1st & 2nd Peter • Introduction → Peter, the Man, the Myth, the Legend

► Today we begin a new series covering both 1st and 2nd Peter.

• We are going to start by looking at a few events from Peter's life as recorded in the Gospels and the book of Acts.

• They won't be exhaustive (maybe exhausting) - just some snippets. 

► The Man   

• Walking with Jesus

→ What was the character of Peter as a disciple?

► The Myth  

• Winning souls for Jesus

→ What was the character of Peter as a disciple maker?

► The Legend

• Writing to encourage followers of Jesus

→ What are the concerns of Peter in regard to the followers of Jesus?

Peter • The Man

The Man • Episode 1 → Walking on water

► Matthew 14:22-27 → ²² Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. ²³ After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. ²⁴ But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. ²⁵ And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

• Jesus walking on water is recorded in 3 gospels (Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; and John 6:15-21) but only in Matthew is Peter’s involvement specifically mentioned.

► Matthew 14:28-33 → ²⁸ Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹ And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³ And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

• I’ve heard, and even stated, lot’s of criticism about Peter’s failure to walk on water as he became fearful of what was happening all around him.

• I’ve changed my perspective on this – if it was me, I wouldn’t have even got out of the boat, let alone asked if I could do so!

• Peter has a tendency to jump off the cliff before checking to see if he’s wearing a parachute, but at least he’s trying.

• Jesus saves Peter, and while His counsel to Peter might seem like a rebuke, think of it more like a teaching opportunity, as He reminds Peter that his faith in Jesus is more important that the chaos going on all around him.

• A lesson we’ll see later that he seems to have learned.

The Man • Episode 2 → Peter’s confession of Christ

► Matthew 16:13-20 → 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.” ²⁰ Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

• When Jesus asks His disciples “who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  they responded with a variety of seemingly good, but totally wrong answers.

• He them prompts them “who do YOU say that I am?” (emphasis mine)

• Peter’s boldness comes out again when he doesn’t hesitate to say “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

• Peter couldn’t have given a more perfect answer.  Plain and simple – “You are the Messiah, the 2^nd person of the Trinity.”

• And Jesus blesses Peter, and says something about the “keys of heaven”, and a bunch of other stuff theologians have been arguing about for 2,000 years, but suffice it to say that Peter answered correctly, and got a nice little pat on the back for doing so.

• I wonder if the other disciples were muttering “teacher’s pet” under their breath?

► Matthew 16:21-23 → ²¹ From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. ²² Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” ²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

• So Jesus starts to communicate that He must go to Jerusalem to be killed, but Peter won’t have it.

• Takes Jesus to the side and rebukes Him – the Son of God!

• What was he thinking????

• So Peter goes from teacher’s pet to the stupid guy in the corner wearing the dunce cap as Jesus says “get behind Me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

• Peter, for all his bravado, can’t see the bigger picture.  He apparently heard Jesus talk about dying, but didn’t hear the part about rising again!

• He’ll get there, but not just yet.

The Man • Episode 3 → Peter denies Christ

► John 13:33, 36-38 → ³³ Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’

³⁶ Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” ³⁷ Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” ³⁸ Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.”

• Jesus starts to give some last instruction before His eventual arrest.

• He says to them “Where I am going, you cannot come.”

• Clueless Peter (they’re probably all clueless) asks where He’s going.

• Peter responds to Jesus’ explanation by saying “I will lay down my life for You.”

• To which Jesus responds with “you’re going to deny me 3 times before you hear the rooster sound off!”

► John 18:4-11 → ⁴ So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” ⁵ They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. ⁶ So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷ Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” ⁹ to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” ¹⁰ Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. ¹¹ So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

• From chapter 13 to 18, there’s been a lot more discussion, mostly just Jesus talking to them, plus a hike to Gethsemane, a lengthy time of prayer, and now the arresting officers have shown up, along with the betrayer Judas.

• Jesus asks them who they are looking for, and twice He uses the Greek version of the name of God given at the burning bush to identify Himself – “I Am”.

• At this moment, Peter, probably still stinging from Jesus having told him he was going to deny Jesus, is thinking “I’ll prove myself now!”.

• He pulls out a sword, probably just trying to kill whomever gets in the way, and hits Malchus in the head, removing his ear. 

• Apparently Malchus didn’t have as good of reflexes as some of the others.

• We know from Luke 22:51 that Jesus touched his ear and healed him.

• You’d think that this would make the guards think twice about what they were sent to do.

• So at this point, Peter’s probably thinking somewhat highly of himself.

• And Jesus is taken into custody.

► John 18:15-18 → ¹⁵ Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, ¹⁶ but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷ Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” ¹⁸ Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.

• So Jesus has been arrested, and Peter is following along to the home of the high priest, where Jesus was taken.

• Denial #1

► John 18:25-27 → ²⁵ Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” ²⁶ One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” ²⁷ Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

• Denial #2

• Denial #3

► Luke 22:61-62 → ⁶¹ The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly.

• Luke’s gospel tells us that there was at least one last eye contact made between Jesus and Peter after the rooster sounded off, and Peter was distraught.

• No matter how bold he’d tried to be at the garden, with soldiers all about, when confronted by servants he completely failed.

► John 21:15-17 → ¹⁵ So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” ¹⁶ He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

• We understand this 3-part interaction between Jesus and Peter are possibly tied to Peter’s 3-part failure.

• It’s as if Jesus is trying to let Peter know that he’s not defined by his previous failures, and also that he’s got a job to do moving forward.

• Let’s see what happens.

Peter • The Myth

The Myth • Episode 1 → Preaching in the Temple

► Set the stage…

• Acts 2:1-13

→ The Holy Spirit comes and they all start speaking in known languages that they don’t know.

→ Jews from all over the world hear these local-yokels speaking in their native languages.

→ Some were just confused – others thought the disciples were drunk.

• Acts 2:14-16

→ Peter gets up to clarify some things…  “These men are NOT drunk…”.

• Acts 2:17-21

→ Peter quotes Joel 2:28-32.

► Acts 2:22-24 → 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 2:25-28

→ Peter quotes David in Psalm 16:8-11. 

• Acts 2:29-35

→ Peter compares Kind David to Jesus, specifically in regards to their physical status.

♦ David is dead and Jesus is alive!

► Acts 2:36 → 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.”

• Peter makes a HUGE deal out of the fact that Israel crucified it’s Messiah, the Son of God, the God Incarnate, but also stresses that He is not dead!

► Acts 2:37-41 → 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.

• The listeners, now convicted, appeal to Peter… “What shall we do?”

• To which Peter replies…

→ “Repent (which literally means to have a change of mind).

→ and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (publicly acknowledging their commitment to Jesus).

• The end result of which was that about 3,000 people got saved.

• I guess Peter took Jesus’ command to “tend or shepherd my sheep” to heart.

The Myth • Episode 2 → Boldness before the High Priest

► Set the stage…

• Acts 5:1-11  

→ Ananias and Sapphira.

• Acts 5:12-16

→ Signs and wonders by the Apostles.

• Acts 5:17-21

→ Apostles jailed, but released by an angel.

• Acts 5:22-26

→ Apostles brought back before the High Priest.

► Acts 5:27-32 → ²⁷ When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, ²⁸ saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. ³¹ He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. ³² And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

► The aftereffect…

• Acts 5:33         → The Jewish leaders wanted to kill Peter and the Apostles.

• Acts 5:34-39    → Gamaliel convinces the others to “wait and see” before they did anything rash.

• Acts 5:40      → Apostles flogged and ordered not to “speak in the name of Jesus”, then released.

• Acts 5:41-42    → Rejoicing and preaching “Jesus as the Christ.”

The Myth • Episode 3 → Gentiles come to Christ

► Set the stage…

• Acts 10:1-8 → Gentile and Roman centurion named Cornelius, a devout man, is visited by an angel, and told to summon Peter to his home.

• Acts 10:9-16 → Peter has a vision – “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” x3.

• Acts 10:17-23a → Peter meets the emissaries from Cornelius.

• Acts 10:23b-29 → Peter goes to meet Cornelius.

• Acts 10:30-33 → Cornelius – “now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

► Acts 10:34-43 → ³⁴ Opening his mouth, Peter said: 

“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, ³⁵ but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. ³⁶ The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)— ³⁷ you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. ³⁸ “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, ^cand how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. ³⁹ We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. ⁴⁰ God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, ⁴¹ not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴² And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

► The aftereffect…

• Acts 10:44-46 → The Gentiles all received the Holy Spirit, evidenced by them all speaking in tongues, just as it had happened to the Jews at Pentecost.

• Acts 10:47-48 → The Gentiles are all baptized. 

► Not the same Peter!  This guy is on fire and doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything!!!

► NOTE…  In Galatians 2:11-21 Paul records how he had a confrontation with Peter because he had been inconsistent in his fellowship with Gentile believers when other Jewish believers were present. 

• This event we just discussed in Acts 10, would have occurred around 38AD.

• The occurrence that Paul references in Galatians 2:11-21 would have probably occurred around 48-49AD before the Council of Jerusalem.

• At the Council, which is documented in Acts 15, the issues that remained concerning Gentiles in the church were clarified and recorded to make sure no more confusion would occur.

• Peter spoke at that Council, agreeing with the assessment of Paul that Gentiles are full members of the church, and are not required to observe the Jewish law.

► I just want to note, that from the Jewish perspective, this particular issue was overwhelmingly significant, and was definitely hard for observant Jews to get a handle on, but they did, for the most part, and continued to move forward.

Peter • The Legend

► The Legend

• After Acts 15 Peter is nowhere to be found in the Biblical historic record.

• All we have from and/or about him we glean from his 2 epistles, appropriately named 1^st & 2^nd Peter.

► Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why?

• Let’s collect some info from the letters and other sources to fill in the gaps about our friend Peter.

The Legend - Who?

► Obviously, we confirm that the author of these letters is Peter, the Apostle.

• There are some theologians who discount 1^st Peter because of it’s use of higher-level Greek, which they assume Peter would not have had.

• This might be as a result of Peter’s use of a scribe, in this case it was Silvanus (also known as Silas), an associate of Paul’s.

• 2^nd Peter is not without concern by some.  For the same reasons as 1^st Peter.

• John MacArthur writes in his Study Bible that 2^nd Peter’s “critics have generated more controversy over 2 Peter’s authorship and rightful place in the canon of Scripture than any other NT book.” ^[A]

• Eventually it was included in the NT canon. 

► In 1^st Peter he was writing “¹ To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.” (1^st Peter 1:1-2)

• There has been some dialogue in regards to whether Peter is writing exclusively to believing Jews or Gentiles.

• Paul in Galatians 2:7 said → “⁷ But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.”

→ Paul states that his primary focus was Gentiles, and Peter’s was Jews.

→ But the reality is that both ministered to both.

→ Paul regularly went to the Jews first when entering a new town before reaching out to the Gentiles.

→ We have no reason to believe at all that Peter, who was the first apostle to witness the salvation of the Gentiles, would by any means leave them out of any ministry he would have.

► 2^nd Peter doesn’t call out a specific audience, but he does mention in 2^nd Peter 3:1-2 → “¹ This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.”

• Assuming the 1^st letter he’s referring to is 1^st Peter, then this would be the same audience as previously written to. 

The Legend - What?

► 1^st Peter is focused primarily on encouraging believers in a time of intense persecution.

• He encourages the believers to live well, love one another, leave behind all the negativity, and to become “living stones” as a part of God’s “spiritual house”.

• He also reminds them in 1^st Peter 2:11 that they are “aliens and strangers”

• The current leader of the Roman Empire is Nero, and we all know what a whack-job he was.

► 2^nd Peter focuses more on preparing believers to be able to thwart the onslaught of false teachers.

• MacArthur has said that “This book is the most graphic and penetrating exposé of false teachers in Scripture, comparable only to Jude.” ^[B]

• The primary tool for being able to avoid and contend with false teaching is the knowledge of true doctrine.

The Legend - When?

► 1^st Peter – Sometime between 62AD and 65AD

• Commentators have different opinions, mostly either from between 62-63AD or 64-65AD.

• Possibly shortly after the burning of Rome in 64AD

• This would be concurrent with the approximate time of Paul’s release from his 1^st Roman imprisonment, or shortly thereafter.

► 2^nd Peter – 67-68AD

• Peter believed his death to be imminent (2 Peter 1:14).

• It is commonly believed that he was executed during the reign of Nero.

• Nero died in 68AD.

The Legend - Where?

► 1^st Peter – “Babylon”

• 1^st Peter 5:13 says → “¹³ She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark.”

• The general consensus amongst commentators is that “Babylon” is not referring to the historical city in modern Iraq, but is actually code for Rome, and that Peter is intentionally being vague about where he actually is.

• At least one commentator that I read was adamant that he was speaking of the city where Daniel served Nebuchadnezzar. 

• All the others make the assumption that his recipients would understand that Peter was speaking of Rome.

• It doesn’t seem far-fetched in light of the high level of persecution going on in Rome, to mislead outsiders from knowing who he’s talking about.

• It would make sense logistically that it is Rome as he mentions that Mark is with him, and we know that Mark also spent time with Paul in Rome as well, at about this same time.

► 2^nd Peter – Rome

• Peter believed his death to be imminent (2 Peter 1:14).

• It’s assumed that he is in prison at this time.

• It is commonly believed that he was executed during the reign of Nero.

• Nero died in 68AD.

The Legend - Why?

► 1^st Peter 1:13-16 → “¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, ¹⁵ but ^alike the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; ¹⁶ because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

• In 1^st Peter we are challenged to be prepared.

• Being prepared in our minds means attentive study.  We need to be handling God’s Word fully and carefully.

• We must be sober, meaning we are considering the seriousness of all the events going on around us, and are prepared to share our faith with others.

• Fixing our hope means that in the long run, it’s only God that we can count on, because nothing else in our lives is guaranteed.

• Peter also encourages us to remain obedient, even when our old desires try to creep back into our lives.

• And he also challenges us to set our standard based on the highest one – the standard of God’s holiness.

► 2^nd Peter 1:12-15 → “¹² Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. ¹³ I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴ knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.”

• While Peter tells us his purpose for writing in 3:1-2 talking about helping them to remember, I think this verse more fully explains that.

• In 2^nd Peter, he tells us that it’s never a problem to hear the basic truths again.

• It doesn’t matter if we are new believers, or have followed Christ for 50 years.

• With our dying breaths we should be telling any and all of the truth of God.

• Long after we are gone, it may be our words and actions, considered by those who follow after us, that lead them to the truth.

So what?

  So what?

1^st → Be like Peter, follow after Jesus. 

• Sometimes we’re going to do stupid things.

• Sometimes we’re going to stumble.

• Sometimes we might even deny Jesus.

• But we just have to keep getting back up, dusting ourselves off, and try to live for Jesus again.

2^nd → Be like Peter, and share the truth with others so they also can live.

• Whenever, and wherever, tell others about Jesus.

• It doesn’t have to be a formal teaching and/or preaching scenario.

• It doesn’t have to be a concerted evangelistic event.

• Just be prepared to simply tell others of what Jesus has done for you, and can do for them.

3^rd → Be like Peter, and continue to remind others of the love of Jesus.

• Amongst ourselves, we should always strive to encourage one another.

• Especially as we grow older, we should be mindful of each other and seek to serve one another.

• We should all remember that this life is temporal, and we should be looking forward to the eternal.

---

^[A] MacArthur, J., Jr., ed. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 1950). Word Pub.

^[B] MacArthur, J., Jr., ed. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 1951). Word Pub.

---

Photo • 2026/06/27 - Hummingbird at my son's house in Yacolt, WA

---

“Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995

by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org”

All linked verses are from the YouVersion at www.Bible.com