Kingdoms Falling; A Look at Peter
Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever.
2 Samuel 7:17
The Twelve are the closest followers of Jesus Christ while His human feet stir dust on this planet. Men whom Jesus calls, grants authority over demons (Matthew 10:2), appoints (Mark 3:16), designates as apostles (Luke 6:14) and chooses (John 6:70). They walk in step with Him, watch Him, listen to Him, eat with Him, learn from Him. They do life together as Jesus carries out His earthly ministry. The Twelve are a band of hooligans consisting of fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, brothers, tradesmen, tough guys from tough places, led by a misunderstood Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the One whose kingdom is destined to be without end, established over the house of Jacob forever (Luke 1:32-33). Only this kingdom is unlike any kingdom the disciples can imagine.
Simon, the one Jesus calls Peter, is the first.
Peter is the first disciple called by Jesus, the one to whom the Father reveals Jesus as the Christ (Matthew 16:16). He is declared as the rock upon whom Jesus will build His church. Peter is also one who sleeps through Jesus’s agony in Gethsemane, lands a stunning swipe down the ear of the high priest’s servant (John 18:26), and the disciple who denies Jesus, not once but three times after declaring amongst his brothers that he would never. Peter is the man who weeps bitterly as his eyes meet the eyes of his beloved Friend promptly after his last declaration of anonymity (Luke 22:61-62). And still, Peter lands as the one who lives to comprehend gracious restoration and appointed kingdom purpose.
In Matthew 16 Jesus articulates to the disciples that He will be killed in Jerusalem at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law. But He also reveals to them that He will be raised to life on the third day (Matthew 16:21). After which, Peter replies, “Never, LORD! This shall never happen to you!” and Jesus turns and replies to Peter, “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” (Matthew 16:22-23).
You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.
Peter’s expectations of the coming kingdom are misaligned with the kingdom that Christ is sent to establish. He is prepared for an earthly kingdom. A kingdom whose throne is flanked by designated seats on the left and the right. A political kingdom where the disciples are immediately ranked behind their King, held in esteem with all power and authority (Luke 22:24). Jesus’s words as they gather for their Passover feast affirm his perceived and pending kingdom, “You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in the kingdom and sit on the thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:28-30). He listens to his Rabbi, watches and learns, he knows the prophecy of old, and it aligns with the words of his Leader. Yet Peter’s expectations are set by his own understanding and his Leader is beyond his understanding.
With anticipation building, Jesus warns Peter about Satan. Jesus says to him, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31). You are going to fail Simon Peter. But your faith will not. When you turn back, strengthen your brothers.
Simon, Simon…you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.
Peter’s perception of Christ’s kingdom and his place in it are based on his thoughts, his strengths, and what he knows. After spending several years under the leadership of the ultimate king, Peter’s kingdom is still built on Peter. The designated order in his imagination, the conversations blowing up in his head, are still ordered by Peter. Peter’s kingdom has to fall in order for him to take his appointed place in Christ’s kingdom. Peter has to fall.
Simon, Simon…you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.
Peter’s King dies and with Him, Peter’s created kingdom. He faces three days of agony, regret, and shame, three days of over-thinking every word, every misstep, every misunderstanding, three days of heartbreak at losing his friend. Three days of recalling the look in Jesus’s eyes as Peter himself declares, “I do not know this man”. Satan uses every bit of what has taken place to sift Peter. Satan has everything to win if this Rock falls, Christ’s kingdom has everything to gain if he stands.
We know this story, that there are three days of waiting until the King is resurrected. We know the kingdom that is established through the death and resurrection of the King will stand forever. We know that Peter is restored lovingly by the resurrected Christ, that Christ commissions him to build the church, just as He said He would. We know that Christ and His kingdom are more than Peter could imagine. We see retrospectively, as Peter’s life is shared in the Holy Book, as the history of the church has unfolded. But Peter did not know how this would play. Peter is called to let his kingdom fall in the midst of unknown, in the midst of chaos. Peter is called to let his kingdom fall so his mind could rest on a better kingdom, a better plan, a better story. He is called to do this in faith, remembering, waiting, holding onto promises and prophecy.
You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.
God is currently whispering that statement in a somewhat shouting type of way, to me. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. Your kingdom must fall, you must fall, so your eyes can direct their way to Me and to My kingdom. Your idea of how this will play, is not My idea. You are missing My idea. You are missing My kingdom. I have brought you all this way, now stand firm in your faith in the midst of confusion, in the midst of chaos, in the midst of sifting. If you want to move into more than you can ask or imagine, your kingdom’s got to fall.
What is it that you have built your kingdom on?
- Yourself? It will not stand.
- Your name? It will not stand.
- Your position of authority? It will not stand.
- Your talent? It will not stand.
- Your plans? It will not stand.
- Your portfolio? It will not stand.
- Your political ideology? It will not stand.
- Your family? It will not stand.
- Anything other than Jesus Christ? It will not stand.
If you want to move into more than you can ask or imagine, your kingdom must fall.
This is a kingdom whose savior arrives not on a warhorse, but a donkey, not through triumph and conquest, but through death and resurrection. This kingdom is the only kingdom that will last.
Rachel Held Evans
