The Complete Story of the Apostle Peter: The Crucified Disciple (Part 2)

foreign [Music] begins as it enters a long standing despondent hopelessness the suffering servant of God has experienced much in the way of Oppression and evil and Injustice tracing all the way back to Israel himself through the heart of job and on into the words of the prophetic voices that will ring straight into the ears of the climactic high point of of this entire Epic this is when the son of God hangs on a cross breathing his last breath one of his disciples Peter has not lived much in the way of comfort he was brought up in this great political tension he was fighting for everything he thought was right and true and as Jewish fishermen living in the first century he was practically owned hand and foot by the Roman Empire and now he gazed upon the only hope he had left from a distance after denying him three times in the temple Courtyard to gaze upon all that he thought was right in true hanging cursed on a tree must have had an impact on the fishermen that cannot be understated after all the man that hanged dying on the tree had bestowed upon Peter a great place of authority giving him a set of his very own Keys as though to become his Divine image out into the world unlocking the gates of creation for all to enter into the narrow way yes the death of the itinerant Nazarite preacher must have had some impact on him you see 30 years later at the eater's life he will find himself Penning these very words rejoice as you share in Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed what could have changed this man's outlook on life so dramatically how could this poor fisherman have been so radically shaped that the course of his entire life would willingly be ripped out of his hands and placed in a glory that he had not seen but had only had a taste of what happened to this man that just two years after Penning those Infamous words he would find himself headlong straight toward the very same fate as he gazed upon his master's cross caught in the middle of a political and religious revival in Rome this is the final movement in the story of the Apostle Peter the crucified disciple [Music] 43 days after gazing upon the death of his master on a cross Peter found himself gazing upward with the other 11 disciples by now Peter had realized that the one he had called teacher was actually his God and Savior Jesus Christ Peter had likely lived his entire life as a series of impulsive failures but when he was restored by this God in Galilee in forgiveness and in love Peter realized something he realized that no matter how far he fell Jesus Christ had caused him to be born again to a living hope to an inheritance that was imperishable undefiled and unfading it will be this very focus on Christ's unchanging election of him that will allow Peter to walk through the fiery trials that await the rest of his life it had been 40 days since Jesus's resurrection and the disciples now stand atop the place where Jesus had predicted his own death Mount Olivet and they watch him rise to eternal life incarnate rise to the throne of the father and to sit at the father's right hand as God incarnate eternal forevermore this is the moment that will Mark the rest of the disciples life if it is true that Jesus the forgiving loving merciful Jesus has revealed the very essence of the character of God and if it is true that this God has now taken his rightful place on the throne of creation well then the disciples can only conclude with Jesus that they must go out and Proclaim this good news to all of the world immersing the empire in the reality the Triune God they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet and when they had entered they went up to the upper room where they were staying recently one of their own had betrayed Jesus this is what led to his death in subsequent Resurrection but in an act of desperation the man took his own life but the scriptures had been clear for the kingdom of God to come the twelve were going to be United so Peter by his typical leadership declares that another needs to take the place of the betrayer so all of the disciples present men and women elect met thias to be the 12th and final member of their team this seems to be a key that unlocks a door in the Heavenly Realm for some days later suddenly there came from Heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind and it filled the entire house where they were sitting in divided tongues as a fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance this is one of three keys that Peter will use to unlock the doors of the kingdom and thus fulfill his mission in the apostolic age you see nearing the end of Jesus's life on Earth he gave Peter these keys to the kingdom Peter is given the authority to admit entrance into the kingdom through the preaching of the Gospel an authority that is subsequently granted to all who are called to proclaim the gospel it would seem that as Peter lives out his Great Commission he hands this responsibility off to all who would Proclaim Jesus as their God and savior we begin to see Peter and by extension the church as Christ's Divine image out into the world this is why Peter stands up on the day of Pentecost and addressed them men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem let this be known to you give ear to my words for these people are not drunk as you suppose since it is only the third hour of the day in quoting from Joel 2 Peter sees this moment in history is the culmination of all that the Israelites had waited for all they needed to do was repent and be immersed in the Triune God Pentecost also marks an important turning point in our story not just for the authority that's given to Peter but now the 3 000 people saved on this day returned back to their hometowns and begin planting gardens of God's Community all around the empire sometime later Peter and John were going up to the temple at The Hour of Prayer the ninth hour and a man lame from birth was being carried whom they laid daily at the Gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate to ask for alms of those entering the temple seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple he asked to receive alms in Peter directed his gaze at him as did John and said look at us and he fixed his attention on them expecting to receive something from them but Peter said I have no silver in gold but what I do have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk he took him by the right hand and raised him up and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong and leaping up he stood and began to walk and entered the temple with them walking and leaping and praising God When the Crowds stood around Peter and John and a man they were amazed at the site and so Peter saw this as an opportunity to tell more people about the love strength and forgiveness that he had found in the Jewish Messiah when Peter gives this sermon however the Jewish leaders do not go back to their hometowns and begin to plant garden communities around the Empire instead they seize Peter and John and they put them in prison after a night in prison they bring them before the Jewish elders and strictly charge them not to Proclaim that Jesus is the Christ so Peter and John return back to there edenick Garden community rejoicing but it is here when the community begins to break down in rot a man named ananias with his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds when Peter finds out about this the power of God rushes through the body of Christ like a heart attack and in an inversion of the story of Adam and Eve and ananias and Sapphira die where they stand strange story is best seen in light of its context it would seem that ananias and Sapphira give us a precursor a picture of the false teachers that the early church WIll face and how it will shape the rest of the Christian story you see this was a time where the spirit of God was richly blessing the unity of the young Christian Community to see it fracture and break so quickly should remind us of Adam and Eve eating of the tree of knowing Good and Evil or Israel worshiping the calf at the foot of Mount Sinai this story explains Christian Community will suffer in the hands of a sinful Humanity but God will always remain Sovereign over it rooting out those who will become false teachers by his power and by his strength not by human cunning so we see the power of Christ works powerfully and providentially through his body and through our main character Peter God works even through Peter's Shadow as a dim reflection of his magnificent Grace in the world and though Peter with his brothers are arrested again the spirit of God miraculously frees them even when they are rearrested the next day the wisdom of God works in and through the Jewish leadership to set them free once again that is why despite being beaten mercilessly Peter and his brothers always go away rejoicing but we can see that these events the false teachers in the opposition from the authorities have been but birthing pains for the young Christian Church one day the Deacon Stephen finds himself giving a powerful sermon to the Jewish religious leaders enraged by his remarks that they have killed the one hope that they had they begin to hurl stones at his head and throwing aside their cloaks with all reason they kill him In Cold Blood the death of Stephen the Martyr Rings like a shot fired around the Roman Empire the thousands of Christians who had given their lives to serving the Christ wake up and begin to flee back to their hometowns The Following part of the story was learned through careful Research into the wisdom of men and women who lived centuries after Jesus's Ascension scenes in black and white should be taken as historical events not the inspired word of God even though scholastically disputed we believe this story to be accurate to the best of our abilities while these events do not have an Associated chapter and verse you can decide what it means for you over the next several decades the mother Church in Jerusalem began to establish City centers for Christians fleeing persecution around the Empire these Christian centers were called seas and by the end of the first century four seas had been established in the largest most vibrant cities like levitical Cities of Refuge these Seas were created in Jerusalem Antioch Alexandria and of course Rome after the Jerusalem sea was established the second of these ancient Seas would have likely been Antioch one of the first communities to call themselves Christian and so in light of growing false teachings the apostles felt it right to put leaders over each Church community James was elected to be the leader of the mother Church in Jerusalem and Peter was given the role leading the church in Antioch meanwhile in Samaria the church was about to encounter its first Real historic enemy with a face Simon magus his name was derived from the singular form of the Greek word Magi meaning magician or sorcerer often referred to as Simon the Magician this itinerant Samaritan became the founder of the earliest Christian heresy known as gnosticism gnostics denied the material world and therefore the Incarnation of Jesus claiming that he could not have been God because of the immorality of the material who was God then well gnosticism is an extremely varied tradition many will concede that God is some sort of impersonal Transcendent mysterious force that could inhabit anybody which is why by the second century we find a simonian sect of gnostics in Rome who worship Simon himself as Yahweh the god of Israel or Zeus depending on who you asked it was this Simon Magus who meets Peter and John in a Samaritan City Center when Peter uses the second of his keys to unlock the door for the Samaritans to enter into the kingdom of God in Christ the Apostle Peter lays his hands on the Samaritans with John and the apostles create a microcosm of the events from Pentecost one year prior this is a Samaritan Pentecost however Simon Magus seeing this outpouring of the true God's divine power desires to buy it given his history he likely believes that he can turn around and perform these incredible Feats of healing magic for the people given the right price of course but here the Apostle Peter curses him he says may your silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money you have neither part nor lot in this matter for your heart is not right before God and though Peter demands that Simon Magus repent he does not instead he slips away until an opportune time now as Peter went here and there among the Samaritans he came down also to the Saints who lived at lit up and there he found a man named Aeneas bedridden for eight years who was paralyzed and Peter said to him ayenneus Jesus Christ heals you rise and make your bed and immediately he rose now as if Peter didn't think this was an amazing healing there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha which translated means Dorcas since Lita was near Joppa the disciples hearing that Peter was there sent two men to him urging him please come to us without delay and so Peter Rose and went with them and when he arrived they took him to the upper room all the widows Stood Beside him weeping and showing tunics at other garments that Dorcas had made while she was with them but Peter put them all outside and he knelt down and prayed and turning to the body he said Tabitha arise much like his Lord and Master said the Lazarus and she opened her eyes and when she saw Peter she sat up and he gave her his hand and raised her up and then calling the Saints and the widows he presented her alive and it became known throughout all Joppa and many believed in the Lord and so Simon thought it well to stay in Joppa for a while with a Tanner while the miraculous events in Jabba are happening 38 miles north in caesarea the Lord is moving once again powerfully in his magnanimity this is a moment that will Define the rest of human history as a centurion a leader of the Italian cohort goes out on his rooftop Cornelius was his name and he worshiped the god of Israel praying one day during the daily burnt offering God appeared to him in a vision and he told him that his prayers had been answered in the person of Simon Peter and this is where we find Peter going out on his Rooftop in Joppa at the same time suddenly Peter sees a sheet of clean and unclean animals descending upon him though Peter was perplexed and appalled he begins to discern the meaning of this Vision God is revealing the people he has created for himself in accordance with the prophet Isaiah Peter now realizes it clearly God's Community is structured in such a way that the holy spirit will pour forth out into Jerusalem Samaria into the ends of the Earth that is when cornelius's men find Peter and bring him to the house of the Centurion Peter is about to unlock the door for a gentile Pentecost and thus use the last of his keys from his life in the short sermon that he gives at the centurion's home you can hear the trepidation and fear that no doubt saturated every word Peter must have recalled the many times his friends and family had been hauled off by the Roman government imprisoned or even condemned to death he must have recalled the Centurion whose ear he had cut off at his master's capture but it was in the midst of these memories that the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word and the Believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles for they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God and then Peter declared can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have and he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ then they asked him to remain for some days we may never know what Peter was up to during those days in Samaria reaching the corners of the Earth for the first time but around the empire trouble begins to stir in the hearts of powerful men when the gospel was brought to the Jewish leaders they killed the first person that spoke Stephen when the gospel was brought to Samaria James the great is captured and killed by Herod Antipas and seeing that it pleased the Jews after the gospel is brought to the Gentiles Peter is imprisoned shortly after by Herod Peter was sleeping Between Two Soldiers he was bound with two chains and centuries before the door were guarding the prison and behold an angel of the Lord stood next to him in a light Shone in the cell he struck Peter on the side and woke him up saying get up quickly and after escaping and relaying all that happened to him he departed and went to another place [Music] the year is likely around 43 A.D around a festival time in Jerusalem Peter realizing that the time he thought he had is running out in light of increasing opposition around the Empire she boards a ship ready to take Jewish pilgrims back the one of the biggest Jewish diaspora centers of the ancient world at the time Rome itself Peter likely kept this trip relatively quiet for a time after all having just escaped prison it might not have seemed tactful to call attention to the fact that the Church of Rome was founded by a much-wanted criminal who was a fugitive from Justice and Peter remains in Rome for about two or three years laboring intensely to secure and encourage the church community that he had found it there we may never know if Peter intended on staying in Rome indefinitely but we do know that by 46 A.D a a severe famine had hit the mother Church in Jerusalem and so Peter makes his way back to this Central sea while Peter was in Rome Paul and Barnabas had completed their first missionary journey they reported all that they had done to the elders and apostles in Jerusalem then gifting them with the funding that they had received throughout the Empire so that the famine would be bearable soon after they make their way back to their home Church in Antioch Peter arrives Days Later likely visiting the church he used to lead and thanking them for their generosity but it is here where Peter stands condemned in front of the Gentiles for when certain men came from James Peter refuses to eat with the Gentiles who he had helped graft into the family of God Paul's rebuke of Peter is harsh but Peter's actions have been inappropriate and out of step with the gospel that he has preached in the past and so Peter repents and he reconciles with his beloved brother Paul Paul then writes to the galatian church that he had planted just years prior in about 48 A.D one year later in 49 A.D the famine has only gotten worse but you see a spiritual famine has begun to infect the churches around the Empire as well as evidenced by the galatian letter and an account in Acts where legalism infects Peter's founding Church in Antioch a Council needs to be called in order to address the growing number of Gentiles in the Christian Movement the main issue at hand is this is it necessary for Gentiles to circumcise themselves so that they keep the law of Moses Peter is the first witness on the stand and he relays everything that happened at the Gentile Pentecost in caesarea how the Holy Spirit has been poured out even on the Gentiles circumcising their hearts James the just as leader of the Jerusalem sea adjudicates the final verdict is clear Gentiles have been saved by the grace of God and for no other reason therefore out of reverence to this salvation they should reject all forms of idolatry but nonetheless do not need to become ceremonially Jewish shortly after these things Peter feels it necessary to strengthen encourage and support several churches across the Empire likely trying to embolden their hope in the face of false teachings and deep persecution Peter along with his wife go on their only missionary journey they travel first to Antioch in pontus then through Cappadocia into galatia in up into bithynia until finally making their way all the way down into Corinth well in Corinth a small faction of Peter loving Christians appear and begin to take his word more seriously than the other apostles Clan may have been small but they were certainly deeply influential that's why Paul writes to the Corinthians in about 54 A.D to remind them that all of Christ's disciples hold the same Authority and power being God's image out into the world as they are he says as one plants so in other waters but God gave the growth so neither he who plants nor he who Waters is anything but only God who gives the growth it was while Peter was in Corinth Simon Magus Peter's ancient enemy appears in Rome later writings of Simon Magus will show up bearing his very own name in these documents Simon claims to be the Triune God who has appeared to the world in different forms to Samaria the magician has graciously appeared as God the Father to Israel Simon is God the son who reconciles Israel back to himself into the Pagan world he lives among the sorcerer is the powerful and magical Holy Spirit in the simonian creation myth the first thought anawia was produced from the father's mind in order to create the Angels who in turn created the visible Universe these angels however imprisoned the first thought out of jealousy placing her in a human body so that she could not return to the father she was thus doomed to pass from body to body the most recent being that of Helen in order to redeem his first thought the father descended in human shape as Simon and offered salvation to human beings if they would recognize him as the first God so of course when Peter learns about this and how his precious Roman Church has fallen prey to this heinous and unjust teaching Peter rushes back to Rome around 55 A.D all the while emperor Nero has ascended to power in Roman persecution has only intensified for the next 10 years Peter will work tirelessly to push back against the false teaching and persecution fighting for all that he knew to be right and true Peter must have seen the Roman Church as the Crown Jewel of the Christian Movement after all he had lived and suffered his entire life under the oppressive thumb of the empire he knew that the Messiah was coming to liberate him and his Israelite family so to see the Messianic movement take hold in the Roman city must have echoed the words of his master you are a city on a hill it was Christ in Babylon so over the course of 10 years slowly and organically the four C's began to look to Peter's leadership in Rome likely this was the case because of Simon Peter's High leadership position among the twelve during Jesus's Ministry from Alexandria to Jerusalem ancient accounts record Peter settling moral philosophical and Theological disputes that arose around the Christian world then in 64 A.D a power-hungry Nero lusts after a plot of land next to his home on Palantine Hill he longs to expand his 300 acre monolith of a palace East only a pesky residential neighborhood stands in his way and so when a fire begins in the Roman heat of July it spreads faster than anyone could have imagined burning huge portions of the Roman city to the ground in a desperate attempt to flee the responsibility of this Monumental disaster Nero blames the Christians in outpouring of hatred floods the Roman streets and Christians are stolen from their homes burned alive roasted in animals and crucified Peter as the leader of the Roman Church's knows that he will soon be martyred this is why he writes his only two letters to churches across Asia Minor over the course of just two years to remind them that after his departure they may be able at any time to recall these things Peter has worked nearly his entire life to push back against the simonian heresy that's why he says that the apostles did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but he assures them we were eyewitnesses of his majesty of his majesty indeed you see Peter is captured sometime in and around 64 A.D he's likely tortured and then called to his execution fulfilling the words of his God and Savior Jesus Christ that another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go Peter is condemned to be crucified likely a cruel mockery of the faith that he professes unable to take a blessing such as that dying in the same way as his God and Savior Jesus Christ Peter asks to be crucified upside down you see Peter was able to endure a life of bitter suffering from the small town of bethsaida to the Roman Empire because he had set his hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ the Revelation being that according to his promise we are waiting for new Heavens in A New Earth in which righteousness dwells for you see Peter's ability to suffer was foundationally rooted in Jesus being God incarnate and that this God will return in the very same Glory and Majesty that Peter himself witnessed on the Mount of transfiguration so while he hanged there Peter must have recalled the words he wrote just a few years prior [Music] you were ransomed so that you would become a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and Into His Marvelous Light foreign just so that Mike can pick me up no no matter what you believe there is perhaps no greater apologetic or defense of the Christian faith in its validity within the Basilica standing behind me the Basilica of Saint Peter for some this church represents the Deep Pride rooted in the heart of Pope Julius II to others this church is the representation of God's Kingdom on Earth but to me to the Christian story this church is a monument to a man who grew up in a small Galilean Village 2 000 years ago a man who deserved absolutely nothing and yet by the sheer Grace of God's will was grafted into the story of redemption indeed Peter's life is told as a story that represents all of us something must have happened to this man something big something so reality altering that he gave up everything he knew to follow a God that had saved him from himself this church reminds us that God's spirit does not dwell in buildings no matter how large but in the hearts and in the lives of the people on whom he has chosen to pour out his spirit like he did two thousand years ago hey Bible thank you so much for enjoying this Bible Unbound video you know Bible Unbound has a vision to see this kind of gospel-centered biblical content available to everyone for free unfortunately it costs Hefty some to produce fortunately however the Lord knew how the world worked 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Channel: Bible Unbound

Views: 4,526

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Id: 84LlhPII9IY

Length: 39min 45sec (2385 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 07 2023