Answering Authentically

“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.’”— Mark 14:3

Peter is the first person to call Jesus the Messiah. Yet, almost immediately afterward, Peter proceeds to say something very different with his actions, rebuking Jesus for saying that God’s plan will lead to His death. Later, at the Last Supper, Peter calls Jesus Lord and promises: “I am ready to go with you to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). Yet, within a few hours of making this promise, we see Peter vehemently denying that he even knows Jesus.

The good news is that this is not the end of Peter’s story. Peter will eventually be transformed by Jesus’s death and resurrection into a fully-devoted disciple—one who walks willingly toward beatings, imprisonment, and death—in faithfulness to his Lord. When the religious leaders who were responsible for Jesus’s crucifixion threaten Peter and John and demand that they quit preaching in the name of Jesus, Peter boldly responds: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to Him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

Peter’s actions have finally caught up with his words.

Reflection

Considering your previous response to Jesus’s question, “Who do you say that I am?” how well do your actions match up with your words?

Other WillowingWell Devotionals