Passover to Pentecost
For many Christians, the time following Easter is just like any other time of the year. While that might be generally true, there is much to be gleaned if we will take a little time and look. After Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead, He spent 40 days appearing to His followers. This is called the “40-day post-resurrection ministry” of Jesus. Acts 1:3 says: "After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” (NIV) Not only is this period of time special to Christians, it was also special to the Jewish people. While the Passover holiday was the most important holiday on the Jewish calendar, their next most important holiday, Pentecost, was only 50 days after Passover.
During this 40-day time following Easter Sunday, the apostle Peter met Jesus many times. One of the most interesting stories of Jesus appearing to His followers is found in John 21. It seems that seven of the disciples (Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John and two unnamed disciples) had gone fishing on the Sea of Galilee. After a night of fruitless fishing, the sun rises and these disciples look to shore and see someone standing next to a fire. This unknown person calls to them and asks how their night of fishing went. After Peter and his companions say they had caught nothing, the stranger tells them to throw their nets out one more time. This was a common fishing practice. Often “watchers” might see a movement in the water or ripples in the surf, indicating there was a school of fish moving under the water. The result was that they caught a large number of fish. With this overwhelming catch of fish, some of the disciples have a memory flash. They remember this happened when they first met Jesus. Then John said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Peter heard this, he jumped into the surf and hurried to see if it really was Jesus. When the disciples pull their catch of fish to shore, they scramble to meet Jesus as well. They find that Jesus has made a breakfast of fish and bread for them.
After breakfast Jesus and Peter take a walk on the beach. During the walk, Jesus confronts Peter. It is important to understand that Peter needs some help, encouragement and guidance. Remember what had happened when Jesus was arrested and put on trial. Peter had denied Jesus. Jesus had warned Peter that these denials were coming. Responding to Jesus’ predictions, Peter said he would never do such a thing. Pause for a moment and consider the magnitude of this failure. As you read the Gospels, Peter is the “alpha disciple.” In the first-century Jewish culture, honor and loyalty were everything. When Jesus called the 12 to follow him, there would be a rivalry between these men. The rivalry related to who loved Jesus the most. Who followed Jesus with the most zeal and dedication? Who accomplished the most and who would be perceived as the greatest? Many today might see this as childish and counterproductive, but there is no denying this rivalry existed among Jesus’ disciples. How devastating must Peter’s denials of Jesus have been? Peter, viewing himself as the best and most dedicated disciple, felt tremendous shame after his denial and betrayal of Jesus. Peter’s denial did not just happen once, this failure happened three times and was punctuated with vows and curses. Undoubtedly, in Peter’s tortured mind, he viewed himself as no true disciple of Jesus.
Peter’s fatal flaw was that his identity was based on his own superiority to his fellow disciples. Any identity based on one’s own superiority and strength is a flawed identity. When Peter built his identity, security and well-being on his own power and resourcefulness, he was doomed. It was during this walk with Jesus that Peter was challenged to love Jesus and to stand with Jesus. We are not great because of our resources, wisdom and successes, rather it is because of Jesus! Jesus encouraged Peter, and He encourages us to rely on Him. Jesus asks us to give Him our burdens and problems. Jesus asks us to rely on His power, His healing and salvation.
During His 40-day post-resurrection ministry, Jesus was rebuilding the faith, trust and hope of Peter and the other followers. As we move past Easter, let us rely completely on Jesus. It is not our victories or defeats that define us. When we follow Jesus, we are defined as children of the Father, with Jesus as our saving brother. Keep looking up!