Who was Jesus' favourite: Peter or John?

Peter wasn't God's favourite. Neither was John, “For God does not show favouritism.” Romans 2:11.

I believe that this question stems from the conversation that Christ had with Peter after His resurrection; the one where He gave Peter charge of His sheep. In this same chapter appears the phrase “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” See this in John 17-

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?””

Notice “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Certainly this is referring to John, many of us are thinking right now. We believe that Christ loved John more than the rest of the disciples because of this phrase, even though not once does it say "the disciple that Jesus loved the most." It only says Jesus loved John. But did you know that the phrase "the disciple that Jesus loved" appears only in the gospel according to John? Guess who wrote this gospel:

John!

This situation is akin to two brothers, let's say Peter and John, diarising their day out with their loving dad-

Peter's account: John and I had a fantastic day out with daddy.

John's account: Peter and the son that daddy loves had a fantastic day out with daddy.

Believers, Christ loved all of the disciples but John was conscious of Christ's perfect love for him, the same perfect love with which Christ loves you and I. John reflected this in his account of the gospel, hence "the disciple that Jesus loved" (remember, not "loved the most") appearing only in the gospel according to John. He believed that he was loved by Christ with a perfect love - this is why he was the only disciple standing boldly at the site of Christ's crucifixion during the event. The other disciples fled and went into hiding for fear of the Jews. Remember 1 John 4:

“10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins…17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us."

When Christ's love for us is our focus and not our love for Christ and what we can do for Him to prove our love, we are able to stand boldly in the day of judgment. This day is not just Judgment Day when Books will be opened but any day that trials of life and temptations come, as it did with Peter when Satan asked for him to sift him like wheat.

Unlike John, Peter was more conscious of his love for Christ than of Christ's love for him. On the way to Gethsemane (Matthew 24:31-35), Jesus told His disciples that they would desert Him that night. Peter knew 100% and even boasted that He would never deny Christ, even if everyone else did. How confident of his love for Christ he must have been! But Peter, who had boasted that he would die with Jesus, denied that He even knew our Saviour – three times! Let’s take a look at the first time Peter denied Jesus in John 18:15 – 17.

"15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. 16 Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. 17 The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.”

John wrote the above verses. The wonderful thing here is that this woman that first accused Peter must have known this other disciple (John) quite well or else she would not have let Peter into the high priest’s courtyard at his request. Yet, she did not accuse John! No one accused John because his boast was not in his own love for Jesus but in Christ's’ love for him. John understood that-

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10.

John stood with Jesus until the very end because his boast was in the Lord’s love for him and not in his own love, his strength to obey the law like Peter or his (self)righteousness. When you confess that you cannot drive and have Christ as your Vehicle and Driver, no one will bother to come and sift you for your driving skills. If circumstances demand that you drive, Christ will never disappoint.

So Peter fell flat on his face three times after he focused on his love for Christ and trusted in his own strength to keep the Ninth Commandment (You shall not bear false witness…) So why did Christ restore and give the charge of feeding His sheep to this disciple that many of us consider to have failed the most during His suffering for us? The key is in 1 Peter 5, written by Peter-

“5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.”

“6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever.”

These verses have been given a lot of false interpretations, including- “Do your best to live a godly life and be sinless by obeying the law so that the devil won’t catch you napping in sins and devour you.”

But Peter was writing from experience. Remember Christ told Peter before the denials-

"31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” 33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”"

Peter meant well. He knew 100% that he could never deny Jesus. He seemed to be making good on his resolve to stand as he slashed off the ear of Malchus the high priest's servant in Gethsemane when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus- a work that Christ didn't want. Peter had no idea that he could do so only because Christ was with him. The arm of flesh (will-power/human effort at obedience) will fail.

When Peter saw that Christ his Strength had been taken away and Satan came a-sifting, Peter lied three times. See what God's word says about the non-existent good in man and that useless will-power that some churchgoers depend on to obey the law in their quest to live godly lives (be like God) as was Peter's and Paul's experience in Romans 7:18-

“For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."

God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But Satan appeals to Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) that will fail and causes man to think:

"No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the law and resist temptation to commit sin by my will-power. I can and I must do works to be godly or (as it was with Judas) do some kind of restitution to prove to God that I am truly sorry for my sins. Others should too. Those that don't are just plain lazy.”

Peter pridefully trusted in his own strength. He thought that the sin of denying Christ (bearing false witness) was beneath him. No humility here. He thought God was wrong, as do some in the church today who still depend on their will-power/human effort to keep the Ten Commandments, curb sins or obtain godly characteristics (be like God.) This is the very same false and deathly doctrine that Satan preached to Eve in Eden.

Point to note here: our adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking sheep who pridefully boast in their own human strength to obey the law and be godly (be like God) so he can sift them like wheat. All who trust in their willpower/arm of flesh to obey will fail.

Those who, like Judas, fail and still look to the law (human effort at obedience) to restore themselves or get back into God's good graces are devourable. Because the arm of flesh (human effort at being godly) will fail, more accusation followed by guilt, condemnation, depression and even suicide (like Judas) is the result. What do we think is the major cause of depression and suicide today, even among unbelievers? It is guilt for sins, fear, anxiety, hopelessness and sorrow in the heart for sins aka not being able to measure up to particular standards - no different from what happened to Judas who was full of remorse for his sin.

The law is not of faith. Recall that we “Resist him, steadfast in the faith,” Dependence on human effort or will-power in the quest to live right or attain godliness (trying to keep the Law) is being faithless. Satan can only devour the faithless. None can stand by human might here because the arm of flesh will fail. Only through God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ are we overcomers. The reason why many churchgoers think that they have some good in them to obey the law is because God did not allow them to get tempted beyond what they can bear. The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some churchgoers think that some sins are beneath them, just as Peter did before Satan sifted him like wheat and his eyes were opened to see how coarse he was of himself. All that man has of himself are good intentions. The road to hell is really paved with these. Proverbs 16:18 counsels us-

"Your boast becomes a prophecy of a future failure. The higher you lift up yourself in pride, the harder you’ll fall in disgrace."

Peter fell three times as Christ said he would because he prided himself in his own strength to stand, but his faith did not fail. Peter didn't try to make his situation worse as Judas did by going to confess the truth to his accusers in order to restore himself before God or to prove a point to Jesus. He would have if he could. It wasn't as if he restrained himself from going to confess the truth. The disciples were still in hiding on resurrection day. He could not. He was weak, broken, contrite and powerless.

He was humbled- the perfect candidate for God's Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour.

He saw what many churchgoers today are yet to realise- that there is no good in man of himself; that no sin is beneath anybody; that the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to get tempted beyond what we can bear. He experienced 1 Corinthians 10-

12"So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously."

If God was not screening and filtering our temptations/trials, even those ones where we fail like Peter did, we would all see the extent of the sinfulness of human nature expressed in ourselves. As it was with Peter, our failures should teach us the futility of trusting in the flesh (human effort) and to utterly trust in Christ for salvation, even salvation from sins. Thought to clarify that law-keeping is anything at all that one does in order to earn even a smidgen of God's blessings, goodwill and salvation in general that Christ died for us to freely have. In order to not perish but have everlasting life.

The Law that Peter thought he could keep had brought him to the end of his self-tether, as it did many of us who are under God's saving Grace and are experiencing salvation from sin and death today. See the purpose of the Law that many depend on to make them godly:

Galatians 3:19 - "Why then was the law given? It was meant to be an intermediary agreement added after God gave the promise of the coming One! It was given to show men how guilty they are, and it remained in force until the Seed was born to fulfill the promises given to Abraham."

Also Romans 3:19-20- "Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are."

Also Romans 5:20- "The law was given so that sin would increase. But where sin increased, God’s grace increased even more."

Unlike Judas whose repentance was pride in the arm of flesh-driven, Peter resisted the accuser's accusation of guilt for his sin and the temptation to right himself with God by doing what the law commands; as we who are in Christ also get to do by Grace - undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. This is what it means to be steadfast in the faith: putting no confidence in the flesh (human effort at obedience) and always, even in the midst of our imperfections, believing that God still sees us as righteous through Christ's blood, even when Satan comes at us with all kinds of legal accusations because of our sins. See Romans 5:9-

“And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

This is how we resist our adversary the devil who goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour (1 Peter 5 ) - by being "steadfast in the faith" - by confessing our righteousness in Christ that we believe in our heart whenever Satan the accuser tries to accuse us with the law or attempts to make us take up the guilt and punishment for sins that Christ died to free us from. This is how we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God- we see that of ourselves, we have no power to obey the law or be righteous and cast all of our care on Jesus as Peter did after he fell. He always cares for us.

Recall Christ said to Peter before the denials:

"31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” 33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”"

The law that Peter tried to keep when he swore to not deny Christ had brought him to the end of his law-keeping/human effort at being godly- tether. He saw how utterly weak man is of himself to obey the law and how much we all need God's saving Grace. The rest of the disciples needed to see and believe this absolute weakness of man and by God's Grace, Peter had first-hand experience of this weakness. Only the one who has this revelation-knowledge concerning man's utter weakness of himself and God's super-abounding Grace that Peter received after his fall can “strengthen your brethren.” See our Saviour's declaration in 1 Corinthians 12:9-

“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

See the NIV- “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

No matter how vile the weakness is, all who receive God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ get to live in triumph over sin and death:

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

With Christ as our Righteousness and Strength, putting no confidence in our law-keeping prowess or what we think we can do to be godly, we never remain the same. His Grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour) utterly destroys sin.

Peter wasn't God's favourite, “For God does not show favouritism.” Romans 2:11. He loves us all with an everlasting love. By Grace, like John in his account of the gospel, we proclaim, personalize and practice His love for us. Peter's failure which Satan meant for evil and his restoration by Christ to the extent of being given the charge of feeding His sheep made him the perfect candidate to proclaim God's unconditional love and His saving Grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour) to the early church, especially those who, like many in the church today, still reposed some confidence in human effort at obeying the law in order to be godly aka be like God.