Jesus Setup Peter To Lose His Leadership Position

In the last chapter of the gospel attributed to John, Yeshua issued this prophecy to Peter.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you bound yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch forth your hands, and another will bind you and take you where you do not wish.”

John 21:18 NKJV

If these few words concerning Peter’s future were all we had to go on, what could be determined from them?  It could not include more than a couple of things. One, Peter would be taken where he did not want to go, and two, it was not a good prophecy.  But the narrative comes to the rescue with the interpretation in the next sentence.

“This he spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God.”

John 21:19 NKJV

First, notice that these words of interpretation are not the words of Yeshua but the commentary of the author. As such, they are open to being questioned. This interpretation is the one that all the disciples had accepted and one that became accepted by the author as well. It was not unusual for Yeshua’s disciples to misunderstand something he said.

So here is the question: How could the disciples possibly get the idea of “death” from Yeshua’s words?  Peter’s prophecy may not have been a good-sounding prophecy, but it certainly doesn’t paint any picture of death! Tradition says that Peter was crucified upside down, but this is only a tradition.  Even if it were true, one can find even less of this picture in Yeshua’s words.  Many translations read, “…you will stretch out your hands…” which is a classic example of how accepted traditional interpretations can play a large damaging role in the translation process.  The Greek word that was translated “out” primarily means to stretch forth in front, toward something or somebody. The King James Version translates this most correctly, “…thou shalt stretch forth thy hands…”.  This is hardly a picture of a crucifixion. Also, the chronological order of the events in the prophecy would be backward if this were a picture of a crucifixion. One translation reads, “…when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and take you where you do not want to go.”  So are we to believe Peter will stretch out his hands to be crucified first, then someone will dress him on the cross …and then take him somewhere he doesn’t want to go? If he was on the cross, I’d figure he was already at the place he didn’t want to go!  If this were a picture of a crucifixion, Yeshua would have put it in the proper chronological order as he did in the first part of his prophecy when he said to Peter, “…when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished…”.  If this were a picture of a crucifixion, Yeshua would have said to Peter, “…when you are old, another will gird you and take you where you do not wish, and you will stretch out your hands.

So how did the disciples get the idea of “death” from Yeshua’s prophecy concerning Peter?  The answer is in the next few verses.

“Then Peter, turning around saw the disciple whom Yeshua loved following… Peter, seeing him, said to Yeshua, “But Lord, what about this man?” Yeshua said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow me”. Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die.

John 21:20-23a  NKJV

Peter, and the rest of them who were still scratching their heads over what was said about Peter, assumed that how Yeshua had answered the question about the beloved disciple must have had something to do with what he had said about Peter.  So, if the beloved disciple’s positive prophecy meant he was not going to die but live until Yeshua returned, that must mean that Peter’s negative prophecy meant he was going to die and not live till Yeshua’s return!  It only stood to reason. Their assumption that there was a connection between the two was correct. But they drew the connection in the wrong place …to life and death. Yeshua’s prophecies had nothing to do with their deaths. It had to do with the subject matter in the scene just prior to these prophecies.

As mentioned in chapter 3, Yeshua used the emphatic phrase, “Most assuredly I say to you…” 25 times in the fourth gospel. In 23 out of those 25 times, what Yeshua said immediately after this statement clearly had something to do with what was said by someone in the same scene immediately before it. In other words, Yeshua virtually never just offered something for nothing after this emphatic statement. Something was usually said before …that precipitated it. In chapter 3, I dealt with the fact that it appears Yeshua offered something for nothing when he said to Nicodemus, “Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus initiated the conversation and had spoken of Yeshua’s ability to work miracles. I have shown that when Yeshua used the term “born again” right after his emphatic statement, he was also speaking of his ability to work miracles. That was the first time Yeshua appeared to have offered something for nothing. Now the rule stands 24 out of 25 times. We are now looking at the only other instance where the classic interpretation of what Yeshua said after his emphatic statement appears to have nothing to do with anything that was said before it. If we are to believe that after Yeshua made his emphatic statement to Peter he was talking about Peter’s death, there is absolutely nothing that was said before it that had anything to do with death! If we consider the possibility that what Yeshua said to Peter did have something to do with what was said before, we suddenly have a new picture emerging.

To set the scene, Yeshua had appeared to his disciples the third time after his resurrection, and this time while they were fishing. He filled their net with fish then said, “Come eat breakfast.”  After breakfast, they get up and go for a walk. The discourse begins.

Yeshua said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes Lord; You know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs”. He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, 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.” Yeshua said to him, “Feed my sheep. Most assuredly I say to you, when you were younger, you bound yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch forth your hands, and another will bind you and take you where you do not wish.”

John 21:15-18 NKJV

Please notice again that there is nothing in what was said in the discourse before Yeshua’s emphatic statement that had anything to do with dying. The subject matter had been of Peter loving Yeshua enough to tell the world about him. Feeding sheep was a sweet figurative way of portraying Peter in the act of telling people what he had seen and heard during his time with Yeshua. It was Peter’s testimony that Yeshua was concerned about and the obvious reason for which he started the conversation. Three times Yeshua asked him if he loved him, and every time after Peter confirmed his love for Yeshua, Yeshua said something about feeding his sheep.

It’s about feeding Yeshua’s sheep!

So, if the main issue that was on Yeshua’s mind before he made his emphatic statement was about Peter’s testimony concerning him …portrayed as feeding his sheep, what do you suppose the chances are that Yeshua was speaking of Peter’s testimony again in his prophecy concerning him …spoken immediately after his emphatic statement? If past precedence in the Fourth Gospel is any indicator, the chances are 100%. Now see if you can see it.

Yeshua said to him, “Feed my sheep. Most assuredly I say to you, when you were younger, you bound yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch forth your hands, and another will bind you and take you where you do not wish.”

John 21:18 NKJV

How could “stretch forth your hands” be anything other than a beautiful picture of Peter feeding Yeshua’s sheep? This interpretation follows perfectly with what Yeshua had been talking about. This prophecy has absolutely nothing to do with Peter dying. Since this is the case, the next question we have to ask is: Who is this “another” person who binds Peter and takes him where he doesn’t want to go? The clear implication of where Peter doesn’t want to go is away from feeding Yeshua’s sheep! So who could possibly have done something like this to Peter? There is only one possibility, and he fits the picture perfectly. Paul. Every time someone quotes Peter’s words in 2 Peter, claiming Peter endorsed Paul’s words and doctrine as Scripture, Peter is being bound and taken where he never wanted to go!

This is exactly what Peter’s lament was when he was “old” and wrote his letter to James. Read the letter again and see for yourself how it perfectly fulfills Yeshua’s prophecy concerning Peter.

“For some among the Gentiles have rejected my lawful preaching and have preferred a lawless and absurd doctrine of a man who is my adversary. And indeed some have attempted, while I am still alive to distort my word by interpretation of many sorts, as if I taught the dissolution of the Law … But that may God forbid! For to do such a thing means to act contrary to the Law of God which was made to Moses and was confirmed by our Lord in its everlasting continuance. For he said: ‘For heaven and earth will pass away, but not one jot or tittle shall pass away from the Law.” But these men, professing, I know not how, to know my mind, undertake to explain my words, which they have heard of me, more intelligently than I who spoke them, telling their students that the nullification of Torah is my intended meaning, which indeed I never thought of. But if, while I am still alive, they dare thus to misrepresent me, how much more will those who shall come after me dare to do so?”

Excerpt from Peter’s letter to James from the Preface to The Clementine Homilies

This article, along with many other excellent, well thought out articles was found here:

https://www.judaismvschristianity.com/chapter-11-did-peter-endorse-paul/

More articles exposing Paul as a false teacher here.

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