In Luke 22:32, Jesus tells Peter what to do “after thou art converted.” This seems like an odd thing for Him to say, Peter has been part of His ministry for three years. Peter has walked on the water; he has witnessed the transfiguration, and seen Jesus with Moses and Elijah (how did Peter know who the other two men were?); he has proclaimed Jesus to be the Christ, to which Jesus responded that that was revealed by His Father. Peter was the Rock on which Jesus would build His church. How is it that Jesus is talking about Peter’s conversion in future tense?
There are a lot of things in the Gospels that would indicate that Peter was a minister of the Gospel. He witnessed a lot of miracles: a coin in a fish’s mouth, that Peter himself hooked from the sea; his mother-in-law healed of a grave illness, a fig tree that withered because Jesus cursed it. He was right by Jesus’ side for most of the three years of Jesus’ ministry. He himself cast out demons and healed the sick.
At the same time, there are instances that showed that Peter really didn’t understand what Jesus’ ministry was all about. Once Jesus rebuked Peter sharply, because Peter promised to defend Jesus if anyone tried to hurt Him. Even after being rebuked for that, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter grabbed a sword and was apparently ready to fight off the entire Roman army. Peter didn’t want to let Jesus wash his feet (but then when Jesus explained to him that He had to wash his feet in order for Peter to have a part in Jesus, then Peter wanted his head and hands washed, too). Peter fell asleep at the Garden of Gethsemane, during a time when Jesus most needed the support of His disciples. Peter was also the one that denied that he knew Jesus.
So what happened to cause Peter to be converted? What was the event? The big thing that happened after Jesus made that statement was that He was crucified. Remember that Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be born again. How does one get born again? Romans 6:4 says that we should walk in newness of life after we have been buried with Him by baptism unto death. 1 Corinthians 5:7 tells us to purge out the old leaven, and become a “new lump” and makes reference to Christ being our Passover sacrifice. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that we are new creatures in Christ; all things are become new. Hebrews 10:20 tells us that we have a new and living way, through the flesh of Jesus.
It becomes clear that being born again has a lot to do with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, that, really, there were no Christians prior to the death, burial, and resurrection. There were followers of Jesus, but they didn’t have the whole Gospel truth, because it hadn’t happened yet. If Peter had his way, then Jesus would never have been crucified, and we would all be in our sins. Of course, Peter was converted when he understood the why of it all: that Jesus came as a sacrifice to save us from our sins.
There are a lot of things in the Gospels that would indicate that Peter was a minister of the Gospel. He witnessed a lot of miracles: a coin in a fish’s mouth, that Peter himself hooked from the sea; his mother-in-law healed of a grave illness, a fig tree that withered because Jesus cursed it. He was right by Jesus’ side for most of the three years of Jesus’ ministry. He himself cast out demons and healed the sick.
At the same time, there are instances that showed that Peter really didn’t understand what Jesus’ ministry was all about. Once Jesus rebuked Peter sharply, because Peter promised to defend Jesus if anyone tried to hurt Him. Even after being rebuked for that, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter grabbed a sword and was apparently ready to fight off the entire Roman army. Peter didn’t want to let Jesus wash his feet (but then when Jesus explained to him that He had to wash his feet in order for Peter to have a part in Jesus, then Peter wanted his head and hands washed, too). Peter fell asleep at the Garden of Gethsemane, during a time when Jesus most needed the support of His disciples. Peter was also the one that denied that he knew Jesus.
So what happened to cause Peter to be converted? What was the event? The big thing that happened after Jesus made that statement was that He was crucified. Remember that Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be born again. How does one get born again? Romans 6:4 says that we should walk in newness of life after we have been buried with Him by baptism unto death. 1 Corinthians 5:7 tells us to purge out the old leaven, and become a “new lump” and makes reference to Christ being our Passover sacrifice. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that we are new creatures in Christ; all things are become new. Hebrews 10:20 tells us that we have a new and living way, through the flesh of Jesus.
It becomes clear that being born again has a lot to do with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, that, really, there were no Christians prior to the death, burial, and resurrection. There were followers of Jesus, but they didn’t have the whole Gospel truth, because it hadn’t happened yet. If Peter had his way, then Jesus would never have been crucified, and we would all be in our sins. Of course, Peter was converted when he understood the why of it all: that Jesus came as a sacrifice to save us from our sins.
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