Hope For The Imperfect
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:17-18)
What stands out to me about today’s key passage is that because Peter knew who Jesus was, Jesus revealed something to Peter. Jesus was interested and invested in Peter coming into a greater awareness of himself. He wanted Peter to know that he was more than a fisherman, he was more than a day worker, he was more than laborer. He was a person of promise and purpose. He was more than a pupil, he was designed for and designed with destiny in mind.
Peter’s name in Greek means “rock.” Jesus said to the rock that the Church was founded upon him and his affirmation. The power of that fact is that Peter was not a perfect person. Remember now that the Jesus movement emerged in a religious context in which people pursued moral perfection. Righteousness, according to the law, was based upon whether a person followed all 613 laws, commands, statutes, and ordinances in the Old Testament. According to James 2:10, failure to keep the law in one point nullified the whole thing.
So here comes Peter, who denied Jesus 3 times, got angry with a soldier and cut off his ear, and lost faith while walking to Jesus on the water; and yet Jesus, the Omniscient One— knowing all things, knowing that Peter would do all the things that he did—said that the Church was built upon that person, upon that rock, upon Peter.
This suggests that a powerful church is not a perfect church, nor is a powerful church a church filled with perfect people, but a powerful church is a church composed of people who live their imperfect lives standing on the perfect truth of who Jesus is. It is a truth that doesn’t discard people for who they are, the things they’ve done, or the mistakes they’ve made. It is a truth that sees the potential in people without judging them on the basis of their past.
If we are to be a Church of power, we must stand on that same truth. People shouldn’t be judged, rejected, and cast aside for who they are or what they have done; because God could use Peter, He can do the same for you and for me.
What stands out to me about today’s key passage is that because Peter knew who Jesus was, Jesus revealed something to Peter. Jesus was interested and invested in Peter coming into a greater awareness of himself. He wanted Peter to know that he was more than a fisherman, he was more than a day worker, he was more than laborer. He was a person of promise and purpose. He was more than a pupil, he was designed for and designed with destiny in mind.
Peter’s name in Greek means “rock.” Jesus said to the rock that the Church was founded upon him and his affirmation. The power of that fact is that Peter was not a perfect person. Remember now that the Jesus movement emerged in a religious context in which people pursued moral perfection. Righteousness, according to the law, was based upon whether a person followed all 613 laws, commands, statutes, and ordinances in the Old Testament. According to James 2:10, failure to keep the law in one point nullified the whole thing.
So here comes Peter, who denied Jesus 3 times, got angry with a soldier and cut off his ear, and lost faith while walking to Jesus on the water; and yet Jesus, the Omniscient One— knowing all things, knowing that Peter would do all the things that he did—said that the Church was built upon that person, upon that rock, upon Peter.
This suggests that a powerful church is not a perfect church, nor is a powerful church a church filled with perfect people, but a powerful church is a church composed of people who live their imperfect lives standing on the perfect truth of who Jesus is. It is a truth that doesn’t discard people for who they are, the things they’ve done, or the mistakes they’ve made. It is a truth that sees the potential in people without judging them on the basis of their past.
If we are to be a Church of power, we must stand on that same truth. People shouldn’t be judged, rejected, and cast aside for who they are or what they have done; because God could use Peter, He can do the same for you and for me.
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