The place is Rome. The date is 61 A.D. The setting is an apartment in a crowded district, where 15 people are squeezed into a room. Everyone's attention is focused on one man. He is in his late 60's, with white hair and beard, wearing simple clothes unlike the Roman clothes of all the others.
The man is Simon Peter of Capernaum, recently come to Rome with his wife from Judea. Seated next to them are Prisca and Aquila, whose apartment they are in. They are the leaders of the church that meets in their home. Around them are gathered 11 Romans of various ages and ethnic backgrounds. They are new converts to Christianity who are preparing for baptism.
When Peter first arrived in Rome, every church wanted to be his host, and to listen to his words and to ask him questions. Only now after 2 months, has he had time to meet with the candidates for baptism, none of whom are Jewish. Many of them had attended synagogues as God-fearing Gentiles, so they had some knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures, but they had all grown up in families, which followed other religions. After the introductions had been made, and refreshments serves, Lucian was the first to ask a question of Peter: "We have been learning that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah. We have listened to the Scriptures, which prophesy the coming of the Messiah, but we don't quite understand what is means. You were with the Lord Jesus from the beginning - can you explain it to us?"
Peter: "Certainly. For many centuries, the Jewish people were ruled by our own King. We believed that each King was anointed by the Almighty with the Holy Spirit, who gave the King wisdom and guidance and strength. For 300 years now, my people have been ruled by Gentiles.... so we have had plenty of time to dream about the day when the Almighty will anoint a new King for us, a King who will throw out the Gentile rulers, and restore our sovereignty.
I'm sure you realize that the Lord Jesus did not come to organize an armed rebellion. Far from it. He didn't talk about being the Anointed One at all - he was too busy teaching us the way of love, and healing the sick, and announcing the good news that the Kingdom of heaven had begun. It meant something different to him, being the Anointed One, and it took all of us a long time to figure it out."
Perpetua interrupted him then, and asked: "How did you figure it out?"
Peter answered: "I guess I have to give you 3 answers to that question. The first answer is that from the beginning we all felt the Lord Jesus was different. Partly it was the way he spoke about the Almighty - he usually said Abba, in the familiar way a child addresses his father. He seemed to know Abba directly, and he talked to us about Abba's forgiveness of our sins, and Abba's love for us, and Abba's presence among us. It was an entirely new understanding of the Almighty, and maybe we wouldn't have accepted it, but he kept healing people - blind people, crippled people. Over and over, we saw that the Almighty, (Adonai as we say) really was his Abba, and really was present.
The second answer was a conversation we had on the road to Caesarea Phillipi. We had stopped to eat, and the Lord Jesus asked us casually, "Who do people say that I am?" You can imagine there was a stunned silence. Of course we had talked among ourselves, and we had heard the rumors going around the villages after the Lord Jesus left each one. We knew what was being said, but none of us wanted to answer the question. In that silence, I was thinking. This is really important. Who is he? The word Messiah flashed into my mind, and I just blurted it out without thinking. Lord Jesus accepted the answer, saying that Abba had revealed it to me. I don't know whether I was more shocked that Lord Jesus said I was right, or that Abba had spoken to me. It just never occurred to me that the Almighty, the Creator of the Universe would ever say anything to Simon the fisherman - it was beyond my comprehension.
I was still reeling from those thoughts when Lord Jesus gave me my new name 'Kepha', (Peter) and said he would build his community on me. I had no idea what that meant. But here's the point I'm coming to - the very next thing, Lord Jesus began to tell us that he would experience great suffering in Jerusalem, and be killed.... so I took the bold step of asking him to talk with me privately. I can hardly believe that I challenged him, but I did - how could such a holy man, the Anointed One of Adonai, be persecuted and killed? He was really surprised at my challenge, and then I saw a change come over his face, and ....well.... he said that Satan was in me. I was devastated. I thought I was expressing my admiration of him, my devotion to him, my commitment to protect him, and he absolutely rejected me. But of course, it wasn't me he rejected, but my misunderstanding.
He walked me back to the other disciples, and explained it something like this. He said that most of us had made resistance to Roman rule our top priority. That we were trying to save our lives, and our way of life, by coercion, by resistance, by hostile non-cooperation, and that these things would kill us. We had accepted the use of evil means to achieve a good purpose, and completely forgotten the way of Abba. If we really believed what he had taught us and shown us, we would choose the way of love, and forgiveness and peace. Lord Jesus tried to explain that the way of love is a risk that he expected the scribes and Pharisees wouldn't understand, that he was prepared to lose his life rather than oppose the Pharisees, or use any kind of force or coercion.
At the time, we didn't get it. But later-here's the 3rd answer to your question, later when he was crucified, as he expected, and the Almighty raise him from the dead - then I finally understood. The Anointed One showed us the Almighty's way of forgiveness and love-showed it in the way he lived, and he taught it, he demonstrated it in his healings-so that I finally put it all together. The Almighty never meant to send us a King; the Almighty sent us a person in whom and through whom we could see the nature of holiness. When we say Lord Jesus is Messiah, we mean that the Almighty was at work in him. Lord Jesus is a picture of who Abba is and what the Almighty is like."
Lucian responded, "So that means that Lord Jesus is not a threat to the Roman Empire."
Peter: "We don't think so, but whether the Roman governors think so, is an entirely different question.
Then Perpetua asked Peter what had been the biggest changes he had to make as a follower of Lord Jesus.
Peter answered: One big change was accepting the leadership role Lord Jesus gave me. It didn't fit me, and some of his other followers never accepted me. Another big change was the way we worshipped. All my life until Lord Jesus came along, I had worshipped at the Temple, where the main event was offering the sacrifices. We were always giving something to the Almighty, and hoping it was acceptable. When Lord Jesus gave us the bread and the wine, and taught us to worship that way, it took me a long time to adjust to the idea that I was receiving more than I was giving. Of course I was bringing offerings of food and money to our celebrations, but it felt completely different. Now I understand better, partly because I've gotten used to it, and partly because of what my friend Paul wrote in his letter to you. Do you remember what he said----?
"Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." That is exactly what my experience is, that I am bringing myself to the Almighty, in the name of Lord Jesus. My whole life is an offering-it's not something to be sacrificed on an altar, its something that the Almighty receives, and blesses, and gives back to me, better and stronger than before. Lord Jesus has given himself for me, and I give myself for him. And instead of being lost, because we've given ourselves, we are saved because we've given ourselves."
There was a silence after Peter had said these words, until Prisca asked the candidates if they had any more questions. Lucian asked again when they would be baptized, saying that he was eager to participate in this spiritual worship. And Prisca answered, baptisms are usually celebrated very early on Easter morning, while it is still dark.
Amen