself as “I AM.”
God never labeled himself as “a God who can.”
Jehovah Jireh- God will provide, not God can provide. Jehovah Rapha- God that heals, not God that can heal. Jehovah Shalom- the Lord is peace, not the Lord can give peace.
We, as believers, have to change our prayers and our thought patterns from “God, I know you can” to “God, I know you will.” -SAF-
I was glad when they said unto me,
Let us go into the house of the Lord.
Psalm 122:1
"A Church by the Highway"
Photo by Emily Flores ©2023 All rights reserved.
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Purpose! Ministries Inc.
16605 Sunrise Lakes Blvd Suite 6
Clermont, FL 34714
Sundays 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
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Pastors PJ and Shirley Flores
Purpose! Ministries
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