ZPCBlog

About the author: Amy and her husband Rex have three children, two adults who are living and working in Chicago and their youngest is a junior at Hope College. Amy is a Deacon on the Hospital Team and she and Rex host the HSM mid-week small group. She enjoys being outside, exploring new places, visits with her adult kids, and her book club. 

Luke 22: 54-62 

Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a female servant, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Devotional

This passage has always made me feel uncomfortable. I guess I never thought I’d be super brave in the way you’d have to be in the midst of a battle; a warrior type.

Peter, unlike me, thought of himself as brave. Rewind to verse 33, where he told Jesus he was ready to go to prison and to death with him. I believe he thought he was! But intentions and reality do not always match. Less than twelve hours later Jesus was arrested, and things got scary. Peter was ready to battle, he had a sword and cut off the ear of one of the group who had come to arrest Jesus (John 18:11). But Jesus knew what was about to happen, he told Peter to put his sword away, and reattached the ear. Even after the arrest, Peter did not run away, he “followed at a distance” (verse 54). When Peter was outside of the house where Jesus was being questioned, waiting to see what was going to happen, the real test came. First a servant girl asked if he was with Jesus. Peter denied he knew Jesus. Then someone else accused Peter of being “one of them.” Peter strongly denied it. An hour later someone else asserted he was with Jesus, because of his Galilean identity. Peter denied Jesus the third time.

I have never had to suffer physical harm in order to follow Jesus. But I have denied Jesus. I have passed by opportunities to share about Jesus’ love, to share what Christianity really means or what it should look like, or behaved in ways that did not do justice to being a follower of Jesus. Not because I was in any physical danger, but just because it was uncomfortable, or I was ashamed. I can identify with Peter’s weeping in verse 62.

Peter’s denial of Jesus was not the end of his story. Peter wept bitterly, he confessed, and he was forgiven. Jesus did not only forgive Peter, he went on to use Peter to build the early church, to encourage the new believers, to heal, and to spread the love of Christ. In the same manner, our failures are not the end of our story with Christ. When we fail, as we undoubtedly will, it is important to confess, to acknowledge our failure. God forgives, restores, and chooses to use our ordinariness to impact his world.

Prayer:

God,
Thank you for sending your son into this broken world to conquer death, to save us, to reconcile us to yourself. Thank you for choosing to use ordinary humans to be part of the way in which you impact the world, and that you offer us grace over and over. We praise you and honor you.
Amen.

Share