54 Then took they him, and led him,
and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. 55 And when they had kindled a fire
in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among
them. 56 But a certain maid beheld him as
he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also
with him. 57 And he denied him, saying, Woman,
I know him not. 58 And after a little while another
saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. 59 And about the space of one hour
after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was
with him: for he is a Galilaean. 60 And Peter said, Man, I know not
what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. 61 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. 62 And Peter went out, and wept
bitterly. (Luke
22:54-62)
The rural folk of southern Alabama (where I live presently) would describe the
Apostle Peter as a “Good ole Boy!” It would be one of the highest terms of
praise that could be given by them; and, surely, Peter lived up to that high
praise. He was a brawny fellow who stood strongly on principle, and loved to
fish. Those three things describe perfectly a Good Ole Boy! Peter’s hands were
rough and calloused from drawing in nets and handling the ship’s rudder. He was
a proud fellow, too, as all good ole boys are. Peter was a courageous man, and
his courage was reinforced by his love and admiration of Jesus as his Lord.
There was little doubt in Peter’s mind that, when the chips were down, he would
stand tall and die if necessary for Christ.
Because of his livelihood of living by the sea, Peter was a typically practical
man. He saw all things in sharp contrasts of black and white. “Best not to go fishing
when the clouds of the morning were red and threatening. Morning was never a
good time since the fish would detect the fisherman’s net. All things to Peter
were either up or down; yes, or no; friend or foe!” Peter also placed a high
premium on the characteristic that best describes a true and strong man –
LOYALTY. Being strong and robust, Peter never doubted his own loyalty to his
friends and, especially, to His Lord Jesus Christ! He would stand and fight to
the death any who attempted to harm his Master – or so Peter believed.
There was One found in Peter’s company these past three years who knew Peter
far better than Peter knew Peter – his Friend, Teacher, Master, and Lord. The
very night of His betrayal, Jesus tenderly informed His disciples of those
events that were about to transpire. 31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for
it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be
scattered abroad. 32 But after I am risen
again, I will go before you into Galilee. 33 Peter
answered and said unto him, Though all men
shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. 34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the
cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 35 Peter said unto him, Though I
should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the
disciples. (Matt
26:31-35)
Peter had a higher estimate of himself, just as we all do, than was merited.
But Jesus foresees all things, and He looks into the deep, hidden chambers of a
man’s heart reads there his weaknesses that go unnoticed by the man himself.
Jesus says that not only Peter, but all, will be fearful and unnerved by the
events of the night. He tells the disciples this just before retiring to the
Garden of Prayer at Gethsemane. It is true that all were ‘offended’ by their
personal association with Jesus that night, but the one who most boldly
proclaimed his loyalty is the only one of the twelve who actually denied Jesus
publicly – not only once, but three times ere the rooster crowed. But they all
fled away at the arrest of Jesus in the Garden! Beware of false pride, friends.
God knows the hearts of each of us. He loves us and makes allowances for our
weaknesses. Please note the tender invitation of Jesus to those whom He knows
will desert Him this night: “But after I am
risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.” Jesus is
telling these men of weakened courage: “Though
you will deny me by your actions tonight, nevertheless, I shall meet you by the
refreshing waters of Galilee after My resurrection.”
(paraphrase)
It would seem that Peter, being a practical fellow, would have known better
than to press his loyalty to Christ after being told by Christ that he would
deny Him thrice before the cock crew. But Peter’s pride was greater, even, than
his sense of logic and practicality. Many wars have been fought as a result of
such weakness of man. I will not embarrass the reader by asking if he has not
made the same blunder – more than once! Not only Peter, but all of the
disciples affirmed that they would never deny Christ and would die with Him.
None remained with Christ at His hour of crisis – they ALL fled!
I like Peter very much. He is the kind of fellow that I would trust at my back
in combat; but Peter was not consistent in his courage. He may have
demonstrated much courage in walking on the stormy sea – would you have done?
The seas were unstable; the gale winds were blasting at the sails; the turbid
waters were dark and foreboding – yet Peter garnered the courage to get out of
the ark of safety and venture to walk upon those waters at the invitation of
his Lord. He was quite successful until he took his eyes off Jesus and focused
on the teeming waters of the sea. Courage comes from God, and Peter lost
courage when his focus was taken off the One who bade him walk upon the sea.
There are many courageous martyrs who are dying today because they refuse to
take their eyes off Jesus by denying Him when threatened by merciless pagans.
Peter was truly a man of courage if there ever was one. But he could not keep
prayerful watch with the Lord for only three hours on the night of His
betrayal. He, James and John were weary of their travels and fell asleep –
despite the news Jesus had given them regarding His soon Passion. Now the time
is at hand, and Jesus finds them sleeping still: 45 Then cometh he to his disciples,
and saith unto them,
Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the
hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be
going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. (Matt
26:45-46)
Do we often sleep when we should be watching and praying. Momentous events are
happening in the world as I write this devotion – men, women and children are
literally dying for Christ. Young Christian girls are being sold into sexual
slavery while we fiddle our time away with mundane concerns. Each of us, too,
is responsible for what our own governments does, or does not do, to alleviate
the dire circumstances of those Christians on the sands and dunes of the
Levant. We are the Caesars of our own land because it is we who elect either
moral, or immoral, leadership. We are little men and women much like Peter.
You will note that Peter, while in the company of Jesus, still had great
courage on that same night of his denial of Christ: 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all
things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? 5 They answered him, Jesus of
Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he.
And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. 6 As soon then as he had said unto
them, I am he, they went backward, and fell
to the ground. 7 Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. 8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me,
let these go their way: 9 That the saying might be
fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou
gavest me have I lost none. 10 Then Simon Peter having a sword
drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The
servant's name was Malchus. 11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father
hath given me, shall I not drink it? (John 18:4-11) There were, in the Garden at
Gethsemane, a host of soldiers; yet, Peter drew a sword and was prepared to do
battle, cutting off the ear of Malchus, the high priest’s servant. It was Jesus
who had counseled the disciples to sell their shirts and buy a sword just
before this time; however, the sword was intended for their personal protection
and not His. God does approve of self-defense.
As Jesus was led away, all of the disciples abandoned Him.
They fled to the shadows and shrubs of the Garden. 50 And they all forsook him,
and fled.” (Mark
14:49-50) “And
Peter followed afar off.” (Luke 22:54)
Do we not lack courage when we follow Jesus from afar off?
We need to walk WITH Him – not follow at a distance. The distance between Jesus
and Peter lent to Peter’s failure of courage. He had the courage to draw a
sword against a host while WITH Jesus, but when separated, his courage failed –
instead of a “Good Ole Boy,” Peter became a ‘fraidy cat! We are much more
likely to strongly and bravely testify of the truth of Christ if we watch and
pray with Him than if we sleep and follow from afar off.
Peter will deeply regret this night, and his soul will be
torn for the next three days and nights because of his denial. Let us examine
the very moment of Peter’s third denial, but this time from the Gospel of St;
Luke: 60 And Peter said, Man, I
know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. 61 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. 62 And Peter went out, and wept
bitterly. (Luke
22:60-62) Jesus had
already foretold Peter’s denial which Peter vehemently denied. Now Jesus looks
Peter in the eyes on that third denial when the rooster crowed. Imagine, if you
can, Peter’s great anguish of soul in looking Jesus in the eye at the very
moment of his prophesied third denial! He went out and wept bitterly – for
three days. But in a surprising manner, Jesus comforts Peter after that denial.
You will have to read Saturday’s devotion to find out in what way.
