Peter blurted out, "Even if everyone else is ashamed of You
when things fall to pieces, I won't be."
Jesus said, "Don't be so sure. Today, this very night, in fact,
before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."
Peter blustered in protest, "Even if I have to die with you,
I will never deny you." The others said the same thing.
Mark 14:29-31
At the Last Supper, when Jesus made the bald statement that all of the disciples would forsake him during the coming evening, Peter launched into his usual bravado: "Not me!" Considering the One he was talking to, you would think that Peter would have taken His warnings more seriously. I am sure, however, that Simon Peter never envisioned the circumstances that would arise that dreadful night, forcing him to make a choice between loyalty or self-preservation.
After the arrest in the garden, Jesus was taken to the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest. He was the one who had uttered the words that it was better for one man to die than for an entire nation to perish. Peter and "another disciple," most likely John, followed the mob to the courtyard. The "other disciple" knew the servants of the high priest, and gained entry into the courtyard for himself and Peter. Almost immediately, one of the servant girls turned to Peter and said, "You're one of His followers!" Peter quickly denied this, saying, "I don't know what you are talking about!"
Moving away from the woman, Peter sought another place to see and hear, only to be accosted by another of the crowd, saying, "You are one of them," but Peter said, "I am not." Matthew indicates that this time, Peter added a curse word - perhaps to throw off the suspicion of his being with Christ. At this point, if I were in Peter's shoes, I think I would have left the courtyard and called it a night. It was obvious that the curious questioning was not going to go away, and just as obvious that Peter was not going to admit his allegiance to his Savior.
A third time, someone in the crowd (John indicates it was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off) said, "Hey - this guy has to be one of His disciples - He's from Galilee!" Matthew and Mark state that Peter began calling down curses upon himself, and denied that he knew Christ the third time. Immediately the cock crowed, and Peter's brain finally kicked into gear. Realizing what he had done, Peter glanced at Jesus, only to see the Savior looking straight at him, no doubt with eyes of pity, sorrow, and love. Luke says, "Then Peter remembered the words the Lord had spoken to him..." Rather a day late and a dollar short at that point, as Peter well knew. He turned heel and fled into the blackness of night, weeping bitterly. [to be continued]
After the arrest in the garden, Jesus was taken to the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest. He was the one who had uttered the words that it was better for one man to die than for an entire nation to perish. Peter and "another disciple," most likely John, followed the mob to the courtyard. The "other disciple" knew the servants of the high priest, and gained entry into the courtyard for himself and Peter. Almost immediately, one of the servant girls turned to Peter and said, "You're one of His followers!" Peter quickly denied this, saying, "I don't know what you are talking about!"
Moving away from the woman, Peter sought another place to see and hear, only to be accosted by another of the crowd, saying, "You are one of them," but Peter said, "I am not." Matthew indicates that this time, Peter added a curse word - perhaps to throw off the suspicion of his being with Christ. At this point, if I were in Peter's shoes, I think I would have left the courtyard and called it a night. It was obvious that the curious questioning was not going to go away, and just as obvious that Peter was not going to admit his allegiance to his Savior.
A third time, someone in the crowd (John indicates it was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off) said, "Hey - this guy has to be one of His disciples - He's from Galilee!" Matthew and Mark state that Peter began calling down curses upon himself, and denied that he knew Christ the third time. Immediately the cock crowed, and Peter's brain finally kicked into gear. Realizing what he had done, Peter glanced at Jesus, only to see the Savior looking straight at him, no doubt with eyes of pity, sorrow, and love. Luke says, "Then Peter remembered the words the Lord had spoken to him..." Rather a day late and a dollar short at that point, as Peter well knew. He turned heel and fled into the blackness of night, weeping bitterly. [to be continued]
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