For Us - For Our Children - For the World

I am working on a sequel to my, as yet unpublished book, "Breakfast on the Beach: The Development of Simon Peter". The title, as can be seen by the title of the blog post, is "For Us - For Our Children - For the World: The Multiplication of Simon Peter". The book will trace Peter's life from the Ascension through to his martyrdom in Rome. Some of the story is taken from the book of Acts, Peter's two Epistles, references to Peter in Paul's Epistles, and references to Peter from the Early Church Fathers. The idea is to examine the multiplication method of discipleship through the lens of Peter's life and ministry.

Here is the Preamble...

It was a crowded hole…too small for its wretched occupants. Yet, in spite of their natural body heat, it was cold, dark, and wet. It stank of sweat, rotting food, and the faeces and urine of countless prisoners over the years…a stench so terrible it could hardly be endured. 

Peter had been imprisoned before, in the Antonio Fortress in Jerusalem, but nothing could have prepared him for the horror he entered when they threw him down the hole into this subterranean chamber. He had no idea where his dear wife, Perpetua[i], and Petronilla, their daughter[ii] were at that time. He prayed that they were in a better place and that they were being treated with a modicum of respect. Some called this dungeon the portal to hell, as in times past, people had worshipped demons at the spring that gushed out of the floor. Peter thought back to a happier time when Jesus had taken them to Caesarea Philippi. The spring there was also said to be a portal to hell where people offered goats or sometimes even their children to the Greek god Pan. But that was a beautiful place…this prison was hell.

Thankfully, Peter knew that his incarceration here was temporary…another fate was waiting for him…one which Jesus had told him about many years before as they shared that wonderful breakfast on the beach in Galilee. But Jesus had also told him that the very portals of hell could not stand against the onslaught of the Gospel. So, he took every opportunity, with no thought as to how long he might still have, to introduce his fellow prisoners to the Lord he loved so dearly. Some believed, and Peter baptized them in the water of the spring that had once served a very different purpose. There in the filth and in the stench, he told them stories about Jesus…about the light that could overcome darkness…about an inheritance in a kingdom that even death itself could not steal away from them. At times, he painted such vivid pictures in his stories that, in their imaginations, they were transported to the plains where Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes…to the heights of Mount Hermon, to the depths of the Jordan valley. They plunged into the waves of the stormy Sea of Galilee…they backed away from the Gadarene demoniacs…they wept and rejoiced with the widow of Nain and with Jairus and blind Bartimaeus. He told them of that awful dark night when he denied knowing his Lord…he told them of his gracious reinstatement.

There in the pit of hell itself, Peter shone out the light of the world…and plundered the strongman’s household, snatching the brands out of the flames before they were lost forever…and God commanded the angels to rejoice for every lost lamb that was added to the fold. Fear was conquered by love…hope was ignited…and faith set the captives free.

This was why he was here. This was why he yet lived. The promise was not for him alone…the promise was not only for their children…the promise was for the world.

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[i] There is no biblical or extra-biblical evidence for this name. I have named her Perpetua for the sake of the flow of the story.

[ii] The Roman Martyrology, (4th century) names Petronilla as Simon Peter’s daughter.