Day Thirty Five: Peter Denies Jesus
Courage is a virtue most of us imagine we might have given particular circumstances. We tend to envision ourselves as heroes with whom the world would be far worse off without. Peter was no different.
Only shortly before the account of Peter’s denial in this passage, he swore that he would follow Jesus to the point of giving his life for him (John 13:37-38). What courage he imagined he had. And what painful lament he must have experienced at the reality of his cowardice. The Gospel of Matthew adds the detail that Peter, upon realizing the fullness of his own weakness, immediately “went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75).”
To make matters far heavier, we must see the contrast that the writer John develops for us in this passage. Jesus was being questioned by the most prominent religious leaders of the day, who had the power to take his life should they so determine. Against these forces, Jesus held firm, unwavering, and resolute. Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard failing to exhibit boldness at the slightest questioning of a mere servant girl.
Courage comes in many forms. In its more extreme forms around the globe, Christians will truly have their lives and livelihoods threatened due to their faith in Christ. Jesus promised this would be the case (Matthew 10:17). Yet, in the modern Western world that we inhabit, Christian courage begins with a simple, bold willingness to be associated with Jesus before others who deem that association foolish or worse.
The sad reality is that many of us have failed dramatically just as Peter did. We have had opportunities to speak in support of our King, and have chosen the path of silence, or perhaps the path of acquiescence, rather than the path of courage. In Peter’s failure, we see a part of ourselves. Yet, Peter’s story did not end in the courtyard of cowardice. Neither does ours.
Christ met Peter in his weakness and offered him not only forgiveness for his failures but strength for his future (John 21:15-17).
There is an old hymn that goes, “If we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing. Were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing.” We, like Peter, must learn to come to the end of ourselves in order to be filled and led by Christ.
Spiritual courage does not mean that we must be strong for the Lord, but that we must be strong in the Lord. Christ does not call us to a vain courage showcasing our own vanity but invites us to a humble meekness desperately depending on God’s strength. The deeper we push into Christ through faith, and the more we soak in the treasures of the gospel, the greater our convictions will grow, and the greater his spiritual strength and conviction will flow through us. No man is weak who walks in the strength of the Lord.
Only shortly before the account of Peter’s denial in this passage, he swore that he would follow Jesus to the point of giving his life for him (John 13:37-38). What courage he imagined he had. And what painful lament he must have experienced at the reality of his cowardice. The Gospel of Matthew adds the detail that Peter, upon realizing the fullness of his own weakness, immediately “went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75).”
To make matters far heavier, we must see the contrast that the writer John develops for us in this passage. Jesus was being questioned by the most prominent religious leaders of the day, who had the power to take his life should they so determine. Against these forces, Jesus held firm, unwavering, and resolute. Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard failing to exhibit boldness at the slightest questioning of a mere servant girl.
Courage comes in many forms. In its more extreme forms around the globe, Christians will truly have their lives and livelihoods threatened due to their faith in Christ. Jesus promised this would be the case (Matthew 10:17). Yet, in the modern Western world that we inhabit, Christian courage begins with a simple, bold willingness to be associated with Jesus before others who deem that association foolish or worse.
The sad reality is that many of us have failed dramatically just as Peter did. We have had opportunities to speak in support of our King, and have chosen the path of silence, or perhaps the path of acquiescence, rather than the path of courage. In Peter’s failure, we see a part of ourselves. Yet, Peter’s story did not end in the courtyard of cowardice. Neither does ours.
Christ met Peter in his weakness and offered him not only forgiveness for his failures but strength for his future (John 21:15-17).
There is an old hymn that goes, “If we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing. Were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing.” We, like Peter, must learn to come to the end of ourselves in order to be filled and led by Christ.
Spiritual courage does not mean that we must be strong for the Lord, but that we must be strong in the Lord. Christ does not call us to a vain courage showcasing our own vanity but invites us to a humble meekness desperately depending on God’s strength. The deeper we push into Christ through faith, and the more we soak in the treasures of the gospel, the greater our convictions will grow, and the greater his spiritual strength and conviction will flow through us. No man is weak who walks in the strength of the Lord.
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