Last week we studied several of the resurrection appearances of Jesus that occurred on that first Sunday, when He rose from the grave: First, to several women at the tomb Second, to two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Today we will look at what the Bible tells us about Christ’s appearance to Peter on that first Sunday, although, we aren’t told where or when this occurred.

1Corinthians 15:5
5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Luke 24:33-34
33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,
34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”

We are clearly told that the Lord appeared to Cephas [known to us as Peter], before appearing to any of the other original 11 Disciples (Judas having hung himself, has not yet been replaced).

The New Testament writers don’t give specifics concerning when the Lord first appeared to Peter, and only Paul and Luke mention that this event happened.

Having said that, it is providential that Jesus would first show Himself to Peter, before any of the other 10, for Peter would be the first to preach Christ’s message in Jerusalem and he would become leader of the church birthed at Pentecost.

Jesus’ appearance to Peter had to occur sometime after Mary and the ‘other’ women saw Jesus at the tomb, and before Cleopas and the other disciple arrived in Jerusalem at the place where Peter, the other 10 original Disciples, and other followers of Christ who aren’t named here, were congregating behind locked doors and windows, out of fear for the Jews.

As we begin, I would like to try to clear up some of the confusion often centered around the different names given to the disciple we know as Peter, but who is also called Cephas, Simon son of John, Simon Peter, Simon Barjona, and Petros.

John 1:42
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

John 1:42, “Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” [Aramaic for rock], translated in English as Peter.

Matthew 16:13-19…
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

In verse 17, Jesus calls Peter Simon Barjona [lit. son of Jonah, Jonah is Aramaic for John]. Note: Most of the Jews in Galilee spoke Aramaic, although they would also know some Hebrew, but mostly the religious leaders spoke Hebrew.

Matthew 16:17
17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Jesus addresses Peter (verse 18) as Petros [Greek for small rock or stone], then Jesus says “upon this rock [Greek word petra, meaning large rock, bed-rock or underlying layer of stone] I will build My church.” The rock [petra] upon which Christ will build His church is not Peter [Petros], but is clearly a foundation of which the gates of Hell will not be able to prevail against.

Matthew 16:18
18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Matthew 7:21-27
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall.”

Luke 6:46-49
46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
47 Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:
48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49 But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

A wise man builds his house [his life, his beliefs, his faith] on the rock [the foundation of God’s Word concerning sin and salvation, heaven and hell; Jesus Christ is the Word of God: He is the Rock, the large Foundation Stone].

John 1:1-4
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

John 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:18
18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Colossians 1:15
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Colossians 1:19-20
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

John 6:27-29
27 Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

John 6:40
40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

The man in the parables (Matthew 7, Luke 6) is a person who hears, believes and follows God’s Word, demonstrating their new life in Christ; and no matter what in this world comes against God’s children in all of life’s troubles, including Satan and his demons, we will not be destroyed (see Matthew 7:25; Luke 6:48) for we belong to God, having received forgiveness and eternal life through God’s Son we have overcome the world and everything in it and we will spend eternity in heaven

Matthew 7:25
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

Luke 6:48
48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

1John 5:4-5
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.
5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

But those who do not put their belief and trust in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, will be destroyed and spend eternity in hell (see Matthew 7:26-27; Luke 6:49).

Matthew 7:26-27
26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall.”

Luke 6:49
49 But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Matthew 16:18-19
18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Peter [Petros, little rock], is an apostle, and along with the prophets, he is part of the foundation on which the Church is built.

Jesus will give the keys, i.e. grant His authority, to the Apostles, of whom Peter is the leader. But notice also, Jesus says, “the gates of Hades [hell] will not overcome it [the church]. The future outcome of His Church does not depend on the effectiveness of Peter, the other apostles, or any future generations of Christians; it depends entirely upon Jesus Christ, the Word of God!

Ephesians 2:19-22
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

1Peter 2:4-5
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Coming to Jesus Christ, i.e., believing in and receiving God’s Son as Lord and Savior, makes you part of a living spiritual house , the House of God [the Church], where you are able to serve the Living God with your life (Romans 12:1).

Romans 12:1
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

1Peter 2:6
6 Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed” [put to shame] (Isaiah 28:16).

Isaiah 28:16
16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

1Peter 2:7-8
7 “This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,’ and,
8, ’A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’” (Isaiah 8:14).

Isaiah 8:14
14 “Then He shall become a sanctuary;
But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Christ is the Chief Cornerstone, the Foundation for all forgiveness and salvation, He is the Savior of those who believe in Him, and He is the “rock of offense,” the Judge of all those who reject Him, but for those who believe in Him (Psalm 18:2),

Psalm 18:2
2 “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge.”

Isaiah 26:4
4 “Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”

Those who believe in Christ will not be disappointed or destroyed, because He is Sovereign [Omnipotent], and He is not only the Way and the Truth and the Life, He is both Lord and Savior, and no one goes to heaven apart from believing in Him; 3 whereas, all those who reject Him, the Living Stone, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, are doomed to an eternal torment in hell.

Christ is the very Foundation and Chief Cornerstone of the Church, and He sovereignly chose to appear first to Peter, who is always listed (in the gospels and the Book of Acts) as being first among the original Twelve.

The risen Lord appeared to Peter before any of the other Apostles, just as the biblical record testifies. Christ chose Peter to be the leader of the Church that was birthed at Pentecost, and that Peter should be the the first Christian to proclaim the message of forgiveness and eternal life.

Acts 2:21-24
21 ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know--
23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

Acts 2:36-42
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 4:11, Speaking to the religious leaders of Israel and to the rest of the Jews, Peter proclaimed (cf. Psalm 118:22) that, “He [Jesus Christ] is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.

Acts 4:11
11 He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone.

Psalm 118:22
22 The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.

Acts 4:12
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

The message proclaimed by Peter, Paul, and the rest of the Apostles, is the very same message we are to proclaim today (Acts 2:21),

Acts 2:21
21‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

Acts 4:12
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

only that of Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.

Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Topics: Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus, Resurrection