Simon Peter Salutes Jesus and Malaysia

Hey guys, it’s Simon here, I’m going to write my last blog about my thoughts and feelings about my experience and personal thoughts while Jesus is talking to God about something in the Garden of Gethsemane. This will be my final blog to score good marks from a teacher named Ms. Tab. Anyways, from the beginning, from the start, when Jesus chose me as one of his disciple, to this current moment right now. I had never been happier than ever before. The journeys I went through with the other disciples and Jesus was amazing, I hope more wonderful things happens once Jesus is done praying. It’s not like Jesus is going to be seized by guards and betrayed by one of us after this right? Yeah there’s no way that is going to happen, since Jesus is the Son of God after all. Even if that were to happen, He could single-handedly free himself. What do I think about Jesus as a teacher? I think that Jesus is the best teacher anyone could have. When he keep talking about his death, I kept turning a blind eye to it for a while now, but I really hope that doesn’t happen, because I will be deeply saddened if it does happen. Ever since he gave me the name Peter, my life has been completely changed, and I followed him for such a long time. I do not regret a single moment I spent with Him. I also heard a rumor that I am one of Jesus’ favorite disciples :) I’m quite happy about that, and I will continue preaching His word, healing the sick, and casting out demons even if He is going back to heaven. This had been an amazing journey, thanks guys for reading my blogs, remember that Simon Peter salutes Jesus.

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the other disciples and I came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”  He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” So the other disciples and I did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. Now it is evening, and Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while we were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” Food and drinks were spat all over the table as well on each other. All of us started yelling, ‘Surely you don’t mean me Lord!’  Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Everyone was panicking and afraid that they might be the one who betray Jesus. But then Jesus said,  Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Then finally, Judas said, ‘Surely you don’t mean me Lord?’  Jesus answered, “You have said so.” None of us knew what was going on since we were all rambling about who was the traitor. After we settled down, we started eating our Passover meal. While we were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to us, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” After our meal, we sung a hymn and then we were on our way to the Mount of Olives. 

Matthew 26: 17-29

We were on a boat traveling to the other side of the lake, in the region of Gerasenes. Jesus climbed out of the boat and set both of his feet on the shore. Suddenly, shrieks and yells of horrors and pain greeted us when a wild man came to meet Jesus. The other disciples and I were absolutely terrified at the sight of the man. He was bleeding all over the place with scars and cuts all over his body. If uncomfortableness was a person that would be him right there. Hold on, I recognized that man! He was a demon possessed man who could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.  the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.” Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name? ”And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.” Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place. There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby.  “Send us into those pigs,” the spirits begged. “Let us enter them.” So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water. The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs. And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone. As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go come along with us.  But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” So the man went around spreading the what had happened to the people of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed at what he told them.

Mark 5: 1-20

it was late afternoon, after Jesus heard the news of the death of John the Baptist, he went on a boat to be alone in a remote place. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed him on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on the people and started to heal their sick. It was late evening when the other disciples and I told Jesus to send the crowds away, since we were in a remote place, and it was getting late. We told Jesus to get them to buy food for themselves in the villages, since they have been there for a long time and they were all probably hungry.  But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary, you feed them.” Okay, now we were all a little bit confused.  “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” Mark answered for us. “Bring them here,” Jesus said. Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up at the sky and started praying. What sort of miracle will He do this time I wonder? After he was done, he started breaking the pieces and gave it to us(the disciples), and then we distributed it and shared it among the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the other disciples and I picked up twelve baskets of leftovers! All of them filled with duplicate fishes and loaves of bread. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children! Again, the other disciples and I were amazed at this miracle. We thought he only healed sicks and raised deads but he even fed people, 5000 at that! This shows that God does not supply for only needs, but wants as well. What a wonderful God we have, he performs miracles for not only the people in need but for people who are just hungry, and they all could afford food! 5000 is quite the amount of people, and he only fed them with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes a boy supplied. Wow, this makes me even more excited for his next miracle and teachings in the future!

Matthew 14: 13-21

One day, us the disciples and Jesus went to a town called Nain and a huge crowd were following us. A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was weeping with her. When the Lord saw the woman, I saw compassion in his eyes. He then told the woman “Don’t cry! He walked over to the coffin and touched it with his hands. The bearers stopped crying when he did. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.  Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside like wildfire. The other disciples and I just felt grateful that Jesus is such a merciful teacher and we enjoyed being with him. I wonder what his goal was when he came down to the world, was it to save the Jews? Save the dead? Healing the sick? No, he has already done that, and so did we, the disciples, have been doing as well so what is his true goal? I was curious but I dare not ask Jesus about it. I had complete faith in Him to what He plans to do later on. I am truly curious in what will happen, and I’m sure the other disciples are as well. Even the famous John the Baptist knows that Jesus is the Messiah and Savior of the world. He probably knows this because heard from his disciples, since they tell him everything that happens after all. I feel that Jesus actually has human feelings as well. The way he felt compassion for the woman is surprising for even us, the disciples. Him raising the dead is no shock for us since we know that he can perform such miraculous miracles with such ease.

Luke 7: 11-16

It was just before the Passover Festival, and while the evening meal was in progress, Jesus suddenly got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. I was completely shook and stunned when Jesus came to me and was about to wash my feet. “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” I quickly exclaimed. Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”  “Then, Lord,” I replied, “Not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”  Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” I was completely stunned. God himself, just washed my feet! He is washing the other disciples as well, with his own robes! I could not believe what I have just witnessed.  When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. Jesus then taught us something important, and this is what he said, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” The message my teacher is trying to give here is that everyone in this world is equal. Even the rich who own lands and the poor who begged on the nearest streets, are of the same status. But the Lord has more authority than everyone and everything that exists. And He, the Lord himself, is washing my feet. This shows that those who are doing wrong, and we, the people who are righteous, must stoop down to those who are wrong and help them. What a wonderful teacher we have, I will never betray this man.

John 13: 1-12

Late in the evening, we were just taking a stroll with Jesus then he suddenly shared a parable with us. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!” He described what the Kingdom of Heaven was like to us in such short stories it’s astonishing how he comes up with such parables on the spot like this! It’s hard to understand the parable, yet it is so much harder to make one up, especially on one on this level! The meaning of these two parables is that the merchant stopped seeking pearls when he found the pearl of great price, as well as the man who discovered the treasure hidden in the field. Eternal life, the incorruptible inheritance, and the love of God through Christ constitute the pearl which, once found, makes further searching unnecessary. Christ fulfills our greatest needs, satisfies our longings, makes us whole and clean before God, calms and quiets our hearts, and gives us hope for the future. The “great price,” of course, is that which was paid by Christ for our redemption. He emptied Himself of His glory, came to earth in the form of a lowly man and shed His precious blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Our reaction to these parables weren’t suprising anymore. We were just interested in what other parables he is going to say. The parables he shares are just out of this world, and we already used to it by now. There are so many hidden messages behind these parables that is intriguing for every one who hears him. There is not much to say about this parable, as it is a simple message to us disciples.

Matthew 13: 44 - 46

During the same day of the previous parable, Jesus then told another parable to the crowds nearby the shore. These are the exact words he said,  “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ “ ‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.“ ‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’” What a parable! We were completely clueless about the story and what it meant. But after he was done, we asked Jesus what did the parable mean, he then explained that God accepts both the wheat and the weeds during the time of growth. But once the growth period is over and the harvesting period came, the weeds will be burnt. ( the evil people are sent to punishment ) While the good crops are harvested. ( the good people are sent to heaven ) The field is the world we live in and the harvesters are the angels. This parable meant that the good and bad people are intertwined in the world we live in. Our teacher is giving us a warning that everyone will be sent to either heaven or hell once the end of time arrives. This taught us many things, as we only have one chance, one life, to believe that Christ is the Savior. I believe that this parable means that everyone in the world, both the good and evil, live in the same world. But both will go separate ways once life is over. Again, Jesus had shared a wonderful parable to us! How many parable does he know I wonder? I can’t wait to find out more about him, and I pray that I will be one of the people who would enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 13: 24-29