“Peter asked, ‘Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay
down my life for you.’ Then Jesus
answered, ‘Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell
you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!’ “
John 18:15-17, 25-27
“Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus.
Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the
high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The
other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the
servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in. ‘You aren’t one of this man’s
disciples too, are you?’ she asked Peter.
He replied, ‘I am not.’ ”
“Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming
himself. So they asked him, ‘You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?’ He denied it, saying, ‘I am not.’
One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man
whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, ‘Didn’t I see you with him in the
garden?’ Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to
crow.
*********************************************
This section of John’s Gospel breaks my heart.
Peter…who walked with Christ, saw His miracles, heard God’s
own voice affirming who Jesus was on the mountaintop during the
Transfiguration…still, denies his Lord.
Many focus on Judas’ betrayal of Jesus as one of great
importance due to the path of destruction it initiated. But here we see a denial with impacts on so
many levels. Peter, in fulfilling Jesus’
prediction, denies not only his friend and teacher, but his experiences, his
heart, his own spirit and his God as well.
Imagine yourself as Peter.
Standing in the cold, watching your friend to whom just hours before you
affirmed “I will lay down my life for you.”
You have just denied even knowing Him.
The emptiness he must of felt is almost unimaginable. I feel tears welling up in my own eyes, thinking
about his pain.
I say to myself, “I would NEVER do that! If I were Peter, I would have stood up and
defended Jesus, acknowledged Him before all.
I WOULD have laid down my life for Him!”
But every day, don’t I deny Him a dozen…a hundred
times? When I seek my own glory, I am
denying Him. When I focus on my needs,
wants and desires, I am denying Him.
When I hold onto things of this world too tightly, I am denying
Him. When I am angry or hating any man
or woman, I am denying Him. When I hold
onto forgiveness which needs to be given, I am denying Him.
How am I any different than Peter?
Lord Jesus Christ,
I see your miracles daily. I feel You walking with me and talking to
me. There is no doubt in my mind that
You are God. I know all that you ask me
to do is to love You and love those around me. But so often, I do not.
Grant me faith, to have the faith
in myself that You have in me. You will
never forsake me, You will never abandon me, You will never stop loving me, You
will bless me always. Even when I
forsake You, abandon You, stop loving You or stop allowing Your blessings to
bless me, You are there.
I am in the crowd, shouting
“Crucify! Crucify! Crucify!” when I am not fully for You.
I beg you to forgive me, Lord
Jesus,
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment