Snap Back
Author: Rev. Jerry Mann
When I was a youngster, I was fascinated with a small hard-shelled beetle-like insect that we called a snapping bug. Some people called it a click bug. You could flip it over on its back and it would lay there and kick and all of a sudden it would snap, and it would go up in the air eight inches or more and come down back on its feet. So, we would take our finger and flip it back over on its back just a kickin’ and then it would snap and go up in the air and come back down on its feet.
Have you ever been knocked off your feet? Have you had any setbacks? We want to look at three setbacks in the life of Peter. First of all, we find in the 16th chapter of Matthew, Jesus asked, “Who do people say that I am?” and Peter spoke up and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in Heaven.” And in a few seconds, he had a setback. He contradicted Jesus and Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan.” Second of all, Jesus told him, according to the Old Testament, the shepherd is going to be struck and the sheep are going to be scattered. And Peter told him that even though other people might deny you and scatter, I’m sure not going to be one of those, I’m going to stick right in there. And in just a little bit, he had a setback, he denied Jesus. And then we find the third setback in Galatians 2:11-14, if you remember, God gave Peter the revelation, don’t call what God has called clean, unclean, concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. He went back on that. The apostle Paul noticed that, and he confronted Peter in his hypocrisy, because he was bringing others along with him, so, Paul confronted him publicly. The Bible doesn’t say anything more about that, but we do know that Peter snapped back on his feet, and he was a blazing witness for Jesus, faithful to the very end. He was crucified, gave up his life for the love of Jesus and died a martyr. And you will read in The Passion Translation in the introduction to Matthew, they quoted the church fathers and historians who said that Peter and Paul preached together in Rome and set up new churches.
So, if you have been knocked off your feet, had some setbacks or will have some setbacks, snap back like Peter. Be faithful and keep on rollin’.
Have you ever been knocked off your feet? Have you had any setbacks? We want to look at three setbacks in the life of Peter. First of all, we find in the 16th chapter of Matthew, Jesus asked, “Who do people say that I am?” and Peter spoke up and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in Heaven.” And in a few seconds, he had a setback. He contradicted Jesus and Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan.” Second of all, Jesus told him, according to the Old Testament, the shepherd is going to be struck and the sheep are going to be scattered. And Peter told him that even though other people might deny you and scatter, I’m sure not going to be one of those, I’m going to stick right in there. And in just a little bit, he had a setback, he denied Jesus. And then we find the third setback in Galatians 2:11-14, if you remember, God gave Peter the revelation, don’t call what God has called clean, unclean, concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. He went back on that. The apostle Paul noticed that, and he confronted Peter in his hypocrisy, because he was bringing others along with him, so, Paul confronted him publicly. The Bible doesn’t say anything more about that, but we do know that Peter snapped back on his feet, and he was a blazing witness for Jesus, faithful to the very end. He was crucified, gave up his life for the love of Jesus and died a martyr. And you will read in The Passion Translation in the introduction to Matthew, they quoted the church fathers and historians who said that Peter and Paul preached together in Rome and set up new churches.
So, if you have been knocked off your feet, had some setbacks or will have some setbacks, snap back like Peter. Be faithful and keep on rollin’.
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