The
Peter Principle
“Peter
answered and said to Him, ‘Even if all are made to stumble because
of You, I will never be made to stumble.’”(Matthew 26:33)
The Peter Principle is a 1997 British TV comedy about an incompetent
bank manager named Peter and his longsuffering staff and customers.
It is also a well known principle at the workplace that says that a
person is promoted to his level of incompetence. God has His own version
of the Peter principle in the story of Peter, who denied Jesus not once,
not twice, but three times. Like Peter, many of us have done things
we regretted and wished we could just wipe it clean.
The apostle Peter
felt that way the day Jesus was crucified because the night before,
Peter had told Jesus, “Even if all are made to stumble because
of You, I will never be made to stumble.” He was telling Jesus,
“Even if everyone else denies You, I won’t.” Jesus prophetically
told Peter, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the
rooster crows, you will deny Me three times” (Matthew 26: 34).
Peter replied in Matthew 26:35, “Even if I have to die with You,
I will not deny You!” However, as Jesus was being beaten and interrogated
and Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, a girl approached him
and said, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee” and he denied
it. (Matthew 26:69-70)
Then a second girl accused him of being a follower of Jesus of Nazareth
and again he denied it with an oath. Later a group of men said, “Surely
you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Peter responded
by cursing and swearing, “I do not know the Man!” and immediately
a rooster crowed on his third denial of Jesus (Matthew 26:74). Peter
then remembered the words of Jesus and went out and wept bitterly in
repentance.
After Jesus’ death,
burial, and resurrection, the disciples were assembled in hiding when
Jesus appeared. He looked at all of them, including Peter, and said, “Peace
to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21)
Jesus could have said to Peter, “I told you you'd deny me three times.
I could not trust you because you’d let Me down.” But Peter
had repented and Jesus not only forgave him, but gave Peter the keys to
the kingdom to build His Church. Acts 10:34 says that God is no respecter
of persons. God not only forgives, He also restores and promotes, and
what He did for Peter, He can do for us, and that is the Biblical version
of the Peter principle.
Copyright © 2003 Eddy
Ministries.
All rights reserved.
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