Peter - Character Deep Dive

SIMON (Σίμων / Simōn)
    │
    ├─ HEBREW: שִׁמְעוֹן (Shimon)
    │   │
    │   ├─ From שָׁמַע (shama) = "to hear"
    │   └─► "He who hears" / "God has heard"
    │
    ├─ CULTURAL CONTEXT:
    │   ├─ Common Jewish name
    │   ├─ Simon = son of Jonah (Matt 16:17)
    │   ├─ Fisherman from Bethsaida
    │   └─ Galilean accent (Matt 26:73)
    │
    └─► Birth name, natural identity

PETER (Πέτρος / Petros)
    │
    ├─ GREEK: Πέτρος
    │   │
    │   ├─ From πέτρα (petra) = "rock, bedrock"
    │   └─► "Stone" / "Rocky"
    │
    ├─ ARAMAIC EQUIVALENT: כֵּיפָא (Kepha / Cephas)
    │   │
    │   └─► John 1:42 - "You will be called Cephas"
    │       (which translated is Peter)
    │
    ├─ JESUS-GIVEN NAME:
    │   ├─ Not a compliment of current state
    │   ├─ Prophetic declaration of future identity
    │   └─► What he will become, not what he is
    │
    └─► Supernatural identity, prophetic calling

THE SIMON/PETER SPLIT
    │
    ├─ SIMON = Old nature, impulse, fear
    │   │
    │   ├─ Denies Jesus 3x (Matt 26:69-75)
    │   ├─ Rebukes Jesus for mentioning death (Matt 16:22)
    │   ├─ Sinks in water after starting strong (Matt 14:30)
    │   └─► "Get behind me, Satan!" (Matt 16:23)
    │
    └─ PETER = New nature, revelation, boldness
        │
        ├─ "You are the Christ" (Matt 16:16)
        ├─ Pentecost sermon (Acts 2)
        ├─ Heals lame beggar (Acts 3)
        └─► Foundation of the church (Matt 16:18)

THE GAP BETWEEN THEM:
    │
    └─► Every disciple lives in this tension
        Not yet fully Peter, no longer merely Simon
        │
        ├─ Sanctification = Simon dying, Peter emerging
        └─ Failure reveals which identity is operating

PETER'S OPERATIONAL PATTERN
    │
    ├─ COMMITMENT PHASE:
    │   │
    │   ├─ Bold declaration
    │   ├─ Total confidence
    │   ├─ First to act
    │   └─► "Even if all fall away, I never will!"
    │
    ├─ CRISIS PHASE:
    │   │
    │   ├─ Pressure applied
    │   ├─ Fear emerges
    │   ├─ Confidence evaporates
    │   └─► "I don't know him!"
    │
    └─ RESTORATION PHASE:
        │
        ├─ Recognition of failure
        ├─ Encounter with grace
        ├─ Recommission
        └─► "Feed my sheep"

THE CYCLE REPEATS until it doesn't

PETER'S IMPULSIVE PATTERN
    │
    ├─ SPEAKS FIRST:
    │   ├─ Matt 15:15 - "Explain the parable"
    │   ├─ Matt 16:16 - "You are the Christ" (right)
    │   ├─ Matt 16:22 - "Never Lord!" (wrong)
    │   ├─ Matt 17:4 - "Let's build shelters" (confused)
    │   ├─ Matt 18:21 - "How many times forgive?"
    │   └─ Matt 19:27 - "We've left everything"
    │
    ├─ ACTS FIRST:
    │   ├─ Matt 14:28 - Asks to walk on water
    │   ├─ Matt 17:24-27 - Temple tax question
    │   ├─ John 13:8 - Refuses foot washing
    │   ├─ John 18:10 - Cuts off soldier's ear
    │   └─ John 21:7 - Jumps in water to reach Jesus
    │
    └─ PATTERN:
        │
        └─► High passion + Low calculation
            │
            ├─ Strength: Authentic, immediate, wholehearted
            └─ Weakness: Unexamined, reactive, overconfident

THE SHAME MECHANISM
    │
    ├─ STRUCTURE:
    │   │
    │   ├─ Public declaration sets standard
    │   ├─ Private failure reveals gap
    │   ├─ Exposure triggers shame
    │   └─ Shame drives hiding/denial
    │       │
    │       └─► "I never knew him"
    │
    ├─ PETER'S SHAME MOMENTS:
    │   │
    │   ├─ Matt 14:30 - Sinking: "Lord, save me!"
    │   ├─ Matt 16:23 - Rebuked: "Get behind me, Satan"
    │   ├─ Matt 26:75 - Denial: "He went out and wept bitterly"
    │   └─ John 21:17 - Third question: "Peter was hurt"
    │
    └─ THE FUNCTION:
        │
        └─► Shame reveals the gap between
            prophetic identity (Peter)
            and actual performance (Simon)

PETER'S TENSION
    │
    ├─ PERFORMANCE MINDSET:
    │   │
    │   ├─ "I have left everything" (19:27)
    │   ├─ "I will lay down my life" (John 13:37)
    │   ├─ "Even if all fall away..." (26:33)
    │   └─► Identity based on what I do for Jesus
    │
    └─ GRACE REALITY:
        │
        ├─ Jesus prays for him before failure (Luke 22:32)
        ├─ Jesus looks at him during denial (Luke 22:61)
        ├─ Angel specifically names him (Mark 16:7)
        ├─ Jesus restores him privately (John 21)
        └─► Identity based on what Jesus does for me

THE BREAKTHROUGH:
    │
    └─► Acts 2 onwards - Peter stops performing
        and starts proclaiming what Jesus performed
        │
        └─► "Repent and be baptized" not
            "Try harder like I did"

BEING "FIRST"
    │
    ├─ ALWAYS LISTED FIRST (Matt 10:2):
    │   │
    │   ├─ Spokesman for the group
    │   ├─ First to speak, first to act
    │   ├─ Representative of the twelve
    │   └─► Pressure to perform, pressure to know
    │
    ├─ THE WEIGHT:
    │   │
    │   ├─ Cannot admit uncertainty
    │   ├─ Cannot show weakness
    │   ├─ Must have the answer
    │   └─► Sets up catastrophic failure
    │
    └─ THE IRONY:
        │
        └─► Greatest leader after he stops trying
            to be the greatest leader
            │
            └─► Failure qualifies more than
                self-confidence ever could

WHY PETER HAD TO FAIL
    │
    ├─ BEFORE DENIAL:
    │   │
    │   ├─ Confident in own strength
    │   ├─ Self-appointed protector of Jesus
    │   ├─ Certain of superior loyalty
    │   └─► "I will never..."
    │
    ├─ THE DENIAL:
    │   │
    │   ├─ Complete moral collapse
    │   ├─ Exactly what he swore he'd never do
    │   ├─ Not under torture - under question
    │   └─► Total exposure of actual capacity
    │
    └─ AFTER DENIAL:
        │
        ├─ No confidence in self
        ├─ Dependent on Jesus' restoration
        ├─ Humble authority (1 Pet 5:5-6)
        └─► "Lord, you know all things; you know I love you"

FORMATION PRINCIPLE:
    │
    └─► God doesn't use the self-confident
        God uses the broken and restored
        │
        └─► Peter's failure qualified him
            to shepherd those who fail

THE CALLING
    │
    ├─ "As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee..."
    │   │
    │   └─► Jesus initiates, Simon responds
    │       Not seeking - found
    │
    ├─ "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men"
    │   │
    │   ├─ Promise: Transformation of identity
    │   ├─ Process: Following (not achieving)
    │   └─► Product: New purpose (human fish)
    │
    └─ "Immediately they left their nets"
        │
        └─► Total, instant obedience
            First pattern: immediate commitment

CAESAREA PHILIPPI
    │
    ├─ CONTEXT:
    │   │
    │   ├─ Jesus: "Who do people say I am?"
    │   ├─ Disciples: Various answers
    │   └─ Jesus: "But who do YOU say I am?"
    │
    ├─ PETER'S ANSWER:
    │   │
    │   └─► "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"
    │       │
    │       ├─ Not flesh and blood revelation
    │       ├─ Given by the Father
    │       └─► Peter functioning as PETER here
    │
    └─ JESUS' RESPONSE:
        │
        ├─ "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah"
        │   (Note: "Simon" - but blessed for Peter-faith)
        │
        ├─ "You are Peter (rock)"
        │   │
        │   └─► Identity confirmed by revelation
        │       Not by performance
        │
        ├─ "On this rock I will build my church"
        │   │
        │   ├─ Debate: Peter himself? His confession?
        │   ├─ Both/And: Peter-who-confesses-Christ
        │   └─► Foundation = revelation-based faith
        │
        └─ "Gates of Hades will not overcome it"
            │
            └─► Prophecy: Even Peter's failure
                won't destroy the church

WHIPLASH (Same conversation, minutes later)
    │
    ├─ JESUS: "I must go to Jerusalem and suffer"
    │
    ├─ PETER: "Never, Lord! This shall never happen!"
    │   │
    │   └─► From revelation to presumption in seconds
    │       From "Son of God" to rebuking God
    │
    └─ JESUS: "Get behind me, Satan!"
        │
        ├─ Harshest rebuke in Matthew
        ├─ Not "Simon" but Satan's voice
        └─► Same mouth: God's revelation (v16)
            and Satan's temptation (v22)

THE DIAGNOSTIC:
    │
    └─► Peter alternates between channels
        │
        ├─ Channel 1: Father's revelation → Peter speaks
        └─ Channel 2: Flesh/Satan → Simon speaks
            │
            └─► The listener can't always tell the difference
                (Neither can Peter)

THE PREDICTED FAILURE
    │
    ├─ JESUS' PREDICTION (26:31-34):
    │   │
    │   ├─ "You will all fall away"
    │   ├─ Peter: "Not me!" (the setup)
    │   ├─ Jesus: "Before rooster crows, 3x"
    │   └─ Peter: "Even if I must die!" (doubling down)
    │
    ├─ THE ACTUAL DENIAL (26:69-74):
    │   │
    │   ├─ Servant girl #1: "You were with Jesus"
    │   │   └─► "I don't know what you're talking about"
    │   │
    │   ├─ Servant girl #2: "This man was with Jesus"
    │   │   └─► "I don't know the man!" (oath)
    │   │
    │   └─ Bystanders: "Your accent gives you away"
    │       └─► "I don't know him!" (curses + oath)
    │           │
    │           └─► Escalation under pressure
    │               Each denial stronger than last
    │
    └─ THE RECOGNITION (26:75):
        │
        ├─ Rooster crows
        ├─ Peter remembers Jesus' words
        └─► "He went out and wept bitterly"
            │
            └─► Total collapse of self-image
                Everything he claimed destroyed
                in 3 minutes by 2 servant girls

THE MECHANISM:
    │
    └─► Fear + Self-preservation > Loyalty
        │
        └─► When comfortable: Bold declarations
            When threatened: Immediate betrayal

JOHN 21:15-19 (The Epilogue)
    │
    ├─ THREE QUESTIONS (mirror three denials):
    │   │
    │   ├─ Jesus: "Simon, do you love me?" (agapao)
    │   │   Peter: "Yes, you know I love you" (phileo)
    │   │   │
    │   │   └─► Can't claim agape anymore
    │   │       Reduced to phileo (brotherly)
    │   │
    │   ├─ Jesus: "Simon, do you love me?" (agapao)
    │   │   Peter: "Yes, you know I love you" (phileo)
    │   │   │
    │   │   └─► Still can't go higher
    │   │
    │   └─ Jesus: "Simon, do you love me?" (phileo)
    │       Peter: "Lord, you know all things..."
    │       │
    │       └─► Surrender - "You know my heart
    │           better than I do"
    │
    ├─ THREE COMMISSIONS:
    │   │
    │   ├─ "Feed my lambs"
    │   ├─ "Take care of my sheep"
    │   └─ "Feed my sheep"
    │       │
    │       └─► Failure doesn't disqualify
    │           Grace restores and recommissions
    │
    └─ THE PROPHECY:
        │
        └─► "When you are old, you will stretch out
            your hands, and someone else will lead you
            where you do not want to go"
            │
            ├─ Prediction of martyrdom
            └─► You WILL lay down your life
                Not by willpower, but by grace
                │
                └─► 2 Peter 1:14 - "I will soon put aside
                    my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear"

"ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH"
    │
    ├─ THE PROBLEM:
    │   │
    │   └─► Peter = most unstable disciple
    │       │
    │       ├─ Sinks in water
    │       ├─ Rebuked as Satan
    │       ├─ Denies Jesus 3x
    │       └─► Anything BUT a rock
    │
    ├─ THE RESOLUTION:
    │   │
    │   └─► Foundation is not Peter's stability
    │       Foundation is Christ's building project
    │       │
    │       ├─ "I will build" (not "you will build")
    │       ├─ "My church" (not "your church")
    │       └─► "Gates of Hades will not overcome IT"
    │           (the church, not Peter's faithfulness)
    │
    └─ THE POINT:
        │
        └─► Jesus builds His church on broken rocks
            │
            ├─ Peter's failure doesn't disqualify him
            ├─ Peter's restoration qualifies him
            └─► The foundation is Christ's choice,
                not Peter's worthiness

THEOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE:
    │
    └─► God delights in building on the unstable
        to show that the stability comes from Him
        │
        ├─ Abraham (liar)
        ├─ Jacob (deceiver)
        ├─ Moses (murderer)
        ├─ David (adulterer)
        └─ Peter (denier)
            │
            └─► "Power made perfect in weakness"

PETER'S WARNING
    │
    ├─ PATTERN:
    │   │
    │   ├─ High confidence → Public declaration
    │   ├─ Pressure applied → Instant collapse
    │   └─► Gap between claim and capacity
    │
    ├─ MODERN EXAMPLES:
    │   │
    │   ├─ "I would never have an affair"
    │   ├─ "I'd die before denying Christ"
    │   ├─ "That sin isn't a problem for me"
    │   └─► Famous last words
    │
    └─ THE ALTERNATIVE:
        │
        ├─ "Apart from Christ I can do nothing"
        ├─ "I am capable of any sin"
        ├─ "By grace I'm standing today"
        └─► 1 Cor 10:12 - "Let him who thinks he stands
            take heed lest he fall"

DIAGNOSTIC:
    │
    └─► What sin do you think you're immune to?
        That's your blind spot.
        That's where you're Peter.

THE PETER PATHWAY
    │
    ├─ CALLED → Immediate obedience
    ├─ CONFIDENT → "I will never fall away"
    ├─ CRISIS → Denies Jesus 3x
    ├─ CONFRONTED → Rooster crows
    ├─ CRUSHED → "Wept bitterly"
    ├─ RESTORED → "Feed my sheep"
    └─ COMMISSIONED → Pentecost preacher

THE PRINCIPLE:
    │
    └─► Your greatest failure can become
        your greatest qualification
        │
        ├─ Not because failure is good
        ├─ But because restoration reveals grace
        └─► You can only lead others where you've been
            │
            └─► Peter's letters drip with humility
                born from remembered failure

PETER'S LEADERSHIP EVOLUTION
    │
    ├─ EARLY: Self-appointed spokesman
    │   │
    │   ├─ First to speak (often wrong)
    │   ├─ Confident in own judgment
    │   └─► "I know better than Jesus" (16:22)
    │
    └─ LATER: Grace-appointed shepherd
        │
        ├─ 1 Peter 5:1-3:
        │   │
        │   ├─ "Not lording it over"
        │   ├─ "Examples to the flock"
        │   └─► "Clothe yourselves with humility"
        │
        └─ 1 Peter 5:5-6:
            │
            └─► "God opposes the proud
                but gives grace to the humble"
                │
                └─► Written by the man who learned
                    this the hardest way possible

THE QUALIFIED LEADER:
    │
    └─► Not the one who never failed
        The one who failed, was restored,
        and remembers both

LIVING IN THE SIMON/PETER GAP
    │
    ├─ REALITY:
    │   │
    │   └─► You are both Simon and Peter
    │       │
    │       ├─ Old nature (Simon) still present
    │       ├─ New nature (Peter) truly real
    │       └─► Sanctification = gradual transition
    │
    ├─ SYMPTOMS:
    │   │
    │   ├─ Great faith one moment, fear the next
    │   ├─ Prophetic insight then fleshly reaction
    │   ├─ Love Jesus but deny Him under pressure
    │   └─► "I do not understand what I do" (Rom 7:15)
    │
    └─ THE PATH:
        │
        └─► Not: "Try harder to be Peter"
            │
            └─► But: "Simon is dying, Peter is rising"
                │
                ├─ Die to self-confidence
                ├─ Live in Christ's life
                └─► 2 Cor 4:16 - "Outwardly wasting,
                    inwardly renewed"

DIAGNOSTIC:
    │
    └─► When do you act like Simon?
        When do you act like Peter?
        │
        └─► The pattern reveals what triggers which nature

DO I HAVE PETER'S WEAKNESS?
    │
    ├─ OVERCONFIDENCE MARKERS:
    │   ├─ □ "I would never do [that sin]"
    │   ├─ □ I'm certain of my moral capacity
    │   ├─ □ I judge others' failures harshly
    │   └─ □ I'm shocked when I fail
    │
    ├─ IMPULSIVITY MARKERS:
    │   ├─ □ I speak/act before thinking
    │   ├─ □ Strong initial commitment, weak follow-through
    │   ├─ □ Emotional decisions later regretted
    │   └─ □ First to volunteer, first to bail
    │
    ├─ PERFORMANCE MARKERS:
    │   ├─ □ My identity tied to spiritual performance
    │   ├─ □ Shame when I fail
    │   ├─ □ "Look what I've done for you" thinking
    │   └─ □ Difficulty receiving unearned grace
    │
    └─ FEAR MARKERS:
        ├─ □ Bold in comfort, cowardly under pressure
        ├─ □ Deny Christ subtly when it costs
        ├─ □ Compromise to avoid confrontation
        └─ □ Self-preservation trumps loyalty

PETER'S REDEEMED QUALITIES
    │
    ├─ WHOLEHEARTED COMMITMENT:
    │   ├─ □ When I commit, I'm all in
    │   ├─ □ Immediate obedience to clear call
    │   ├─ □ Willing to leave security for calling
    │   └─ □ Authentic passion (not fake devotion)
    │
    ├─ TEACHABLE SPIRIT:
    │   ├─ □ Willing to be corrected
    │   ├─ □ Don't defend myself when wrong
    │   ├─ □ Learn from failure rather than hide it
    │   └─ □ "You know all things" humility
    │
    ├─ BOLD CONFESSION:
    │   ├─ □ First to declare Christ
    │   ├─ □ Willing to speak when others silent
    │   ├─ □ Risk looking foolish for truth
    │   └─ □ "To whom shall we go?" loyalty (John 6:68)
    │
    └─ LEADERSHIP COURAGE:
        ├─ □ Step forward when needed
        ├─ □ Represent the group
        ├─ □ Ask the hard questions
        └─ □ Lead from brokenness not perfection

PETER: THE PATTERN OF DISCIPLESHIP
    │
    ├─ CALLED but unqualified
    ├─ CONFIDENT but weak
    ├─ CONFESSING but contradicting
    ├─ COMMITTED but cowardly
    ├─ CRUSHED by failure
    ├─ RESTORED by grace
    └─ COMMISSIONED to feed sheep

THE ARC:
    │
    └─► Simon (fisherman)
        → Peter (rock - declared)
        → Simon (denier - failure)
        → Peter (rock - actually)
        │
        └─► Identity realized through breaking

THE POINT:
    │
    ├─ God calls the unqualified
    ├─ God breaks the self-confident
    ├─ God restores the broken
    └─► God uses the restored to restore others

THE GIFT:
    │
    └─► Peter's story = permission to fail
        │
        ├─ Your failure is not final
        ├─ Your denial can become declaration
        └─► The rooster's crow can become
            the call to feed sheep

PETER IN ONE SENTENCE:
    │
    └─► The man Jesus called "rock"
        who crumbled completely,
        then became the bedrock of the church—
        not despite his failure, but through it.