(This program was made possible by the generous donations from our viewers)
(The Twelve Apostles, the Story of Peter) The story of the twelve apostles who
changed the world through the gospel
(Pastor Lee / Jiguchon Church Pastor) When God calls upon us
there is a verse in the Bible
that illustrates what his calling looks like
Let's take a look at the verse
(Called to be an Apostle) 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 26-29
'Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.'
'Not many of you were wise by human standards;'
'not many were influential;'
'not many were of noble birth'
'But God chose the foolish things of the world'
'to shame the wise'
'God chose the weak things of the world'
'to shame the strong'
'God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things'
'and the things that are not to nullify the things that are'
'so that no one may'
'boast before him' [1 Cor. 1:26-29]
God and The Top Three Disciples
James-John(brothers), Peter(1st ranking) The disciples of John the Baptist
Peter-Andrew (brothers)-Philip (same hometown)-Nathanael (evangelist)
Unusual Job- tax collector Matthew Unusual Character- Thomas (Book of John)
Disciples with the same name Judas Iscariot, James, Simon
Betrayal Judas Iscariot - Successor to Matthias
(Ordinary people used extraordinarily) You've just listened to a sermon set
on Soak Island home of the Twelve Apostles Memorial Chapel
The Twelve Apostles, who were they
that God called upon them
to be His disciples and use them as such?
The first thing to consider is that
they were the representative disciples
of Jesus of all eras
When we look at the Old Testament
we see God calling His people into tribes
How many tribes appear in the Old Testament?
Twelve tribes indeed
But, in the New Testament
How many disciples does Jesus call?
Twelve disciples
Twelve tribes and twelve disciples
When we turn to Revelation 21
which is almost the last chapter of the Bible
we can see an image of the complete Kingdom of God
It shows the new heavens and the new earth
and the unfolding of the New Jerusalem
'It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates'
'and at the gates twelve angels'
'and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes'
'of the sons of Israel were inscribed' [Rev. 21:12]
On the other hand,
'And the wall of the city had twelve foundations'
'and on them were the twelve names'
'of the twelve apostles of the Lamb' [Rev. 21:14]
Across both the Old and New Testament
we see the twelve tribes, or the twelve apostles
representing the people of God
that God used
Why was it twelve?
We can say that twelve is a representative number
We can see the importance of the number twelve
from when one of the twelve disciples
later betrays the Lord
Do you remember his name?
It is Judas Iscariot
If you listen and follow the story of the twelve Apostles today
you will not end up as Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot is removed from the twelve apostles
But He did not leave the spot empty
He fills the empty spot
He randomly picks someone to fill the empty spot
Do you remember the name of the disciple that filled the spot?
The disciple chosen to replace Judas Iscariot was Matthias
This alone should give us an idea
of how the number twelve
represents the completion
of God's people
So we can say that the twelve apostles
are the people, the disciples
who represent the people of God in every era
When we look at the verse we saw earlier
In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 26 we can see that they were normal people
'...not many of you were wise, not many were powerful'
'not many were of noble birth' [1 Cor 1:26]
Since God called upon them
or since Jesus made them his disciples
they must have been very special people
We may make assumptions like this
But it is not true
So people like you or me
and even them, we are all
what we call
insignificant people
I don't know if you remember but
The verse that was shown to us at the beginning
'Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called'
"Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential"
"not many were of noble birth" [1 Cor. 1:26]
Perhaps there may be someone here with a very noble
and exceptional background
Based on the impression, looks like most people here aren't, though!
However, in the Bible the Lord says
"But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise"
"God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong" [1 Cor 1:27]
In order to do this
God called upon insignificant people
You've heard of the famous St. Francis, right?
The current Catholic pope is also named Francis
(St. Francis of Assisi) A long time ago
(Italian friar of the Roman Catholic) there was a saint
(Renowned preacher) named Francis
(Founder of the Franciscan order) who performed many miracles
and lived a very inspiring life
One of his disciple asked him
“Sir, why do you believe God chose you?”
This is what Francis said
"God was looking at the four corners of the world one day"
"and He looked at me, a very insignificant person, a nobody"
"and His gaze rested on me"
Oh, it's him
I will use him
"If this insignificant man"
"is made significant"
"will not the glory of God be revealed"
"This is why the Lord called upon someone like me"
Does this sound believable to you?
It is not going to sound real for those who have lived remarkable lives
For those who will be called upon who have lived unremarkable lives,
this will sound very believable
So we are all 'insignificant people'
just like the apostles from the past
Who were the apostles?
We say that they were insignificant people
Their faith was not special either
I wan to emphasize this.
Since they were the apostles, they must have had good faith
we may make that assumption
But in reality
Their faith or our faith was not that different
We can see that they were people not so different from us
In Luke chapter 24 verse 25
One day, God says this
'How foolish you are, 'and how slow to believe all that'
'the prophets have spoken!' [Luke 24:25]
He said they were slow to believe
When the Lord spoke
they didn't say Amen and believe him at once
They thought about it, doubted it, and was slow to believe Him
Some of you here may have been quick to have faith
But for me, I couldn't believe it
I wasn't born into a Christian family
So it was very difficult for me to have faith
I found my faith after following missionaries to learn English
As I wasn't interested in having faith from the beginning
the message of Christianity wasn't believable to me
The disciples
(Disciples were also slow in having faith) started out at the same spot as me
Not only that, but when Jesus began to face difficulties
'...Then all the disciples left him' The disciples
'and fled' [Matt. 26:56] all left him
Do you remember this story?
They fled
But then Jesus resurrected
It was when the resurrected Jesus revisited his disciples again
When Jesus died on the cross
and Peter the Disciple thought that they had lost all hope
he says this
(Peter) "I'm going to go catch some fish now"
What did Peter do originally?
He was a fisherman
He meant that he would return to his old days
Go back to the past
So his faith had not advanced forward
It had not been upgraded regularly
but was going back and forth
So for the beginning of the apostles
we must remember that
they began their journey at such a place
On top of that, what we must also remember about the apostles is
they were very different
and were people called upon from contrasting backgrounds
In the Korean society
In the era that we are living in today
if there is one social phenomenon
that breaks our heart
I think it would be the ideological divide
Because the ideologies they follow are so different
we can see a lot of Koreans
who are unable to come together as one
However, the disciples of Jesus
were all chosen upon
regardless of their different ideologies
First of all, Israel was under Roman rule at the time
But there was a group of people who absolutely hated this
and were very resistant to it
If we look at the Bible, these people
(Anti-Rome) are written as the Zealots
Zealot in English
Translated as devoted party member
Like the patriotic fighters who fought for our country
during the Japanese occupation
they were a group that fought against Rome
On the other hand, there were people
who were still living off of Rome
A representative example would be
(Pro-Rome) the tax-collectors
Staying pro-Rome, they would collect a lot of tax
and although they would give some back to Rome
they would take a significant amount for themselves
Who wouldn't enjoy this?
The zealots didn't like this
Of the zealots, there were the most extreme group
called the Sicarii
They carried knives
(Zealot Extremist - Sicarii (Assassin)) So if they met a tax collector
they would stab them and run away
But Jesus called both the zealot and tax collectors to be his disciple
Imagine that
Putting a Zealot and a tax collector next to one another
Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples"
"if you have love for one another" [John 13:35]
But Jesus called upon these people with these different ideologies
and created a single team
And finally, through these disciples
he did amazing things to transform the world
The story of the twelve apostles
Doesn't it make you want to step into
the story of those apostles?
When discussing the story of the twelve apostles
it is important to distinguish these two concepts
We call them both the twelve disciples and the twelve apostles
The lives of the twelve apostles begin as disciples
They end up as apostles
How are they different?
A disciple is someone who learns
They were called upon as disciples
They were told to follow me, to learn from me
So they came to Jesus to learn
This was the period of the disciples
After they learned what they could, they couldn't stay students forever
They are now to send Apostle means one who has been sent
"As the Father has sent me"
"even so I am sending you" [John 20:21]
He sent the twelve disciples
to share the gospel with the world
He sent them to change the world
So they spread all around the world
And eventually, excluding one disciple (Judas Iscariot)
the rest devote their entire life to God
As an apostle, they were called to the point of entire devotion
So the twelve, they were first called to be disciples
who lived very remarkable and glorious lives as apostles
and finally ending their lives in complete devotion
These people who lived magnificent lives
The twelve disciples, twelve apostles, our predecessors
We are called in this age
to follow in their footsteps
Are you grateful to be called upon?
Are you ready to devote your entire lives?
Yes thank you
Now let us share the story of Peter
the first of the twelve disciples, the first apostle
I like to call Peter by these nicknames
The disciple, the apostle who was weak but became strong
Say it with me
The apostle who was weak but became strong
It gives me hope, too
Because I am weak
I don't know about you
All my life I thought of myself as weak
Peter's nickname gives us hope that
I can be one of Jesus' disciples
(The Story of Peter) Luke chapter 22 verses 31-32
There is a verse that summarizes the life of Peter
Let us look at these words together
'Simon, Simon, behold'
'Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat'
'but I have prayed for you'
'that your faith may not fail'
'And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers' [Luke 22:31-32]
Peter (Simon, the Rock)
Writings: First and Second Peter
The Early Church: Thousands of Preachers Foreign missions (Cornelius, Acts 10)
The Three Questions of Love (John 21) Confession - God is Christ!
The Three Disciples (1st Ranking) : The Mount of Transfiguration Incident
Family: Father John, Brother Andre Hometown Bethsaida, Job Fisherman
(Peter who was weak but became strong) Let's start with Peter's story
In this verses we just read together
it includes some important allusions about the life of Peter
When we become disciples of Jesus
or God's people,
God will be pleased, right?
But there is someone who doesn't like it
Who will not like it?
Satan, the devil
So when we look at this verse, it says
"Satan demanded to have you"
"that he might sift you like wheat"
"but I have prayed for you"
"that your faith may not fail" [Luke 22:31-32]
So Peter realizes that the only reason he was able to hold on to his faith
was because of Jesus' support
But Jesus knew
that one day, Peter would deny Jesus
So he says, "...when you have turned again"
Even if you falter
or betray me, you must come back
And he says, 'when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers' [Luke 22:32]
After that, you will again help many people
and help build up their faith
This is Peter, the disciple who was weak but in the end, became strong
About Peter, the Bible says
that of the disciples, he was the most important
the most significant of the disciples
The Synoptic Gospel, what is it?
The Books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke
There is a list of the twelve disciples
It can also be seen in the Book of Act chapter 1
When you look at the list of the disciples
Who do you think is the first one on the list?
(Peter) Yea, that's why I asked this question
He is the first disciple that is listed
He is the top disciple
The leading disciple
Why was he the leading disciple?
There are a lot of different theories but
in Catholicism, for example
they think of Peter as the first pope
We don't think so
We don't think there's enough
biblical evidence for that
Anyway, Jesus says to Peter
"You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church" [Matt. 16:18]
That is what he said
So that was the important foundation
in building the first church
He played the role of the foundation stone
He is the top disciple
How did Peter come to believe in Jesus?
And how did he begin his life as a disciple of the Lord?
First, before he was called by Jesus
Peter's name was not Peter
Do you know Peter's real name?
Simon
I can tell that only the chosen ones are here
(Peter's real name) It was Simon
When looking at the Gospel, we see a lot of scenes like this
'Simon Bar-Jonah'
Simon Bar-Jonah, what this means is
Bar means son originally
Jonah is the same as John
So when you say Simon Bar-Jonah, or Simon Bar-John
(Simon Bar-Jonah) It means Simon, son of John
So the name John is
like a very common name in Korea
For women, it could be Myungja, Youngja
My wife's name is Myungja
so it was a very common name.
Anyway, his name was originally Simon, son of John
But if you look at John chapter 1
Simon had a younger brother
Later on, we're given the name Peter
but it says Andrew, Simon's brother
So there is a scene in the Bible
Jesus "...left the synagogue" called Capernaum
"...and entered the house of Simon and Andrew" [Mark 1:29]
So what can we know about Simon and Andrew?
We learn that they are brothers, and Andrew was probably younger
and Peter was probably the older brother
But Andrew meets Jesus first
One day, Andrew
listens to the preaching of the man
we usually call John the Baptist
The theme of his message is found in John chapter 1
'...behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world' [John 1:29]
Who is He? He is Jesus
The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
One who would offer Himself on the cross as an offering of atonement, Jesus Christ
After hearing this message, he came
Who did John the Baptist bear witness to?
He bore witness to Jesus
And through the witness of John the Baptist
(the Messiah) who came as the Lamb, who came as the Lord of atonement
Jesus who came as the Savior
Andrew was able to meet him first
and he was so happy
Meeting the Savior who will save my life
meeting the Lamb of Atonement, how happy he must have been
He ran to his brother first
and he said that we have seen the Messiah
(Andrew) “Brother! I met the Messiah!”
He probably said something like this
Among my family,
I was actually the first one to believe in Jesus
I believed in Jesus, and while studying the Bible
I realized the truth of the gospel and realized why Jesus died on the cross
The first thing I did upon realizing was
I went to my younger brother
"Dongyoung! I met Jesus!"
So this verse feels real to me
So that is probably how
he brought him to Jesus
In John chapter 1 verse 42
it says that Andrew brought Peter to Jesus
And that's how he met Jesus
And when Jesus met him
the very first thing Jesus said to him
in John chapter 1 verse 42, it says
'...You are Simon the son of John...' [John 1:42]
So He knew it all already
How did He know? Because He is God
He has divinity
That is how He knew
'...You are Simon the son of John...'
But then he said
'You shall be called Cephas' [John 1:42]
Cephas is an Aramaic word
But when you translate this word to Hebrew (Greek)
it means exactly the same thing
(Aramaic 'Cephas'= Hebrew 'Peter(rock)') It means rock
Not a rock now, but “...a rock in the future”
If we trace the life of Simon Peter
in the Gospel
we see that he's very moody, he goes back and forth
When Jesus offers to wash his feet
He says, “No! How can you wash my feet?”
“I'll wash them for you!”
(Jesus) “If I don't wash you, you have nothing to do with me"
(Peter) “Really? Then give me a bath!”
He goes back and forth
But I am a rock?
A solid rock?
"no, but you will be" [John 1:42]
After the church is built, you will play
"...future role as a foundational figure in the early Christian church" [John 1:42]
He gave him an unbelievable vision
So that is how he got his new name
That new name was Peter(the rock)
So when we call him, we say Simon Peter
like this, Simon Peter
So I think he was called upon at the same time as he was transformed
So, as he belived in Jesus as our Savior
he was called upon to build the foundation
for the church
Also, a little bit later
although they first met through Andrew
Peter and Andrew continued to catch fish even after meeting Jesus
After John the Baptist went to prison
One day, when Jesus passed by
He saw Peter and Andrew were still fishing
And he said to them, “Follow me!”
"I will make you fishers of men!"
That is when they really left their nets behind to follow Jesus
Fishers of men
In other words, at that moment
Peter began the life of an evangelist
But how did Peter get to the point
of dedicating his life to following Jesus?
I think there were two key things
in Peter's faith experiences
Peter's faith experience
This is something you don't get to experience in every day life
Do you know what it is?
Among Peter's very unusual experiences
(Peter's Faith Experience) Walking on Water
Even after seeing the sea churning with waves
Jesus said, "Come to me!"
As He said to come, Peter walked with his eyes on the Lord
Later he fell in
I think it's a miracle that he walked, even if it was for a little bit
It is, isn't it? It's an amazing miracle
On the stormy sea of Galilee
When a disciple shouted, “Sir, we are drowning!”
Jesus was just sleeping
So they wake him up
And when he gets up, he says
“Calm down, waves!”
And he said, “Do not worry”
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you."
What do you think Peter realizes at this point?
That Jesus was no ordinary man
He is probably what the people are calling
the Christ, the Messiah
That is what he realized
Another thing
Do you remember the experience of the Transfiguration?
[Matt. 17:1-3] When they were up on the Mount of Transfiguration
Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus
God's people from the Old Testament show up
And then Jesus is transformed into an amazing light
And a voice from heaven says
“This is my beloved Son, listen to him” [Matt. 17:5]
They realized that he is the Son of God
That He is God and He is the Son of God
In the Christian Gospel, we call this holiness
They recognized the holiness of Jesus
If Jesus is God
If Jesus is the Christ we've been waiting for
He thought he would gladly give everything and follow Him
So he became a disciple and an apostle
Finally, as Jesus was nearing
three years with his disciple Peter
Jesus asked him two important questions in being his disciple
It's like graduating from disciple school
Of the two questions, one was
'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' [Matt. 16:13]
That is what he asked “Who do people say that I am?”
There were several answers
“Jeremiah, John” [Matt. 16:14]
Speaking in terms of our time
They said, you are one of the four great saints
a great humanist, an amazing teacher of humanity
That is how they answered
Okay, let's say that's what people say
You have been with me, you have experienced my miracles
and you have experienced my words firsthand
'But who do you say that I am?' [Matt. 16:15]
Who comes out at this point?
Peter should come out, shouldn't he?
And what does Peter say?
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" [Matt. 16:16]
This was Peter's great confession of faith
And because of Peter, we make the same confession of faith
Jesus was so happy then
"Simon Bar-Jonah"
"For flesh and blood"
"has not revealed this to you"
"but my Father who is in heaven" [Matt. 16:17]
Lord, you are the Christ
The Christ we've been waiting for
Anointed by God himself since the Old Testament
as the Lord of our salvation
to be sent as the hope of the world
Lord is the Christ
Jesus is the Christ
We tend to say Jesus Christ
but his real name is Jesus
Christ is a title
The Savior that God will anoint
You are the Christ
This is Peter's great confession of faith
But even with this confession
Peter still faces a moment of trial
What does Peter do to Jesus?
He denies Him
Will you follow me even when trouble comes?
(Jesus) “Will you follow me even when death comes?”
At this moment, Peter says
(Peter) "Even if I die, I will never deny you"
But how many times do he deny Him?
Three times
But that's not the end of it
[Mark 14:72] Just as Jesus had predicted
before the rooster crows at dawn
he repents with tears
Although he denies Him, in case he faces punishment
He denies Jesus in front of the authorities, but he repents
And when the resurrected Jesus
came to the Sea of Galilee
“Do you love me?”
How many times does he ask that question?
(Resurrected Jesus confirms Peter's love three times)
Peter must have felt allergic to the number three
because he denied Him three times
But He confirmed it three times
'...Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?'
'do you love me more than these?' He asked, do you really love me?
'Yes, Lord; you know that I love you' Then he asked, do you really love me?
He said to him, 'Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.'
'He said to him, Tend my sheep' [John 21:15]
He began as an evangelist
A fisherman fishing for people
A fisherman bringing men to the Lord, an evangelist
But feeding the lamb
This is the life of a shepherd
The life of a leader in the church
Although Peter denied Him
but when Jesus gave him this new mission
this new mission of a shepherd
you can see in the last 21st chapter of John
"...when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you want"
(You will stretch out your hands) "but when you are old You will die"
(carry you where you don't want to go) "a death that glorifies God" [John 21:18]
You've probably heard a lot about this
How Peter died at the end
During the time of Nero, when many Christians were persecuted
Peter tried to leave Rome
(Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel 'Quo Vadis') But the novel Quo Vadis
(set in Rome at the end of Nero's reign) is actually a famous novel
(is about the persecution of Christians) based on Christian lore
After leaving Rome, Jesus says
Where do you think I'm going?
Peter was actually leaving the church
Novel 'Quo Vadis' He asks, "Sir, where is the Lord going?"
That is what quo vadis domine means
“Where is the Lord going?”
To whom ye have forsaken
“I am going into Rome, which you have forsaken"
“I am going to my sheep”
"I will go and I will take care of the sheep"
So Peter gets arrested
He gets arrested with his wife
And when Peter's turn came
He says he has a wish
“Don't hang me on the cross as it is, but hang me upside down”
On the cross where our Lord died
I can't hang with Him in the same way
He hung upside down and offered his spirit to the Lord
The martyred disciple who ended his life
Peter, the glorious disciple
This was the story of the Apostle Peter, who was weak but made strong
All of us
like you said
Jesus makes the weak strong
What possibilities does Jesus see
so that he transforms us like this?
Are we getting selected by Jesus
because we deserve it
or is it that we do not deserve it
but that He is confident
that he can change us
We all don't deserve it Like the word grace means
it is love given to those who don't deserve it
We don't deserve it because we're all called by grace
This doesn't mean we will all become strong like Peter
When the Holy Spirit calls us in our weakness
based on how we respond and react to the Holy Spirit
our faith growth can look very different
I think this part is mystical
People's faith does not grow in the same way
People grow in faith a little bit differently
As we continue with the story of the twelve disciples
we will continue to see how different they were
Thank you for the lesson, Pastor
When Jesus called the twelve apostles
as you mentioned earlier
the zealots, people with strong political beliefs
like Matthew... people who colluded with Rome
You said he called upon a diverse group of people
But if you look at the church today
we can see people with different ideologies or opinions
conflicting with each other
and this is shown to the world
Q. Do you have a message for the Korean church
regarding the calling of disciples with different ideologies?
One of the most important things that Jesus prayed for his disciples
in John chapter 17
'...that they may all be one'
'that they also may be in us'
'so that the world may believe'
'that you have sent me' [John 17:21]
He says this prayer
He prays for the unity of the disciples
And yet, right up until the end of Jesus' life on the cross
there was dispute among the disciples
who gets the right side and who gets the left side
(amoung the disciples) there was dispute regarding positions and disagreements
But if you look at the life of the apostles
at the end of their lives
they give their lives to God
They are martyred
And ultimately, they become disciples
who pray for each other
Even if we believe in Jesus and we are saved
because of our weakness as humans We may disagree, we may argue
but if we are sincere in our faith
we will all be united
in the hands of the Lord
One of the tips we received from the sermon was
Go as a team, love one another
That is what I learned
And as we go through these times
where should we be focusing on
on as we navigate these times
as apostles sent by the Lord?
Please give up a couple more tips, please
The Lord sends us all out
But God has given us gifts
We all have different talents
And depending on those talents and gifts
I think He sends us to different places
We are not all going to the same place
to do the same thing
but some people are meant to work within the nation
in the field of their profession
(they can work) as a missionary
I think everybody who works in a field of profession
are all missionaries
The word missionary and apostle
actually means the same thing
It means to have been sent
Someone who is doing a job in their profession
there may be someone evangelizing there
You may think God has placed me with this job and skill
to go to another country and be an effective evangelist
So He may send you to another country
to serve God as a missionary in a different culture
There are people like this
By examining your gifts and talents and praying to God
And when God calls you to a particular place
there is always a special time
and a situation that fits
and when the time is right, the Lord will call
For you, I think there is a high change
that you will go as a missionary overseas
Listening to your question
I think you have a lot of potential to be a missionary
Thank you for joining us today for the story of the Twelve Apostles
Thank you for participating and listening and reacting
with us today
I hope to see you one more time
Let us close with prayer
Thank you, God
for the story of the twelve apostles today
in this precious courtyard
with your beloved and precious servants.
Our calling for these times
and finding our duty
we thank you for helping us follow the footsteps of the apostles
Father, as never before
(Lesson 2, will be broadcasted next session)
your disciples are needed now
so help many of your disciples rise from the Korean Church
and help them become apostles
so that they can live as transformers of the world
We pray in Jesus' name, Amen