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diff --git a/36840-8.txt b/36840-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c5ee8a0 --- /dev/null +++ b/36840-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1894 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Making of an Apostle, by R. J. Campbell + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Making of an Apostle + +Author: R. J. Campbell + +Release Date: July 24, 2011 [EBook #36840] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAKING OF AN APOSTLE *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +Small Books on Great Subjects.--XI. + + + + +THE MAKING OF AN APOSTLE. + + +By R. J. Campbell. + + + + +LONDON: JAMES CLARKE & CO., + +13 & 14, Fleet Street. + +1898. + + + + +_First Edition, October, 1898._ + + + + +Contents. + + +The Making of an Apostle + +Simon Meets with Jesus + +The Call to Service + +Simon's First Commission as a Preacher + +Simon Acknowledges Jesus to be the Christ + +Simon Peter Witnesses the Transfiguration + +Peter Thinks his Sacrifice Complete + +The Scene in the Upper Room + +Gethsemane and After + +The Power of the Resurrection + +A New Commission + +The Prince of the Apostles + + + + +THE MAKING OF AN APOSTLE. + + +The New Testament supplies us with little in the way of biography. +Even from the Gospels themselves we do not gather much concerning the +actual life of our Lord apart from His public ministry. It has been +justly said that no person has ever influenced the history of the world +on such a scale as Jesus of Nazareth, yet it would be impossible to +write a chronological life of the Founder of Christianity. What is +true of the Master is true of His followers. We know very little about +the Apostles themselves; apart from their life-work of preaching +Christ, the details of their circumstances and fortunes are most +meagre. Yet it is worth while from such materials as we have to +attempt to trace the influence of Jesus Christ upon those through whom +He founded His Church upon earth. The choice of Apostles, for +instance, is sometimes regarded as having been made in a very +exceptional or semi-miraculous way, that Jesus summoned to His side +individuals upon whom His gaze fell for the first time, and that these +men forthwith became the instruments of His service. But from +comparison of the Gospel narratives we discover that very interesting +life-stories might be written concerning the men who stood closest to +Jesus during His earthly ministry. We find, as we might have expected, +that Jesus took in them an active personal interest, that their lives +were shaped under His influence as clay in the hands of the potter, +that He had a plan with each of them, and patiently worked at it, that +He applied to them a discriminating treatment and placed upon each his +own individual value. Is not the same process going forward even now? +Does not the risen Lord still continue to issue His summonses to the +souls of men? We feel that it were better to think so, and that He by +whom the very hairs of our head are all numbered still gives to His +servants in the world individual care, interest and attention, +fashioning heroes and saints out of the most unpromising materials, and +making apostles as in the days of old. + +As an example of Jesus's ways of dealing with His servants the life of +the Apostle Peter is most suggestive. In the first place, because he +was admitted to be the leader of the Apostles, or at any rate occupied +the position of greatest prominence amongst them, and also because we +are able by the comparative method to obtain from the Gospels +sufficient information for a history of his character, if not of his +career during the three most formative years of his life. + + + + +I. + +Simon Meets with Jesus. + +We are fortunate in possessing an account of the first occasion on +which Simon, the Galilean fisherman, met with Jesus of Nazareth. We +are told (John i. 35-42) that immediately after the Baptism of Jesus, +and, therefore, before His public ministry began, John the Baptist made +a semi-public declaration that He was the long-expected Holy One of +Israel. His words, as recorded in the Fourth Gospel, are: "I knew Him +not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, He said unto me, Upon +whomsover thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon Him, +the same is He that baptizeth with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen, +and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." With the +exception of the mother of Jesus, John the Baptist appears to have been +the only person, who, at this particular time, was perfectly convinced, +without a word from Jesus Himself, that the long-expected Messiah had +appeared. His declaration just quoted must have been made in the +presence of a certain number of His disciples, though with what effect +we are not told. + +In a sense the ministry of Jesus begins with the declaration of John, +and a certain importance must therefore attach to the historicity of +the account of it. If John recognised, as we are entitled to think he +did, that Jesus was the very person whose advent it had been his +mission to inaugurate, then Jesus's own work must in its initial stages +have been greatly simplified. There could be no possibility of rivalry +between the teachers, nor was there any necessity for Jesus to exactly +imitate the procedure of John, and to commence unaccredited the work of +evangelising an unresponsive people. John had prepared the minds of +his more spiritual and earnest followers for just such a revelation as +Jesus was about to give. We may say without irreverence that our Lord +appropriated the results of the preaching of John. The latter beheld +without jealousy or disquietude the departure of his best disciples to +the side of Jesus, and his own magnanimous statement in view of this +change has exalted him to a high pinnacle in the esteem of Christendom: +"He must increase, but I must decrease." His work was not necessarily +done when Jesus arrived upon the scene. The austere and noble-hearted +prophet was still able to continue doing his best to prepare the way, +to strengthen the hands of Jesus and to stir the hearts and awaken the +spiritual susceptibilities of his countrymen. What a majestic +self-devotion! + +It is not surprising that attempts should have been made at intervals +to discredit the Gospel account of the close connection between John +and Jesus in doctrine and discipleship. M. Rénan,[1] for instance, +regards the Messianic proclamation as unhistorical. He thinks the +story sufficiently refuted by the fact that John afterwards sent to +inquire whether Jesus really was the promised Messiah. (Matt. xi. 2 +_et seq._, Luke vii. 18 _et seq._) John's inquiry in this case was +certainly very peremptory. "Art Thou the Christ, or look we for +another?" But an easy explanation is to be found in the history of the +time that lies between the Messianic proclamation after the Baptism and +the date of his own arrest and imprisonment. John's idea of +Messiahship did not exactly accord with that of Jesus. He was +surprised to find that Jesus went on quietly preaching and healing, +saying little or nothing about His own personal claims, and assuming +neither state nor retinue. This course of action puzzled the fiery +prophet who had foretold One mightier than himself, a Messiah who +should impress the imagination of the world, and render to every man +according to his deeds. Jesus's procedure disappointed, and perhaps +irritated him, hence the abrupt inquiry, which seems to contradict his +assurance at the outset of our Lord's ministry. + +Supposing, therefore, that John really did proclaim Jesus as the +Messiah, we should expect the announcement to kindle a very great +interest in those who understood the Baptist best. From the first +chapter of the fourth Gospel we may infer that John had a school of +disciples to whom he gave esoteric teaching. These few intimates were, +no doubt, eagerly anticipating the near advent of Him who should +restore the kingdom to Israel. We do not know how many were included +in this group of enthusiasts, but it is more than probable that all, or +nearly all, of the names which formed the nucleus of Jesus's first band +of disciples were originally regarded as the followers of John the +Baptist. These were precisely the kind of men to whom Jesus would be +drawn and upon whom He could rely for the sort of exalted +disinterestedness which, in some degree at least, He required from them +at the very outset of their acquaintance with Himself. + +But to return to the narrative of that introduction: "On the following +day," the writer of the Fourth Gospel goes on to say: "John was +standing, and two of his disciples; and he looked upon Jesus as He +walked, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God! And the two disciples +heard him speak, and they followed Jesus." Doubtless they were +influenced to do so because of the announcement of the day before. The +disciples of John were all well aware of the fact that John was the +herald of a greater to come. John's statement in regard to Jesus, +therefore, which statement he now repeated to themselves alone, +stimulated their eager interest, and leaving their master, they +followed the Nazarene. The opportunity was an easy one; there was no +crowd, John was simply talking to his two followers; Jesus was alone. +The sequence of events was very simple; Jesus turned, saw them +following, and asked what they sought. Their reply was the counter +question, "Rabbi, where abidest Thou?" "Come," said He, "and ye shall +see." "They came, therefore," continues the story, "and saw where He +abode, and they stayed with Him that day; it was about the tenth hour." +Here we have a complete little narrative, full of beautiful and natural +suggestion. These two men evidently had a long conversation with +Jesus, perhaps far into the night, nor did they leave Him the next day, +save for a purpose to which we must presently refer. A sacred intimacy +was begun in those hours of association with the new teacher. + +"One of the two that heard Jesus speak and followed Him was Andrew, +Simon Peter's brother." Who was the other? Could it be the writer of +the Fourth Gospel himself, John the Divine? If so we have here the +record of the beginning of a holy friendship, which so long as the +Church of God lasts will be spoken of. John enjoyed the singular +privilege of being "the disciple whom Jesus loved," though he was not +the one chosen to lead the little band of adherents whom Jesus left +behind Him. To observe this first mention of John the Divine is not a +digression, for the life of the Apostle John is linked in a very +special way with that of the rugged fisherman whom Jesus called to the +foremost place. + +Why Andrew and his brother Simon were to be found in this particular +neighbourhood just now we do not know. Probably they were in Jerusalem +for a special purpose, and before returning to Galilee went to listen +to John the Baptist, among whose disciples they counted themselves to +be. Andrew was certainly such, though possibly his brother was not. +At any rate, Andrew's first thought before returning home was to bring +Simon to Jesus. The narrative continues: "He findeth first his own +brother Simon, and saith unto Him, We have found the Messiah. He +brought him unto Jesus." And as in the case of Nathaniel, recorded in +the same chapter, Jesus seems to have anticipated an introduction. The +Gospel says, "He looked upon him, and said, Thou art Simon, the son of +John, thou shalt be called _Rock_." No doubt Andrew had told Jesus the +name of his brother, and also that he was going to fetch him; possibly, +likewise, he had referred to his impulsive, wayward character, his +instability and irresolution. All the more surprising, therefore, must +have been the reception which Jesus gave to the newcomer: "Thou art +Simon (whom I have been expecting). Thou shalt be called _a rock_." +Jesus looked very far ahead when He welcomed poor, impetuous Simon with +such a prophecy. A _rock_ was the very last thing in the world which +in character he would ever be likely to resemble. The new Teacher +evidently saw possibilities in him which every one, including himself, +had ignored before. + +This, then, is Simon's first meeting with Jesus, the commencement of a +training which was to yield him a destiny that the great ones of the +earth might well envy. To him it was given to see a day which many +prophets and righteous men had desired to see and had not seen. In +this apparently commonplace man who lived, possibly, a coarse and +sinful life, Jesus had discovered, though he did not say so, save in a +general prophecy, the prince of the Apostles, the leader of the Church +that was to be. + + + +[1] "Life of Jesus," p. 156. + + + + +II. + +The Call to Service. + +We may assume that Peter's acquaintance with our Lord continued for +some time ere he was called to actual service. The Synoptists all +refer to this call, but with certain differences in detail. Matthew's +first mention of Simon (iv. 18) occurs in connection with his account +of the commencement of the preaching ministry of Jesus. He tells us +that after the temptation our Lord went to live in Capernaum. We know +little or nothing of His movements save that He began to preach, and +that the substance of His exhortation was, "Repent, for the Kingdom of +Heaven is at hand!" A great deal, however, is suggested here. +Capernaum was Simon's home, and by piecing the narrative in John i. +with that in Matthew iv. we are justified in thinking that after making +acquaintance with Andrew and Simon in Bethabara beyond Jordan, Jesus +went with them to Galilee and continued His association with them on +terms of intimacy, _vide_ John i. 43, John ii. _et seq._ John ii. 12. +Jesus's sojourn in Capernaum was not intended to be permanent, as we +see in John ii. 12. It is quite possible it was only undertaken for +the sake of drawing closer the relations between Himself and the two +brothers whose acquaintance He had made through the medium of the +Baptist. In Matt. iv. 18 we are informed that "walking by the sea of +Galilee He saw two brethren, Simon and Andrew his brother, casting a +net into the sea, for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Come +ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway +left the nets and followed Him." + +But for the considerations presented above we might imagine that this +was the first time Jesus had ever seen Peter. Mark and Luke are more +explicit, Luke especially. In Mark i. 16, that is very early in this +particular Gospel, we read that after John was delivered up Jesus came +into Galilee. "And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon +and Andrew the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea, for they +were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will +make you _to become_ fishers of men." When we remember that Mark's +Gospel is really Peter's own Gospel, written in all probability under +his guidance, we are prepared for the early introduction of the call of +the first Apostle. A previous acquaintance is clearly presumed here. +Mark states with his usual simple directness and vividness, "He saw +Simon." The presumption is that Simon was already well known to Jesus, +and the fact that the two brothers left their nets and followed Him is +not so wonderful if we consider that their friendship with Jesus was +already well established, and their belief in His authority confirmed +by their increasing knowledge of Himself. + +It is to Luke, however, that we must turn for a circumstantial account +of the crisis so briefly referred to by Matthew and Mark. Under the +guidance of Luke our conjectures as to the intercourse between Jesus +and Simon become certainty. In Luke iv. 38 we are told that after +preaching in the synagogue of Capernaum He entered into the house of +Simon. He healed Simon's wife's mother, who was suffering from fever. +This appears to have been one miracle among many of a similar kind that +day; possibly the news of it went forth, "And," Luke continues, "when +the sun was setting all they that had any sick with divers diseases +brought them unto Him." Evidently Jesus is here a familiar guest in +the house of Simon and makes it His head-quarters. + +In the next chapter (Luke v. 1-11) we have Luke's account of the call +to service and the circumstances which led up to it. Jesus, as an +honoured guest, seems to have made use, not only of Simon's home, but +of his fishing-boat. This fishing-boat on occasions supplied him with +a pulpit from which He was able to address the crowds that lined the +seashore. On one such occasion, when He had finished speaking, He +asked His host to put out into the deep. Simon did so, no doubt +thinking that the new Teacher required to escape and rest after His +long exertions. But Jesus had another motive than this. Simon had +been obliged to wait His pleasure while He was preaching; he had been +out the whole of the previous night plying his calling, and was, +doubtless, weary and exhausted. Jesus knew all this and intended to +help him. By His direction Simon let down his net for a draught, +explaining, however, while he did so, that he expected no result in the +day-time since he had taken nothing through the hours of darkness. He +lowered the nets simply to please Jesus, to whom he had become, by this +time, much attached. The result was the miraculous draught of fishes. + +The effect upon Simon of this beneficent exhibition of the super-human +power of Jesus was overwhelming. His impulsive character showed itself +at once. He threw himself down at the feet of his Master with the +ill-considered but earnest petition born of the feeling of the moment, +"Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" + +What was the reason of this strange outburst? The miraculous draught +of fishes was not of itself sufficient to account for it; it was the +occasion but not the cause of Peter's action. A better way of +explaining it would be to try to form a sympathetic estimate of the +working of this rude fisherman's mind under the influence of his short +acquaintance with Jesus of Nazareth. Like others of his class, Simon +had very likely been, until the day when Andrew introduced him to +Jesus, ill-disciplined and coarse. He may have thought very little +about high and holy things, and yet, as often happens in a rude but +generous nature, he felt an instinctive respect for goodness whenever +he saw it embodied in another. He was attracted to Jesus by Andrew's +assertion that He was the Messiah. In the increasing intimacy of +subsequent intercourse he must have come to feel that Jesus was the +best man he had ever met. Jesus came as a benediction to Simon's home. +His very presence must have stirred the better feelings latent in the +boisterous fisherman's heart. Simon came to love Jesus, and listened +no doubt with a simple, awe-struck interest to the words He was +accustomed to address to the crowds from the vantage-ground of Simon's +boat. Jesus discovered him to himself: he saw how poor and mean and +unsatisfactory his own life and ideals were when compared with the +character of this august stranger. + +To these considerations Jesus added another. Out of pure +thoughtfulness and kindness for Simon He had asked him to put out to +sea and let down his nets, and poor Simon, totally unprepared for the +result, now saw that in his friend and guest were combined at once +marvellous goodness and marvellous power. Simon's first feeling was +that he wanted to get away from Him, that he was totally unfit to be in +the presence of such a Being, and, like the centurion afterwards, was +not worthy that He should come under his roof. The cry, "Depart from +me!" meant, doubtless, "Leave my home. Do not stay with me any more. +I am unfit for such a privilege, unworthy of such companionship. +Select another and a better associate, for I am a sinful man!" + +We are beholden to Luke for this circumstantial account of an important +event in the life of an interesting man. Some persons think that Luke +has mixed up this story with the similar one recorded in John xxi. +There is no need to think so, the scene ends very naturally. Matthew +and Mark omit to say how it was that Jesus came to extend the call to +Simon and Andrew, James and John. According to their brief statement +Jesus saw them casting a net into the sea; according to Luke it was He +who told them to cast that net. Simon's confession and request +supplied Him with a further opportunity: "Fear not, He said, from +henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their boats +to land they left all and followed Him." + +We see from this beautiful sequence of dealings that Jesus bestowed +much tender thought and care upon the training of the men who were to +serve Him in the work of evangelising the world. His prophecy in +respect to Simon at their first meeting He set Himself to fulfil. +Peter was not then ready to be called, nor did Jesus call him; without +explaining His meaning He uttered a prophecy in regard to Simon's +future character which no one but Himself could understand. He +welcomed Simon's avowal of unworthiness as the first condition toward +the attainment of that character. Simon was fit to be used just in +proportion as he realised his own unfitness. "I am a sinful man," was +the utterance which made it possible for him to arise and become a +saviour. + + + + +III. + +Simon's First Commission as a Preacher. + +Before long it became necessary for our Lord to make a selection from +amongst the number of His disciples of those who were to represent Him +and be clothed with His authority, after His visible presence was +withdrawn from the infant Church. In Matthew x., Mark iii., and Luke +vi., we have the Gospel accounts of the appointment of Apostles. The +choice was very solemnly entered upon, the Master "continued all night +in prayer to God, and when it was day He called His disciples: and He +chose from them twelve, whom also He named Apostles." In this little +band Simon was permitted a special prominence. In the lists severally +given by the Synoptists, Simon's name is always at the head. Matthew +especially opens with the distinctive words, "But first, Simon who is +called Peter." Simon's precedence was evidently the wish of Jesus +Himself. The twelve, moreover, accepted it without demur; Simon is +almost invariably their spokesman. If ever Jesus had occasion to ask a +question of all Simon usually made reply in the name of the others. +The only case in which his leadership was disputed was during the +rivalry with the sons of Zebedee. To this, however, we must make +reference presently. + +The newly-appointed apostles were now sent forth on a preaching +mission; their business was to herald the advent of Jesus Himself in +the districts into which He was about to come. Their theme was to be, +"The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Certain miraculous powers were +bestowed upon them; they were to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, +raise the dead, cast out demons. They were to travel without gold or +silver; they were not to take two coats or shoes or a staff, but were +to trust to the hospitality of those to whom they preached. They were +to regard themselves as sheep sent forth in the midst of wolves; they +were to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. They were to expect +persecution; and here their Master foreshadowed what was to take place +long afterwards, namely, that they were to expect to be brought before +governors and kings for His sake and for a testimony to the heathen +world. They were not to be over-anxious as to the form of their +message; "for," said Jesus, "it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of +your Father that speaketh in you." They were not to fear opposition, +they were bidden to have a high courage and a simple faith. They were +to yield themselves in the most thorough obedience and submission to +the Leader in whose service they were now enrolled. Jesus expected to +be the supreme interest in their lives. He asked for a devotion which +should shrink from no sacrifice, reaching the climax of His exhortation +in the statement that "He that doth not take his cross and follow after +Me is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he +that loseth his life for My sake shall find it." + +This preaching journey was Simon's first trial in the work of the +ministry. Jesus had not only called him, He had given him work to do. +It was but a simple duty, yet the faithful discharge of this +preliminary obligation was by-and-by to lead to greater things. There +is no doubt that it was Jesus's intention to test in this way the men +whom He had summoned to His side. This preaching tour was the humble +beginning of the heroic days of the early Church. + + + + +IV. + +Simon Acknowledges Jesus to be the Christ. + +So far our Lord seems to have said little or nothing to His disciples +in regard to His own personality. He must have had certain reasons for +this course, the principal one being, no doubt, that He shrank from +arousing mistaken expectations in the minds of His followers. They +looked for a hero Messiah, a great liberator, a secular prince. Jesus +knew from experience how extremely difficult it is to change any man's +point of view, or to dislodge a prepossession from his mind, hence He +preferred to allow His character to produce its own impression, and +from this new standing ground to raise men's ideas of the functions of +Messiah. His ministry would have been seriously maimed by any +premature insistence upon His supernatural claims, indeed, the danger +was on certain occasions only narrowly averted. At one time the people +would have taken Him by force to make Him a king, at another time they +welcomed Him to Jerusalem with hosannas. He was often addressed as the +Son of David, a description applicable only to the Christ, as the ready +reply of the Pharisees to His own question on a critical occasion +clearly shows. "What think ye of Christ? Whose son is He?" They +answered without hesitation, "The Son of David." Jesus had no wish to +conceal His pretensions, but on the other hand He was careful not to +arouse misconception as to His real character by declaring them. This +reticence puzzled the religious leaders a good deal, as is evident from +their somewhat peremptory demand, "How long dost Thou make us to doubt? +If Thou art the Christ, tell us plainly." + +With the disciples themselves Jesus pursued the same course, for they +were liable to the same danger, the danger of misapprehending the real +nature of Messiahship. How long He refrained from speaking plainly on +the subject we cannot determine; but some time after the return of the +Apostles from the preaching mission He thought the time had come to +elicit from them a theory of His Person. One day, on His way through +the villages of Cæsarea Philippi, He suddenly put to His followers the +question, "Who do men say that I am?" and they answered, "Some say John +the Baptist, some Elijah, and others one of the prophets." Jesus +continued His interrogation by the further inquiry: "But whom say _ye_ +that I am?" Matthew, Mark and Luke[1] are all agreed that Peter +furnished the desired response, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the +living God." Matthew's account is the most circumstantial and conveys +most distinctly the impression that Jesus was pleased with the answer. +His words of commendation to Simon on this occasion are a remarkable +extension of the prophecy contained in His first greeting to him as set +forth in John i. 42. Matthew's version is "Blessed art thou Simon +Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My +Father which is in heaven. And I also say unto thee that thou art +Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of +Hades shall not prevail against it. 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." + +From this point Simon the fisherman becomes merged in Peter the +Apostle. His training had now reached a point when his spiritual +perceptions were sharpened and his faith in Jesus had led to the +ejaculation which is the fundamental article of the creed of +Christendom. Jesus's reference to Simon on this occasion has advanced +somewhat in fulness since the day of their first meeting. Then He had +stated, "Thou _shall be called_ a rock," now He avers, "Blessed art +thou. Thou hast been taught of God; thou _art_ a rock, and on this +rock will I build My Church." Here was a high distinction for the +first apostle; a trust was committed to him, the guardianship of the +newly-formed Church, and how much was involved in that he himself at +this particular moment could not by any means foresee. Much discipline +is yet needed ere he becomes fit to undertake the grand responsibility. +Probably he does not shrink from the task, for he knows not its +magnitude, neither is he modest in regard to his own qualifications for +it, as will presently appear. He is to be taught by failure and +humiliation that to follow Jesus is a way of the cross, that power for +the duty is resident, not in Peter the Apostle but in Christ who gave +the commission and in the Father who revealed to him the truth about +the Son of God. + +The period upon the consideration of which we have now entered was a +time of spiritual ups and downs for the Apostle Peter. He seems to +have been too easily elated, though as easily abased. He now began to +feel his importance, and was doubtless somewhat exalted in spirit by +our Lord's emphatic commendation of him in the presence of the Twelve. +He had declared Jesus to be the Christ, but a Christ who learned +obedience through sufferings was as yet unthinkable to him. This crude +perception is the explanation of the mistake into which he immediately +fell. No sooner had Jesus elicited the declaration that He Himself was +the Christ than, after charging the disciples to say nothing to any man +in regard to it, He began to teach them the true nature of Messiahship. +In their several accounts of what follows the Synoptists differ a +little. Matthew (xvii. 21) implies that some time may have elapsed ere +Jesus began to systematically instruct His disciples concerning His +vocation and death. Luke (ix. 22) states that He continued at once in +the same interview to prepare them for His coming humiliation, shame, +and death. Luke--who, as Dr. Bruce remarks always spares the +Twelve--says nothing about any further interference of Peter in the +conversation. + +It is to Mark that we must turn this time for the clearest account of +what took place. Peter, at any rate, never spares himself in his +narrations. In chapter viii. 31, Mark tells us that after Peter's +avowal, "Thou art the Christ," Jesus began to teach them that "The Son +of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the +chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise +again." It is noteworthy that in this Gospel Peter says not a word +about the extraordinary blessing and promise bestowed upon himself in +consequence of his acknowledgment of the Messiahship of Jesus. He +does, however, faithfully and humbly tell us of the severe rebuff he +received for his presumption. He was very sorry to hear Jesus predict +His own sufferings and death. Such a fate did not at all accord with +Peter's idea of the destiny of the Christ. He could not understand it, +and we may suppose he loved Jesus too much to be willing that He should +suffer anything at all, either of humiliation, rejection or failure. +He was not prepared, either, to believe that his own new primacy over +the Apostles was to result in nothing better than tragedy and defeat. +He clung, as we shall observe, for a long time to the notion of worldly +honour and advancement. Such rewards he conceived to be in the natural +order of things; they were the result of his preconception of the +functions of the Christ of God. + +Perhaps, too, Peter felt somewhat elated and self-important on account +of the words which Jesus had just applied to him, and pluming himself +upon his exceptional privilege he undertook the duty of reproving his +Master. For, Mark tells us, "Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him." +A severe reprimand followed. "Jesus turned about, and, seeing His +disciples, rebuked Peter, and saith, Get thee behind Me, Satan, for +thou mindest not the things of God but the things of men." Matthew +adds that Jesus also said, "Thou art a stumbling-block unto Me." Luke +kindly omits all reference to the painful moment. Thus, in the course +of a few moments, Peter achieved a great spiritual success and was +guilty of an unspiritual blunder--he was exalted and humiliated, +commended and reproved. In after days he remembered with peculiar +distinctness his lack of the true spirit at this hour, and by Mark's +agency, therefore, faithfully reproduced for the Church of Christ the +record of his well-deserved abasement. All three Synoptists conclude +their account of this scene by repeating the great saying of Jesus: "If +any man would come after Me let him deny himself and take up his cross +and follow Me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it, and +whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Gospel's shall save +it. For what doth it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit +his life? For what should a man give in exchange for his life?" Most +of us find this lesson as difficult to learn as apparently Peter did. + +The singular eminence of the religion of Jesus depends upon a right +apprehension of the principle just illustrated. The Christian life is +and must be a _Via Crucis_, yet at the same time is the way that +leadeth unto life. The principle of dying to live as enunciated by +Christ differs from that of even the greatest of His predecessors in +the recognition that true gladness is conditioned by self-crucifixion. +Human nature has been slow to learn the lesson. The great renunciation +of Gautama Buddha, for example, consisted in the repression of +individuality and the destruction of the natural desires. The effect +of his system was negative; the higher life was to be one of +self-suppression, a very different thing, surely, from +self-crucifixion. Gautama placed the ideal in ceasing to live; Christ, +on the other hand, taught His followers to live more deeply, truly and +grandly than before. To follow Jesus, now as always, means to feel +more and not less, to add to the sum of our interests, and not to take +from them, to raise the standard of our hopes, not to depress it. Like +Gautama, He calls for a renunciation, but that renunciation is the +gateway into larger life. The solemn gladness of Christian experience +finds its parallel in no other teaching that the world has ever +received. How can we be surprised that ascetics and hedonists within +the bosom of the Christian Church itself have so frequently and +lamentably mistaken the spirit of their Master's teaching? The ideal +of Thomas à Kempis, in spite of its beauty, is no more that of Jesus +than was the ideal of Gautama. How slowly men come to learn that peace +and tribulation, joy and suffering, gladness and the Cross, are not +incompatible, but the very conditions of each other! + +Before we visit Peter with our censures because of his unmistakable +reluctance to accept Christ's vision of the cross let us give heed to +ourselves. The same mistakes may take very different form. With many +of us the ideal of human felicity which we call Christian is +essentially Pagan. Our very thanksgivings show it. We are grateful to +God for troubles averted, happiness preserved, fortune assured; we +tacitly assume that the opposite of these things would have been an +evil. We praise the goodness of God in shielding us from the untoward +and calamitous, and though it may seem hardly worth while to say it, +some naturally amiable characters with a bias toward holy things have +lost their faith and lost their sweetness at one and the same time with +the arrival of sorrow. Far be it from me to insist that men should +cease to thank God for the sweetness and the joy of life, but if we lay +the stress here and refuse to take the cross when it is presented to us +we have shut ourselves off from the attainment of that highest good, +which is to know the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ. "Strait +is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there +be that find it." If the clear truth of the necessary connection +between the assumption of the cross and the attainment of true +blessedness were to be grasped by those who seek to follow Christ, +there would be fewer of the sad failures so frequently apparent amongst +those who are disappointed with the result of their faith in God. + + + I do believe, what you call trust + Was self-delusion at the best: for, see! + So long as God would kindly pioneer + A path for you, and screen you from the world, + Procure you full exemption from man's lot, + Man's common hopes and fears, on the mere pretext + Of your engagement in His service--yield you + A limitless licence, make you God, in fact, + And turn your slave--you were content to say + Most courtly praises! What is it, at last, + But selfishness without example? None + Could trace God's will so plain as you, while yours + Remained implied in it; but now you fail, + And we, who prate about that Will, are fools! + In short, God's service is established here + As He determines fit, and not your way, + And this you cannot brook.[2] + + +Peter's remonstrance here is but an example of a very common human +feeling in regard to the things of Christ. It exhibited a certain +immaturity of character and crudeness of perception such as, in spite +of his genuine affection for his Master, disqualified him at this stage +from understanding Him. + + + +[1] Matt. xvi. 16, Mark viii. 29, Luke ix. 20. + +[2] Browning, "Paracelsus." + + + + +V. + +Simon Peter Witnesses the Transfiguration. + +At the close of the conversation referred to above our Lord stated, +"There be some here of them that stand by which shall in no wise taste +of death till they see the kingdom of God come with power." About a +week after this promise--Mark says "six days" and Luke "about eight +days"--"Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and went with +them to a high mountain apart by themselves, and was transfigured +before them." Matthew (chapter xvii.) says that "His face did shine as +the sun and his garments became white as the light." Luke beautifully +states that "as he was _praying_ the fashion of His countenance was +altered and His raiment became white and dazzling. And behold there +talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in +glory, and spake of His decease which He was about to accomplish at +Jerusalem." The three Apostles were in some danger of missing the +vision, for, as happened afterwards in the hour of His agony, they +slept, or at least were "heavy with sleep." However, as Luke +continues, "when they were fully awake they saw His glory, and the two +men who stood with Him." The three Galileans were awed by the sight, +and Peter in his perturbation broke out with an offer to build three +tabernacles. Mark says, "He wist not what to answer, for they became +sore afraid." Matthew writes that, "While He was yet speaking, behold, +a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud, +saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him. +And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore +afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not +afraid. And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, save Jesus only." +In the Second Epistle of Peter (i. 16-18), we have a further account, +purporting, indeed, to be the direct statement of Peter himself, in +regard to this extraordinary vision. He says, "For we did not follow +cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and +coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His +majesty. For He received from God the Father honour and glory, when +there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, This is my +beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: and this voice we ourselves +heard come out of heaven, when we were with Him in the holy mount." + +As they came down from the mountain Jesus "charged them to tell no man +until that He should be risen from the dead." And according to Mark, +"they kept the saying, questioning among themselves what the rising +again from the dead should mean." It is evident that even at this +point Peter had found himself unable to realise that his Master was +really to be crucified and slain. + +We cannot but regret that the immediate effect of this glorious vision +upon Peter and James and John seems to have been a tendency to +arrogance and ambition. We have now hints about a division in the +Apostolic circle between the adherents of Peter and those of James and +John. Peter and the sons of Zebedee now become rivals for supremacy; +they had together been witnesses of the Transfiguration--a supposed +foretaste of the earthly glory of their Master which was presently to +appear. Mark is our chief authority for this supposition, and we may +trust that in his account we have Peter's recollection of the true +sequence of scenes and incidents. After his record of Jesus's prophecy +in regard to His own death he continues, "And they came to Capernaum. +And when he was in the house He asked them, What were ye reasoning in +the way? But they held their peace: for they had disputed one with +another in the way, who was the greatest. And He sat down and called +the twelve; and He saith unto them, If any man would be first, he shall +be last of all and servant of all. And he took a little child, and set +him in the midst of them: and taking him in His arms, He said unto +them, Whosoever shall receive one of such little children in My name, +receiveth Me; and whosoever receiveth Me receiveth not Me, but Him that +sent Me." Luke in fewer words confirms this story; Matthew makes a +very brief reference to it, saying nothing of the dispute. + +Mark and Luke add a reference to another incident which gives us a +sidelight upon the then state of mind of him who came to be the +"beloved disciple." "John said unto Him, Master, we saw one casting +out devils in Thy name, and we forbade him, because he followeth not +with us. But Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not, for he that is not +against you is for you." (Mark ix. 38-40, Luke ix. 49-50.) Luke +subjoins a further statement about the two sons of Zebedee which, in +company with the one just mentioned, leads us to imply that the three +most favoured Apostles were at this time in a state of mind in which +arrogance, ambition and intolerance kept company. Jesus and His +followers had been refused hospitality in a Samaritan village, and +James and John asked to be allowed to emulate Elijah and call down fire +from heaven to consume them. Their Master at once rebuked them, adding +regretfully (for He must have seen very plainly how matters were going +in His circle), "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the +Son of Man came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Mark +(x. 35-45) relates another incident of a similar kind in which James +and John made a bid for precedence, requesting on the strength of their +intimacy with Him that it might be given them to sit, the one on His +right hand, and the other on His left, in His Kingdom. Jesus rightly +replied, "Ye know not what ye ask." Matthew (xx. 20) says that the +mother of the sons of Zebedee preferred their request, and that the ten +"were moved with indignation concerning the two brethren." Jesus was +very patient with them. Looking beyond their foolish desire He +prophesied that they should indeed drink of His cup and be baptized +with His baptism, and closed with a general exhortation to the twelve +to lay aside ambition, saying, "Whosoever would be great among you +shall be your minister: and whosoever would be first among you shall be +servant of all. For verily the Son of Man came not to be ministered +unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mark +x. 43-45.) + +Poor human nature! The only evident effect so far of the high +privilege accorded to the three foremost apostles has been to beget +rivalry and jealousy between them. The Sons of Thunder display an +intolerance and self-seeking which excite the anger of the others; +Peter, we may be sure, included, since Peter was the person whose +primacy was threatened. Peter had not yet reached the point of willing +self-abnegation--far from it, as we shall presently see. Our Lord's +object-lesson by means of a little child has, as yet, no result in the +character of the "Prince of the Apostles." He was not prepared to +exhibit the spirit of a little child, or to conform his own disposition +to the heart of a little child. He was, as yet, unable to conceive how +the first could be last, or how the master of all could be servant of +all. The favour shown to him by his Divine Master has hitherto served +but to raise him in his own estimation. From this point we shall see +that only through the experiences of humiliation and failure was Peter +able to attain to the true idea of Christian service. + +The point at which we have now arrived is one of the most instructive +in the New Testament record of our Lord's view of true manhood. It is +frequently supposed that personal ambition is an essential to the +progress of society. Great thinkers, before and after Christ, have +agreed in recognising that this particular passion has been an +instrument in the advancement of society, and hence has served a useful +purpose. Before Christ the only alternative to this view seems to have +been that of the duty of quiescence, and long after Christ the same +theory has been very commonly held. As examples of the former view the +reader has only to call to mind the sentiment of Homer's immortal epic, +or the odes of Pindar, in order to see that ambition was regarded as +the motor quality of heroism. Where this selfish passion was regarded +as an evil and renounced in favour of a supposedly higher theory of +life, the result nearly always took the form of asceticism or +withdrawal from active service in the world. No _via media_ was +thought of as possible between thorough-going ambition and the + + ... fugitive and cloistered virtue, + +which has exhibited to the world so different an ideal. In dreamy, +mystical, Oriental cults we see this latter tendency carried to its +extreme. Almost invariably the renunciation of ambition as an +incentive to human action has meant the disuse of many noble human +powers and gifts. So much has this been the case that even in our own +day, with the Christian ideal in our possession, ambition has been +regarded as an indispensable ingredient in most strenuous human efforts +put forth on behalf of humanity. Edmund Burke classifies sympathy, +imitation and ambition together as motors in the progress of the +community.[1] Professor Lecky, in his great work, "The History of +European Morals," seems to regard it as indispensable to a vigorous +national life. This great thinker, accustomed to habits of exact +observation, is, no doubt, right in the assumption that this position +receives abundant confirmation in the field of history; but have we so +"learned Christ"? + +The fact is that in giving to the world a higher ethical ideal in +regard to the sanction of service Jesus must have well understood the +difficulties that lay before Him. Perhaps this is why He was so +patient with the selfish hopes of His followers in regard to their +personal preferment. He must have known that the whole trend of +history was against the new teaching. It is easy for us now to say +that the intrusion of self-interest in any good work vitiates its value +to a great extent; but must we not reflect that we owe this conception +to Christ? Society is now saturated with the ethical teaching of the +Man of Nazareth. We are confronted with the observation that in its +moral tendencies Society is moving toward an ideal which was exhibited +to the world nearly nineteen hundred years ago. We are not reaching +forward to an indeterminate something in the region of morals, we are +moving toward a standard exhibited in a life. Further, it is easy for +us, reading the New Testament, to hastily judge and condemn the +obtuseness and unspirituality of the little band that surrounded Jesus. +The arrogance of Peter and the selfish intrigues of the sons of Zebedee +move us to impatience. How much worthier and kinder the attitude of +our Divine Master! He knew that a moral revolution could not be +effected in an hour. His object was to train the men who should +transform the world. If He could possibly influence the twelve men +whom His Father had given Him so that they could know what they ought +to feel and do, He could afford to be content. The gates of Hades +should not prevail against the advancing Gospel. + +What, then, was His ideal? It was nothing less than complete +renunciation of all self-interest without any diminution of energy and +effort in service for the good of the world. Jesus repudiated ambition +in any form as the dynamic of human aspiration and endeavour. He +required from His disciples the completest self-renunciation, combined +with enthusiastic self-devotion to the duty of making the world better. +To give up self was not to give up service, it was simply the +substitution of a higher motive for a lower. This explains in a +measure why Christianity came to replace the Stoic and Epicurean +philosophies. Stoicism is exhibited at its best, perhaps, in the nobly +active life of the greatest of the Antonines. Its ideal was rigid +devotion to duty, that of Christ was service inspired by love. +Ambition is a mode of self service, yet if we may so expand the meaning +as to make it include the Christian principle we might say that in the +place of ambition for the sake of self Christianity substitutes +ambition for the sake of God. In each case it is love for a person +that supplies the motive for the highest human endeavours. But how +incomparably grander and stronger is the Christian principle than that +which it replaced! All useful or desirable things that men are +accustomed to do for themselves Christianity requires them to do for +God. When the apostles finally came to understand this new commandment +their Gospel became a resistless force, and whenever since their day +the Church has succeeded in doing the same Christianity has arisen in +newness of life. + + + +[1] Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful. Sect. xii. + + + + +VI. + +Peter Thinks His Sacrifice Complete. + +His Consequent Expectations. + +In the three synoptical Gospels we have an account of a remarkable +conversation between Peter and his Lord in regard to the reward +promised to those who took service in the Kingdom of God. The occasion +was one of special interest. A rich young ruler came to Jesus to ask +the momentous question, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" The +disciples appear to have been much impressed by the incident--Peter, +perhaps, most of all, for in Mark's Gospel we have the best account of +the matter. Jesus, he says, was attracted by the simplicity, humility +and earnestness of one who certainly ran the risk of incurring odium by +stooping to ask advice of the new Teacher. Peter has preserved for us +in one vivid sentence something of the very aspect of the Master in His +final reply, "_Jesus, looking upon him, loved him, and said unto him, +'One thing thou lackest; go, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the +poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me._'" +This test was too much for the seeker; he turned and "went away +sorrowful, for he was one that had great possessions." In the +discourse that followed, the Master, doubtless in a vein of mingled +sadness and solemnity, observed, "How hardly shall they that have +riches enter into the Kingdom of God!" Peter accepting his Master's +words in their most literal sense, in the light of the foregoing +incident, spoke out in his impulsive way, "Lord, we have left all and +followed Thee. What, then, shall we have?" + +Two things in regard to this question have a certain significance for +us. The first, Peter's inadequate sense of the extent of the +renunciation he had made, and secondly, our Lord's patient and wise +reply. Peter evidently considered his renunciation and that of his +companions to have been complete. They had abandoned their fishing +nets, and to a certain extent their homes. They had done so on the +understanding that He who summoned them was the promised Messiah and +future King of Israel, and therefore would be able in the future to +compensate all who associated themselves with Him to their own loss. +We must not suppose that this was the leading motive which attracted +Simon and the sons of Zebedee to the new Prophet, but it is very clear +that after they had been associated with Jesus for some time ambitious +hopes for place and power began to take possession of their hearts. Of +this we have already considered an example. Up to the present they had +misapprehended the deepest principle of the Master's teaching; they +felt that abandonment of their accustomed pursuits and possessions +merited a present and material reward not to be long delayed. Hence +Peter's question--a question which no doubt related to the expectations +of his companions also. The idea of a renunciation of _themselves_, a +spiritual renunciation, had not yet become clear to them. From our +point of view it is surprising that they should so long have +misunderstood. + +Had He to whom the inquiry was addressed been as most of us are, Peter +would have received another sharp rebuke. How different is Jesus's +answer on this occasion from the stern, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" of +a little while before! The difference is due to the fact that, in this +case, Peter spoke of his own renunciation, while in the former case he +had ventured to interfere with his Master's. Jesus therefore replied +with a patience and kindness that were possible only to one who saw far +beyond the moment. "There is no man," said He, "that hath left house +or brethren or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My +sake, and for the Gospel's sake, but he shall receive a hundredfold now +in this time, houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children +and lands with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. +But many that are first shall be last, and the last first." Some have +objected to the tenor of this reply, arguing that it held out false +hopes to those who heard it, and that to promise such a reward was in +any case to lower somewhat the ideal of service. When, however, we +look forward to the noble fulfilment of the promise we cannot but think +the spirit of it altogether worthy of Jesus. It is a continuance of +the superhuman insight which had led Him to assert on His first meeting +with Simon, "Thou shalt be called _Rock_." If Mark's Gospel is really +Peter's memoirs it is probable that the story of this promise was +committed to writing long after Peter had begun to recognise its +meaning. He who afterwards at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple +addressed the cripple who asked for money was a nobler Peter than the +one who now sought a similar gift for himself. "Silver and gold have I +none, but such as I have give I unto thee. In the name of Jesus Christ +of Nazareth, rise up and walk." "_Such as I have!_" Who would not +desire to share in a possession so rich? Silver and gold, social and +political prominence, had faded into nothingness in the presence of the +privilege of speaking "in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth." + + + A mortal, sin's familiar friend, doth here + Avow that he will give all earth's reward, + But to believe and humbly teach the faith, + In suffering and poverty and shame, + Only believing he is not unloved.[1] + + + +[1] R. Browning, Pauline. + + + + +VII. + +The Scene in the Upper Room. + +As our Lord's earthly ministry draws to a close the spiritual history +of the first Apostles reaches a crisis. The scene in the Upper Room +has for us a special interest in this connection. It is recorded in +all the four Gospels in such a manner as to establish its importance +and historicity. As usual Peter's own account is the most vivid, but +Luke supplies us with a sentence from which we learn more of the state +of affairs than is given by the other three. This is exceptional, for +Luke, as a rule, idealises the Apostles. He tells us that "there arose +also a contention among them which of them is accounted to be +greatest." We see then that even into the Upper Room and to the last +Supper had penetrated the jealousies, rivalries and ambitions of these +few men who were afterwards to become heroes of the Cross. We only +associate the upper room with thoughts of peace and sacredness, but +here is another side of the matter. It may well be that the little +meeting ended in solemnity and quietness, but it can hardly have begun +so. The stamp of truth seems to rest on John's account of what took +place, simply because it expresses so naturally Jesus's method of +dealing with the contention which Luke says was in existence. He rose +from the table and performed for His followers the ceremony their +jealousy of one another had made them omit. The foot-washing may have +had a direct reference to the future practice of mutual service, but it +had also an immediate significance. The disciples refused to wash one +another's feet, and the Lord and Master of them all undertook the duty +Himself. Perhaps the change of feeling induced by this simple and +lowly act made possible the beautiful utterances which only John has +preserved for us (John xiii.-xvii.). + +In the forefront of this discourse, however, Jesus exchanged a few +sentences of special emphasis with Peter. "Simon, Simon," He declared, +"behold, Satan, asked to have you that he might sift you as wheat; but +I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not; and do thou, +when once thou hast turned again, stablish thy brethren." This +statement of tender solicitude must have been called forth by His +knowledge of the contention which had been taking place. Doubtless He +was filled with sorrow that Peter had not yet learned the lesson of +humility and self-forgetfulness. He foresaw the failure, the +cowardice, the denial, but He foresaw, too, the repentance, the +restoration, and the greater Peter whose strength should lie in his +humility and willingness to be led by the Spirit of God. But at this +moment the very last person to see any need of such a change was Peter +himself. Jesus went on to describe what in the time immediately +following would happen to the little band. "All ye," He said, "shall +be offended in Me this night, for it is written, Ye shall smite the +Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad." Peter +instantly declared, "Though all shall be offended in Thee I will never +be offended." What feelings were contending in his mind at the moment +we can only conjecture. Possibly he felt a little sore at the implied +rebuke contained in the foot-washing and in the prophecy of the sifting +which had followed it. More probably, however, the simple affection +which he really had for his Master impelled him to declare his loyalty. +"Exceeding vehemently," according to his own account, he persisted, "If +I must _die_ with Thee I will not deny Thee." He felt it was possible +that Jesus might in the coming danger need to rely upon the services of +an active and courageous friend like himself. Doubtless he felt every +word he said, but he also felt the importance of the assistance he +could render to Jesus. It never occurred to him that Jesus had no need +of his assistance. Peter needed a sharp lesson, and ere long he had +it. The secret of true service consists in self-emptying. He learned +the true spirit of his Master's teaching only after the utter and +painful failure of his own self-confident promises. For the present +Jesus's only reply was, "Verily I say unto thee, that thou, to-day, +even this night, before the cock crow twice shalt deny me thrice." + + + + +VIII. + +Gethsemane and After. + +The testing time was not far distant. Peter, filled with determination +to show his loyalty and courage, seems to have carried away from the +upper room one of two swords that had lain therein. He believed +himself ready for emergencies, but failed at the very outset to give +what his Master really needed. Once again we find the story told best +by Peter himself. He, James and John were stationed by their Master's +desire a little nearer to His person than were the others. Most +pathetically Jesus entreated their sympathy. "My soul is exceeding +sorrowful even unto death. Abide ye here and watch." This, however, +they proved themselves unable to do. Luke says they were "sleeping for +sorrow," and most likely this is in a measure true. They could not +have been indifferent to their Master's trouble. He had given them +sufficient opportunity to observe His state of mind, and doubtless they +had done so, and were stirred with affectionate sympathy. Nevertheless +this sympathy did not go so far as to enable them to share in His +vigil. Probably Peter considered himself as a guard to His person--the +intensity of his Master's agony he could not understand. His emphatic +promise in the upper room, however, was being badly fulfilled. Even if +he were no more than a guard to Christ's person he should have kept +awake. In his own account of the scene he places the emphasis on this +point: "And He cometh and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, +Simon, sleepest _thou_? Couldest thou not watch _one hour_? Watch and +pray, that ye enter not into temptation." The implied reproach here +has reference almost certainly to the vehemence of Peter's promise of +superior loyalty. "Though all shall be offended yet will not I." +Jesus gently reminded him of the promise, and signified that he had +begun badly in the way of keeping it. The Master recognised, however, +the sincerity and simple affection of the Apostle in His concluding +words, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." + +Even while Jesus was speaking the surprise came. Judas and the rabble +with swords, staves and lanterns burst into the garden. Instantly all +was confusion and alarm; only Jesus remained calm and self-possessed. +Judas stepped forward and kissed Him; the disciples hurried to His +side, Peter drew his sword, and without waiting for explanations struck +at the foremost of the advancing band. The act was one of sheer folly; +it might have involved himself and his companions in one common ruin. +So far from saving Jesus it was Jesus who now saved him. The Master +turned hastily round and with quick gesture bade Peter restore the +sword to its place, saying, "They that take the sword shall perish with +the sword." The statement no doubt had immediate reference to Peter's +rashness. Jesus saw that any of His disciples taken with arms in their +hands would forfeit their lives. The warning did not need to be +repeated; Peter's new-found courage had already deserted him. The +assailants seem to have been in similar case. To save His disciples +Jesus confronted them, and as He advanced they retreated, stumbling +over one another, till, as John relates, they fell to the ground. + +"Whom seek ye?" asked the victim of Pharisaic hate. "Jesus of +Nazareth," they replied. "I am He," was the rejoinder, and then, with +a thoughtfulness and love of which in this dreadful hour Jesus only +seems to have been capable, He continued, "If therefore ye seek Me let +these go their way." For some moments the officers hesitated; the +majesty and dignity of Him whom they had come to seize cast a spell +upon them; no one liked to be the first to arrest Him, and Jesus had to +declare Himself a second time ere the leaders ventured to execute their +commission. The moment this was done, however, "all the disciples left +Him. and fled." + +So far Peter's self-assertion had ended in failure, but further +humiliation was yet to come. He could not bear to remain in ignorance +of the fate of a Master whom he really and truly loved; so, checking +his flight, when he saw the procession move off he followed it at a +safe distance. His friend and partner, John, who appears to have had +friends in the house of Caiaphas, obtained admission for him and he +waited therein, as Matthew says, "to see the end." All his bravery had +now deserted him; he was in a strange city where men of his province +were despised and ridiculed. He was only a humble fisherman, and +stricken with fear by finding himself in the power of authorities +ecclesiastical and secular. Humanly speaking, his next mistake was one +that might have been prophesied. He was discovered and questioned; in +his bewilderment and terror all the coarseness of his old Galilean life +returned upon him, and, forgetful of everything but the desire of +saving himself, he denied his Master, with cursing and swearing. Jesus +directed upon him a second reproach, this time a mute one. He "turned +and looked upon Peter," but that look was enough. It brought him to +his senses, laid bare his miserable failure, ingratitude, cowardice and +broken promises. He saw how completely he had fallen beneath himself +by over-confidence in himself. The Peter of that moment was not the +real Peter, after all. He did love his Master, and had run the risk of +arrest and death to get near Him again, but his humiliation was +complete and his self-abasement intense. "He went out and wept +bitterly." Shall we say that the experience of the next few days was +the greatest crisis in his career? From this depth of humiliation he +rose qualified to become an ambassador and a saviour. + + + + +IX. + +The Power of the Resurrection. + +We know nothing of Peter's history during the anguished hours that +intervened between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, but we may +believe that his shame and contrition continued until Jesus Himself +breathed in his ear words of forgiveness and hope. We may infer +indirectly that Peter must have been humbled by the recollection of his +own self-confident boasting in the presence of the other apostles, for +we find him still in association with them. The little company seems +to have held together to mourn their lost Master and to assist each +other with a common sympathy. That Peter must have been with them is +clear from the fact that he was mentioned by name to the women who +visited the tomb on the first day of the week. "Go, tell His disciples +_and Peter_, He goeth before you into Galilee." When we consider that +Peter still associated with those who had listened to his +self-confident assumption of superiority to themselves we can discern +something more than remorse in his demeanour. There is evidence of a +new humility, and yet at the same time a continuance of tender +affection for the Lord whom he fully believed he should never see again. + +There is one incident in which Jesus was concerned after the +Resurrection of which there is no record--there could be none. It is +the first interview between Jesus and Peter after the Resurrection. +The disciples in the upper room were informed that the Lord had +appeared unto Simon. What took place at that first meeting we can +never imagine; it must have been a season of such sacredness and +solemnity that Peter would not be likely to say much about it to his +brethren. The loving thoughtfulness of Jesus bade Him seek out His +humiliated and sorrow-stricken follower that He might assure him of +forgiveness and restoration. Very intense and holy must their +intercourse have been. From this moment Peter became a great and noble +character; his discipline has not been for nothing, his self-seeking is +at an end; ambition has no place in his mind for the future; arrogance +and self-confidence thenceforth must have given place to a lowliness +born of the remembrance of his cowardice and wretched failure. When in +after days he wrote for the guidance of the saints he was writing from +the depths of his own experience: "Yea, all of you gird yourselves with +humility to serve one another, for God resisteth the proud, but giveth +grace to the humble" (1 Peter v. 5). + +The appearance of genuineness rests upon this New Testament story. In +its idyllic simplicity and faithfulness to the facts of human nature it +stands in marked contrast to the spurious and unauthorised legends +about Jesus and His Apostles with which the sub-apostolic age abounded. +The Church has not lost much, in all probability, by the oblivion in +which these lesser gospels have been buried. To unearth them now +would, no doubt, be of service in throwing light upon critical problems +in regard to the existing New Testament texts, but they could add +nothing to the sweet and natural accounts of the spiritual history of +the men who guided the early Church. We know Peter better from the +pages of the four Gospels than we do from legendary accounts. +Indirectly this faithfulness of the evangelic records is of great +assistance in establishing their historicity. Nothing is concealed, or +toned down, that we ought to know, nothing that would tend to represent +the Apostles as superhuman or exceptional in their lofty character is +thrust upon our notice; we are permitted to see Peter as he really was, +a man made noble by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. + +What he was, we are. Ambition, self-seeking, self-confidence, have +throughout the history of Christendom been the most serious defects of +the strongest characters. Sometimes these vices have been displayed +upon a grand scale, oftener their scope has been petty and mean. The +sins of the Catholic Church, as painted by a Bernard or a Catherine of +Siena, are to be found in many a little Bethel in the Protestant +England of our day. Simony is not unknown amongst the ministers of +Christ, even in the ranks of Non-conformity. Not unfrequently these +sinful tendencies are to be found allied with a true and earnest desire +to serve the Master. All the same, they are a serious hindrance, not +only to Christian character, but to the effect of Christian service; +the spirit in which a man does his work has the profoundest influence +upon the good result of that work. Where a man is sincere in his wish +to do good, and yet at the same time in any degree the victim of his +own self-confidence or self-seeking, he is sooner or later brought to +the point where he must choose between his wish and his practice. In +nearly every case the necessity for this choice is revealed to him by a +sharp discipline. Peter's case is repeated again and again in the +lives of the servants of God. It is hard to dislodge self from its +vantage-ground in the region of human motives. It would be hard to +find a church in which selfishness or jealousy had neither place nor +influence, and it is uncommonly difficult, even for a good and true +man, not to feel elated by admiration or depressed by being surpassed. +But surely the cure for this kind of feeling is included in the very +nature of Christian service. There is absolutely no relation between +moral excellence and worldly recognition of it. We have conceded +something to the world when we stop to think of its applause as an +object of desire. It is easier to go without such applause and to +labour in obscurity than it is to remain unaffected by it once it has +been bestowed. Still harder is it for a man to retire from a position +and a duty in which he has done nobly and well, and then to see his +bishopric taken by another. Sooner or later this experience falls to +the lot of most of God's heroes; it were well, therefore, that they +should recognise it in advance, count the cost, know their own minds, +and render unnecessary the sharp discipline which accompanies +self-discovery. When God means to use us, as He meant to use Peter, He +never spares us. Jesus could not afford to allow Peter to go his own +way, and therefore it was that the prince of the Apostles became an +instrument for good, yet so as by fire. + + + + +X. + +A New Commission. + +Although, however, our Lord had in such a beautiful and thoughtful way +restored His poor, self-abased disciple in private, Peter had still a +necessary discipline to undergo. He had sinned in the presence of +others, it was necessary that others should know of the new +understanding between his Master and himself. Only John has preserved +the record of the conversation in which this new understanding was +declared. But Peter himself distinctly refers to it in his Second +Epistle (i., 14). John tells us in the last chapter of his Gospel that +Peter and a few of the accustomed circle went fishing on the Lake of +Tiberias. Peter's announcement, "I go a fishing," has sometimes been +taken to imply that he had determined to renounce apostleship and +return to his old life, that, in short, he was disappointed with the +reward of following Jesus and disenchanted with the vision of a Kingdom +of God. "I go a fishing," therefore, has been construed to mean "I +abandon these dreams; they have brought me no advantage; I will go back +to my fisherman's boat and my fisherman's home." It is difficult to +see what justification there is for this theory. Peter was simply +continuing habits he had never entirely renounced. Neither he nor John +had any intention of dismissing all thought of Jesus or of abandoning +His service when they entered upon this particular fishing expedition. +On the contrary, it is probable that their minds, hearts and +conversation were full of the marvels which had occurred since first +the vision of angels had informed them that Jesus was alive. No doubt +they were full of expectancy in regard to the place and time of His +next appearance. About daybreak, as they drew near to the shore, they +perceived some one standing on the beach whom presently they made out +to be the Lord. John was the first to recognise Him, and told Peter, +who instantly leaped into the sea and went to Him. Jesus had prepared +a meal for the hungry disciples, and waited till they had broken their +fast before entering upon the serious subject which occupied His mind +and, perhaps, Peter's. + +Possibly Peter had some knowledge of what Jesus intended to say, though +not of the form in which it was to be said. In the previous and more +private interview the Master had most likely signified to the disciple +that the protestations he had made in the presence of others in the +upper room would have to be referred to again in the presence of some +at least of those who had first heard them. He could not, therefore, +have been surprised at the three questions now addressed to him. +"Simon, son of John," said the Master, "lovest thou Me more than these +([Greek: _agapáo_])?" The now humbled Simon replied in lowly terms by +appealing to Jesus's personal knowledge of him, and in particular, +perhaps, to their previous private conversation. "Yea, Lord," said he, +"Thou knowest that I love Thee" ([Greek: _philô_]). The reference to +the upper room is distinctly seen both in question and answer. In the +former case Simon had claimed for himself a superiority in devotion. +He had offered to his Master the loyalty of a soldier to his captain or +of a friend to his friend. He had assumed that his assistance was of +importance to Jesus; he had offered to devote himself as a patriot +might to his country, or a hero to a cause. Of this Jesus now reminded +him by the use of a single word ([Greek: _agapas_]). The English New +Testament rendering of this passage fails to convey its full +significance. Peter surrendered his whole position; he had no +intention of doing more than affirming what Christ already knew, that +even in the midst of his boasting, desertion and denial, he had very +really and truly loved his Master with a deep and tender affection. +This he expressed in his careful answer by the use of the word [Greek: +_philô_].[1] In effect, he now offers the love that a child might give +to a parent. He is conscious he can confer no benefit upon Christ, nor +be of any service to Him beyond the powers of other people. Very +humbly, therefore, he asserts that his heart is true. He loves his +Master, and his Master knows it. + +Three times does Jesus put the same question, on each occasion +following up the answer by giving to Peter a new and glorious +commission. He was to feed the lambs and tend the sheep. As Peter had +denied Him three times so now he is interrogated three times concerning +his loyalty. The third test was the closest. Jesus takes up Peter's +own word, and asks him "[Greek: _phileis me_]." The narrative goes on +to say that Peter was grieved because he was asked the third time +"Lovest thou Me?" Here we see, however, that the source of his sorrow +was that Jesus should appear to doubt his humble use of the humblest +word he could find to express his unchanging affection for the Master +who had restored him to his better self. Jesus had pressed the +question home by adopting Peter's word, and the earnest reply which +followed satisfied Him. "Yea, Lord," said poor Simon, "Thou knowest +all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee." Then said Jesus, "Feed my +sheep." Peter, though he hardly knew it, was now more ready for +service than he had ever been before. Christ had accepted the service +of one who now rated his own value so low. From henceforth, indeed, he +was to be a fisher of men. It had taken a long time to lead Peter to +this point, yet Jesus had foreseen it at their first meeting in +Bethabara beyond Jordan. Very patiently had He trained him from the +hour in which, with prophetic insight, He had said, "I will make you +_to become_ a fisher of men." Now indeed He could set him to work. +Now He could trust him with the sublime duty of being the rock on which +the new-born Church should rest. + + + +[1] In whatever language they were originally spoken there is a +presumption amounting to certainty that the careful use of these words +in the Greek of John's Gospel corresponded to the shade of meaning +employed both by Jesus and Peter. + + + + +XI. + +The Prince of the Apostles. + +Jesus's closing words to Peter as we have them in the 21st of St. John +could only have been spoken to one who had advanced far beyond the +point at which ease, honour or riches were regarded as motives for +service in the Kingdom of God. What a contrast between the Peter who +inquired, "What shall we have therefore?" and the Peter to whom the +solemn assertion was made, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou +wast young thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: +but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and +another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. Now +this He spake, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify +God. And when He had spoken this, He saith unto him, Follow Me." Here +again is a distinct reference to the "Lo, we have left all and followed +Thee" of an earlier day. Peter is now informed that he is to expect +stripes, imprisonment, martyrdom. He is to glorify God in sufferings +and death. He can be under no further misapprehension as to the +meaning of Christ's mission and work for and amongst men. "Follow Me!" +meant more now than it had done the first time he heard it by the Lake +of Galilee. Calvary had supplied the interpretation. Peter's new +commission began at the Cross. Prominence in the Kingdom had been +given to him, but that prominence was a prominence of suffering. He +was to be first of all, not in ease, reputation or power, but first in +the difficulties, the dangers and trials of the little community he had +now to shepherd. In the Second Epistle of Peter i. 14, there is a +pathetic confirmation in Peter's own words of the solemn charge +addressed to him by the Lake of Tiberias: "I think it right, as long as +I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; +knowing that the putting off of my tabernacle cometh swiftly, even as +our Lord Jesus Christ signified unto me. Yea, I will give diligence +that at every time ye may be able after my decease to call these things +to remembrance." + +One or two instances might here be cited as evidence of the new spirit +which animated him who was now prince of the Apostles. In John xxi. +20-23 we have given to us in a few words the earliest instance of +Peter's new-found desire of self-abnegation. "Peter, turning about, +seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following.... Peter therefore +seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus +saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to +thee? Follow thou Me." Curiously enough, this incident has been +variously misinterpreted. Peter has been accused of idle curiosity or +of semi-discontent at the comparison of his own hard lot with the +probable happier fortune of the Apostle John.[1] The reply of Jesus to +the inquiry has therefore been represented as a sharp and well-deserved +rebuke. It can hardly be that any of these explanations represent the +true state of the case. The truth would rather seem to be that Peter +shrank from the new responsibility and prominence which had been +assigned to him, and would willingly have become a follower of his old +rival, now his companion and friend. John was the disciple who +understood his Master most nearly--the one "whom Jesus loved." He had +been present with Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, in Gethsemane +and in the house of Caiaphas. Peter in old days had been jealous of +him, and this jealousy had led to strife among the disciples. He was +in no mood to strive for preference now. The disciple whom Jesus loved +had, he thought, a better right to tend the sheep and feed the lambs +than he had. John was the only one who had not entirely abandoned his +Master; he had followed Him to the midnight trial, he had been present +at the Crucifixion, and been the recipient of a pathetic commission +thereat--namely, to take care of Jesus's mother. Peter now felt that +John was a worthier leader of the Apostolic Church than he himself +could hope to be. No doubt the arrest of Jesus had drawn them more +closely together. John had done him the service of obtaining his +admission to the house of Caiaphas. He had remained with him most +likely in the dark hours before the resurrection morning; he +accompanied him to the tomb; he was with him now. How could Peter +better exemplify his humility than by his unwillingness to take +precedence of a man whose true nobility and generosity he had now +proved to the full? Jesus's answer gave in very brief terms a forecast +of John's function in the Kingdom, and re-emphasized for Peter the +importance of unquestioning obedience. He said, in effect: John's +commission will not affect yours. I have chosen. Suppose that yours +is to strive and lead, and his to stand and wait? How will his +commission affect the faithful discharge of yours? + +How thoroughly both Peter and John accepted the positions allocated to +them their immediate after history shows. Peter led the van, John +served in silence. Their friendship continued and expanded. For the +future we hear much of "Peter and John." These two began a new +friendship. John shared in Peter's punishment; if Peter did the +speaking alone, John took the imprisonments with him. As they had been +together on the Mount of Transfiguration, together in Gethsemane, +together in the hall of Caiaphas, so now they remained together in +spirit until the day of Peter's martyrdom came. (Acts iii. 1-iv.) + +In a certain sense we have now reached the beginning rather than the +end of the life and work of the Apostle Peter. From the point at which +most of the particulars regarding his personality cease to be afforded +in the New Testament commences the astonishing work of which he was in +a sense the leader and inspiration. A few Galilean fishermen set to +work to turn the world upside down. The vast and venerable fabric of +the Christian Church reposes upon such foundations as we have +considered. This revolution wrought in the history of the world is a +moral miracle. The task essayed was stupendous. Neither Peter nor his +companions could have estimated its magnitude or foreseen its triumph. +That he himself should come to be regarded as the first and greatest of +the long line of sovereign pontiffs of the Roman Church we may be sure +never occurred to him. He entered upon his task in faith, leaving +results to the great Master whom He served. Compared with the great +Apostle of the Gentiles he was neither wise nor learned; he was but one +of the weak things of earth chosen to confound the mighty. The Holy +Spirit rested upon him for service. He was a willing instrument whom +God could use because self-seeking was entirely banished from his +motives and desires. How this came to be so we have just seen. It was +Jesus who made Peter what he was. Jesus believed in him from the +first, knew him better than he knew himself, and looked to the Peter +that was to be rather than the Simon that was. Jesus dealt with him in +patience and love such as fills us with wonderment. Who but Jesus +would have thought it worth while to do it? What He did for Simon the +fisherman He is still able to do for all who yield themselves to Him. +There is nothing impossible with Christ. The weakest and most sinful +amongst us is of infinite value to Him. How many of us are saints in +the making! May the story of His dealings with one life lead us all to +the same experience of faithful and loving obedience. May it be ours +to respond even through stumblings and failures to His gracious +invitation, "Follow Me!" He will lead us from strength to strength, we +shall learn of Him and find rest unto our souls. + + + +[1] Bruce, "Training of the Twelve," p. 511. + + + + +LONDON: + +W. SPEAIGHT AND SONS, PRINTERS, + +FETTER LANE, E.C. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Making of an Apostle, by R. J. 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