Dumb Jews... ?

I grew up with Bible stories, many from the Old Testament, and in my arrogance, self-righteousness, and lack of understanding of how sinful I am, I thought that Bible characters, always forgetting about God and falling into idolatry, were dumb.

I know a bit better now, what with God opening my eyes to my own idols and unbelief.

One of those stories, though, was always the story of Peter. He always seemed so... dumb. His telling Jesus what he couldn't do, denying him, cutting off the dude's ear in the garden, etc.

I want to specifically think about Peter's denial of Jesus, though. I mean, how dumb was that? Peter had been told by Jesus who he was, how he was going to come back to life from the dead; he'd seen miracles! But he denied him.

And the way we're used to thinking about this is often about Peter's lack of faith and boldness for Jesus' sake. And that's true. He sinned. We often sin like him, don't we?

But that's not the point. The point is found previously in the passage. And it's this. God struck Jesus and scattered the sheep. Why'd the sheep scatter? Because the Shepherd was struck; he no longer sustained their faith. Remember who gave Peter his faith? God. And who is its sustainer? God!

So what's the point? Jesus is the creator and sustainer of our faith. The point of this passage isn't "Be more bold!" or "Have more faith!" - it's this: Jesus makes faith; look at how great Jesus is; look how forgiving Jesus is; look at how sovereign Jesus is.

We're all dumb, aren't we? But praise God! He gives us faith, gives us righteousness to be declared righteous before him, and is giving us the new universe. Praise the Lord!