 Good morning and welcome back to the second session and in this session We're going to study on first and second Peter. We're going to study on first and second Peter. So We all know the author of this letter. Who's the author of this letter? Yes, of course, it's Apostle Peter. So yeah, I just displayed this image He was married Apostle Peter was married He had his younger brother Andrew and he was one among the twelve disciples of Jesus He seemed to be a prominent figure or the spokesperson. He was a very prominent Leader so other than that, what do we know about Peter? Class feel free to share so that we keep the session interactive and it would be interesting to us What do we know about Peter? Anything that you know, you have studied in the Gospels in the four Gospels. We did study about Peter, isn't it? He was a very prominent figure prominent leader as well I've just taken all these pictures from the reason chosen series to keep our class interesting and interactive Well Peter was the author of this letter first and second Peter and This book is also the first Peter is known as the book of suffering and glory first Peter is also known as the book of suffering and glory The name Peter is reference 210 times 210 times in the New Testament More than any other single figure other than Jesus Christ So Peter is referred in the New Testament by three different names Can anyone guess what are the three different names that Peter carried or has? Anyone from the class can unmute and share One is Simon Can you hear me? Yes. Yes one is Simon and the other see first which Jesus changed and said you are see first, right? And then I Called you see this something else. Is that it? I don't know That's what came to mind immediately Simon and see Thank you. Thank you Nina. You're right first was Simon Simon was the name given by his parents Which means the lead The second as Nina said see first see first was an aramic name given to him by Jesus which means rock or a stone The third is Peter Peter is the Greek Equivalent of the Aramic name see first again, which means rock pebble or a small stone So Jesus makes a play on his name when he talks about building his church Building this church when we Can I request you all to turn to Matthew chapter 16 verse 16 to 18 Matthew? Matthew chapter 16 verse 16 to 18 if you have taken you can read Anyone have taken Matthew 16 16 to 18 Matthew chapter 16 verse 16 to 18 Simon Peter answered you are the Messiah the sound the living God Good for you, Simon son of John Jesus answered Jesus for this true did not come to you from any human being But is given to you directly by my father in heaven and so I tell you Peter You are a rock and on this rock foundation I will build my church and not even death will ever be able to overcome it Man thank you So you see how Jesus in the same verse he addresses him as Simon and as Peter and then he says You are rock and upon this rock. I will build the church I'll build my church and the gates of AIDS shall not prevail against it We also see when we read When we read the gospel is okay, Matthew, Mark Luke and John We see that Peter was a prominent figure among the disciples Let me see if I have he was it was a prominent figure among the disciples So can we list out some of the remarkable events of Peter that you recollect when we had studied the Gospels any of the events that you remember I'm sure all of us know just that you need to Unmute and share What you remember the remarkable events of Peter ma'am One event I remember is when Jesus was washing the disciples feet Peter Peter began to question as to why Jesus was washing the feet And he didn't want Jesus to do that and then when Jesus and Jesus said that it is important that you know I have to wash your feet and he told the reason immediately Peter was very Immediately Peter said that please not really wash my feet but wash my whole body He's always been He's always been on the extreme side I Yes, yes Another thing that he did was he walked on water even if it was a short time Yes, when he kept his eyes fixed on Jesus he walked Then we looked at the winds in the waves of course then he sank So that's one thing which he did which all the others didn't do they all sat in the boat But he said when he said in which can I come and he went and he did that for a short while Then of course he was part of the transfiguration Wow called for yeah The three of them were always called for special I mean the Lord took them whether it was to raise up even Jerry's daughter or Think like that a couple of things that kind of in a inner circle that he was part of Then of course he denied the Lord also not a very good thing, but he was known for that Thank you. Thank you Nina. There were many instances that you have shared. Thank you so much others in the class so one thing that I would like to share was when Jesus reinstuted Peter. So after the resurrection We see that Peter is the one who's calling them to go and Go back to the fishing and that occupation and when Jesus called them back And then he's saying about Peter that the Peter do you love me and he's reinstating Peter and then Peter we see he's asking about John like what Lord about this man like He's pointing that like he's not like he's a person like who's so much questioning Jesus and even in the As Nina was talking about the transfiguration thing like he says like, you know, let us make a tabernacle here and stay here So he's so much, you know, he is he just wants to be with the Lord but and he's so much Different from the other disciples like he keeps on questioning and he wants to know more and I see that in Peter Yes, yes. Thank you. Thank you, Jack and for sharing Anyone else who would like to add Okay, you've made my class easy. Thank you so much. Yeah, most of the points have been shared by all three Yes, so to start up with Let me change the slide Okay Let's try this again So he was born in a town of betside on the sea of Galilee as per the The gospel john and we also see that he was a son of a man by the name Johnna and he was a fisherman by trade and his brother was named andro So, uh, the uh through the gospels we learned that We learned that andro and peter were both the disciples of john the baptist And after the advice of john the baptist, they started to follow Jesus So and uh, when they had an encounter with Jesus at the seashore, this is the picture that I've Put across here Okay So this is the time period where the whole night peter and andro are toiled in fishing They were not very successful in catching But then jesus comes here Jesus comes and they have an encounter and they are able to catch the fish though the whole night they're toiled But now at the very word of jesus peter's able to catch the fish and then after the catch jesus Follow me Follow me. We read that in uh, uh, matthew chapter 4 verse 18 to 19 We see that jesus walking by the sea of galilee Saw two brothers Simon hauled peter and andro is brother Casting a net into the sea For they were the fishermen Then he said to them Follow me and I will make you the fishers of men And they immediately left their nets and followed him. Look at the response Now what made peter to follow jesus? the miracle Because he knew the whole night he toiled it did not find any fish But in the very word of the teacher the very word of the master He cast the net not even in the deep sea You know just little further from the shore But then he were he was able to get the fish that was nothing but a miracle and here He also recollects that The word of john the factors the minute g got prepared his heart the minute jesus called him Follow me. He left the net and followed jesus earnestly Later in the gospel of luke six We also see that he was one among the 12 parcels of the lamb and And among all the 12 he considered to be as jackson was sharing that he was Very active in nature. He seemed to be the spokesperson among the group Even though occasionally he got them into trouble And yes as nina said he was one among the three in the inner circle always peter james and john were present with jesus in the many instances and We also see when When jesus as john was sharing when jesus wanted to wash the feet of all the disciples Of which peter was not ready to give his But when jesus explained it, he said, okay, why just the feet you give me a complete part We also see that, um, you know, he always tried to protect jesus from arresting by the soldiers of the garden of gethsemane and his um aggressive in nature also made him to take the sword and cut the soldiers here of which jesus fixed it back We also see that after the arrest of jesus during the drive time how peter Denied jesus three times in fact He was the one who said jesus that he will not deny him is ready to give his life But he seemed to be the first one as jesus Told him even before the cock grows you will deny me three times and that was exactly what peter did Also in the gospel of luke and john We see that he was the first disciple to go to the empty tomb of jesus And he was also as jackson was sharing after the ascension of Jesus after jesus been the rise we read in john chapter 21 verse 15 to 19 we see that he was commissioned by jesus to take care of the flock By saying how much do you love me three times and he literally Humbles himself throws himself and do the feet of jesus and he says lord you know me It's not that I have to explain it to you how much I love you But you know me and then jesus this is what he says Tend to my sheep take care of my sheep feed my sheep And later parted the same in the same chapter 21 john 21 verse 19 He says jesus indicted the man in which he would Die So even his death was already predicted by jesus so peter Actually also experienced some of the special miracles some of the special miracles like First even before he could follow jesus he received a miracle of the catch of fish first Second catch of fish was after the ascension of jesus again all the disciples along with peter They went back to the same fish trade The whole night they toyed they didn't find a fish And next day in the morning at the command of the man from the shore They they cast their net and they caught the fish and that's what made peter to realize that it was the son of God who's been ascended and here even before the boat could reach the shore along with the other disciples Peter jumps out of the boat he swims first and comes to meet jesus Saying that you are the true messiah and he asks for forgiveness For the act that he did by denying him three times and jesus reaffirming friend of all the other disciples He forgets about the act that he did but then he appoints and he commissions him to be the leader for his Then we also see his mother-in-law was healed by cheese some of the Miracles that we see from the gospels are is that you know He was the only one to walk on the water at the invitation of Jesus and he also experienced the amount of Transfiguration along with the other two disciples from the inner circle And also he was the one who caught the fish with the coin in its mouth to pay the tax and peter Let me just give me a minute. Let me check that out Yeah, this was the large fish that was caught in the word of jesus Okay, this is okay um Yeah, peter was a key player in the book of acts when we read through the acts it talks about two people Okay, about a posse peter and a posse board So peter was a key player in the book of acts And in the life of the early church now How do we know that in the book of acts chapter one and two it addresses that how peter encouraged The rest of the apostles in the process to replace Judas So he took the leadership Now Judas is not there somebody should replace him so that they are 12 Apostles And he preached the main message on the day of pentecost at this very uh a message 3000 Came into the knowledge of Christ We also see that he became a man of many miracles how in the book of acts it's recorded that he Healed a lame man along with the apostle John as he was entering the Temple this lame man was lame from the bird this man was lame from the He was crippled from the bird and you know, he was expecting arms As peter and john were walking in he was looking at their hands and here peter says i do not have Silver or gold but in the name of jesus christ of nazareth rise up and walk You also see that this shadow falling on people resulted in healing and Deliverance, we also see some of the other healing that he healed a man by the name of Highness in lighter He also raised darkness from the death In jopa we see that in acts chapter nine when we read through from verse 33 to 42 We see these two miracles there. You also stood strong In the face of persecution when we see persecution He stood strong In fact, you know, we see that at the end peter was crucified upside down But here in times of persecution christians were persecuted in The in in robe under the empire Nero And here apostle peter was encouraging the christian believers or the jewish christians and the others who followed jesus to stack strong at the time of persecution He pronounced judgment to uh on ananias and safira who fell dead by his very word He was also imprisoned on several locations and you know when the Uh As he was praying on one day, you know, there was a There was a door that was opened by faith to the gentiles toward the house of cornellius where he received this vision and god God revealed it to him that you know, there will be three people coming to call him And go to their house and proclaim the word and the holy spirit And counted cornellius and his household and this was the first time that peter Experienced how god can open a door among the gentiles And later he was also the main spokesperson at the jerusalem council which took place on addressing many issues in those days, yeah We also see that he made many Trips in some cases he traveled with his wife We read in first correntines chapter nine verse five where it says do we have No right to take along the believing wife As do also the other apostles the brothers of the lord and See first so see uh peter seemed to have traveled on many occasions along with his wife and the When we read through the book of angst we see that he traveled to Traveled and minister at samaria along with john and he ministered in lyder and sharon He also ministered at jobas the seria and he visited the church in anthea And he also traveled across asia minor and he ministered there And finally it says that he spent time in babel on babel on those days is considered to be For rome it was a popular code named for rome among the victims of its oppressions. Yeah Further we see that the later the last days peter seemed to have lived in rome and he was crucified upside down By the hands of narrow The audience to whom this letter was addressed to was to the uh Jewish christians who were scattered across the asia minor and other places So he was writing this letter and encouraging the jewish and the gentile believers to withstand the persecution by keeping by um Encouraging them to be focused on jesus christ alone so that they can withstand the persecution what they're going through for the reward is much greater than what they are going through and uh Yeah, this is what it is and the occasion of this letter as we know that he was writing this letter to the people and he was writing this letter from rome itself It was uh, approximately the date that this letter was addressed was from 63 to 65 ad The main message let's go into the main message of first peter Yeah, the main message is peter's guarantee that he is uh, uh, it when we This is from second peter Okay, the first peter's main message is he is addressing that this letter Uh to the to the people who have been persecuted In different regions One of the reason how this persecution was birthed was um, you know the the emperor nero He himself set certain people to uh set the rome on fire and he there's a burn Among the 14 uh region can he burn and he and he and he blamed the christians for burning the rome for destroying for getting the rome destroyed because of the christians and what he did is He resulted in uh, you know persecuting the christians by throwing them Throwing them as a pray to the beast live and he burned some of the christians as a live tortures in this public garden And he only uh increased the intensity of the uh of the uh Persecution toward the christian so peter gives certain instruction and how to face and handle this Persecution he encouraged the believers like do not give up on what you're going through for your reward is greater Suffering for righteous Is part of the call of the believer you also say suffering uh is to be patiently endured Without retaliating you also says suffering can be a blessing when we read uh First peter chapter 2 and 3 we see that he's addressing on certain uh certain issues on Suffering and he encourages them because there's no other way for us to run away from this But then he says he is he's encouraging the believers as he's encouraging He's not running away from suffering, but then even he is enduring it. So he is just Sharing it from his own experience. So he's encouraging the other believers saying that suffering can be a blessing He is demonstrating from his own life And he also says that suffering identifies us with christ because even he's suffered on our behalf and uh, you also say suffering is part of god's will and that should be the nature of Christianity and because of all this we can actually enjoy Rejoice during the suffering that is something that we see the lifestyle of the apostles They actually rejoiced during the suffering. We also saw in peter's Uh episodes like how peter and sylas were cast into the prison, but instead of you know talking about the um The the persecution what they're going through or unfairness But they rejoiced and praised god because they rejoiced and praised god god showed up There was a great earthquake in the prison and they were released and the jailer's household was saved through that And your peace is encouraging all the other believers to rejoice in suffering So that may be some of the unique features of this book is He was the eyewitness of the suffering of christ and he was also the eyewitness in the transfiguration And with that he also charged the elders to feed the flock Just like how jesus asked him to feed the flock. We see uh, peter Raises the leadership and holds the same great model of leadership in his ministry He raised leaders and and put the leaders in charge of taking care of the flock He encouraged the audience to be clothed with humility because that should be the nature of the of Of the christian believers And we also see The nature of peter just like how jackson was shedding few instances of peter's nature as he was with jesus This nature was so very different. He was very aggressive. He was very Impetuous quick the judgment very ambitious. He was a person who was unpredictable But here after the death of jesus we see peter as a very different man There's a reputable change in him as a leader as a leader We see that when we read through the book of acts and when we read through his epistle first and second peter We see that there's a stability in his leadership He seemed to be very patient loving kind and humble servant of god These qualities that which was not present in peter before we see those qualities of christ He lived very evidently as a leader and also he addresses himself in first peter chapter five when we Read through first peter chapter five He's saying the elders who are among you. I absorb I who am a fellow elder He humbles himself and says i'm like you a fellow servant of god fellow elder Okay, and also when we read in first peter I'm just reading on few Scriptures and asking the class to read because I want to complete both these letters in this class Yeah first peter chapter one verse seven we see that We're talking about the genuineness of our faith being much more precious than gold that can bear it Though just tested but fire by fire But maybe found to praise on a glory at the revelation of christ and then also in other scriptures We see the word called Precious been used more than uh about eight times in both Peter's letter first and second letter. He uses this word called precious So he says like a faith more precious than gold and in verse 19 chapter 1 verse 9 being again He addresses saying that the precious blood of jesus christ Again, he says the precious among the chosen cornerstone And in chapter 3 verse 4 he addresses the precious gentle and quiet spirit And in second peter chapter 1 verse 4 is addressing on the great and precious promises So with that we will move on to second peter now first peter This book is known as The book of suffering and glory And second peter is addressed as the book of true knowledge Second peter is addressed as the book of true knowledge. I just take few more extra minutes to complete this letter