“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. But he replied, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.’” Luke 22:31-34
“The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then peter remembered the Word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times’. And he went outside and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:61-62
The account of Peter denying that he knew Jesus was no doubt a climactic and convicting event, perhaps even the most intense of Peter’s life. A beautiful lesson to be learned here is that Jesus knew long before Peter did that Peter would stumble and rise again. Jesus knew the human tendency in Peter and knew also that though Peter had fallen, he would rise and be stronger for it. Stronger to help his brothers in Christ. First came the warning, then came the actualization, and last came the conviction (and seen in a later account is Peter being forgiven).
I think, if we try to visualize ourselves as Peter in this scene, we might get a fresh sense of the danger that lies in self-assurance. Because of our pride and confidence in ourselves, we might deny the possibility that a certain sin might hook us and drag us down. Sin can lie in wait and snatch us because we didn’t give it credence. Sin must be slain at its inception before it has a chance to develop and mature.
Let’s visualize ourselves in Peter’s shoes to examine three things about ourselves. First, we are warned by God what dangers lie in the doorway of our hearts. We often deny the danger choosing instead to rest in our self-assurance. Second, after failing to truly heed God’s warning, we actualize the ‘prophecy’ or warning . Third, we realize our shortsightedness and realize our delve into sin, and then we feel the bitter sting of conviction.
Peter was convinced that the warning Jesus gave him, in the comfort of the large, crowded dining room at the last supper, was an empty worry. Peter denied the possibility that he could possibly falter in the melee of the ferocious accusers of Christ. Peter had confidence in himself. Peter made assumptions about his future based on what he knew of himself. Jesus warned Peter of his future based on what He knew of the Pharisees, Sadducees, other political and religious leaders, Judas, Satan, the prophesies, and Peter himself.
I wonder how often the gentle voice of God warns us about the dangers of lurking sin and how often we ignore His warnings. Maybe Peter honestly didn’t feel the prickle of fear when he spoke of the days to come or maybe he thought he could overcome his fear. I’d guess that we have a slight intuition that God’s warnings have ‘some’ merit, but if we just steer away from the sin rather than slay it we will be fine. We, like Peter, make assumptions about our futures based on what we know about ourselves. God warns us out of His omniscience. He sees us completely.
Peter heard Jesus’ warning, but he didn’t heed it. Peter, knowing the fall Jesus spoke of, followed behind Jesus to watch as things progressed. Peter walked the tightrope of defend Jesus of deny Him until he eventually fell off. How many times does the Spirit stir within us, yet we continue on as normal until that warning ‘prophecy’ actualizes? How often do we think, yes, I know that’s a jealous thought, but we ignore it until we’ve spiraled into a covetous mess? Or, perhaps we know we’ve had judgmental or proud thoughts and brushed them off only to find we didn’t slay them, and now we’re riding our high horse instead of walking in humility.
“The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.” This verse speaks deeply of Jesus’ love. Despite what Jesus was doing through, He looked to His disciple to assure him that he still ‘saw’ him. His look probably said, despite this fall, I still love you. It wasn’t until it was too late that Peter realized he was actually living out the very failure that Jesus had warned him about. It wasn’t until Peter was too far into his spiral that he saw Jesus turn and look him dead on and realized that he had fallen. I think Peter must have seen a hurton Jesus’ face, a hurt for Peter’s spirit, that cut Peter to the core. This look must have been one that only Jesus could have given. A look that said I tried to spare you, I wanted you to heed, I’m sorry that you have endure this next step, but even so, I still see you; I still love you.
Once Peter realized his fall, he immediately ran away and wept bitterly. Surely Peter wept in shame and humility and regret, but he probably wept hardest over the look that Jesus turned towards him- a look that says, I still care! Unfortunately, we tend realize we have grieved our Master and Maker only after significant gains have been lost. Sadly, it’s too often we don’t realize our own fallen state until it’s late in the sinning process, when sin looks so big and so bleak. Too often, we train ourselves to ignore the stirring of the Spirit. We dance with danger, and we realize too late how far we have fallen. But, once we find the face of God looking straight towards us in the midst of our folly we become broken and contrite and yearn to close the gap we erringly formed between us. We weep bitterly.
If Peter had heeded Jesus’ warning, he would have tread more carefully in the hours that followed. He would have spared himself and Jesus the pain of his denial actualizing. If we attune ourselves to the leading of the Spirit, we can avoid unnecessary pain for both ourselves and God, as sins hurts us both.
“And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” A comforting thought to leave off with, Jesus told Peter how well He knew him. He said, I know you will stumble, but I also know you will rise, stronger and more determined to follow Me. You will be a help to your brothers in Christ for my sake. After Jesus’ resurrection, He reinstated Peter, gave Him official forgiveness, and charged him with a duty for the Kingdom of heaven. God will not leave us wallowing in our despair. He warns us, He forgives, and He sends us forth stronger and more ready to aid others in their quest for Christ.
“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, you know that I love you’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ Again, Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.’” John 21:15-1
Judith Cooley teaches Language Arts and Drama. Follow her Facebook page @pondervotional for more encouragement.
