And
the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath
desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for
thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy
brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee,
both into prison, and to death. And he said, I
tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt
thrice deny that thou knowest me. And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes,
lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto
them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take
it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his
garment, and buy one. (Luke
22:31-36)
Many professing Christ as Lord separate themselves from His Love and Presence
by the distance of an ignorance engendered by failure to diligently search the
Scriptures. Communion with the Lord comes by prayer and Bible reading. Please
do not tell me that you love the Lord with all your heart, mind and strength if
you do not care enough to visit His counsel daily given in His Holy Word. That
simply is not logical and you know it!
You will readily admit that Peter must have been a strong and manly fellow. He
was a fisherman by trade. He was accustomed to fighting the tempest and gales
of the sea; of drawing in catches of fish in large and cumbersome nets; of
enduring long watches in the night in search of fish; and of rowing strenuously
when the winds failed to fill his sails. Many events recorded in Scripture
reveal Peter to have been a man of short temper but also of courage. No one would
ever have labeled Peter a coward, for Christ called him a stone of faith. There
were times when storms on the Sea of Galilee may have rattled Peter a bit, for
the gales and billows of the sea were well beyond his ability to conquer.
But Peter was a man of courage, and that courage only failed three times – all
three times on the night of our Lord’s betrayal. Why did Peter have such a
lapse in courage? Why do any of us have such lapses of courage when we know to
remain silent about moral issues makes cowards of us? Peter even dared to walk
upon the sea, but sank when he took his eyes off the Lord.
I believe Peter, always the courageous disciple, lost his bravado and courage
when he was parted from his Lord. Jesus had counseled the disciples to
buy swords for their own personal protection the night of His betrayal. Peter
had such a sword and was certainly not hesitant to use it that night of the
confrontation in the Garden at Gethsemane. Immediately on Judas’ betrayal of
Jesus with a kiss, “When they which were about him saw what would follow,
they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them
smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.” (Luke
22:49-50) In the Gospel of St. John, we are told who the sword bearer was: “Then
Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and
cut off his right ear.” (John 18:10) It would have taken uncommon
courage for a single fellow to take on the whole host of soldiers who had come
for Jesus. Peter had boldly proclaimed earlier the same night that he would go
with Jesus to prison and even to death. “I am ready to go with thee, both
into prison, and to death.” Why the lapse in courage
later? Why do we often possess greater spiritual courage at times than at other
times? Do we not often have a lapse in our devotional studies of the Word? This
places a distance between us and our Lord.
So Jesus was taken in the Garden and ALL forsook Him. “And they all
forsook him, and fled.” (Mark 14:50) But Peter, at the very least, had
the courage to follow from a distance. “And Peter followed him afar off
.” (Mark 14:54) When our love for the Lord wanes, and we fail to enjoy a close,
daily communion with Him through Bible study and prayer, we are like Peter –
following from afar. We separate ourselves from Christ when we fail to
take His Word seriously – He never separates Himself from us. The guilt is
ALWAYS our own! We are happy to let the world know that we profess Christ as
long as there is no danger at hand. Separation from Christ makes moral midgets
of all of us.
Please observe how Peter denies Jesus, as the Lord prophesied, three times in
the night. “And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of
the maids of the high priest: And when she saw Peter warming himself, she
looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But
he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he
went out into the porch; and the cock crew. And a maid saw him again, and
began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. And he denied it
again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou
art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. But
he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. And
the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus
said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou
shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.”
(Mark 14:66-72) St. Luke adds a poignant detail omitted in the other Gospels of
Peter’s denials: “. . . while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the
Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord,
how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow,
thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.”
(Luke 22:60-62) Can you even imagine the shame, hurt, and guilt that Peter felt
in that look of Christ? He went out and wept bitterly, but that anguish of soul
would continue for the next three days until the Lord’s resurrection. Please
understand that, though the Lord may be disappointed in our lack of courage, He
also knows that we are weak and frail. He pardons our weaknesses and rewards
our strengths.
Peter had been separated from his Lord. He no longer possessed the decisive and
courageous character he had demonstrated in the Lord’s presence. But after the
resurrection, Peter never wavered or faltered. He had the Lord to be with him
always in the Person of the Holy Ghost.
Unlike Judas, Peter repented of his denial of Christ with bitter tears. While
the Angels of Heaven waited with baited breath for the glorious morning that
would come on the First Day of the Week, Peter brooded over his denial of the
best friend his soul could ever have. His face burned hot with shame as he
re-lived that humiliating moment of failure for those three days – one day for
each denial! Was the Lord aware, even in the Tomb, of Peter’s grief and shame?
Note the magnanimous grace shown by the Lord to Peter in the Angel’s message to
the women who came early to the Garden Tomb: “And entering into the
sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long
white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not
affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is
not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his
disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see
him, as he said unto you.” (Mark 16:5-7) Did you catch that, Friend?
The Angel told the women to go and tell the disciples – AND PETER! I
believe this specific reference to Peter by name was intended to alleviate his
grief at his failure.
We may sink very low from failing to confess our Lord, yet He knows our heart;
and He knows that we are as scared children at times. Though our failures are
unforgiveable in the eyes of men, Our Lord has a heart so much larger than man’s.
His grace will always be sufficient for us if we return with a broken and
contrite heart as did Peter.
Friend, we do not have the same excuse to fail that Peter had while separated
from Christ. If we are true Christians, we are truly NEVER separated from Christ
as long as we have the Holy Ghost to guide and direct us. He will bring to our
remembrance all that is written in the Scriptures concerning Christ – and all
Scripture concerns Christ for He is the WORD! If we lack strength and courage,
it is because we have omitted our daily Bread of Heaven which is the Word of
God. If you have neither read nor
studied that Word, how can the Holy Ghost bring it to our remembrance? Have you
fallen short of your duty that the love for Christ compels?
