February 1 I Tuesday

Exodus 27-28

Matthew 21:1-22

“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’“   —Luke 5:8

Simon Peter encountered Jesus, because his own brother, Andrew, brought him before Jesus. One of the first things that Jesus said to Peter was, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ (which, when translated, is Peter)” (John 1:42). Our lives in Christ are all about moving from “you are” to “you will be.”

      Peter began to experience this when Jesus told him to go into the deep and let down his nets for a catch. After fishing all night and coming up empty, Peter was reluctant, but because it was Jesus, he, along with Andrew and presumably James and John, was willing to go. Their catch was so plentiful that their nets broke, and their boats, filled with fish, began to sink. Afterwards, what was Peter’s reaction to Jesus? Peter fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

      In Michael Card’s book A Fragile Stone: The Emotional Life of Simon Peter, he wrote, “In response to the miraculous catch, Peter asks for what he really does not want. He asks for Jesus to leave. He has become the frightened fish thrashing in the net, wanting only to get away, or at least for Jesus to get away from him. Peter has come face to face with the frightening possibility of complete success. Failure, like their earlier empty net, seems so much safer and predictable.”

      Card continues, “…often in the presence of Peter, when Jesus reveals His true nature in a new way, the first words from His lips are, ‘Don’t be afraid.’  When He calms the storm (Mark 4:40), when He walks on the water (Mark 6:50; John 6:20), when He is transfigured into blazing light (Matthew 17:7) and when He is raised from the dead (Matthew 28:10)—each time Jesus comforts and calms Peter with these words. In each instance, when the veil is momentarily lifted and Peter has the terrifying realization that he, a veteran sinner, is in the presence of undiminished Deity, it totally undoes him (as indeed it should)….Simon knew then what we need to learn now: what we deserve is only death and separation from God and all His goodness. If we, for one blink, could step back and glimpse the awesome generosity of the One who should, by all rights, destroy us, we would join Simon on our knees with the same confession on our trembling lips.”

      Jesus sees who we are and knows who we will become. May we boldly step into a relationship with Him and embrace His generous love for us.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, what a sinful person I am, and yet You came to save me. Thank You for Your generous love. Praise You!