Peter’s Journey From Faith in Jesus To the Faith of Jesus: Promises – Peter in the Upper Room

Peter loved Jesus, trusted Jesus, and, in his own way, had faith in Jesus. But Peter’s faith was not sufficient to walk with Jesus through the difficult time of crucifixion, when Jesus needed him most. Why? I think it is because even though Peter loved Jesus, trusted Jesus, and depended upon Jesus for his value, it was still a ‘faith’ lived in Peter’s own power, emotion, and will. As Jesus told Peter, “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men”, also known as things of the flesh or self.

 This kind of faith is not the faith that Jesus died on the cross to give us. The faith that Jesus died on the cross to give us is not just faith in Jesus. He died so that we might have the faith of Jesus. Certainly, I cannot have the faith of Jesus without first having faith in Jesus. But, the faith of Jesus is true faith, a faith that will never fail. As we will see in this post, the faith of Peter, which is faith in Jesus but rooted in Peter’s power and will – his outward man – will crumble when Jesus is led away to be crucified. But, when the rooster crows, his outward man is broken so that unimaginable blessings – Jesus in us, the hope of glory – can pour into Peter’s heart.

In the last two posts I discussed the exchange between Peter and Jesus at Caesarea Philippi. Peter believed that he knew what was best for Jesus. And it is not death on a cross. Peter operated out of his friendship for and loyalty to Jesus. But he also operated impulsively and willfully, out of his flesh and humanity, in false faith when he tells Jesus, “This will never happen. You will not die” Peter is under the control of his outward man. Jesus’ rebuke, “Get behind me satan. You are a stumbling block to Me. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” must have shocked Peter.

Life is about to get worse. In a few weeks Jesus will be arrested at night, and less than a day later crucified.

That night began with Jesus eating a final meal with His disciples in the Upper Room. There, Jesus washed the disciples feet. Peter, still seeing everything through the eyes of his false faith, objected. “Lord, you shall never wash my feet.” This is Peter, once again, rebuking Jesus. And just like at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus tells Peter the truth, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” After the foot-washing Jesus tells the disciples He is going away, and where He is going they cannot come. Then Jesus gives the disciples a new command, “A new command I give you: love one another, as I have loved you” (John 13: 34 NIV). As if he hadn’t heard the ‘new command’ and missed the point, Peter jumps in and asks Jesus, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you (John 13: 37 NIV).

Matthew provides more detail: “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will”, and “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you” (Matthew 26: 33 – 35 NIV).

Peter is still putting himself (“I”) at the center and is relying on the power of self – his will – to love and follow Jesus. To this bold statement Jesus replies, “Really, Peter? No, you will disown (deny) me three times before the rooster crows!”

Peter loved Jesus. He knew Jesus was the Messiah. Peter trusted and depended upon Jesus. But Peter is trying to sustain his love and trust in his own will, personality, power, and though his own emotions. Peter, it seems, is seeing Jesus through the lens of his life in the kingdom of the world. Also, I still think that Peter’s relationship with Jesus is too much about Peter’s value and worth – after all, he is one of the main disciples serving and following Jesus. That has to be a big deal for Peter.

Peter is living in relationship with Jesus through Peter’s outward man, which must be broken for Peter to receive the gift that Jesus will give him on the day Jesus is resurrected.

We know, at least intellectually, that salvation comes by grace, through faith, and not by our works. I can never make myself worthy of Jesus’ love in my own power. Love for Jesus, trust in Jesus, and total dependency on Him are generally considered to be the marks of true faith. But if I try to do these things in my own ability, will, emotion, and in my own power, they will never be good enough; they are ‘works’. I think that these ‘works’, which seem good to us, betrayed Peter in the courtyard of the High Priest the night Jesus was captured. Peter found out that his faith – which flowed out of a heart that loved and trusted Jesus, but in Peter’s own power – and which was the basis for Peter’s vow to follow Jesus to prison, to die with Jesus, and to never deny Jesus – was a false faith. It was a faith that crumbled when Peter needed it the most. Peter did not know until that evening, although Jesus did, that Peter was still enslaved by his outward man – still living under the influence of his flesh and therefore even susceptible to demonic manipulation.

Peter was about to learn – and we learn from Peter – that even our passion and our love for Jesus, and our trust in Jesus – if they rise up out of our outward man, our soul, our flesh, our life in the kingdom of the world – are not enough. We need more – we need Christ in us – which is His gift to the man or woman living in the Kingdom of God. The indwelling Christ can do for us what we can never do for ourselves, including loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. That is true faith; not just faith in Jesus, but the faith of Jesus.

Jesus came to set captives free, so He gave Peter a perfect gift – the denials. Denying Jesus 3 times was what Peter needed to be broken, to be set free from his outward man, his pride, his false sense of value found in himself. Peter had to go through the fire, and this would be Peter’s fire. In a real sense, that courtyard was where Peter’s outward man was crucified.

John 14 begins with these words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in Me” (John 14: 1 NIV). Following directly on the words Jesus spoke to Peter at the end of John 13, it is as if Jesus is saying to Peter, “Yes, I know that my words hurt. But trust me. I must die so that the Holy Spirit can come. You must die to yourself so that you can receive the Holy Spirit and become the man of true faith I need to carry on My mission.” Jesus knows that Peter’s outward man is about to be broken so that the Holy Spirit, that Jesus will give Peter, can enter into Peter’s heart. Denying Jesus will be his cross. Peter’s self-life will be crucified in the early morning darkness in that courtyard.

Jesus does that for us also. He puts us through our own fire in a way that each of us needs for our outward man to be broken, if we let Him. It is a measure of His love for us, just as it was for Peter. And Jesus is in the fire with us. He is a consuming fire, burning up our ‘self’, so that He can reign in that place in our heart where ‘self’ ruled and reigned before the fire. It is this consuming fire that burns away pride and allows the spirit of humility to enter our hearts. And this is the only way, the way of Jesus, into the Kingdom of God.

I believe that these words of Watchman Nee are true:

“The breaking of the outward man is the very first lesson for everyone who wants to serve God. He who is truly used by God is one whose outward thought and outward emotions do not act independently of his spirit. If we have not learned this lesson, we shall find that our effectiveness is greatly impaired. May God bring us to a place and show us the pathway where the outward man is completely broken.” (Nee, The Release of the Spirit, pg. 27).

Asking for more of the faith of Jesus,

John