No 2

(Peter)

The New Testament contains four lists of the twelve Disciples and in each case, Peter is the first one named; it is safe to say that he was the leader. Peter had the necessary inborn gifts to be the leader of the Twelve and in the hand of the Master, he became just that; but not before much work and much patience on the part of Jesus. Peter was inquisitive; he asked more questions than all the other disciples combined. He had initiative; he was generally the first to answer any question that Jesus asked. Peter also got involved. When Jesus came to His Disciples in the middle of the night on the Sea of Galilee, Peter was the only one to walk out on the water; he had drive, ambition and energy. Jesus knew what He had to do to get Peter to acquire the proper skills for the leader he was to be. During Jesus’ three years on earth, He put Peter through a lot tough life experiences that eventually formed him to be the leader that Christ wanted him to become. Another element that a leader must have besides the right inborn material and the right life experiences is character. Peter had character but had problems controlling himself in various situations. He had to be taught to be submissive, to have restraint, to be humble and he had to learn love. Jesus accomplished what He had set out to do with Peter – in Peter’s first epistle, he penned the following words “5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” (1 Peter 5: 5,6). Another character trait that Peter had to learn was compassion. Oftentimes leaders lack in this area and are intolerant of underachievers. So how was Peter to acquire all these qualities in just three years? The answer is found in a wonderful verse of scripture in the Gospel of Luke “ 31And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”(Luke 22:31, 32). The Lord knew what He was doing when He chose Peter. (This study and subsequent ones on the 12 Disciples come from a book by John MacArthur entitled “Twelve Ordinary Men”)