Transitions: Faith in Crisis: Peter's Story

We have now begun a new series called “Transitions.” In the coming weeks, we’ll be looking at some of the transitions certain Biblical characters faced and see what Scripture has to teach us about how to process changes in our own lives.

How to Use This Guide 

Thank you for taking the time to do this Bible study. When we dig deeper into God’s word, He promises to bless us. We follow in the footsteps of King David, who wrote in Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

This guide will provide a weekly framework for spiritual conversations with friends or family. We encourage you to reach out to a friend or two, pick a time to get together each week, and work through this guide together. This Bible study can also be a good tool for families, perhaps coordinated with mealtimes.

What does the Bible say?

In this series called “Transitions,” we’re looking at some of the transitions certain Biblical characters faced to see what Scripture has to teach us about how to process changes in our own lives.

Last week, we studied Abram’s transition from his home in Harran to the unknown land of Canaan. We saw how the character and promises of God led and provided for Abram and his family along the way. This week, we’ll focus on Simon Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, and observe a time when his faith was in crisis. We will learn that God is the Author of our faith story, and we can trust Him to write it with our good and His purposes in mind.

What is faith? Sometimes we think of faith as a set of beliefs or a belief system to which we subscribe. We align our thinking with the tenets of our faith, perhaps as laid out in the Apostles’ Creed or another manifesto of faith. Our faith is the truth we believe. It is real to us because it helps formulate what we believe about God and creates a stable foundation for the decisions we make about how we live. 

In the society of the first century when Jesus lived, faith was not so much a set of beliefs to adhere to but more of a concrete reality that worked itself out in action. In the time of Jesus, having faith in someone meant that you had confidence in them as a person, even so far as placing your hope in them to be reliable and do what they said they would do. Faith meant committing yourself not just to ideas and concepts but to a person. Faith (or pistis in the Greek) carried a practical and relational aspect that one could feel and act upon. This kind of faith can go through a crisis and become stronger, as we will see in Peter’s story.

Read: Luke 22:31-34

Jesus spoke the words in Luke 22:31 to Simon (Peter) after the last supper He had with His disciples on the night He was arrested. As you may remember, earlier that day, Jesus sent Peter and John ahead to prepare the Passover meal (Luke 22:7-13). On that night, Jesus washed the disiples’ feet (John 13:1-20). Peter resisted at first, but when pressed by Jesus to make a deeper commitment, Peter jumped in with both feet. After they finished their meal, Jesus began to speak about a betrayal by one of the disciples (Luke 22:21-22). This statement spurred the disciples to compete with one another about the level of their commitment and which one of them should be considered the greatest (Luke 22:23-25). Jesus steered them back to humility, service, and love, which were the foundations of His kingdom and the way the leaders of such a kingdom were to rule it (Luke 22:26-30). 

In Luke 22:31-32, what does Jesus say, and who does He say it to? Simon is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Shim'on which means “he has heard.” When Jesus says Simon’s name twice, He is appealing to him to listen carefully and hear what He is saying. What is Satan doing in verse 31? What is Jesus doing in verse 32? What does Simon Peter say in verse 33? Do you think that what Simon Peter has to say shows he was listening to what Jesus had said? What would you have said if Jesus had said the same thing to you? 

Jesus then addresses Simon Peter as “Peter” in verse 34. This is the name that Jesus gave to Simon in Matthew 16:13-18 when he stated the truth about Jesus as Messiah, the Son of the living God. What does Jesus predict is going to happen? This statement seems to put Simon Peter at a loss for words. What do you think Peter was feeling and thinking as he processed what Jesus had just said? 

It is disturbing that Satan might demand to sift any Christian as wheat. It is even more mysterious why God would allow this. Until we remember that the Spirit led Jesus Himself to the wilderness so that Satan could test Him. The story of Job also fits in this scenario. God is behind the time of testing, and His goals for it will be accomplished. To say that Peter’s faith was in crisis is to say that Peter questioned whether Jesus was still worthy of his trust. Jesus’ actions were not what Peter expected, so He questioned whether Jesus was still someone worthy of his faith. Most Christians will not stop believing that God is real. What is more likely is that we will question whether God is worthy of our trust when we go through difficult times. We will question why things have to happen in certain ways. If we are honest, we are tempted to think that maybe God is not as good as we were taught to believe He is. 

We learn from Peter’s story that all people, even the most esteemed in the eyes of the church, will go through times when their faith in Jesus is tested. If this is true for them, how much more will it be true for you and me? No one is exempt from the sifting that must happen so that the wheat, the edible part, can be used for good. Jesus describes this process wherein wheat must be sifted so that the inedible chaff can be released. Only then can it be eaten. What do you think it means to sift a person like wheat? Have you ever gone through a time when you felt you were being sifted like wheat? Did you experience a crisis of faith during that time? What happened? Was there any chaff in your life that needed to be released? 

What happened next must have gone by in a blur for Peter. He went along with the other ten disciples to the Garden of Gethsemene with Jesus. When Jesus asked him to stay awake and pray, he couldn’t do it (Luke 22:39-46). Then, as Jesus said he would, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times (Luke 22:54-62). Only Luke records Jesus’ response to Peter when the cock crowed in Luke 22:61. What did Jesus do? Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said. What was his response in verse 62? What do you think Jesus’ face looked like when He turned and looked at Peter after his denial? Do you think Jesus’ face communicated, “I told you so!” or “I’m so disappointed”? We can’t know for sure, but we have a couple of clues. In Mark’s gospel, when the women found the tomb empty and were told Jesus had risen from the dead, the angel also told them to go and tell Jesus’ disciples “and Peter” to meet Jesus in Galilee (Mark 16:7). This mention must have meant the world to Peter who surely believed he had committed the worst sin imaginable. He had forcefully denied he knew Jesus. We also know that Jesus gave Peter the chance to renew his faith in Him in John 21 in a scene much like Jesus’ original call in Luke 5:1-11. In John’s account, Peter was able to affirm His love for Jesus three times to cover the three denials. Peter would then be the leader of the early church in Acts. 

Just as Jesus promised to pray for Peter, He is praying for you and me as we face our time of sifting (see Hebrews 7:25). He is praying for you right now. What do you think He is praying? 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I praise You as the Author and Finisher of my faith. When my faith is shaken or in crisis, I can trust that You are who You say You are and that I am Your beloved child. Lord, I believe. Help me when I'm tempted to waver in my faith. Thank You. Amen.